By: Bold Journey January 30, 2024
Bold Journey: An Interview with Jay Runnfeldt
We recently connected with Jay Runnfeldt and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Jay with us today – welcome, and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
My work ethic started as a young boy growing up on a farm in upstate New York. My father was in the hotel business and managed several of them. His side passion was having the farm. There is work that needs to be done every day on a farm. Once I was old enough to have chores it had to be done. I woke up early before school to feed the cows and then came home after to finish the rest of them. This showed me that working hard had to be done to operate a successful farm early in life.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am a business development executive with CRG Construction. At CRG we are creating positive, long-lasting relationships with clients, architects, developers, real estate, and construction professionals. CRG seeks to grow its business by building quality relationships and executing successful projects.
Growing up on a farm and in the hospitality industry as a child led me to learn about customer service early in life, one of the cornerstones of a business developer. As a part of the CRG team, I am drawing from my previous experience as an owner-operator of 14 hospitality concepts for which I spearheaded the design and project management for the grand openings.
I currently serve on 2 boards. First is Contractors Connections and Closers of Kanas City (CCCKC). The other is Downtown Shawnee Chamber of Commerce advisors which help guide and advise community and public projects. Previously, I served on the board of KC Can Compost for three years, a non-profit organization.
I am a husband and father of two young, school-aged girls and have coached girls’ soccer for five years.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
First and foremost learn from your failures. I have had several failures throughout my life but I have never let them define me. Moving forward but never forgetting the lesson learned.
Surround yourself with people who are your weaknesses. We can’t do everything great. Know what you are great and weak at. Fill in the weak areas with those people who can do it great.
Believe in others. Provide people with tools to succeed.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I want to work with good people.
Commercial Construction and Commerical Real Estate are the main industries I focus on. That being said I believe in the power of networking and the stronger one’s network is the more powerful you can be. It never hurts to have a conversation because you never know where it will lead.
Bold Journey: An Interview with Jay Runnfeldt
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