Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Waggoner.
Jason, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
As a child, I grew up in Madison County, Arkansas. It is a small close-knit community in the Ozark Mountains. I had a simple childhood going to church, helping on farms, hauling hay, construction, and learning the things that I still carry with me today. At 12 years old, I started digging ditches for Carl Parker dozer and backhoe company. We worked 50 hour weeks, and my pay was $2/hr. It was hard work but I believe the lessons I learned and the work ethic it gave me is priceless. Directly out of high school I attended and finished the auto body repair course at Arkansas Valley Technical Institute. After finishing my internship, I started a new job at Packaging Specialties in Fayetteville, Arkansas. I started on the press floor as a helper and six years later had learned nearly every position and began working in the corporate office where I started a career as an inside sales assistant.
This is where I grew up, I learned a lot about people and a lot about business. I was fortunate they gave me the opportunity as this was the point my life began to take a drastic change from what I knew previously. After a few years in corporate I was offered an operations director position for a local window/door company. I worked there for two years, some unforeseen things happen and I was forced to leave that job with one day notice. At this time, I wasn’t sure what to do, the hard part was explaining this to my wife and small children. I had good work experience but lacked the education that I needed to apply for most the jobs I wanted. With the pressure on I answered an ad to sell vacuums to supplement while I was putting in resumes around town. For the next 27 days, I sold vacuum cleaners door to door. This was the fall of 2006 and I sold 11 vaccums ($2000 each) in those 27 days. Shortly after I was hired for another inside sales position at Specialty Fasteners where I would work for the next two years.
On a fall day, in October 2008, I received a call from Jeannie Baker. She was the owner and founder of ACUTRAQ Background Screening. She had been thinking of hiring a salesman because she had grown the company by herself and was at the point she needed help. The day I received a call she reminded me that I had sold her a vacuum cleaner two years prior and asked if I would be interested in working for her. We clicked immediately and went to work building ACUTRAQ. Over the years, we have grown to have clients in all the lower 48 states and service some of the largest property management firms and employers in the country. In April of 2011, I moved to Houston, Texas to open a new ACUTRAQ location. In hindsight, walking away from the Operation Directors Position that and selling vacuums turned out to the biggest blessing of my life. The journey of life can be amazing.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road is never straight and smooth in business, but one struggle I faced early on was internal. For years I thought my thick country accent made me sound dumb, and my lack of education seemed to reinforce that in my head. This was the internal dialogue that went through me anytime I was in a business setting. I can remember talking with some mentors that helped me understand these unique qualities are what set me apart in my profession.
The biggest struggle for me has been the ability to delegate. The ability to scale up a business is only there when leaders learn to delegate, train, and trust. In the past, I was used to handling everything from the sale through implementation. As we have grown it takes a full team to continue offering a high level of customer service.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Acutraq Background Screening – what should we know?
ACUTRAQ Background Screening, Inc. is a family-owned and operated company. It was started in 1998 by founder Jeannie Baker. We provide background screening for apartments and management companies, along with employers and volunteer organizations.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Looking back I had great mentors that helped me before I knew what a mentor was. My parents definitely gave me a solid foundation to grow on and my grandmothers Ilene and Winona are my inspiration. My first boss, Carl Parker, was a key part of my life. Giving me a job at 12 years old and trusting me like an adult to finish a task really helped me get a headstart in understanding what would be expected of me as I got older. From that point forward every job seemed easy, jobs like roofing houses, installing wood floors, etc.; My friends would come to work with and leave by lunch time because they couldn’t handle it.
There wasn’t much that affected me after digging ditches for 10 hours a day. When I met the owner of ACUTRAQ she seen something in me and believed in me enough to take a chance. She has been the most influential person and mentor in my business career. The hours we spend driving to conferences were a form of education for me. The opportunity to ask questions and the ability to learn how to grow a business with the resources in front of you. I’ve jumped over some hurdles, stumbled over some hurdles, and learned to go around some hurdles, and she has always believed in me and pushed me in the right direction to be the person I am today.
Pricing:
- Full Service Tenant Screening from $10-$50
- Full Service Employment Screening and Drug Testing starting at $20
Contact Info:
- Address: 2261 Northpark Dr #128
Kingwood, Texas 77339 - Website: https://www.acutraq.com/
- Phone: 888-361-7036
- Email: customercare@acutraq.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acutraqbackgroundscreening/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/backgroundsearches/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/acutraq
- Other: https://www.tenantscreeningforlandlords.com/
Image Credit:
ACUTRAQ
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