We were lucky to catch up with Jeff Hilimire recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jeff, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about serving the underserved.

The story of creating 48in48 (http://48in48.org), from an idea to a nonprofit that has served over 1,200 nonprofits worldwide since 2015.

Jeff, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I started my first business in college, building websites with my college roommate. I never thought I’d be an entrepreneur (I wanted to be a professional tennis player but that didn’t last very long once I met my college teammates). But once we started that first business, I was hooked.

Ten years later we had 75 people and we sold that business to a private equity firm. Then I stayed with that firm for five years and we sold the new business. By age 32, I had built and sold two businesses…but something was missing from my life. I didn’t know then, but what I was missing was my personal Purpose.

After going through an intense “race awareness” program in 2012, I began to realize the massive amount of privilege that I have as a human. I’m a white, straight, Christian, male, with no physical or mental disabilities. Because of those traits I have a huge advantage over people that don’t meet those characteristics.

After spending a few years on it, I finally landed on my personal Purpose of having an outsized, positive impact on the world. Since then, I’ve written four books for leaders to help them put Purpose into the businesses and teams, I’ve founded three more businesses (which are all Purpose-driven), and I’ve founded three nonprofits.

The most important aspect of my life is my family. I am married to my high school sweetheart and we have five amazing children (two of which we adopted from China).

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I was always told (either directly or through observing people I admired) that working as hard as can is the best path forward. The more full your calendar, the better.

And I lived my life this way for the first 15 years of my career. If my schedule wasn’t jam packed, then I wasn’t doing my “job”.

Sometime after I started Dragon Army in 2013 and created my first nonprofit (48in48) in 2015, I started to understand that my time was precious and it was important to reframe what was important to me. I began to focus on my Purpose (having an outsized, positive impact on the world) and, perhaps most importantly, I learned the power of saying, “No.”

You can’t really be focused on anything if you’re saying “yes” to everything. For instance, I was invited to be on the board of one of the most well-respected nonprofits in Atlanta, and I said, “No”. (I did say it nicely.) Everyone I knew thought I was crazy because not everyone gets invited to do that. But I knew it wouldn’t match with my Purpose and that there were more important things for me to focus on.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Networking.

I almost don’t want to write more…but I will :) Building my network is the thing that has helped me grow my companies more than anything. Here are some of my thoughts on how to network well:

Use your network. Linkedin can work, but its better if you can find someone who is a friend of both of yours that can introduce you.

Ask for a small amount of time. There’s a big difference between saying, “I’d love to get together for lunch,” and, “Could I pick your brain for 15-20 minutes? I’d be happy to come to your office to make it easier.” The latter is much easier to say yes to. And be fine with a phone call the first time around if that’s what works best for the other person.

Flatter them. Yes, this sounds, I don’t know, kind of pathetic? But people like to be flattered and most likely, the reason you want to meet with them is because you are a fan. Tell them why!

Find common interests. This does not mean, pretend to have common interests. If someone you want to meet with is interested in a particular nonprofit, or they went to your college, or they grew up in your hometown, all of those things can help start the conversation. And that’s all you really want. But be genuine.

Be patient. Go to networking events and don’t expect to always walk out with a terrific connection. These things take time. Good personal networks are built in small, gradual steps.

Give more than you take. Help someone a few times before asking them for help. The most powerful four words you can use, “How can I help?”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jeffhilimire.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffhilimire/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhilimire/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeffhilimire