We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful James Lott Jr. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with James below.

James , appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with talking about how you serve the underserved, because in our view this is one of the most important things the small business community does for society – by serving those who the giant corporations ignore, small business helps create a more inclusive and just world for all of us.

I work in “Hollywood” or the Entertainment Business. One of my mottos has been to give people who are often overlooked, a chance to be a part of the business. During the pandemic I started writing and producing audio dramas. I cast them with non union talent and everyday people who wanted to try it. Also, I started working with people, schools, businesses that were outside of LA and NY and help them create podcasts. My main area is Clinton, Indiana, a small town in rural Western Indiana, and we have had major success and changed peoples lives. The locals love it and feel seen.

I also work in neighborhoods with either a heavy population of people of color or people of a certain age. I help get them organized in their homes. Again many of them did not know this was a service and literally lives have been saved. AS a friend of mine says, We ALL win when We all win!

James , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

As I celebrate 15 years in business this month, I look back at where I started which was one client and one show. Very small but also consistent and steady. Now both of my businesses, The Super Organizer LLC and JLJ Media, have become a mini empire that is still growing. I have over 10 regular Organizing clients with many more that I have worked with (celebrity and non celebrity) and I have over 90 shows on my media network plus over 65 books and 11 albums worth of music. I work with the TV and streaming networks and authors and publishing houses. I work with PR firms on both coasts. All of my voice actors are from around the country. We are national in scope and familial in nature. I’m here as support for meaningful product.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One lesson I had to unlearn was listening to everyone and doing what they think I should do. In the beginning a family member gave me one of her friends as a client and I was still setting up my rules and conditions. The partnership was good until it wasn’t and I knew what I wanted to do but I listened to my family member and did what she thought I should do. It ended badly with the client, which it would have with or without advice. BUT I felt unsatisfied and I felt like I wasn’t in charge! After a couple of instances like that, I made a declaration. It’s MY company and I will run it however I like. I will success or fail on my own merits. It was not her company. It’s mine. I’d like to add that I do listen to people but I decide which ideas I will use or not. I learned not to care what others care about my decisions. It’s MY company!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

A strong story or example of my resilence in business is the PANDEMIC. I live in LA and we were in lockdown and both of my fields, Entertainment and Professional Organizing came to a halt. No more studio time. No new product was being produced. Can’t go to anyones home inside. Complete stop. I had to take a deep breath (and about a week ) to pull my thoughts together. I needed to make money and not go crazy sitting at home worried about the virus. So I started using Zoom and reaching out to my contacts and starting scheduling guests and doing 5 shows a day 5 days a week. That started generating time and money. And I started offering classes on how to get organized in different areas. And that generated money too. I had to stop, think differently and execute.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://alottofhelp.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/jameslottjr
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/jljmedia
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-lott-jr-ctacc-cdc-lvn-pmo-oa-dd-8bb26b283/
• Twitter: https://x.com/thesupero
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/jljmedia
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/jameslottjr
• Other: https://patreon.com/jameslottjr

Image Credits

RichnRossi
Doug Frerichs
James Lott Jr