- Jalen Uboh lived in his parents’ basement during the early stages of building his business.
- Before the company took off, he adhered to “rules for success” that helped him break through the low points.
- He celebrated small victories, took breaks to avoid burnout and built a success mindset.
Jalen Uboh, co-founder of JUBOH Companies, has been creating companies since he was a child.
He took his first step into entrepreneurship in elementary school by selling candy to his peers and naming his ad hoc business Jay’s Snacks. When he started college at Kennesaw State in 2014, he and some friends spent a few hundred dollars on a lawnmower and started a formal business called Piedmont Premier Lawn Care.
In 2016, Uboh and future business partner Aubrey Evins founded Premier Medical Supply Company in his home state of Georgia. The company supplied medical equipment to local health systems, hospitals and the general public.
After graduating from college in 2018, Uboh decided to continue working on his various companies rather than apply for a regular entry-level 9-to-5 gig.
“That was probably one of the scariest things: deciding whether to take a traditional job or continue this entrepreneurship,” said Uboh, who couldn’t afford to rent an apartment of his own with Evins during the early stages of building JUBOH Companies . The co-founders lived rent-free in the basement of Uboh’s childhood home until 2019, when they started earning enough from the business to pay themselves a salary.
When it comes to entrepreneurship, “there’s a tremendous amount of risk,” he told Insider. “But there was also the chance for huge rewards.”
Uboh bet on himself and won big: Today, JUBOH is a multi-million dollar company, insiders confirmed, and Uboh sees himself as financially self-sufficient.
It took years of experimenting with different businesses and living frugally before Uboh got to where he is now. Before the company took off, he followed three “rules of success” that helped him through the low points.
1. Celebrate small victories
Building a business will sometimes feel overwhelming, Uboh said. Make sure you stop and celebrate every win, no matter how small it may seem.
“For new entrepreneurs who are struggling and thinking about quitting, you should incentivize yourself along the way,” Uboh said. Even when it comes to completing a small task, e.g. For example, to connect with a new client or set up a website, “congratulate yourself, dance, or listen to your favorite song.”
It’s also important to take breaks. When it comes to entrepreneurship, “we tend to have this ‘I work, I don’t sleep’ mentality,” Uboh said. “That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Pursuing a side hustle or starting a business from scratch takes time and patience. It’s a long game and ultimately “you have to know how to stay in the game,” he added.
Uboh prioritizes sleep, self-care, and relationships with friends and family.
Think of it this way, he said, “If you reach $1 billion but die of cancer or stop building relationships and no one likes you, what’s the point of the billion dollars you have?”
2. Be consistent and build a “success mentality”.
While it’s important to build breaks into your work day, it’s just as important to show up regularly. Over time, consistent effort adds up tremendously.
“I started early. And I’ve been consistent,” Uboh said of his entrepreneurial journey. “Just like compound interest, where your money can earn interest over time. The more time you put into something, the more you get.”
Uboh is co-founder and President of JUBOH Companies.
Courtesy of JUBOH Companies
Over time his mindset has evolved, he said: “To create success you have to have a success mentality. You have to say to yourself, ‘I can do this.’”
Once you’ve achieved a certain level of success, don’t bask in it, Uboh added: “Success doesn’t create success, it creates habits. Successful people are not successful because they have had success. I can talk about the successes I had, five or ten years ago, or two, but that doesn’t make me successful today. The habits you implement in your everyday life are what create lasting success.”
3. Allow more time for specific tasks than you think is necessary
When it comes to getting tasks and projects done, give yourself plenty of time. This helps reduce stress and feeling overwhelmed – and you have more time to complete tasks thoroughly and carefully.
Consider this: if someone gave you a shopping spree and gave you the option to spend $100 or $5,000, what would you choose?
“You’re probably going to say, ‘Give me the $5,000 budget to go shopping,'” Uboh said. “Because you want more, right? Just as we would budget more money for ourselves, schedule yourself more time each day to get things done.
“A lot of the anxiety and stress of our day comes from feeling like we have to get everything done in 20 or 30 minutes. Allow yourself more time.”
