People who build successful careers around their passions, and maintain their love for what they do, tend to leave a lasting impression.
As British television host David Frost once said, “Success should not be the ultimate goal; instead, pursue your passions and believe in them, and success will come naturally.” A local resident of Idaho serves as a testament to this, having built a career in the firearms and ammunition industry, an area in which they are passionate.
Jared Wilson served as a Marine for a period of three years, during which he completed two tours of duty in Iraq. As a Marine, he was extensively involved with ammunition and had a longstanding interest in firearms, having been familiar with guns from a young age. After his time in the Marine Corps, Jared worked in several positions that kept him closely connected to the tactical world. Eventually, in 2009, he established his own company.
Jared served both local and larger communities and maintained a distribution center for premium tactical ammunition and reloading components. He lived his entrepreneurial life until 2016, when his stepfather Mike recruited him to join Accura Outdoors. After familiarizing himself with the company, he started as a sales and marketing specialist. Two years later, in 2018, Jared was promoted to the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO) and acquired a partial ownership of the company.
Finally, in 2021, Jared acquired the remaining ownership of Accura Outdoors and became the sole proprietor.
Accura Outdoors has a rich history of stable business and consistent growth dating back to the mid-1990s. When Jared first joined the company as a sales specialist, he immediately saw the potential for even greater growth. As a result, when he was promoted to Chief Operating Officer (COO), he had ambitious plans to introduce two new products, which would be the most the company had launched in decades.
The launch of these new products marked a significant turning point for Accura Outdoors, leading to substantial growth and numerous new opportunities. However, these plans were not without challenges. The business market crash of 2020 presented unexpected difficulties for Jared as a business owner, making it a challenging time for the company. Despite these obstacles, Jared remained committed to his vision for Accura Outdoors and worked tirelessly to ensure its success.
In 2018, when Jared assumed the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Accura Outdoors, he recognized the need for additional support to effectively lead the company. Despite his stepfather Mike’s decades of experience running the business, Jared sought a fresh perspective to steer the company in a new direction. While he had the support of friends and family who encouraged him in his efforts to grow Accura Outdoors, Jared sought an objective viewpoint from someone who was not invested in the outcome.
Having previously met with Executive Business Coach Allison Dunn, Mike was well aware of her expertise. When Jared began his search for help, he immediately reached out to Allison and engaged her services.
In 2019, Accura Outdoors engaged the services of Deliberate Directions for executive coaching. Recognizing that growth necessitated taking calculated risks, Jared sought Allison Dunn’s guidance to help him navigate the process.
Despite the numerous challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as labor shortages and disruptions in the supply chain, Jared has persevered. With Allison’s support, he has been able to effectively delegate tasks, allowing him to focus on leading the business rather than being bogged down in its day-to-day operations. Today, Allison and Jared continue to collaborate in order to maintain Accura Outdoors’ impressive growth trajectory.
Jared’s prior experience owning a company has equipped him with the skills to effectively operate a well-functioning business. In fact, he considers himself to be mechanically adept and considers this to be one of his strengths. However, where he faces challenges is in managing a team. Being skilled in running a business does not necessarily equate to being an effective leader. Recognizing this, Jared and Allison work closely together to overcome this challenge and improve his leadership skills.
Jared’s prior experience as a business owner has given him a strong foundation in operating a smoothly functioning organization. He considers himself to be highly skilled in this area and describes himself as mechanically adept. However, where he experiences difficulty is in managing a team. Simply being knowledgeable about running a business does not necessarily mean one has the ability to effectively lead a team. Recognizing this challenge, Jared works closely with Allison to improve his leadership skills and overcome this obstacle.
Jared developed his leadership style during his time in the United States Marine Corps in his early twenties.
While this style was well-suited for the demands of military combat, it may not always be effective in the civilian world. For instance, when he owned his own company in 2009, he did not have a team to manage, so his focus was primarily on the technical aspects of the job, leading to high efficiency.
However, upon joining Accura Outdoors and working with a team, Jared soon realized that his leadership style was not well-suited for a collaborative work environment. Recognizing the need to improve in this area, he decided to hire a business coach who was familiar with popular and effective workplace culture assessments.
In 2019, Jared sought to integrate the best of both worlds by combining his technical expertise with a more intuitive approach to leadership. Under Allison’s guidance, Jared transformed into a high-trust leader and built a team culture that was highly desired by employees.
While Allison provides coaching to Jared on developing empathy with his team, she also offers coaching to the team as a whole.
For example, Deliberate Directions offers a program called a “360 Review.” During this program, Allison interviews Accura Outdoors employees, gathering their feedback on Jared’s strengths, weaknesses, praises, and areas for improvement. She then compiles this feedback to provide Jared with targeted training and coaching.
This program is highly effective because it provides Jared with valuable insights into the perceptions of his team, which he may have been unaware of. If the team is honest in their feedback, Allison is able to paint a clear picture of what Jared needs to work on.
Another useful tool offered by Deliberate Directions is training on the DISC profile, which breaks down personality types and provides specific information on each individual’s strengths, weaknesses, and preferences. To help illustrate these concepts, Deliberate Directions often plays a popular game called “60 Seconds To Win It.” Although this game can be uncomfortable to watch, it provides valuable insights into the different preferences of each team member. Jared described the experience as “extremely helpful,” saying, “Allison explained things I’ve heard three or four times before, but the way she’s explained it makes so much sense and added an extra tool to my belt.”
In 2019, Accura Outdoors experienced significant growth, which enabled the company to hire an operations manager to support this growth.
However, challenges were on the horizon. In March 2020, the world was struck by a pandemic that shut down countries and forced many residents into quarantine. Although the world has gradually recovered, it has not returned to normal.
The pandemic has normalized hybrid work-from-home options, Gen Z has entered the workforce with different expectations for work-life balance, and border restrictions have become stricter, making it uncertain who can cross.
These dynamics have impacted businesses worldwide, including Accura Outdoors. The company has faced challenges in finding and fairly compensating labor due to its growth. Additionally, Accura Outdoors relies on supplies from truck drivers who cross borderlines, and restrictions have made it difficult to secure these supplies.
Furthermore, Jared’s workload has increased, preventing him from focusing on leading the business and instead becoming bogged down in its day-to-day operations. These challenges have compounded and made it a challenging time for Accura Outdoors.
Due to the new work schedule, Jared has had to adjust the time he commits to coaching. Despite the time and resource constraints, he recognizes the importance of this coaching and prioritizes attending coaching sessions once a month.
However, the challenge lies in being able to implement the strategies developed during the coaching sessions within a three-week timeframe once he returns to the office.
Despite these challenges, Jared and his team are embracing the learning opportunities and are optimistic about the future. They expect that there will be many changes and pivots in the coming months, but Deliberate Directions is working closely with them to provide support and help Accura Outdoors reach its full potential.
Jared describes Allison as having a “straightforward, objective, and communicative” approach. With his background in the Marine Corps, Jared values Allison’s ability to get things done efficiently and with candor about the process. Building trust and maintaining a relationship with Accura Outdoors has become increasingly important during these challenging times, and everyone is ready to provide Jared with the support he needs.
If you are interested in executive coaching with Allison Dunn, schedule a complimentary session today!
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