Meet Dominic Jones | Investor & Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dominic Jones and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dominic, do you have some perspective or insight you can share with us on the question of when someone should give up versus when they should keep going?
Knowing when to old them or when to fold them is an age old question and it can also, often be a million dollar one. When I’m confronted by the impulse to give up, or by nay sayers who tell me to give up, I go through a mental checklist in my head. And this may take a matter of minutes or a matter of days depending on the situation. 1. Am I tempted to give up because I’ve done my homework and I truly believe, based on rationale, that this is a futile endeavor at this point, or is it for some other reason like fear of what others might think or say if I fail, or laziness to do whats necessary to succeed, or just feeling overwhelmed.
2. Have I come to the conclusion that I should give up, or did someone else who either doesn’t believe in me, or who envies me, or who is living in fear plant that idea in my mind
3.Do I want to give up because I’m feeling stressed, tired, overwhelmed or some other temporary emotion that will go away with some food or rest or a change of scenery?
4. Do I want to give up because I’m embarrassed to fail or some other ego related thought that i’ll regret being influenced by down the road when I inevitably out-grow caring about the opinion of that particular group of people that I’m intimidated by right now?
5. Most importantly I want to live without regret. To me regret is the most painful thing anyone can experience and therefore I have to ask myself, will I care about the embarrassment or the tiredness or whatever in a year from now if I fail MORE than I’ll care about having won or succeeded. in 5 years, will the downside of this not working out matter to me more than the potential upside? When I’m 80 and look back on my life, will I be proud that I left it all on the floor, including this decision I’m making right now, or will I be haunted by what could have been but was too afraid to try in the moment.

If I can answer those questions to my own satisfaction in an honest way that points to quitting, I’ll quit and try something else. But if any of those questions have a hint of me just being too afraid, lazy, or otherwise influenced by other people or an emotion that is temporary, I cannot allow myself to give up until all avenues have been exhausted.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Well I feel like an entire book could be written about this, and in fact I’m actually working on that right now to be done by the end of the year. In a nutshell though, our business is about taking the desires of the original founders, who wanted to build a company where men and women who were raising families and wanted a safe place that respected them and their desire to provide for those family to build something massive and stable with their own two hands that helps make the world a better place as well. The business itself started as a family business with a father and mother and 9 children all working in the business at one time or another. It has now changed hands to one of the daughters and her husband (me) and we’re excited to be taking the next steps as the next generation in growing this business to be something that not only helps the outside world by providing real value to those who are trying to fight against the element of cold, but a safe place for our employees to find stability, learn to improve their own lives, and where we can respect the fact that they value their families. Some of the things I’ve learned along the way that are not necessarily profound but that were profound to me is that not everyone is motivated by the same things. Some are motivated by money but most people are motivated by all sorts of things and that as an employer its up to me to discover what motivates and individual and then find ways to structure their rewards to lean into that motivation. I also have learned that Rome certainly could not have been built in a day and that only the man in the arena really has any space to be a critic. I’ve gotten where I am in life as a businessman and an investor by not being afraid to take on responsibility that makes me a little uncomfortable, and by trying my best to see opportunity where everyone else just sees fear. One of the keys to my success over the years is building on the wisdom of those who have come before me. I’ve observed that most people tend to disdain the wisdom of generations before them, and they can’t wait to get into power because they assume they have all the answers and that older people were just too dumb, greedy, stubborn to try them. I’ve found that having the humility to listen to those who have gone before you helps you stay out of a lot of trouble, and helps you increase your ability to see opportunities ten-fold. Then once you learn to see, you have to match your vision with the willingness to do what it takes to achieve it. Everyone has ideas, but you get paid and people want to invest in you when you take the initiative “first” to put those ideas into play. Once you’re already out there doing it, people will line up to invest in you. Nobody will invest in just an idea.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well hopefully it’s spring time because I’d love to take them to all sorts of outside events. I might start by bringing them down to Main Street Begal on a saturday morning. they always have some fun music playing out front on saturdays and its a good place to run into people you might know from around town. From there we’d walk mainstreet and check out all the different vintage shops like Robins Nest. Then we’d go drive the monument and see if we can’t find a Ram or two to take photos of off the road. The next day I’d find a hiking spot for the monument and we’d spend most fo the day hiking and enjoying the outdoors on the monument. Maybe even find a cave. That night we’d go to Devils Kitchen at the Mavs hotel and probably get Jumbalia and bloody mary’s. The following day I’d probably take a drive up the Mesa or check out Vega lake past Collbran and go fishing. The next couple days I’d say in town and enjoy playing some basketball at Canyonview park and watch our kids go play on the huge structure there and then BBQ on our deck at home for dinner and have my friend Aaron bring his telescope out for us to star gaze. On Thursday I’d take them to the Blue Moon downtown because they have their Greek Lasagna on Thursdays and then that evening we’d walk the farmers market and pick up some nicknacks and produce. Friday morning I’d take them to Chik-fila at 730 where I always meet my retired friends, Pastor Joe Gross, Paul Been, and the owner of Chickfila, Joe Walsh and have breakfast and laugh and tell stories about their lives (Been and Gross are in their 80s and 70s respectively)

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My father who taught me that I’m just the latest chapter in a much larger story that began generations before me and that will end generations after me. He taught me it is my role to take the growth that he made during his lifetime and to add to it, and that I cannot be stagnant, nor can I be envious of my children after me, for it is my responsibility to teach them how to go much farther than even I will go.

And to my wife Felicia, who is the only woman I’ve ever met who truly understood that responsibility to the past and to the future and who follows me in our pursuit of it, together.

Website: certekheat.com

Instagram: @certekheat

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-jones-0486b017/ OR https://www.linkedin.com/company/1493806/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dominic.jones.35 OR https://www.facebook.com/certekheat

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CertekHeatMachinesIncWembley OR

Image Credits
These are our own images