Vancouver LeaderImpact

Date: February 9, 2017

Name: Vancouver LeaderImpact – Integrating business, life and faith with Jonathan Friesen

Presenter: Jonathan Friesen

Cross cultural heritage can create Key differentiators for successful entrepreneurs. Moreover, the perspective they look at will determine if they are challenges or opportunities. Vancouver LeaderImpact Forum invites Jonathan Friesen, the CEO of Mission Group Enterprises Ltd, to discuss the key lessons in his life of entrepreneurship. In this presentation, Jonathan Friesen will share his unique story on cultural difference. Entrepreneurs will discover success comes not from fitting in, but by being different.

Jonathan Friesen is the CEO of Mission Group Enterprises Ltd. He focuses on growth strategy, casts vision, and cultivates strategic partnership and financing. He had the opportunity to work in Mitsubishi Corporation. His strength is on property development world. He helps corporation to see the power of vision, turn them into actions and create the desire outcome. Outside of work, he has passion in road racing, cycling and cross country skiing.

What are your key differentiators?

Negative can be important for growth. Many entrepreneurs believe the goal of business is to take advantage from other or stay ahead. In the world of business today, Jonathan Friesen believes customer experience ties in with brand expectation. Recognition increases when brand expectation increases. Company product can be sustainable in the market because people are willing to pay extra 10% more if there is unique customer experience.

Friesen engaged property development with customer experience. In Kelowna, he integrated property with history of neighborhood. The differentiator is to create similar culture fit with the building around them. For traditional properties, he brought in the splash wall design. For student housing, the differentiator was to create unique twist on building design. For the future housing, he incorporated living experience as differentiator for baby boomer market.

“Third culture kid” is a term describes Friesen. It defines it as parents from one culture and kids are not. Third culture kids feel they do not fit in. However, Friesen shows third culture kids are actually an advantage. They create and look for unique solutions. When Friesen was young, he felt unacceptable. He thought he was different than everyone else. In business, he leveraged this uniqueness to create innovative advantage. There is certain comfort in discomfort, and that is the cutting edge he has in his success.

“We are different, but this cool”

Friesen encountered a business crisis when the CEO of Mitsubishi Corporation suicided. Many of his equity supporters went bankrupt. Friesen felt shame and defeated. People told him there was no way to sell and clear the loan. Instead of blaming other people, he conquered the obstacle for his family. He took away his family time to be engaged at work. Until one day, he was away for work so long that his kids did not recognized him anymore. He was able to lose his wife. Friesen realized he needed to change. He went for soul searching and decided to move his family to Grand Canyon to start over. For 2 years, he found his life back.

Friesen shares another unique experience at Nukitipipi, French Polynesia. He was alone for 24 days to clear his head and refocus. He encountered a rare opportunity to raise marijuana. If he accepted the offer, the potential profit would be able to clear his money problem. However, he refused the offer because he felt it was not right. Afterwards, there was an inspection and he was thankful that he did not accept that offer.

Friesen believes tragedy will make people strong. His first and second sons died from born in premature. Friesen and his wife were healthy and they did not know why. He was introduced to Dr. Beard and he accepted the research of OB/GYN. With the doctor’s support and guidance, Friesen and his wife had 2 healthy kids. Things could not be explained, but he saw miracle. He began to realize his duty to help others. Furthermore, he discovered his spiritual faith.

Friesen shares the wheel of life. There are eight components.

• Career
• Money
• Health
• Spouse / Romance
• Friends and family
• Personal growth
• Fund and recreation
• Physical Environment

These eight components create the wheel of life, but he notices these eight components are surrounded by an empty circle in the middle. It feels there is an anchor that triggers these components. Friesen reveals it is spirituality. Spirituality is the connection for these components. It is the analogy of how lacking of what people are without the middle piece of spirituality.

Personal core values define what people believe. To discover personal core value, Friesen suggests entrepreneurs to imagine there is only 24 hours to live. They are on an island with a kid they love. They need to use the time they have to teach that kid about themselves. This exercise will help entrepreneurs discover their core values. It will also help entrepreneurs lead to their middle piece of their wheel of life.

Questions and Answers

Friesen did not have mentor when he was young. That was a regret and a lesson Friesen would never forget. He wants entrepreneurs to learn to look beyond their career and life.

For his legacy, he wants his 2 sons to have meaningful relationship with their spiritual belief. He wants his family to have each other’s back and learn the value of success, which is respect. People can train what is right or wrong, but it is more important to know what is honesty. Honesty comes from a voice within. The voice inside of each entrepreneurs’ head will always be there.

There is no work / life balance for Friesen. As an entrepreneur, entrepreneurs expect to work all the time. He could not ask the same expectation for his employees, but he expects his employees to commit to get their jobs done. His whole life is work and life.

Friesen suggests young entrepreneurs to find the intersection between fun, profit and passion. Fun provides enjoyment, profit can drain energy, and passion creates hobby. Therefore, intersection is what young entrepreneurs should aim for.

Friesen uses meditation to deal with doubt and stress. He relies on spirituality. His company incorporates his unique culture of honestly.

• Who you are, how you believe
• Never take a shortcut, never tells a lie
• Make a promise, keep it
• If you make mistake, own it
• Best to be transparent

“Success comes not from fitting in, but by being different”