Johnathan King – Empower Pathways and Creating Opportunities for Adults with Disabilities

Johnathan King – Full Episode Transcript

Jet: Hi, and welcome to the personal side of business where every business has a story. Today, I'd like to welcome Johnathan King, co-founder of Empower Pathways here in San Diego, which is an adult day program assisting young adults with disabilities. Welcome, Johnathan.

Johnathan: Thank you so much for having me. Appreciate it.

Jet: You're welcome. So tell me, how did we get here?

Johnathan: Yeah. Great question. I think about it all the time or how I, how I got here. But born and raised in San Diego, California, during the South Bay. Went to college by college football, specifically university. I had no idea that I was going to kind of get into this field. My dad was a teacher. And so growing up, I always saw the passion that he had as students.

Johnathan: That's why I graduated in kind of solving this dilemma. And I said, you know what? That would happen. I want to kind of get into it. Yeah. And so I said it, I started studying. I got into it. I started teaching at physical education. And once I started working with that population of individuals with disabilities, with Unified Sports and Special Olympics, I saw special.

Johnathan: Yeah. And I said, you know what? How can I get involved in something like this outside of the high school area? And so that's when I kind of got in and started this company.

Jet: Did your dad have anything to do with this side of the like, helping people or students at all?

Johnathan: Yeah. So he actually he was a vision behind us. He was out in the community to see a lot of these programs, and he was hearing from a lot of people out there that said, you know what, we need more programs is a waitlist for a lot of these programs. There's, there's more a lot of demand. And he said, you know, Jonathan, you can make an impact here.

Johnathan: That was my whole fund. My whole life. I wanted to somehow make an impact. Yeah. You know what that was like? If you're telling me to demand out. Yeah, I can truly change lives.

Jet: That's amazing. What were your first steps after he gave you that inspiration? What was your first steps getting into it?

Johnathan: Yeah. So I think it was last June. I decided to quit teaching, for about six years. And I got in touch with the regional center. And I said, what are the steps for me to go ahead and start this company in a regional center? And I said, you know what? You're going to go ahead and create a program designed to go, what exactly is your company about?

Johnathan: And that's got to be the state. So it takes many, many months. And so we got sent back a couple times and they said, you know, you can modify this, change this. And so I was able to finally get through and through that they said, all right, well you're good to go. And I think this November, this November was where we officially launched that.

Jet: Well, my first time, did you have any assistance or guidance while you were doing that, putting that program together?

Johnathan: Yeah. So I visited one program in San Clemente right up there and talk to the owner who was able to find things and details. I talked I was looking to do a lot of research and figuring out what exactly, can be like. How can I close this company, but also get back to this community? So I contacted another program director, and she was able to give me some great advice as far as this is what you should be expecting.

Johnathan: Because really, as a as an entrepreneur and a lot of entrepreneurs, I speak to this like sometimes you have no idea what you don't know or you know you want to make a difference. And sometimes you just got to hop in. And so for me, I learned as I went home to ask questions, I was called the regional center all the time. Think, how do I do this? How do I do that? And they were great responding to give me all the advice that I needed.

Jet: So that there's that regional center become the core funding for what you do. And and how does that relate to the families?

Johnathan: Yeah. Great question. So there's a transition program at the high school. And at 2122 you have to transition out. Right. The district says you know what, you can be part of the district. And so that's when they begin to start looking for different programs, building programs. And from there they reach out to the regional center.

Johnathan: You physically have to go out and reach out and say, you know what, I have my child. I would like them to be part of some type of program specific to those child's needs. Yeah. Once they do so, the regional center that kind of looks at what are those needs for that child. And then they as a partnership, they determine which programs are going to be best fit students or kids. And then they reach out to us.

Johnathan: And so the regional center is one the main funding for them. So they don't have to pay out of pocket at all.

Jet: Do families that come through under 21 already know about what to do next, or is it harder for them?

Johnathan: I wouldn't say harder. It's lost for them to try to figure out what the next step is. Yeah. So I've heard both of parents that means parents that are really like engaged. They're going to these resource fairs all the time. I've been a part three already with the district. Working families are showing up and they're seeing all the different programs that are out there while they're in this program.

Johnathan: I have no idea. Right. Some program, maybe the teachers have let the parents know. Yeah. Started early. I've had parents reach out to see Johnathan. How soon should I reach out? And he might like it, so. Yeah. So we reach out six months, a year ahead of time. So it's a smooth transition. I always recommend parents know what a year find get ahead to get what program you want to be in and then reach out about six months prior to the regional center.

Jet: So you don't really help on that front, and it's their relationship with the regional center, and then you're on the receiving end once they get through everything?

Johnathan: Or do you assist at all. So I can at times kind of speed up the process. I feel at a center. So I tell parents, sometimes you're not able to get to the whole resource center because you are busy. I have my connections. I can, you know, can make a phone and let's get you connected sooner than later because it is a long process.

Johnathan: To get them, you know, you've had your initial meeting and set up whatever is necessary needs, and then find a program that will orientation and meeting. So it does take quite a while, I would say maybe sometimes a full month, two months.

Jet: How does that change for a family once they're in the program?

Johnathan: It tremendously kind of changed the clients need our day to day. What it looks like is this one Monday through Friday from nine to o'clock. And what we do is we offer transportation, so pick up and drop off in the home. Some programs do the public transportation system. We like to take them out so they are with us.

Johnathan: And what the day looks like is that you say we took to the Padre game today. They love it. They actually kind of leave a lot of everything to a Padre game. We go SeaWorld, we go to Balboa Park on Tuesdays. We do, arts and crafts. We have super class.

Johnathan: And what's great about, like, our company is that we focus on our client's interests. Exactly. Yeah. And one of my favorites is, for example, for the price loves cars. Specific examples. So, on his birthday, I had a buddy of mine at Lamborghini, and we were able to give him a ride on. Oh, yeah. Shopping at he a give him in that car. And so it changed his life and wanted to come home. We could not stop smiling.

Jet: What's been your most inspirational or moving moment since you've had this business?

Johnathan: Oh, yeah. There's so many. The one in particular. Probably about one, is one of our clients is, a cerebral palsy. And he's in a, motorized wheelchair and basically, yeah, we have to wait two months. We're looking for a job for, I imagine. Right. You know, like finding a job. And it would be his first position. Right.

Johnathan: And so we're shopping around. He's probably in. You got two, three interviews, which is great. But we were so excited. And so finally, one day, SeaWorld, we applied for CEO reached out and it was, I guess, a rival. It they reached out like so in are excited he was going to be interviewed and you just now and I think, okay, maybe they'll call us after because you know what? We like to offer you a job that's great.

Johnathan: And we got outside, started crying, so much. I mean, if you could imagine someone is this several calls? You never had a job, right? During all these in the house before? Said, he's 32 years old. Tell me about what I want to be able to. And so for him, this was one of the biggest moments in his life. And it's going to change the trajectory of his life forever.

Johnathan: And so his mom is so happy because she's really old, you know? And I know you're not I'm not going to your friend. You know, I want you to be able to support yourself and be able to make something of yourself to get to accomplish your dreams. And I think some of us sometimes want to, we just want a chance. Yeah. So opportunity. Yeah. And, thanks to SeaWorld they gave him, that opportunity to give him that chance to prove himself that they could do this.

Jet: And I'm guessing those connections and networking over time are going to play more crucial roles in what you do and how you can assist these families.

Johnathan: Correct. 100%. Yeah. Especially now I'm, I'm a new company. And so for me, I'm, I'm building those. Yeah. Right now. And so right now SeaWorld was a great one of the goodwill's another great network that we're working with as a company that that hires those. Yeah. Really wants to help.

Johnathan: And so I, I think about it all the time I see you know, these relationships you know companies because I won't be the last. Yeah. So many clients out there and they're, they're going to want a job and they're the one opportunity. And the strong relationships that I have with this company and some opportunity that they and as a newer business owner.

Jet: What does that look like for you from day to day on the more admin side and then trying to scale the business?

Johnathan: Yeah. So I think any entrepreneur can speak to this from the very beginning. You are doing everything on your own. I was doing everything and I had no idea. Yeah. I mean, you're talking about using QuickBooks. I don't yeah, yeah, yeah. The tax purposes. Right? I never ran payroll. I had no idea. How do I run. Yeah. How do I run PayPal for the Regional Center for transportation?

Johnathan: Everything you can think of, I was doing on my own marketing, social media, website. I did, YouTube videos, you know, got to YouTube. That was YouTube. You, you know, like, that's what everyone starts to learn here. Yeah. So, the day to day was every morning I was doing these administrative, individual. And then I was out with the clients, and then I would come back and those administrative things where I'd be, you know, scanning the receipts and categorizing them or making sure that my numbers are correct, attendance, making sure everything was on point.

Johnathan: I was, posting videos. Yeah. We, I think we can kind of tell our story to the community out there. So the day to day was nonstop, and and now that we're growing, it's more.

Jet: How is your father involved in the admin side?

Johnathan: Yeah. So right now he's completely focused on what he's doing. Yeah. He was more of like like I said, he was more the motivation okay behind it. His goal when he retires, which is helping those same reasons is to join. Yeah. In every aspect he's working. Yeah. He's going to be able to bring things to table. As far as being creative. Yeah. How we create a program that's one of the best.

Jet: Do you go to him for advice on how to work with the population over time?

Johnathan: Yes. All the time. I'm always call. Yeah. Hey, dad, you know, I have a situation with the client or. Yeah, this is what I would do or even just in the very beginning. They need to be prepared for these situations. Yeah, right. Which a lot of times they helped me when I got into that situation, I'll say, okay, I'm going to I can do this.

Jet: So he's essentially your mentor right now in the world.

Johnathan: You're my hero. Yeah. Zero mindset. Yeah. A teacher's whole life growing up, you always talk about ideas and and being your own boss. And you kind of still get, you know, some. Yeah. Say, you know what? It's I think, you know, since we truly make an impact in the way that you want to. Yeah. And so he always he always like you spoke about it. And it wasn't until a year ago that we kind of made that leap to be one of the first in the family to say, you know, I might be my own boss and, you know, and try to make an impact in the way I did.

Jet: Did you think in a million years you'd be running a business helping disability?

Johnathan: I think so, but, you know, it's crazy because, you know, what I did was I saw teach, I was reading a lot of books. Yeah. You know, I was watching podcasts. Yeah. Hearing these stories. And I said, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jet: And then what would have been your ideal situation outside of this when you were younger?

Johnathan: So to be honest with you, I was in the NFL. Yeah. Yeah I mean I grew up, I played baseball, yeah. High school football, college football, Pacific University. And so the whole division was I am going to be my dad for this. And I was always playing the NFL. So that's that. Initially that's what it was.

Johnathan: And then it kind of changed and then it became, you know, teaching. I was a grown up and I want to be an assistant principal. Yeah. And they think that you're you're a great teacher. I mean, we we've got two at best program at San Diego high schools. And so we were I was blessed to have an opportunity surrounded by great teachers. And so I was learning from some of the best out there. And so I said, you know, I want to take it to the next level of the administrator. And kind of create a school. Yeah, like bring out the best in this community. And then it kind of took it again and to this point right here.

Jet: If you were to look at yourself as a coach, what are your weaknesses and strengths right now going into business?

Johnathan: Yeah. Great question. I think one of my strengths is building relationships. You I mean, I learned very quickly in early that, I was able to build relationships with them. My uncle that, was born disabled. And so I kind of understood. Yeah. Well, and so I was able to build, friendships with the people, have to do activities. So I said, this is one of my strengths. I need to work on that. That's right.

Johnathan: And I think it's worth so far, as far as weaknesses. I think for me, it's just not knowing completely how to run, you know, a company not simply I'm I'm learning every single day. And so I make mistakes. Yeah. I make mistakes every single day. And I, I had to learn that.

Johnathan: I think I think most business owners, they realize very soon that you're going to make mistakes, you're going to fail. But what really matters is, are you going to get back up? Yeah. You're going to keep pushing forward. And I have to remind myself to do that.

Jet: Are there moments where this business has overwhelmed you emotionally?

Johnathan: Yeah. And I think I'm in that right now. Yeah. Right now. Yeah. Because the growth the business is growing significantly. And I think I'm more overwhelmed than I am because, for me getting great employees is so, so now that we're getting to that point, I'm overwhelmed to figure out the how can I that the leader of this company, how can I surround myself with an amazing team?

Johnathan: Yeah, because truly, I mean, they're going to be the ones that are out there with my clients and truly making the impact. And so right now, I think is speaking to being overwhelming. That's kind of. Yeah, I mean, I've kind of got into the hang of the administrative aspect, the ins and outs now and saying, how can I scale? But not too quickly? Yeah, a lot of points where it's I'm still providing the best possible services for these clients with disabilities, because for me, being able to to provide them the best that they are that I can offer is key.

Jet: Do you feel like your sports background carries over into the way you run the business?

Johnathan: Yeah, my dad, even my coaches in college, just tell me how you do one thing is how you do everything. Yeah. And so growing up I took that into into care. And I said, you know what? Yeah, 100%. And so, you know, I was big I was a big Kobe fan. Yeah. You know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The best at everything. And so I took that to heart.

Johnathan: And so I always tried I this is something that I do and I've heard other entrepreneurs do is at the end of every day, they kind of journal and reflect on how they can become better when they need. Yeah. And how can they change those with that? Yeah. And so that's something that I every single day I make sure I do and I write and I always reflect at the end of every week at those mistakes to make sure I don't make them again. And understanding that I am growing not only for my clients, but as an individual as well.

Jet: What qualities are you looking for as you hire more employees?

Johnathan: Yeah. And that's something I've been thinking about recently, too, as we are growing, some of the qualities I remember one is you have to have a passion to work with this population. Sometimes not everyone does, and that's fine. But for me, I want to have someone that is really passionate about making a difference. Someone that is creative and someone that's going to, be able to think outside the box and try new ideas and come to me, say this what I think we should do to make this take this program to the next level, is key.

Johnathan: And I think those are the two main qualities of being creative and really, truly loving this population. Because when you love something, you want to do anything you know, right. And so that's what I do in my 20s.

Jet: What are your next steps for your business?

Johnathan: Yeah. So right now, our company focuses on two things. One is that 100% community based program where we pick them up, we take them out of the community. The second aspect is what we call tailor day services. And this is where we kind of individual and one on one, and we assist them in getting a driver's license, having them pass a permit, getting them a job.

Johnathan: And now kind of the next step, which will be happening sometime in summer, is what I'm hoping that lots of people power social. And so what we're looking for right now is a facility in Chula Vista. That's where I kind of want to. I grew up in Chula Vista, and it's the community that I want to get back to, and so obviously in Chula Vista, what's going to be kind of like a rec center? It's a game center. There's TVs, board games, pool tables. It's gonna be an opportunity for young adults with disabilities to come together. Friendships, and grow. Right. That's key.

Johnathan: And then when we look at this community, that's up to parents all the time, one of the most important things for them is for them to build friendships. And a lot of times of staying at home, there's a lot. And so I want to be able to provide that opportunity for them. Also, when I'm looking at this, that I was kind of coming to this idea, a lot of programs are done by two, three, four. There's nothing. And when you look as far as the weekends, not really. So I said, you know, I'm the open in the evenings specifically and on the weekends to kind of fit that, that need for these things.

Johnathan: Yeah. And so that's the next step. And this is I have no idea searching right now. Yeah. I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm, I'm meeting with and looking at know emailing people figure out, hey yeah I see the place and what insurances do I need. Yeah. These are all things I'm learning as I go, but I have no doubt that it's going to be something nice.

Jet: If you were to give advice to a person just getting into business or even into your field, what advice would you give them?

Johnathan: Yeah. I would say two things. One, and I know we kind of hear this all the time, but one of the key things for any entrepreneur, for myself, is that grit, right? To be able to continue and to continue even with with failure, it's so essential because we're going to fail. But for me, it's being able to have that grit to keep going and being able to, adapt as you kind of grow, which I think is essential.

Johnathan: And I think I heard Conor McGregor say, this is like sometimes you have to be a little bit crazy, like, this is crazy, you know, and I think, for us to, for them to say, you know what, just jump into it. Don't wait. You know, just do it. Learn as you go. You're gonna have people around you because I get to see, you know, I see you. It's like you're teaching. You're making good money. You have that retirement. You have benefits. Why would you want to take this rate? So you're going to have people outside, right? Family, friends. They're going to kind of push you away from that, this idea. But I think, when it's true, it's inside you. It's meant to be.

Jet: Nice. And where can people find you and support your business?

Johnathan: Yeah. So the first is I think one is the regional center concept regional center. They know and have pathways adult day program. The second you can find us on social media and power underscore pathways on social media and in empowerpathways.com they can find us as well all the details about what our program, what we offer and, the impact that we are making. You can find us there.

Jet: Nice. Well, thank you very much, Johnathan, for being on the podcast.

Johnathan: Thanks, man. I appreciate it.

Jet: This is The Personal Side of Business.