Cornerstone Member Spotlight: Addison Williams

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Our members at Cornerstone are one of the many reasons why we love our job so much. Each of you have such unique stories and backgrounds. We love to know why you do what you do and what you had to accomplish to follow your dreams. This month, we had a privilege of sitting down with Addison Williams, of 98toGo, to get a better insight on his job and get to know him a little better.

If you haven’t met Addison yet, you should. He is such a kind-hearted and funny person. His company is called 98toGo. The inspiration for his company’s name was drawn from Addison’s optimism for the future of his business. On average, websites only reach about 2% of people. Which means that 98% of people either just scroll past the website, or they end up looking at it and going somewhere else. Since they only reached 2%, they have 98% left to go; (get it?). Addison loves his job and how he gets to think strategically every day. He likes stepping back, looking at the bigger picture, and asking himself ‘how can I do this differently and more efficiently?’ Addison enjoys challenging himself.

One of many interesting things we learned about Addison, is that he was in the Army Special Operations for 5 years. The was so neat to learn because Addison has such a laid-back personality. We never would have guessed he was an Army man; but, we are so grateful for him and his service to our country. During this period of his life, he learned a lot about marketing and branding; which, helps with his new career, at 98toGo.

Addison became a member of Cornerstone in March of 2017. He spent a good amount of time searching for the perfect space to work out of. What sold Addison on Cornerstone was the ‘all inclusive’ atmosphere. He believes that our packages are built better for smaller businesses, where many of the other places he looked were more geared to corporate businesses. Cornerstone has helped his business grow because of the other people he has met here and also because we help professionalize their agency. Instead of having a home base, we offer a meeting place for business owners and their clients. Addison loves that we have such strong relationships with our members and a unique environment to work in.  We love having Addison as part of our Cornerstone community and are overjoyed that he decided to call Cornerstone home for 98toGo.

One thing he has learned and wants to share with young entrepreneurs, is that you have to make sacrifices to start your own company. Addison shared with us that while he was excited to start this new chapter in his life, he had to think about what he was giving up to do so. The mindset he had was ‘what am I willing to give up to pursue my dreams?’ Most people think about what they are gaining, for example, flexible hours, time with family, being your own boss and setting your own rules. But what helped Addison the most was listing his sacrifices; benefits, taking a paycut in the beginning, vacation time etc. If you look at what you are willing to give up, rather than what you’re gaining, it will make the transition easier.

We are so thankful for Addison and taking time out of his day to let us get to know him better. Addison is an important part of our Cornerstone Community, if you haven’t gotten the chance to meet him, say hi, get to know him better, or maybe even team up with 98toGo. We know he would love that!