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NEXT-GEN RETAILING I BY JONATHAN HENDRIX CLIMBING THE MI LADDER
“C limbing the lad- der” is a phrase that’s commonly used within the workplace, regardless of the industry. I’ve found that most people need to see a path for professional growth and opportunity within their ca- reer, and the most ambitious tend to have aspirations of climbing the proverbial ladder within their busi- ness. This can look different from industry to industry and business to business, but the concept is ac- tively present in the vast majority of work environments. So, if you’re interested in step- ping onto the next rung of your company’s preverbial ladder, here are three ways I’ve managed to work my way from a part-time sales associate to COO of Spicer’s Music in Auburn, Alabama, in just seven years. Hopefully, this will assist you in climbing yours. 1. I GAVE MAXIMUM EFFORT FROM DAY ONE. If you’re not willing to give your all in the lowest position of your business, why should anyone expect you to at the highest? I started on the very bottom rung of our business, but I treated it like the top rung. A trap that I see many with great potential fall into is feeling that certain tasks or roles are beneath them. If you truly want to be a leader, no task or role should be be- neath you and you should give
play a larger role within our business, I made sure to make my intentions known, but I didn’t press in a way that cre- ated any kind of unhealthy pres- sure or accelerated growth that the business was not currently prepared to facilitate. I did my best to live in the moment and not rush. Whatever role I was in, I was solely focused on doing the absolute best job within that role that I could. By trusting in the process, I was able to demonstrate stability and show that I truly valued the roles that I was in at the time. I was never perfect at this, and I certainly still am not today. My feet slipped on the rungs plenty of times, but I kept my focus and I stayed true to who I was and who I felt the business needed me to be in the moment. When I look back on the last seven years, starting as a part-time sales associate to now the COO of Spicer’s Music, these are the top three practical pieces of advice I could offer that I could look back on and know how greatly they impacted my professional trajectory. The last piece of advice that I will give is this: enjoy the climb! The journey truly is just as im- portant as the destination. MI Jonathan Hendrix is the COO of Spicer’s Music in Auburn, Alabama. When he’s not running the day-to-day operations of the store, he’s usually behind his grill or his P bass.
“I started on the very bottom rung of our business, but I treated it like the top rung.”
each of them your full effort. This is key to defining and dis- playing your work ethic to your superiors and it demonstrates how it will translate when pro- moted to higher level positions within your business. 2. I ASKED HOW I COULD HELP. It really was as simple as it sounds. If it was slow around the shop and I had completed all of my tasks for the day, I would knock on our owner’s office and
ask how I could help or if there was anything I could take off of his plate. I expressed my desire to shoulder more weight and make the best use of my time. This is another indicator to your superiors and those you work with that you are eager and prepared to do what it takes to help the business succeed and grow in a larger capacity. 3. I WAS PATIENT. As eager as I was to climb and
JULY 2025 I MUSIC INC. I 21
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