Name: Jeffrey James Seyferth

Title: CEO

Organisation: The Everlasting LLC

Jeffrey failed as a social network founder in 2010, so he became a writer in 2017. He grabbed his second Big Ten MBA in 2021. He spent 2022 writing his empire-building book: The Species Contract V2: America's Always. 2023 was spent on marketing and empire-building. But now, as a 40-year-old adult, privacy-based American citizen, JEFFREY.MBA is working on his community outreach.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Leadership!

I hope Jeffrey's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as a leader?

The most challenging part is being patient. On the way to achieving the higher-purpose-driven business goals of the organization, leaders must be supportive and inspiring to the troops while waiting for opportunity.

2. How did you become a leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

I first became a leader when I was granted the keys to the kingdom of a 2-story, high-volume restaurant in a Northern Michigan second-home city. I was in my early 20s. I graduated from Michigan State's business school a few months prior when my dad asked, "Do you want to run it?" Once I became the General Manager, I immediately had 40-50 employees depending on me now.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

The CEO of the Everlasting LLC is still a side hustle for me. I still have to make ends meet with a 9-5. I've always considered myself an artist first. This allows me the freedom to be creative while I adapt to the various roles necessary for a solopreneur in the media industry.

4. What's a recent leadership lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of?

I was just reminded of this lesson on #linkedin this morning with a Richard Branson quote, it said, "Clients do not come first. Employees come first."

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?

When I took over The Tuscan Grille in Manistee, MI, my father gave me Danny Meyer's book Setting the Table. Danny Meyer's philosophy of constant, gentle pressure influenced my entire perspective. There needs to be a push towards excellence at all times. I was enlightened to the power of hospitality with that book, it has left its mark on me because I try to bring hospitality into any industry.

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young leader, what would you say to them?

This is the time to be learning and traveling the earth.

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a leader, so far?

The most meaningful moment for a leader was not a moment of triumph, those come and go. The moment for me that I will always remember was when I had to lay off a server because the 2008 Bank Bailouts crushed our restaurant business and the family real estate empire.

When I informed the server of the bad news, he lit into me. He was furious. He may have cursed me and my family. I don't remember because I was so shocked at his passion. I knew he was a former vet with a young family to feed, so I shouldn't have been shocked.

But I was. That's when the fury inside me started to boil. That employee, and millions of others, have had their lives turned upside down through no fault of their own, because of forces out of their control.

That anger and responsibility from the 2008 Bank Bailouts, plus the emberassment I personally felt from that moment I had to break my employee's trust and lay them off, has fueled me to end unemployment.

This blatant unfairness in the system always bothered, but then the economy made it personal. I am hoping this shared vision of revenge against the European Style Banking System can help others make this fight for default job offers personal. Unemployment is the biggest scourge on this planet, and I'm attempting to lead the quick fight against this man-made problem. We have so much work to do!