Today we’d like to introduce you to JP Liesenfeld.
Hi JP, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My name is JP Liesenfeld and I have had an interesting life! I went to school in Richfield Minnesota & NE Minneapolis. I graduated from Brown College with a Radio & Television Degree. I have been working as an on-air personality now for 28 years. I have worked for Zone 105, Drive 105, KDWB, KRAD, and I’m currently on the air at 93X in Minnesota. I have been in sales and management for most of my life now as well. I currently am the General Manager of Furnish Office & Home in Minneapolis, which is a non-profit and resells high end office furniture at a fraction of the normal retail price. I did start a non-profit organization called One Love Brigade in 2014 with my friend Sam Bahr. One Love Brigade is now the largest Bicycle Charity in the Caribbean. We have delivered 1000’s of bicycles, also walkers, wheelchairs, and we are currently building a school in Alma Jamaica that was destroyed by the recent hurricane. One Love Brigade has also delivered 1000’s of bags of food and sanitary items across Jamaica. It has been life changing in so many ways I can’t even explain.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road lol! I remember being homeless when I was 18 and living in my Ford Tauras, and I remember saying to myself, I have to make it. I started working odd jobs like carpet cleaning, retail gigs, working as a club DJ, and eventually ended up in radio as a DJ. I then was fired from radio for mostly format changes, and ended up taking a job selling cars for the Luther family. I made 6 figures and my life started changing! I ended up managing several retail stores and then started the non-profit One Love Brigade. One Love Brigade has been the hardest thing in my life, but also the most fulfilling thing in my life. One Love Brigade has really helped me with my life as when I started it, nobody would help me. It taught me to be patient, but it also taught me how to not give up, and to keep pushing. Over the past 12 years everything has changed. We now have a ton of supporters and sponsors. We raffle off 10 Jamaican Vacations every October to help fund our mission. We ship 40 foot containers every year from Minnesota to Jamaica. Each container is loaded with so many different items and the contents help us change lives across Jamaica. In Jamaica essentially nothing works lol! You have to take everything you have known about business and throw it out the window. I’m now so much better at dealing with things as I know it’s OK when something doesn’t work. I have learned to accept that and keep going forward in life, and in business!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I currently am the General Manager of Furnish Office & Home which is an enterprise of the non-profit Emerge Community Development. I left corporate America as I was focused on changing lives as I worked. I was previously the General Manager of Scandinavian Designs in Roseville Minnesota. I took Furnish Office and Home from making $400,000 a year to over $1,500,000 and we should clear $2,000,000 very soon! I love working for a non-profit as I know the revenue from this helps change lives locally. I love to train sales teams, and to build teams of people who demand success. I thrive off winning. I think my life experience from growing up with nothing to being successful in many different ways has been amazing. I also think that in life we are always brought up to be rich with money. I figured out that you can be rich with money or rich on the inside. I know you can buy a Mercedes, but you can’t buy the feeling of being rich inside. We have less then 100 years in life, and I know I have to make my life count. It’s why I started One Love Brigade. No amount of money could ever replace the way I feel, so money now comes naturally but it’s not my life or what is most important to me.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I want to thank my wife Sarah who is also my best friend. Sarah has pushed me, and yelled at me when I’m wild. I want to thank Mrs. Yvonne Redmond Brown my teacher in 7th grade at Richfield High School who taught me I control everything that happens to me by the choices I make. I also want to thank Brad Knutson who was the GM at Luther Nissan Kia who helped me understand business and I looked up to because he demanded success! I also want to thank Sam Bahr my good friend who started One Love Brigade with me and has supported me for over 20 years. I feel very blessed!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.onelovebrigade.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onelovebrigade
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onelovebrigade
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jp-liesenfeld-92a13167
