About John Hewitt
In a September 2020 video, John Hewitt discussed his personal commitment to inclusion and diversity initiatives at Matrix Service Company. He stated that the topic "has to be led from the top" and that he feels "personally invested and engaged" in it. Hewitt described the company's first "Day of Understanding" on February 25, 2020, as an event where employees can share experiences related to harassment or bias, and he said he believes creating an inclusive environment is "the only way we're going to make a change in society." He also said that diversity brings "really great ideas" to the workplace and that every employee should have an opportunity "not because of how they look or what the race is but because they earned their spot."
In a 2016 interview, Hewitt discussed his career building tax preparation businesses, including Liberty Tax Service. He said he has "brought in over 5,000 franchisees" who have hired "over 50,000 employees." Hewitt described his approach to business as managing "income and structure" in sync, and said he has "built several billion-dollar companies" by balancing the two. He also stated that his current focuses are on Liberty Tax and on fighting world hunger, noting that he has "founded three world hunger organizations" and that the most recent effort aims to stop starvation in Nicaragua by working "one country at a time."
Source: AI-verified profile updated from John Hewitt's recent appearances.
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Transcript (15 segments)
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Narrator0:00
John Hewitt built a tax prep empire, but things didn't start that way. The beginnings were small, there were missteps and mistakes. He writes about the lessons, and 'I Compete: My Extraordinary Strategy for Winning Can Be Yours.' The founder and CEO of Liberty Tax Service joins us this morning.
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John Hewitt0:18
Hi John, good morning Mary.
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Host0:20
All right, you've got plenty to do with your time, so why did you write this book?
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John Hewitt0:26
You know, I feel that I'm just excited to change people's lives. I want to help people. It's a compulsion of mine. I think that I've been able to help, for example, in my franchise career. I've brought in over 5,000 franchisees, and they've hired over 50,000 employees. So I've changed a lot of people's lives, but I want to reach out and make an even bigger change in the world.
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Host0:59
What do you consider when you think of the word 'winning' or this idea in application? What does it look like?
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John Hewitt1:06
Well, I think as some great man said, 'Winning isn't everything, winning is the only thing.' I feel that when you get out on the court, when you are in the heat of the battle, your job is to give everything and to seize the day and to win.
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Host1:26
In your book, you describe mistakes as a wise person's education. If you look back on some of the doozies professionally for you, what did you learn from those mistakes?
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John Hewitt1:39
You know, I learned that in building a business, you have to manage two things and keep them in sync: you have to have income, and you have to have structure underneath that. If you build your customer base and your income too quickly without the suitable structure, then you'll collapse because you won't be offering good service. And if you build your structure too fast without building your income, then you'll go bankrupt. I've built several billion-dollar companies, and I've done it very successfully because I've been able, most of the time, to manage the income versus the expense.
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Host2:23
Has anybody given you the best advice? I mean, where you feel like some of that stuff maybe it's intuition, some of it you're getting really great guidance. So has there been anybody for you in your life that you would point to and give a lot of the credit for keeping you on the right track, keeping your mind clear?
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John Hewitt2:42
You know, 25 years ago I was on the finance committee at my church. I would hear all the sermons that you need to give time and you need to give your resources, and that's what God expects from you. I went to the chairman of the finance committee and said, 'I'm sorry that I'm traveling a lot, I can't make every meeting.' He said, 'You go do what you do best, you make money. You contribute enough that that for any five people's efforts.' That same day, this sermon was on the talent story, and I learned that we all have different blessings by God, and we have to use our own talent. That's the biggest lesson I've learned: use your talent, focus on what you're good at, and give back.
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Host3:34
We have less than a minute, but I am curious about the initiative that you're most involved with right now. Where are you spending your most time? Where's that point of pride?
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John Hewitt3:44
You know, I just have two focuses: on Liberty Tax and on saving lives in world hunger. I've founded three world hunger organizations, and the last one we have a novel approach in that we're going to go one country at a time. The country we picked first is Nicaragua, and we're focusing on stopping starvation in Nicaragua.
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Host4:09
That's awesome. It really is. 'I Compete: My Extraordinary Strategy for Winning Can Be Yours.' That's the name of the book, and it's available where books are sold. John, thank you for joining us today.
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John Hewitt4:20
Thank you, Mary. Have a great day.
