LD Staff Writer
We want you to know more about our wonderful people (the lifeblood of our business), so we’re continuing an Employee Spotlight series to share a more personal side of LongerDays!
We asked a series of questions and decided to share the best answers for all the world to see.
Today’s Employee Spotlight is Colton Hall!
1. What is your name?
Colton Troy Hall (known affectionately as Coltronwm9k)
2. What is your job title?
Team Lead – Virtual Business Professional
3. How long have you worked for LongerDays?
About 2.5 years
4. Hometown? Where do you live now?
Muskegon, MI, baby! I grew up just outside of North Muskegon, technically called Muskegon Charter Township. Currently I live in the Skee, downtown. It’s where my heart is.
5. Inhabitants at your residence (this includes pets, oh and any family members or roommates!)
I have a roommate/best friend named Sam Faino. He’s been a buddy since we were little kids, and now we rock it out together in the Temple House (residents of the house also include Mikey Olsen and Mike Schertenlieb. Past residents include Rob Rop). I also have a black cat named Dennis, a.k.a. King Geedorah. He’s a space lizard with an agenda.
6. What is one piece of advice you have for someone who is just starting at LongerDays?
The best advice I can give is to make it happen for yourself. The moment you feel like you don’t know enough, or you aren’t equipped, push past it, and do the job because you have to get it done.
Don’t allow yourself to stop, because if someone else can figure it out, so can you!
7. Tell us about your background before joining LongerDays.
Before LD I was pretty much just an entitled kid without direction. I found myself getting into trouble with the law. Twice, I landed myself in jail.
I remember, after getting in trouble the second time and being fired from my job, I felt this intense sense of urgency. I knew that if I didn’t start making serious moves in the right direction, I’d be lost.
The stars aligned for me and I was asked to come into the office and help during a time that LD was understaffed and overworked. I knew nothing about working as a virtual assistant.
My experience prior to LD was service industry jobs and physical labor. I would have told you that I didn’t know jack about computers. To this day, I believe that what made me successful here is simply the fact that I needed it.
I didn’t have the option to suck at the job, otherwise I’d be unemployed and stuck in “the system.” I needed to have a reputable job to show to the courts, and most of all, I needed to prove to myself that I was capable.
During my troubled times, it was too easy to believe the lie that I wasn’t meant to accomplish much. LD helped me pull out of that, and inspired me to believe that as long as I was willing to put in the effort, I’d be capable of anything.
8. What is one thing you learned your first month (or year) at LongerDays?
I have always been organized, in a way. I grew up with meticulous parents and learned how to pay attention to detail on a personal level. Working at LongerDays very quickly taught me the importance of paying attention to detail on a professional level.
We often jump to conclusions without focusing on the present details. Sometimes all it takes to solve a problem is to slow down, focus, read everything, and pay attention to detail.
9. What is one thing you have learned that you didn’t know before working at LongerDays?
A phrase I started to like a lot during my first few months of working at LD is “Act Like You Know.” It sticks out in my mind because of an old Eminem song, linked here.
The lyric is “So stop that bullshit flow – Yo, you need to come with the real skills, and act like you know.”
Sure, it’s a cool line, but I applied the idea of “acting like you know” to my job, and to all of life. You may not be trained or have gone to school for something, but that doesn’t mean that you should limit yourself by saying you’re not capable.
Sometimes all it takes is the confidence in yourself to say “I CAN do this,” and going into the task with the “act like you know” attitude. You may surprise yourself!
10. Share your favorite memory of working at LongerDays.
It’s almost impossible to choose. I could go on for hours about my memories working here. This place has changed my life undoubtedly for the better. All that said, I used to go on lunch breaks with an old employee, Megan Miller. She taught me a lot about working at LongerDays, and I think guided me through a really transformative time in my life.
I was lucky to have made that friend, and I’ll always be thankful for that connection that began here at LD.
11. What are your Top Three life highlights so far?
1. Climbing rocks, spelunking, and white water rafting in West Virginia
2. Moving into the Temple House
3. Working at LongerDays (meeting the people here, and finding my place in the downtown community)
12. What is your favorite thing to do in Muskegon?
My favorite place on earth is Naked Beach, right out by The Blockhouse in North Muskegon. My favorite thing to do is probably spending all day out there with my people. We are your friendly local dune rats.
13. What was the last really great book you read? Why?
House Of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski is incredible. It changed my perspective on life, and it was one of the most entertaining, engrossing, confusing, and satisfying experiences reading that book. I highly recommend you challenge yourself to finish it!
I also want to mention The Way of The Peaceful Warrior by Dan Harmon. That book helped shape my attitude today.
14. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Somewhere tropical, a big city, or maybe somewhere in the mountains of West Virginia. I plan on seeing more of the world before I decide where I want to live. I am hoping that I can find an opportunity to keep traveling once I am in Hawaii.
I have always wanted to have adventures like this, and I finally feel like it is the right time to leave home.
15. What excites you so much that it keeps you awake the night before?
The new adventure awaiting me in Hawaii. I have always felt like I should travel, but like I said before, my youth was pretty directionless, and I never knew where to start. A new passion for life has been ignited in me, and I am ready to ride this wave wherever it goes.
I have always loved climbing things and extreme sports. My dream right now is to find a job as a guide of sorts, whether it be on climbing expos, white water rafting, bouldering, or anything!
I wouldn’t be the person I am, or have the confidence that I have if it weren’t for LongerDays. The people I’ve met here and the skills I’ve learned seriously helped turn my life around.
I am excited about my future, and I am ready to embrace whatever lies ahead. May the plot forever thicken! Thanks for reading. I love you guys.
Want to learn more?
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