With passion and purpose combined, it is not impossible to succeed at something that you want to do, especially if it is meant for the greater good. And for Jim Moseley, seeing where he is today just proves that it is indeed a perfect combination.
Jim Moseley is the founder and CEO of Sun Fire Defense. Ever since he was young, he has always been fascinated with technology and wanted to pursue entrepreneurship. But aside from these two, he is also very passionate about music and performing.
He has a doctorate degree in Political Science and also pursued his love for music by mastering how to play the trombone and performing with some world-famous musicians like Frank Sinatra, Frank Sinatra Jr, and Roger Williams among others.
Despite his flourishing musical career, he did not stop dreaming to be a successful entrepreneur. Instead, he started working with Mass Mutual before starting his own insurance company in the following years. Called The Moseley Group, his team focused on helping high-profile clients protect their assets.
Later on, he founded Sun FireDefense as he wanted to achieve more as an entrepreneur and make a difference by providing the best and innovative solutions to customers. Building the company, he sought help from seasoned professionals who are considered experts in the fields of aerospace and fighting wildfires. From there, they formed a team to work towards addressing the growing serious problem with wildfires taking away life and properties especially in the Western region of the United States.
One significant product that Jim and his team have created in the past is an innovative coating that is developed using NASA’s technology which protects space shuttles from extreme heat whenever they re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere. When applied on a surface, the coating prevents fire from igniting and spreading.
With the company’s continuous endeavor to develop fire prevention technologies, Jim has been recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal, giving him the Innovation of the Year award for public safety.
How did you start in the industry?
I’ve always dreamed to become a successful entrepreneur. On top of that, I would like to create products that can potentially put an end to people’s problems.
Living in the West, I’ve witnessed wildfires taking lives and properties just like that. It’s always sad knowing that people can lose a lifetime’s worth of savings because of such a disaster but it’s even worse because our brave wildland firefighters may die while trying to save us and our homes. Recognizing that these things can happen every year, I’ve decided to take part in finding a solution to this problem.
What makes you happy about your job?
Looking at the bigger picture, it’s more than being able to pursue my passion. Yes, it feels awesome to be able to start something that I never thought I could but it’s even better being able to fulfill the purpose of helping a lot of people along the way.
What motivates you?
The occurrence of wildfires has been a long-standing problem in the Western US. As long as they keep destroying properties and lives, we will not stop until we get the best solution for this. Because despite nature being unstoppable, we can find ways to mitigate its effects on our lives and our properties.
How do you motivate the people around you?
My family is very supportive of me. In the same way, I show my support to the people around me, especially to the people I work with. I make sure to acknowledge efforts being done, I assign people in areas where I know they excel and always remind them how helpful they are not only to me but to the community that we are in.
What is one difficulty that you have encountered and how did you overcome it?
There will always be people who will doubt you and will say that you can’t do it. It’s whether you’ll let them decide for you or prove them wrong.
Instead of giving up on my dream, what I did is to take it as a challenge and made sure that I find the right people who will help me turn new and brilliant ideas into life.
What do you consider as your greatest achievement?
For me, my greatest achievement is building a business that will have a long-lasting impact on society. I am very much happy about it because starting my entrepreneurial journey means helping more people as well.
What roles did passion and purpose play in your life?
Entrepreneurship has always been one of my passions. But finding my purpose as an entrepreneur totally made the difference. When we decided to create products that will help defend lives and properties from wildfires, everything we do make sense. Because once you understand the reason why you do things, it will serve as the strong driving force that will guide you in making future decisions and moving closer to reach your goals.
Where do you draw your inspiration from?
I draw inspiration from my family, especially my children. They are the first people who believed in what I can do and stood by me no matter what. In return and because of my love for them, I want to protect them from harm in the best way that I can.
What advice would you like to give aspiring entrepreneurs?
If you want to succeed as an entrepreneur, find and hold on to your purpose. Because a purpose-driven entrepreneur understands his customers and does his best to make an impact in their lives in the most unique way possible. Moreover, to have lasting success, your topmost priority must be to become a great source of help to people, especially your local community.
What is one of the greatest life lessons you’ve learned so far?
I’ve learned that passion alone is not enough to help us get through life. Aside from pursuing what we love, it is very important to find our purpose too because it helps us understand ourselves more and answer most of our ‘whys’. Doing what you love the most while being able to fulfill your purpose gives more meaning to your life. And that for me, is a life well spent.