ST. GEORGE —From a 20-year drug and alcohol addiction to a multi-million-dollar business owner, a St. George man felt inspired to use his own life experiences to coach others into entrepreneurial success.
CEO, author and podcast host Jefferson Rogers told St. George News how his addictions led him to a pit of darkness that caused suffering for both him and his family. At the lowest point in his life, he was inspired by a coaching program, where he used the ups and downs of his own journey to create a program, podcast and live events that teach entrepreneurs the tools and foundation necessary to accomplish their dreams.
Rogers said his addiction to alcohol and drugs came at a very young age and that it stemmed from a lack of parental direction. He said the first beer he ever drank was out of his dad’s cooler on a job site when he was only 10 years old, around the same time his parents also separated. He started partying with his friends around the age of 13 and smoked marijuana for the first time at 14. He said both his parents worked long hours and that he and his siblings were left to fend for themselves.
Rogers said in high school, he lived full time with his father, a firefighter who worked 24-hour shifts in Las Vegas. He said with no parental supervision, he constantly threw big parties at his house with friends. As he began college in his 20s, his drug and alcohol abuse continued to escalate, controlling his life and becoming the focus of all his energy. He said he would leave school early so he could drink or smoke marijuana or not leave his house at all due to the symptoms of a hangover.
In 2008, Rogers said he decided to go to school in Arizona, 400 miles away from St. George, in an effort to escape his current circle of friends and his routine. He said he was scared to make the move and struggled with feeling homesick when he arrived. Because he lacked the necessary self-discipline, Rogers said he fell in with the same type of crowd he had back home. By 2017, his drug and alcohol abuse had escalated to an all-time high, and Rogers found himself partying with friends who had large amounts of money to spend on alcohol and illegal drugs. He was going to clubs and pool parties — and doing cocaine.
“It got to the same point where I didn’t know how I was going to change without removing myself from the situation completely,” Rogers said.
In hopes of creating a change by eliminating this toxic lifestyle, Rogers said he and his wife Shandell McDaniel Rogers decided to move back to Utah. He said things did not get better after the move and that in September of 2017, while at a celebration for his brother’s anniversary, he hit an all-time low. During this celebration, Rogers said he got into a verbal fight with his wife and a physical altercation with a man in a parking lot, where he headbutted the man and drove off in the vehicle that his entire family had arrived at the event in together.
He ran from the security officers and the car was impounded. With plans to drive everyone to his son’s birthday the following morning, they instead had to take the kids in an Uber. He said that during the party he was so hungover, he slept on a bench the entire time and that the entire experience was humiliating for both him and his family.
“There was a lot of low points and a lot of stories that came from the alcohol abuse,” Rogers said. “That was one of the most memorable ones because it was the last one.”
Two months after that experience, Rogers said he was scrolling through Facebook when an ad came up for a mentor program by Grant Cardone. A pinnacle of success after overcoming addiction, Rogers said Cardon’s story really resonated with him. In the video ad, Cordone said he was going to mentor a certain amount of people until an upcoming event and that this mentorship program was $1,100. After checking his bank account, he saw that the account balance was $1,100, so he called his wife.
“I asked her if she trusted me because I was about to spend our last $1,100 on this mentor program, but I felt it was going to help me and I knew I needed to make a change,” said Rogers, adding that his wife, who has always been incredibly supportive, gave him the OK to spend the money and join the program.
Rogers said the last night he ever drank and smoked marijuana was with his little brother. They stayed up all night and drank whiskey, beer and wine, then they smoked all the marijuana left at the house. He said it was a long ride home and he remembered being very unkind and ignorant towards his wife. He said the following morning, a familiar feeling of shame and guilt crept in when he remembered some of the things he had said and done.
For the first time ever, Rogers said he admitted to his wife he had a problem. He said he wanted to do something about it and was going to need her help. He also told her he was scared and didn’t know if the change even was possible.
“There was something about finally saying it out loud and making that commitment to her that stuck, finally,” Rogers said. “That was Jan. 8, 2018. I haven’t had a drink or smoked since that day.”
In March 2018, two months after the start of his sobriety, Rogers said he started his business, channeling his addictive energy on a new, more productive habit of work and personal development. He said that his business, JKR Windows, did $1.2 million in sales in 2018, $2.2 million in 2019, $10.4 million in 2020, $14.4 million in 2021 and is on track for $15-20 million in 2022.
Rogers said during the pandemic, instead of retreating as many companies did, he chose to push forward harder than ever. He said many people, including employees of JKR Windows, asked if his business was going to close or the employees would need to be laid off.
“Most people used it as an excuse to go backward, but we worked harder and longer and did more training, talked to more people than we ever had before,” Rogers said. “We were going to keep expanding while everyone else was contracting.”
Rogers said he held an emergency meeting on March 17, 2020, and told employees the company was going to do the exact opposite of what everyone else was doing. He said that month, JKR Windows had the best sales month since the inception of the business and that they broke a new sales record every single month for the rest of the year.
Driven and motivated by the people aspect of the business, Rogers said he loved the mentoring and coaching he was able to do and the success stories that came from members of his team. Rogers said he spent a significant amount of money on additional consulting and mentor programs over a four-year period during which he was coached on how to become a mentor to others. He was able to solidify principles and philosophies he had developed for himself and reiterate them back to others through his own methodology.
Rogers said he stays on track by using consistency, discipline and routine. As an example, he said on an average day, he wakes up at 4:14 a.m., is at the gym by 5 a.m. and is back home by 7 a.m.. He then straps on his recovery boots, takes out a book he’s reading, then journals and writes in his goals for the day. After that, he spends time with his girls before school and starts his work calls at 9 a.m. Rogers said at 6 p.m., his alarm labeled “Quality time with family,” goes off and he puts his phone away for the rest of the evening, dedicating his time to his wife and three kids in order to be as present as possible.
“It’s not just talking about the things I want everyone else to do, it’s me living and embodying these things for myself,” Rogers said.
Rogers said there is a power in keeping little promises to yourself. He said as he was overcoming addictions, bad habits and destructive behaviors, little by little he started developing the ability to keep those promises and learned how to repeat them.
“Those little promises that no one else knows about except for you, start a streak of keeping those promises and watch how the confidence starts to build and the extra things you’re able to accomplish in your life because of that momentum,” Rogers said.
On Sept. 21-22, Rogers will host an event called ALL IN, The Ultimate Commitment to Success, at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City. Rogers said this event is geared towards “Couplepranuers,” entrepreneur couples who either have a business together or one person runs a business while the other serves in a supportive role.
For more information on Jefferson Rogers, his ALL IN podcast and upcoming events, click here.
If you or someone you know suffers from addiction, help is available. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration offers a national helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or TTY: 1-800-487-4889. This is a confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental and/or substance use disorders. Visit the online treatment locator or send your zipcode via text message: 435748 (HELP4U) to find help near you.
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