The Chinese speak of the age of 42 as “the year of transition.” According to that aphorism, serial entrepreneur Jon Hazman (“haze-man”) is right on schedule. He’s the new Market Director for Baltimore’s Accelerent executive network, and he accepted his new position with the organization right about the time he was blowing out the candles on his 42nd birthday cake.
Hazman had already owned, managed and sold a series of successful businesses, including Porter Dialysis Centers, Towson Radiology and Access Center, The Virtual Physical Centers, Apex Premium Finance and others. But he found that serving on boards, even with “angel investor” groups that supported small but well intentioned entrepreneurial initiatives, wasn’t enough to keep him excited about waking up every day to face a new challenge.
“I love business,” Hazman says. “Meeting new people, helping them achieve their goals, live their dreams. Maybe it sounds corny, but every morning I wake up and look forward to sharing that energy with people who are ready to make the most of every day.”
Corny? Maybe. Sincere? Certainly, and that comes across in spades when Hazman starts ticking off the reasons he’s so turned on by his latest venture as head of the Baltimore Accelerent team.
“I like self-made people,” he says. “With Accelerent, I get to be the ‘chief facilitator’ for hundreds of people with a whole lot in common. And the most common ingredient that everyone shares is their belief that they can make things happen.”
As Market Director, Hazman spends his days spreading the word that relationships – not networking, not high pressure sales techniques, and no, not just having a better mousetrap – are the key to business success. With Accelerent membership as the catalyst, Hazman coordinates numerous breakfasts, lunches, dinners and other get-to-know-your-peers events (some that don’t involve food!) so that the “mover and shaker” partners of the organization can build trust with each other while sharing what they do and how they do it.
The net result is that while Accelerent partners don’t necessarily become each other’s customers, they often turn into trusted referral sources, informal advisors and yes, friends.
“The bottom line is still the bottom line, though,” according to Hazman. “Clearly, Accelerent does a good job of generating new business for its partners.”
“Just ask them.”
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