Great businesses and great teams have more in common than you might think. ⚽️💡

Edwardsville CEO traded the classroom for the turf this morning with a visit to Elite FT and The Sports Academy,
where Owner Justin McMillian, gave our students a firsthand look at entrepreneurship, leadership, and what it takes to build something that lasts.

Justin shared his entrepreneurial journey — including the successes, challenges, changes, and lessons that have come with growing a business.

And one message continues to rise to the top:

RELATIONSHIPS ARE EVERYTHING.

Whether you're building a business or building a team, success starts with PEOPLE.

⚽️ Surround yourself with great people— then trust and empower them.

⚽️ Never underestimate the little things. Responsibility, communication, accountability, hard work, and integrity matter.

⚽️ Be ready to adapt. Change is inevitable, and successful entrepreneurs learn how to adjust and keep moving forward.

⚽️ Take care of people. Build genuine relationships, treat others well, and don't approach every relationship by asking what you can get from it.

⚽️ Be resilient. Entrepreneurship comes with incredible opportunities, but it also requires the willingness to keep showing up when things don't go according to plan.

Then it was time to put a few of those lessons into action! 😅

Our students hit the turf for some awesome soccer team-building activities that required them to communicate, compete, encourage one another, work together…and have a whole lot of fun doing it.

Because whether you're on the field or building a business:

Talent matters. Strategy matters. But PEOPLE make the team.⚽️🤝

A huge THANK YOU to Justin for once again investing his time in our students, sharing his story so openly, and giving Edwardsville CEO another memorable morning of learning (and sweating! 😂).

#EdwardsvilleCEO #CommunityIsOurClassroom #CEOWOW #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #TeamBuilding