Jerry Jacobs, President of Asset Management, really doesn’t want to talk about business lessons learned in this series. Rather, he would start with life lessons learned. After all, business is part of his life, but he had to learn new priorities. He readily admits that he’s a devout Christian and his business is no longer his top priority.

Jerry, a building developer in Northern Virginia for 35 years and a corporate asset manager for the last several, was once a multimillionaire, with a second home in Palm Beach. He was consumed by his business, putting it before everything else and nearly forgetting the other critical aspects of a happy and successful life. Closing deals and making lots of money were his primary, perhaps only, goals. He would rather conduct business than watch his son play baseball. At church, he was known for the amount of money he placed in the collection plate. He brought home the bacon, but something was missing from his life, even if he didn’t know it.

Then Jerry lost his multimillionaire status when the economy soured in the late ‘80s. He re-established his priorities and he’s a happy person. Now it’s God first, family next, then business. He believes that when you prioritize that way, everything else falls nicely into place. "All the money in the world can’t buy you happiness. You must have inner peace," he says. Unlike before, he now would prefer to watch his daughter dance than to spend that time in his office.

Here’s the lesson learned that Jerry Jacobs would pass along. Set your life’s priorities, not just business priorities. Your business, or what you do for a living, is part of your life. So you need first to set a priority for your life. He learned that, while business is very important in providing for your family, it isn’t everything. He quotes the old adage, "Sometimes you must step back and smell the roses."

Jerry says if you have an abundance, you should give back whatever, whenever you can. He supports Joe Gibbs’ Youth for Tomorrow and Habitat for Humanity, sponsors two children overseas, lends a sympathetic ear, and has sung in the choir of Manassas Assembly of God.

Asset Management is growing at a rapid but controlled rate. Once a home-based business, it is now housed in a pair of 100-year-old buildings at 12841 Fitzwater Drive. In fact, Asset Management received the NBA’s 2001 Beautification Award for their remodeling. Jerry has 14 employees and expects to hire several more by the end of the year. He, his wife Shari, two sons (both of whom work for him) and daughter reside in Nokesville.

(March 2002)