Starting a business is never easy. There are sacrifices you must make to become successful, and entrepreneur Connor Miller knows it all too well. At just twenty-five years old, Miller is the co-founder of one of the highest growth companies in Jacksonville with his father, ArdentX. Here’s his story.
Connor grew up in a comfortable home, playing baseball in his spare time in high school all seemed to be going well for the young athlete. His life took a turn for the worst after having injured his shoulder and requiring surgery. With no future plans of ever returning back to baseball, Miller began experimenting with prescription pain medicine.
Connor’s drug use escalated, and he soon found himself an addict. For four years, Miller was in and out of jail, homeless, and broke. After attending rehab more than five times, Connor finally became clean. His next obstacle? Finding a job.
Struggling to find a source of income, Connor was forced into working for his father in the transportation and warehouse industry. Here, Miller recognized the potential for something bigger, “All I wanted to do was grow the company to create more opportunity for everyone involved,” he says. Connor did exactly that, ArdentX went from $30 million in annual revenue to $140 million.
Miller recognized quickly how other business practices were working and knew what he needed to do to be better. While others focused only on innovation and tech, Connor turned ArdentX’s focus to giving clients the best service they possibly can, “I saw the outdated way that a lot of his competitors were doing business at that time and made a conscious decision to improve our model,” Miller says.
Spending the rest of his twenties focusing on ArdentX, Connor Miller sacrificed his weekends to advance in his career. “I spent my entire twenties in build mode. All my friends went out on vacations and partied on the weekend while I worked. That’s why I’m here. There’s no secret. Just work,” he says. Today, Connor is a successful entrepreneur, husband, and father. Miller will continue to expand ArdentX, ramping up the warehousing side of his business. His long term goals include plans to open up a school, “A school where subjects like math and science are offered as electives while subjects like financial education, communication, and other soft skills are taught as core curriculum,” Miller says. Keep up with Connor and follow his Instagram, @realconnormiler.
