Meet Jonathan King-Cretot | Founder & CEO | English Language Guide | Professor of Global Studies

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jonathan King-Cretot and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jonathan, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Starting KingCretot Experience wasn’t a hard decision, it ultimately came down to timing, which I believe I was still a bit off on. I grew curious watching my husband teach French, brilliantly, across several different online platforms, putting in hours of planning and being paid pennies on the dollar, while receiving glowing accolades from all of his students. Meanwhile, I also taught English as a second language while attending to my full-time duties as a professor of global studies at Marist College. My husband and I would commonly discuss the challenges our language students faced and would brainstorm solutions. These moments that we spent together discussing the problems and possible solutions encouraged me to get the ball moving so that we could grow our own base of language learners using a methodology that has been tested and proven to work while being able to generate an income that commensurates our experiences and efforts. In addition, our larger picture would not only include other revenue streams such as travel opportunities but the awesome ability to create jobs for others around the world who are able to share their language and culture as a combined experience.

Taking this risk seemed obvious to us – to be able to enjoy, with passion, what we do best and earn a living doing it.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I would like to think that I am a kind of unicorn. The different careers I have had have introduced me to some very wonderful human beings, moved me in directions I never imagined, and challenged me in ways I never imagined being challenged.

There has been nothing easy about my journey, quite the contrary. As an African-American who identifies as Jewish and Gay and also married to an immigrant, I have had my share of “life” thus far. Academically, I earned a BA in International Studies from St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY, during this time I studied abroad in Caen, France – a region in Normandy. after working a short period in an entry-level position with a major university, I was promoted to Director of Strategic Alliances and Partnerships for the International division. After 9 years I decided to resign and become a full-time student, in 2014 I earned an MBA in International Business. Shortly after graduation, I relocated from Florida to Northern California where I worked as a Director of Development for an international NGO, during this time I mentored undergraduate business students at California State University at Chico. A couple of years later, I migrated to southern California to the wonderful oceanside city of Vista. While in Vista, I started a PhD program in Business Leadership, continued to mentor graduate students at San Diego State University, and for four years worked on a federally funded project on Human Trafficking Prevention. My direct role was to identify men/boys and those who identified on the LGBTQ+ spectrum who may be victims or survivors of trafficking, with this data I was able to drive community resources, design educational tools, and train community members. After leaving California, we ended up in Phoenix, Arizona where I taught Adult Basic Education at Rio Salado Community College and English as a Second Language, and substituted in middle and high schools. In 2019, we relocated back to the east coast closer to my family in New York state. During this time I was offered an opportunity to teach at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York, where I continue to teach today through an online course model, from my home in Florida.

Some lessons I learned along the way were:
1. Never give up – you’ll never know if you don’t try and see it all the way through
2. Learn to fully trust yourself – you are your own best advocate
3. A positive mindset attracts the right people at the right time.
4. Don’t be afraid of “no” – embrace it and learn how to turn it into a yes
5. Lastly, love what you do – if you don’t you’ll only find issues with what you do.

The world should know that there are a lot of online language training platforms out there, and most of them are truly doing great work helping people learn to speak a foreign language. Learning to speak a foreign language is only part of the package however, most of these agencies fail to share that understanding culture and having confidence ties into this package and develops a more well-rounded, competent, and ready human who is unafraid to travel the world and navigate their own lives – in addition, we teach language that people can use today, in real-world events and scenarios. The world needs to know that KingCretot Experience will change the way people learn and experience languages and culture as a combined experience.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We live in a very interesting area of DeSoto County on the SW Coast of Florida near the Gulf of Mexico. Our little town is known for a plethora of antique shops, wonderful nature trails with fossil-finding expeditions, and most importantly the farmers. I would spend time with my friend exploring nature, something many don’t get the opportunity to do today as they are busy attending to life in cities. We can visit the Amish farmers and pick strawberries and blueberries, we can go horseback riding, visit the rescue animal sanctuary and even attend a rodeo.

Being on the SW Coast, it is great to visit the scenic and beautiful beaches from Naples all the way to St. Petersburgh, which we will do. Exploring little towns along the way and finding trinkets that are only possible from these locations.

Of course, we will have to take an airboat or bike ride through the Everglades National Park and try some alligator nuggets.

If we feel like getting touristy we could go to Disney World and say hello to Minnie and Micky and then head over to Kennedy Space Station at Cape Canaveral to see if a rocket is taking off.

If time permits, we could always check out Florida from the water, which is the best view in my opinion, and cruise in either West Palm Beach, Miami, or Fort Lauderdale. All of them provide wonderful scenic views of the intercostal and coast.

As a backup, you can never go wrong checking out the Florida Keys – this could be a week-long trip all by itself.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Bootstrapping a business is not an easy task, especially amid rising inflation and other societal and growing global concerns. Having this idea and being the brains behind each department has been a very challenging and difficult experience however, it has also been rewarding due to the short list of very competent and qualified mentors.

Dr. Colleen Robb, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at Florida Gulf Coast University has been instrumental in helping me with developing strategy and understanding the entrepreneurial mindset.

My husband, Fabrice King-Cretot, has been vital in the understanding of delivering the French curriculum and designing the French program.

My grandfather, Retired Chief Master Sergent, US Airforce, has been dedicated to the financial health of our organization and as a former union president at Xerox, he has been able to provide some wonderful business tips.

CEO and founder of Microacquire, Andrew Gazdecki has been a silent cheerleader, often motivating me in ways that he is unaware of.

Website: www.kingcretot.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/experiencekingcretot/

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/kingcretotexperience

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KingcretotE

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KingCretotExperience

Image Credits
Jonathan King-Cretot Fabrice King-Cretot