Nick Romano, the President of New England Technology Inc. (NETi) has an exemplifying history and a rich work experience in the wholesale & retail industry. With unparalleled skills in negotiation, sales, and extensive market research, Nick brings massive value to the organization and its customers. He leads the organization from the front and serves as an example for others to look up to and be inspired by. Under his leadership, NETi has achieved some major business breakthroughs and today stands as the most competitively priced distributor for name brand consumer electronics in the industry.
Driven by Nick’s realistic leadership, NETi offers several innovative distribution models designed to perfectly suit retailer requirements and programs. With its focus mainly on price-driven success it offers specialized solutions in e-commerce, Business to Business, and Business to Consumer marketplaces. It has offices in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, and Florida and is powered by a team committed to serve customers of all sizes. Known for quality products, competitive pricing, and its innate ability to act quickly, NETi caters the wholesale markets for excess inventories, closeouts, and opportunity buying. It is not only an existing supplier at almost all major brick-and-mortar retail stores in the US but also casinos, corporate promotions, and giveaway-type platforms. Unique in many ways, NETi shares an amazing relationship with its retailer customers as it also manages full retail strategy for select brands from end to end.
Below Nick shared some key insights about his leadership style and why he thinks the best defense is a good offense.
Aspioneer (A): How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?
Nick (N): “I’m a planner- I like to prepare before putting time into an idea. Most ideas that pass the first days or so of due diligence will be a long-term effort. I guess I have a threshold for this question- I will work on an idea for a few days- if it pans out, I will likely work on that idea for minimum 1.5 years or until it becomes self-sustainable.”
(A): How do you stay productive?
(N): “Staying productive is a funny thing for me. Although it sounds counterintuitive, I stay productive by taking breaks. If I feel bogged down or slow, I walk away. Taking breaks keeps me energized and stay fresh on projects. Hence, we give all our employees nearly full autonomy for breaks, vacation time, work schedules, etc. I’ve seen multiple studies showing the average employee is only “productive” for three hours per day. If we take 2 or 3 breaks to refresh during the “workday” I find these productivity hours to be significantly higher.”
“Physical activity is crucial. I’ve been training Jiu-Jitsu for about 6 years and find it to be an incredible stress release. I also enjoy going to the gym, running, and meditation to be great stress releasers.”
(A): How do you manage stress?
(N): “Physical activity is crucial. I’ve been training Jiu-Jitsu for about 6 years and find it to be an incredible stress release. I also enjoy going to the gym, running, and meditation to be great stress releasers.”
(A): How do you organize your time? Which are the Top 5 mobile apps that make your work more effective?
(N): “I try my best to schedule “Time blocks” on my calendar. The distractions are endless in the work atmosphere these days. Blocking off time to exclusively dedicate resources to a specific focus is very effective in organizing time. I also always try to remind myself of the value of time- what is the task at hand worth. Only spending time on high-value activities with high probability outcomes can maximize efficiency and your return on time. I rely on apps like Monday.com, Outlook, Podcast App, Audible, and my Calendar to stay on top of my schedule.”
(A): What do you do on a daily basis to grow as a leader?
(N): “My number 1 is setting goals. I have goals for everything. Home, Family, Work, Health, Giving, etc. I have also found organizations such as YPO and GoBundance (member of both) to be a huge growing point for me as a leader. Putting myself in the rooms with extremely talented people has pushed me to levels in leadership I certainly would not see outside of these groups.”
(A): What are your top 3 websites/blogs that you can’t imagine your day without?
(N): “My main resource for blogs is Podcasts. I enjoy “The All In Podcast”, “The Indicator”, “Planet Money”, “Ted Radio Hour”, “Hidden Brain”, just to name a few! I also subscribe to the Federal Reserve, SBA, and SEC email lists for good genuine content straight from the source.”
(A): What mindsets helped make you successful?
(N): “Many answers to this: “Overconfidence is the enemy”, “Only the paranoid survives,” “Ego is the enemy” all come to mind for mindset. If you can’t tell from the phases, I’m very risk-averse. I really believe defense is the best offense and if we play it smart and don’t make major mistakes, we will be ok.”
(A): Do you have a mantra?
(N): “I strategically change my Mantra while goal setting every year. 2020 was “Slow down, go deep. 2021 was “Think before you leap”. TBD for 2022.”
(A): What’s next for you?
(N): “I haven’t started yet 😊.”
