Encouraging Young Entrepreneurs
John Perrotti is a young entrepreneur. He started his business Mobility Equipment Recyclers when he was 22 years old. You can read more about the company here.
John’s business started online under the name of “Power Chair Replacement Parts” on Ebay.
At first, Mobility Equipment Recyclers was running out of a basement in Jamestown, RI. In 2014, he opened a small storefront in North Kingstown.
In 2016, John moved his company into our current building which is located at 6802 Post Rd. North Kingstown, RI.
Following the opening of our current location, John made the decision to change the name of his business to “Mobility Equipment Recyclers” because it encompasses more of what the company’s capabilities were.
John Perrotti holds core values regarding sustainability. Furthermore, he pushes Mobility Equipment Recyclers to follow eco-friendly practices in order to reduce the amount of waste that comes out of the company.
When it comes to entrepreneurship everybody starts on the same playing field. However, the individuals that are driven, have a thirst for knowledge, and leadership are the ones that succeed. John Perrotti has been able to obtain these attributes through his 6 year venture with Mobility Equipment Recyclers.
Lt. Governor Dan McKee’s Entrepreneurship Challenge (LGEC)
This challenge was created to support high school entrepreneurs as well as encourage students to step out of their comfort zone and attempt to bring their business ideas to life. Winners are chosen by having their sales pitches judged by successful local entrepreneurs.
We at Mobility Equipment Recyclers encourage aspiring young entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams. We believe that LGEC can really help students step outside of their boundaries and hopefully discover hidden talent along the way.
Owner of Mobility Equipment Recyclers, John Perrotti, was chosen to be one of three judges. Alongside Eliana Parada, boss at Las Delicias Bakery in Providence, RI., as well as Elyssa Bouressa, owner of The 401 Studio in Wakefield, RI. at the 2018 Lt. Governor’s Entrepreneur Challenge Finals.
Young Professional of The Year
Backtracking to 2017, at the North Kingstown Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner, John Perrotti was presented with the “Young Professional of the Year” award from the North Kingstown Chamber of Commerce Annual Business Awards.
Gina M. Raimondo gave John Perrotti a “Certificate of Special Recognition” in honor of receiving “Young Professional of the Year”
Jim Langevin
In 2016, John Perrotti received a humbling letter from Member of Congress, Jim Langevin. Stating, “Your unique business model as a social and sustainability venture is admirable.”
Langevin proceeded to say “I commend your work in identifying a market gap and providing refurbished medical equipment at a considerable discount to those in need.”
Congressman, Jim Langevin, Rhode Island, Representative, Mobility Equipment Recyclers
Congressman JIm Langevin, pictured second from the right, is seen here with the staff at Mobility Equipment Recyclers and NK Chamber of Commerce executive director Kristin Urbach.
Thank you Jim Langevin. It is truly an honor to receive such kind words from you about Mobility Equipment Recyclers.
Interview With John Perrotti
I (Tyler, an intern at MER) wanted to get an inside look at what John Perrotti's entrepreneurial journey behind Mobility Equipment Recyclers was like. Check out the interview below. John provides intriguing insight for young and upcoming entrepreneurs.
Tyler: What are some of the most memorable obstacles that led you to where you are now?
John Perrotti: Well, there were a million obstacles that I remember. I have never had any corporate experience and one of the hardest things was to learn how to run a business without any corporate experience.
I had to learn all of the organizational structures and categories within your business such as, marketing, sales, customer relations, admins, etc.
Another struggle was figuring out how all of the equipment works and how to properly refurbish our equipment.
Tyler: Did you ever doubt yourself while starting your business?
John Perrotti: Taking the risk of starting a business is a struggle in itself. For starters, you have public ridicule. By that I mean you have your friends doubting you and that always sticks around in the back of your head.
Think about jumping off of a ledge into water. You calculated everything and hundreds of people have done it before but, the second you get up there you can’t do it. You get scared and have all of these doubts. It’s the same thing as running a business. Once you get past that initial fear and take the leap of faith, eventually you will land and come up to a fresh breath of air.
Tyler: To get to where you are now, are you self taught?
John Perrotti: As an entrepreneur you can learn from teachers, professors, mentors, etc.
But, most importantly you have to teach yourself. I’ve spent thousands of hours reading, watching, and teaching myself. Also trying something and realizing it doesn’t work.
You can’t teach things like that so sometimes you have to find it within yourself to implement your learning and your ideas.
You can teach someone a million different things. However, if they don’t want to be doing the work for themselves, then there is no way for that person to succeed otherwise.
Tyler: What kind of culture do you want to establish for your company?
John Perrotti: I want to instill intrinsic value and self ownership of your work. I don’t want you to come in here and hate your job.
Everyone that works here has value and provides direct contribution to the growth of this company. I want to make sure that as we grow, everyone that works here feels like they have a place of value as if we were a small company.
Tyler: What is your vision for the future of Mobility Equipment Recyclers?
John Perrotti: You have to take everything day by day. Do everything you can for today but, also have solace that there is always tomorrow.
Down the road, we would love to have multiple locations and help from the government. If Medicare is buying mobility and medical equipment, people are paying full price. I want to help people that need this equipment get access to it for prices that are affordable.
I want to make sure that we are established here to ensure that we are ready prior to taking steps forward.
Tyler: What does sustainability mean for you and Mobility Equipment Recyclers?
John Perrotti: I went to a climate change convention (COP16) in Costa Rica, at that convention I learned a lot about sustainability and climate change. This trip really made me realize that I want to make a positive impact on this earth.
The little things make a big difference for instance, using Eco-friendly cleaning products, recycling boxes, recycling metal, etc. all of that contributes to the greater goal.
When you see a country that relies so much on the environment you see how much we all rely on the environment.
Most people say “I am one person, what can I do?” however, if the mindset was, “I am one person that is contributing to a collective effort.” Then all of our perceptions on sustainability would be very different.
