We were lucky to catch up with Markie Harris recently and have shared our conversation below.
Markie, we’ve been so fortunate to work with so many incredible folks and one common thread we have seen is that those who have built amazing lives for themselves are also often the folks who are most generous. Where do you think your generosity comes from?
I had a very good life growing up. I never really had to worry much, but my parents never let me forget where our families came from. My mom grew up in a small farm town doing whatever it took to help her family and my dad came from Polish immigrants and always instilled in me the hard work and sacrifice our families had to have what I had. They taught me that no matter where a person came from we all deserve a shot.
After college I found myself pregnant and broke, to be completely honest. I had to go to the government and get help because I couldn’t survive on my own. I was ashamed and embarrassed. I was working and doing everything I could and it just wasn’t enough. At that moment I decided I never wanted to be in this position again and I wanted to do so well that I could actually help others beyond myself. Today I look back at that time and think how many of these people are just like I was – people that have so much potential but are stuck – and want to help them out of that.
Today, my husband and I have a charity farm in Haiti that supports a community of over 30,000 people. We brought water to the town with some additional help from charitable friends. My husband and I have donated over $2.25 million to charities that promote literacy and provide drug education, as well as the local Tampa charity the Miracles Foundation that helps adolescent girls who have been human trafficked get back on their feet. I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon because if we just change one person’s life, it will have been enough for us.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Hive started in 2009 with just one employee, a secondhand van, and an idea to change the way people thought about home audio-video technology. Now Hive is thriving. We’re one of the premier providers of all kinds of home automation technology in Tampa Bay, including home theaters, AV, lighting control, home security, and window treatments. And more importantly, we integrate it to work together seamlessly.
We’re proud of our stellar ratings among previous clients and hold a 4.9 star average out of nearly a thousand reviews. We’re also proud of our team and the culture of positivity that helps us deliver above and beyond what’s expected.
As the president of Hive, I’m responsible for the day to day operations alongside my husband, Jeff Harris, who founded Hive. I’m excited about our growth. We’re opening a beautiful new showroom featuring all of the smart home technology that Hive offers, and are expanding out to North Carolina as well.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The most impactful thing in my journey was actually when I took a course on learning how to learn. It sounds elementary and silly for an adult, but it changed my trajectory. I went my whole life barely learning anything, and I was also diagnosed with various learning disabilities which set me back even further as I thought I could not be helped.
When I did this course, I learned a few simple basic principles of what needs to be true every time you study something, which made a huge impact. My IQ went up almost 30 points and I am fully confident I could take on any endeavor in life and succeed at it.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
When I feel overwhelmed there is one single thing I do every time: I go to my to-do list, write everything down I need to get done, and then start tackling them. I usually start with a couple easy tasks so I get a win, which lowers my stress, then move back onto the bigger ones.
I also look to my team and people around me. There are usually others that can pitch in and help if there is an emergency, and we can get it done faster and better as a team. Then I’ve also noticed that some people continually cause or make problems in life. They’re not worth having around or on the team. Even though this may sound harsh, I have to protect myself and my team no matter what. I have learned the hard way that letting one bad seed stay on the team isn’t worth it most of the time. It can cost you your most valuable players.
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