He listed a strong workforce, good schools, low traffic and affordability as some of the biggest reasons why the Midwest, and specifically Dayton, is one of the best places to own and operate a business.
Connor spoke at a breakfast event at the NCR Country Club from the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce on Friday and answered questions from the audience. He rarely gives public speeches, but talked about business, The Greater Dayton School and his venture into space.
Business
Connor grew The Connor Group from a $400,000 investment from one investor and three apartment buildings in Dayton to what is now more than a $4 billion business with more than 900 investors in 18 markets in the U.S.
He said one of the secrets to his success is investing in the right people.
“To us, it’s about the content of your character and it’s about your personality traits,” Connor said. “Do you have integrity? Do you have ethics? Are you a super high responsibility person?”
Connor said he didn’t have the best grades in high school and went to Ohio University to get an English degree. That didn’t qualify him for the job he has now, he said, but he’s still there.
He said one of the biggest challenges to the Dayton market right now is how it’s marketed.
The city of Austin, he said, did a great job marketing itself and expanded greatly. He said Dayton shouldn’t match Austin, but instead, figure out a different way to show how good it is.
“We just have to be ourselves and let people know who we are and why we’re here and what we have to offer,” Connor said.
Education
The Connor Group - Kids & Community Partners, a foundation started by Connor, is investing heavily in students, from The Greater Dayton School, located downtown off Webster Street, to a nonprofit new to Dayton but established in Chicago, New York City and Boston called Bottom Line which gets kids through college, to strategic relationships with Dayton Children’s Hospital, Cleveland Clinic and the Mayo Clinic.
“We believe, if you been fortunate, you have both the opportunity and the obligation to give back,” he said.
He said he thinks of The Greater Dayton School as a partnership with families, rather than a charity work. The school’s students have already shown tremendous growth in academics and mental health, he said.
“Why education? We care about the future,” Connor said.
Connor said he hopes to see more schools like The Greater Dayton School across the country, and Kids & Community Partners would provide information about what they did and advise any new school.
Space
Connor went to space in April 2022 on AxiomSpace’s first all-private commercial human space flight to the International Space Station (ISS).
He said the training for it was hard, and not the physical part of it.
“I mean honestly, I was lost, first three or four months,” Connor said. “I’ve never felt so dumb in my entire life and I’ve had plenty of opportunities to feel dumb.”
He said the mission was “very successful” and they were able to accomplish “more research in that first week on the station than any other single week in the station’s 23 years.”
Connor said he would say yes to an opportunity to do it again, which he hinted may be upcoming.
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