BYU Communications Alum Jon Fischer Discusses the Nonlinear Path of the Professional World and the Importance of Staying True to Who You Are and What You Love To Do
According to Jon Fischer, a career rarely follows a straight line. Over the past three decades, the BYU School of Communications graduate has worked in public relations, finance, strategy, real estate and franchise development, helping lead major national brands like Wetzel’s Pretzels, Papa Murphy’s Pizza and Payless ShoeSource.
“I always like to think of my career as an adventure,” Fischer said. “I never knew what I was going to do next.”
In Fischer’s most recent role, he served as chief development officer for Wetzel’s Pretzels, the second-largest pretzel and lemonade franchise concept in the United States. In his role, he oversaw nationwide real estate development and franchise growth.
Before joining Wetzel’s, Fischer served as vice president of development for Papa Murphy’s and vice president of real estate for Payless ShoeSource. Fischer’s resume reflects a combination of skills he traces back to his education at BYU, where he earned both a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations and an MBA.
“When I started school, I wanted to be a doctor,” Fischer said. “After my mission, I realized I liked talking to people, I liked writing and I hated blood and guts. Public relations became a perfect fit for me.”
Fischer credits BYU’s College of Fine Arts and Communications with helping him develop the communication skills that later aided his success in corporate leadership.
“Strategy, writing, influencing — it just all felt really perfect for what I wanted to do,” Fischer said. “A lot of finance people cannot communicate, or there are real estate people who do not have that communications backbone. I built those things together and that was a huge part of my success.”
Now, after years in executive leadership, Fischer is retiring to pursue a different avenue of communication. His next step is becoming a full-time novelist.
“Back in college, I did a lot of writing,” Fischer said. “I thought it would be nice to write a novel someday.”
That dream stayed with him during his years at Papa Murphy’s as he traveled between the Pacific Northwest and Southeastern markets. During travel or after long workdays, Fischer began writing.
“I would get to the hotel and instead of watching TV, when I was done with all the work I could do, I would start writing this book,” Fischer said. “No outline, nothing. I just started writing.”
Fischer’s writing evolved into a young adult science fiction trilogy. By 2020, Fischer had completed “Alpine Tide” — the first novel in his series.
Now, Fischer is preparing to devote himself fully to writing. Last summer, he and his wife, Miriam, decided he would retire early from the corporate world to pursue more creative work.
“I told my boss I would be retiring in May,” Fischer said. “I am going to continue to put out new books and new content as well. I want to explore book signings, try to get my book places, go to writing conferences and actually put my full effort into creative writing.”
Fischer looks to BYU for inspiration in his creative writing, believing that its education provides the foundation for successful authors.
“It is interesting how many writers BYU has produced when you think about it,” Fischer said. “Brandon Sanderson and Stephanie Meyer both graduated from BYU, and BYU is kind of a mecca for fiction writers. I want to join that group.”
Fischer said BYU helped shape the way he approaches leadership and relationships in the professional world.
“I think BYU sets the foundation that your career and your spiritual life do not have to be separate things,” Fischer said. “That does not mean you are a missionary at work, but it means you are a good example. It means you serve people. It means that you are able to empathize with people.”
As he prepares for the next chapter of his career, Fischer hopes current students will not abandon creative ambitions simply because the path seems uncertain.
“What makes the world great is that we have so much variety,” Fischer said. “Not everybody should do the same thing.”
His advice to students is to remain flexible, stay faithful and keep moving forward.
“Make a plan. Know that it is going to change, know that you are going to pivot,” Fischer said. “As long as the most important thing is staying faithful to the things that you know are true, you can trust that God will lead you in the right direction.”