Hi there. Mike Monroe here. I’ve been a small business owner since before I was old enough to drink. I absolutely love the challenge of building businesses that…
(A) Impact people
(B) Provide financial abundance, so the owner can do more of (A)
(C) Permit a lifestyle where the owner can be the best version of themselves.
Unfortunately for many years as an owner, I was NOT the best version of myself. In fact, I got so fed up with living-to-work that I totally re-engineered my business, my life, and myself. Now I’m happily married, following God, and have the time to play sports (poorly), watch HOUSE OF CARDS (frequently), and follow Boston teams (fanatically). The process has been so effective that I created a website — TheInvisibleBoss.com — that helps owners diagnose the challenges of their business and level-up their life. Think WEB MD of small business, without constant fear of dying.
I met Gary Shouldis on Linked-In two-and-a-half years ago. Minus the fact that he’s a New York sports fan, I loved everything about him: his attitude, his writing, and his superpower to run 19 businesses with 4 kids, a wife, and a heavy travel schedule. When he approached me about doing a podcast together, I had to think about it… for exactly three seconds.
My goal for the SBX podcast is to hang out with my friend and help people do more of (A) (B) and (C) above through the wonderful world of audio.
Hey, Gary Shouldis here from The Small Business Playbook. I’ve been a business owner for over a decade and have made just about every business mistake you can think of, many of them multiple times just to make sure I really learned my lesson. I’m also the founder of 3Bug media, a web marketing company and run my own ecommerce store as well Caly’s Kitchen, a gluten free bake shop. What do I love about having my own business?
(A) Being responsible for my own destiny
(B) Having the time and freedom to do the things I love
(C) Being able to build something that provides real value to the world
Of course, starting your own business is not all cupcakes and skyrockets. It can, and often is, a long road full of potholes and detours that can easily make you want to turn around and head back to where you came from. When I first started out, I was pretty bad at most things a business owner needs to be good at. I made tons of mistakes, a few that almost brought the whole house of cards down, but fortunately I persevered and pulled through it. While I still have moments of struggle, I’ve learned so much about what it is to be a business owner. That’s why I started The Small Business Playbook, to share everything I’ve learned and every mistake I’ve made with other business owners so they have one less pothole to hit on that bumpy road to success.
When I first met Mike Monroe a few years ago on Linkedin, I thought, “Wow, this guy’s really nice…is he gonna try and sell me something?” I find that Mike and I shared a passion for a lot of the same things, minus our choice of sport teams, and have the same desire to help small business owners. Mike’s enthusiasm for everything is contagious and when I needed a wing-man to help launch this podcast, he was the only choice.
My goal for the SBX podcast is to have a good time and deliver real, actionable advice for other small business owners so they can build an awesome business that compliments their awesome life.
You can find me or Twitter or on Google Plus.