Hey Guys, Today i have a young entrepreneur who decided to take his love for yoyo and turn it into a business, this just means you can pretty much find a way in turning your hobby into a business or something profitable.
Enjoy
Hello Mike, How are you doing today?
I’m doing great! I’m getting really close to releasing my company’s new yo-yo the BassBoost for pre-ordering.
Can you please give us some background information about yourself?
I’m a pure-bred entrepreneur through and through, I’ve been into creating money by providing value since I was in my early teens. I’ve been yo-yoing since I was 13 and have now built my company into a yo-yo company.
Tell us about your companies? What inspired you to start them and what do you do there?
I own two companies, the first one I started is called Montgomery Enterprises LLC, its the umbrella to all my other projects. The only thing I do under that name is vending machines, of which I have three around my home town. My main focus is Double-Take Industries, which originally started as a humorous t-shirt company; I recently transitioned it into a yo-yo company by publishing a book on how to yo-yo called Learn to Throw (which is part of a 5 book course I’m still writing) and by manufacturing an aluminium, competition grade yo-yo called the BassBoost. I started DTI because I wanted to make funny shirts and have a way to raise funds to support local causes I believed in, now I use it to support the yo-yoing community.
How did you raise capital for your business?
As a general rule I’ve always used part time employment to raise funds for my projects, however a year into developing DTI I did get an investment from my grandparents to acquire screen printing equipment to reduce costs.
Describe/outline your typical day?
Wake up, shower, eat/drink coffee, get on the computer, check emails, check social sites/forums, read/write blogs, eat lunch, drive to town for errands/work, return home, recheck computer stuff, read 30min-1hr of books, work on DTI, practice yo-yoing for 1-2hrs (usually scattered throughout the day), eat dinner, go to sleep.
Do you have a favourite business tool or resource?
I like reading business books and watching video blogs by Gary Vaynerchuk to get motivated.
How many hours do you work a day on average?
Hard to say, I scatter work and play throughout the day.
What qualities have you developed as a result of running your business?
I’ve gotten very social because of my business, I’ve met a lot of cool people, role models, and mentors. I’ve gotten really good at conveying thoughts concisely and lately have gotten pretty good at teaching others through video blogs.
In your opinion, what is the most important quality an entrepreneur should possess?
An insatiable thirst for knowledge and experience
How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
I market by not marketing. I connect with people on a personal level and get to know them without any intention of ever selling to them (something I’ve learned from the Go-Giver). I use social media to make this easier on me and it’s paying off. If they ask about my business I’ll tell them but for the most part I like to let people find me by word of mouth. Occasionally I’ll use forums to spread the word about a new blog but I never spread the word about something I’m selling in that way, if I go through the trouble of posting to 5 different web forums in hopes of getting views it will be about something that is valuable and free for the viewer.
Do you have any personal experience that has changed your life?
I had an opportunity last year to go on a tour with a handful of entrepreneurs to meet the author of the Go-Giver (Bob Burg) at his event in Florida called Extreme Business Makeover. Because of that I’ve been connected to many amazing people and have learned so much about the power of social media to connect talented people from around the world who otherwise would have no knowledge of each other.
How far are you willing to go to succeed?
Hard question to answer, I do what needs to be done to finish a project.
How do you define success?
To me success is learning from whatever life throws at me, regardless of a project being completed successfully or failing, as long as I learn from the situation and grow because of it; that’s a success in my book.
What advices would like to give to young entrepreneurs starting their business?
Don’t be afraid to ask for help and to work in a group. Learn from those who have achieved something you want to achieve and ignore those who give advice or try to discourage you. Read the Go-Giver, Crush It!, the Four Hr. Work Week, If you think you can, you can!, and Rich Dad Poor Dad and keep an open mind about what you take in. You don’t have to use everything you learn, but definitely take the time and keep an open mind about the information; you CAN and should adapt it to fit your lifestyle. And remember to have fun with it! If you can build a business around your passion you’ll have a hard time losing your motivation to continue.
Thanks for your time Mike
