Michele Malo | Fearless of Failure
1. Give us a brief background of what you do?
I am an Amazon best-selling author, speaker and business expert. I am the master marketing consultant at Your Business Accelerator, where I identify, strategize and advance businesses by breaking down barriers through communication. With 18 years of Fortune 500 corporate experience and five years of being a successful serial entrepreneur I will help accelerate your profits within a year of taking on my program.
As a powerful and polished speaker, I inspire audiences with my personal story and, with proven strategic principles, I guide audiences to a better, more fulfilling life and career. I provide listeners with actionable tools and implements based on extensive research and education, delivered with sincerity, compassion and humour.
I also work within Fortune 500 hospitality companies with my Comestible Marketing Consultants brand, assisting manufacturers, distributors and food service providers to work together strategically to maximize powerful relationships. The result is maximum revenue and profits, along with customer satisfaction throughout the entire supply chain.
2. What is the key thing you want people to know about you?
In everything that I do, my first and foremost priority is to help the human spirit, because nothing matters if your spirit is broken. You will always get me - my true authentic self - dedicated to you and your truth. Everything comes down to mindset, self-confidence and passion. When we are in a good place everything else falls into place, such as our health, relationships and our businesses. My business accelerator program is built to be an accommodating program, adapting the modules as people need it. I believe you cannot force change. You need to be able to actively listen to your client and then only respond with strategies and tactics that are realistic and true to your client’s individual needs.
3. What has the impact of marketing & branding been on your business?
Ever since joining the JT Foxx organization, my business has done a complete 180-degree turn. My education and experience are in branding and marketing strategy, so I know the importance all too well. You can have the best website, best logo, utilize social media etc, but if your message is confusing and not applicable to your target audience, you have nothing. The confused mind will not buy. That was my first lesson; my message needed to be concise and beneficial to the correct market niche. The next lesson is to sometimes let it go - just like in the movie Frozen. I consider myself an expert in marketing, but again, allow knowledgeable people in the industry to take that burden off you and convey your message for you. You now have the time and energy to work on your business and not in it. I did not grow up with social media. Strategically, I know my business needs it, but the implementation needs to be done with folks faster and smarter than me in that field. Again, let it go. Marketing and branding are not an expense, but an investment with a valuable ROI when done properly.
4. What has been the hardest part of being an entrepreneur?
Don’t get me wrong, I would never want to go back to making some boss rich. But, as an entrepreneur you need to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. It is far from 9 to 5 and weekends off. You are on 24/7. I thrive on “different everyday”, but there are days when you wonder “what the hell am I doing.?” Sometimes I wish I had no drive and that I would be ok out digging ditches or working for a manufacturing line. My mind doesn’t work that way. I’m a risk taker. I get bored easily and I love meeting that one person that changed my day, week or life. Again, you just must be ok with being uncomfortable.
5. How important is it to have a business coach & what significant role in change has your coach played in your business journey?
Deciding to hire a coach was the turning point in my entrepreneurial career. I am the first to admit that I can help others, but when it came to my own business, I could not see the forest through the trees. I constantly got caught up in my personal mission, emotions and tactical mindset which kept me from moving my business forward. Plus, it helps to have someone give you tough love and the confidence to put it all on the line and just go for it. Your coach gets you past the fear with an accountability factor that you would not have had going at it alone. You must spend the money, do the work and be ok with being uncomfortable. It’s never going to be perfect. You will never have enough money and you will always have people holding you back. Your coach is your lifeline to strategic accountable, result-driven solutions. Everyone needs a coach.
6. How do you stay motivated and what keeps you going?
I believe networking is everything. That is one of the main reasons why I decided to take over the Intelligent Millionaires Network in Chicago. It is collectively the brightest, friendliest and the most driven group of people I have the honour of doing business with. The key is to have people around you that bring out your best, pick you up when you are down and sometimes just have a laugh with you when the entrepreneurial Gods are messing around. I am inspired by them and, knowing they are in my corner, keeps me going and drives me to be a better version of myself than I was the day prior.
7. What is your favourite quote and explain why?
“What would you do if you knew you would not fail?”
This quote has been my driving inspiration as I decided to quit my high level corporate career and move into the entrepreneurial space, almost 6 years ago. I had this quote taped on my mirror and in my car as I drove to the first day of personal training school. I was a 38-year-old, 220lb woman, who just gave up her career to show people her mess is her message, as she has battled her weight her entire life, dropping hundreds of pounds over the course of her life and is still battling. This quote drove me when I decided that my business model needed to change from an hourly personal trainer to a business and personal coach that helps people with their health, mindset and business strategies, drawing from 18 years of corporate experience and two MBA designations. It continues to inspire me as I pursue to invest in myself. It inspires my coaching and business infrastructure and motivates me to be a world class coach and to be able to speak to thousands of people internationally, helping them in all phases of their lives. The fear of failure is what keeps people from greatness.
8. What is your key to success?
The key to success is gratitude for the smallest of wins. If you only look up when the race is over, you will have missed the people, moments and places that made up all the collective learning and joy of the journey. In entrepreneurship there really is no finish line, just milestones that make us stronger, wiser and determined to chase our dreams.
Get in touch with Michele Malo
Facebook: @michelemaloyourbusinessaccelerator