Posted Under: Business, Planning, Small Business, Startup

Last week, I had the opportunity to speak with Mike Michalowicz (pronounced Mi-Cow-Low-Witz) the man behind the “Toilet Paper Entrepreneur” movement. And I didn’t miss to ask him for a video interview so that I could share all the wealth with my entrepreneur friends here… Obviously, he said yes and here I’m with his video and text interview… Hope you all like it and learn from it (just like I did)!!

Before we get into the interview, here is Mike’s Bio:
Mike is the Author of the fame book ‘Toilet Paper Entrepreneur’, a graduate of Inc. & MIT’s “Birthing of Giants” Entrepreneurial Program. He has received multiple entrepreneurship awards, including the SBA’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Mike is a recurring guest on CNBC’s The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, ABC News, Fox News and other television programs. He has also been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, US News & World Report, National Public Radio (NPR), the New York Times, and other publications.

With his newest multi-million dollar venture, Obsidian Launch, he fosters startup businesses with his “get rich right” approach.

Mike is a frequent guest lecturer for entrepreneurial groups and professional business groups throughout the world. Mike is also a guest lecturer for collegiate entrepreneurial programs such as Babson, Boston College, Columbia, Emerson, Harvard, Penn State, Pepperdine and Princeton.

His complete Bio at http://www.toiletpaperentrepreneur.com/author/index.php

Get a copy of Toilet Paper Entrepreneur at Amazon

Here’s the interview:

OR
Scroll down to read the text interview.

–Text Interview–

Devesh: Mike, Tell us a little about you and TPE… By the way, what the heck is a Toilet Paper Entrepreneur? Why do you use that term? I mean, what’s up with all the bathroom humor?

Mike Michalowicz: Toilet Paper Entrepreneur is someone who is a scrapper and innovator. TPE is the new term for bootstrapping. Bootstrapping was about squeezing the most out of what you had… getting a lot done with very little. TPE takes it to the next level…. TPEs get a lot done with very little AND they are big time innovators. They take unexpected resources and get the job done with it. The funny thing is TPE is not that much about bathroom humor, it just that the core analogy is about the bathroom experience… you see, it is the most core human experience we have all been through. Every one has been stuck with just 3 sheets, yet no one gives up… they innovate, they root through the trash, they come out successful. To be a truly successful entrepreneur, you need to do the same. You need to recognize the entrepreneurial world will keep throwing you the proverbial three sheets, and you need to innovate and scrap to survive. And if you do, you will ultimately thrive.

Devesh: Mike, you’re one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the nation, I’d love to hear more about your entrepreneurial aspirations. Were you ever in a 9 to 5 job and if yes, how did you break out of the 9to5 jail?

Mike Michalowicz: Most successful!?!? I don’t know about that. But I do feel extremely successful because I love, I mean truly love, what I do… and I think I am helping a lot of people and that matters to me most. For me, my aspirations are clear. I intend to be a integral leader of the TPE movement (yes, TPE is about many, many leaders), and have the movement grow to a million strong. This means people who consider themselves TPEs and are proudful of that approach to business. Plus, I want the 1 million people to all become millionaires through their business. That is the ultimate dream for me, and I won’t stop until it happens.

Yes I did the 9 to 5 once. It was a lesson in bureacracy, ass kissing and forms. It was the anthesis of who I am. I so appreciate the lesson, since it showed me exactly what I don’t want. Break out? I don’t think I ever was in. It was just incongruent with who I was… so emotionally I was never there.

Devesh: Is it smart to start a business right now, you know the economy isn’t so hot, we are in recession, investors are tight fisted?

Mike Michalowicz: It is the best time to start a business right now, since all your competition is afraid to start. Don’t get me wrong, it will be hard and you will have to work your ass off… but that is true regardless of the economic times.

Devesh: What is the dumbest decision an entrepreneur can make?

Mike Michalowicz: To try to get rich quick. If you are doing something just for the quick money, the competitor who is doing it because it is their passion, will kick your ass into Sunday. The irony, is if you do what you love… you ultimately make the most money at it. So follow your heart, not the quick cash.

Devesh: What would be the 5 action steps you would suggest to aspiring entrepreneurs?

Mike Michalowicz: First, listen to your heart not your “logic”. If you have always wanted to be flying airplanes, then why the hell are you an accountant. If you want something, you need to start moving toward it.

Second, the earlier you start the more you will succeed. I don’t care if you are 18 or 80… if you wait another stinking day, will will have cut one more day out of your success potential. It is a shame that so many of us keep waiting for the right time, months and months turn into years and years. The right time is NOW, it will never be perfect, so stop waiting and start… NOW…. like right now!

Third, don’t listen to the experts. This sounds bizarre because I am talking about anyone in a position of expertise, including myself. The answers are within us. I mean, no one knows what will make us happy as much as ourselves. So don’t listen to the “logic” or “experience” of the experts, if it doesn’t completely resonate with you, with your gut, with your heart. BUT, if an expert, including me, shares knowledge and it clicks… I mean really clicks with your heart… then this new knowledge is something you need to jump on and run with.

Fourth, to be a failure you actually need to fail. This pisses me off big time. So many “entrepreneurs” reach out to me and say that they failed. They say that they wanted to make the leap, but couldn’t. They wanted to start their own business, but were overwhelmed with all the challenges. To me that is bullshit. You need to earn the badge of failure. To fail you need to actually do something to your fullest, with all the eggs in one basket, and til the very end. If it doesn’t work then, OK you failed. I’ll give you that. And then you go start the next thing. Anything short of that is simply a “I didn’t really try” NOT a failure.

Fifth, it all boils down to action. Doers succeed. Thinkers… well they just sit still. I am not saying you shouldn’t think. Actually you better think a lot, but you MUST back that with immediate action. Entrepreneurship is about constantly taking risks. And that requires action. Tons and tons of action. So stop reading, stop thinking, stop listening… and take a big step toward building your business. Take action NOW!!!!

–Finish–

Good luck and stay tuned for more exciting blog posts and interviews to come…