Isaac Mashman

Isaac Mashman is a businessman, author, coffee addict, creator, podcast host, private investor, and speaker. Born in Jacksonville, Florida to a lower-income, single-parent household Isaac spent his first 18 years seeing what problems can come with a lack of money and more importantly a lack of healthy beliefs in self and of the world. A stellar student consistently at the top of his class, he was bound for college and was close to receiving a full-ride scholarship. During his senior year, however, Isaac discovered the
idea of entrepreneurship. Enamored by the ability to dictate how much money you made, the freedom to travel and work from anywhere, and the other benefits that came with it, in a last-minute decision, he decided not to go the traditional route and jumped headfirst into business.

Getting his start in the industry of network marketing, Mashman joined 3 different companies, 4 different times before realizing that he wanted more control over his day-to-day operations and executive decisions. Although he never made much money from his time in the industry, he attributes a lot of what he learned and his current way of thinking to it. Following his departure, some time traveling, and nearly a dozen various business ideas, in 2020 Isaac launched his public relations firm Mashman Ventures, which specializes in helping create, maintain, and scale unrivaled personal brands for people who want to be followed, in demand, and respected. This is the business that stuck with him and the one he knew could be his vehicle for future ambitions.

Understanding that obscurity is often the enemy of success, Isaac wanted to ensure that people would be able to find out more about him, and connect with who he is as a person and as a leader. He has hosted and co-hosted several podcasts, most notably Chase the Vision with Isaac Mashman, centering around business and education. It ended in the summer of 2022 surpassing 100 episodes. Isaac is currently in the process
of launching a new podcast in 2023 with a slight pivot, expecting to merge the niches of celebrities, business, and entertainment.

On November 1st, 2021 Isaac self-published his first book Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence which went on to become the #1 new release in Public Relations on Amazon as well as a top 10 PR best-seller. When asked to summarize the book’s intention, Isaac wanted his readers to understand what their personal brand is, and why they should be consciously building it. A way to raise awareness and expand their thinking on the subject.

In January 2022 Isaac Mashman launched two new companies, Mashman Investments and Mashman Properties within one week of each other. Mashman Investments engages in acquisitions, equity ownership, and other financial contracts, allowing for his real estate-related transactions to fall underneath Mashman Properties. These are the first three businesses under the Mashman umbrella, with many more to come in the future. Isaac’s driving “purpose” if you so call it, is to live up to his potential in all areas of life. Personally and professionally, relating to outer relationships and to self-talk, financially and spiritually, emotionally and mentally, and so on and so forth. This can be seen in his interactions with the people he connects with face-to-face and the audience he’s built online.

What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?

I am not one of these business guys that gets up at 5 o’clock in the morning, runs a marathon, and then takes a cold plunge, although I do incorporate aspects of that into my life. On my typical day, I wake up and always start out with coffee. I currently have 6 different ways of brewing a cup and am looking to invest in some more. If I don’t have any calls scheduled, I find myself working on my laptop in various places around the house such as the reading area, couch, or occasionally at cafes. I have found that forcing myself to be in a “cubicle” or at my desk I am less productive.

I am also a huge believer in getting outdoors and enjoying nature so on my breaks I will go outside and take a few minutes to recoup. This is also how I prefer my exercise. Gyms are great for equipment and such, but nothing beats a walk with a weighted vest and a good podcast. Although it is easy to get overstimulated with technology, social media, and notifications when I can I will do two things at once, such as taking a shower and meditating, working out, listening to personal development, integrating content creation into my workday, etc.

How do you bring ideas to life?

As it pertains to bringing ideas to life I am a chaotic creative and organize my ideas in notes on my phone, in my project manager ClickUp, and on various whiteboards around my home. Organization was something that I struggled with for the longest time but have since learned to embrace it. The more moving parts you have in your business and life, the more difficult it will be to just “wing it”. There’s a fine balance between preparation, obsession, and execution.

I measure my ideas based on their ROI and how they fit into what I have going on and where my focus is at the time. For example, I had the idea of creating a text community for my company last year but knew that it wouldn’t make sense to launch it until 2023. In between the time I had the idea and executed on it, I filled in gaps with marketing, got more systems in place, and our company became even more clear on its offering. I didn’t wait until perfection, but I did wait until I could devote time to it and it made more sense.

What’s one trend that excites you?

Artificial Intelligence! I am by no means someone who is deep into the AI space and spends hours studying it, and nor did I ever think I would care enough to bring it up in an interview, but with the rise of ChatGPT and its competitors, I really see its use cases. As a matter of fact, I have used it to revise my blog articles, do research, and I am encouraging my clients to use it when brainstorming content ideas.

There is a reasonable amount of concern on the subject, but I don’t think we are heading to a Terminator outcome, but rather a world that is deeply integrated with AI. A much smarter civilization and people. Learning how to effectively use AI will save us so much time and may be the trend that propels us forward technologically.

What is one habit that helps you be productive?

My business is heavily aligned with my personal brand and social media, and creating content has been a challenge in the past. This is why I created what I call the “Creator Mindset”. This mindset is a way of viewing content creation. Rather than looking at it as something that takes up time, I have gotten into the habit of creating content as I am living my life. I mentioned this a few questions ago.

For example, if I am out for dinner I may take a photo at the table. If I am preparing for a call, I’ll record a quick update for my stories. Feeling particularly inspired? Rather than waiting until I am home in the office, I’ll take out my phone and press record. People are ultimately following you for you and these bits of content connect you with your audience, Content can either connect, educate, entertain, or motivate. If you are good, it will do all four.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Live in the moment more. I had a bad tendency of disassociating from reality, getting into my thoughts, and just not be present. I can think of several instances where I could have maxed out my trips and conversations all the more if I had been more grounded rather than in my head.

Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you.

We can have it all. If you are in the self-development space then you will likely agree with me here, but I look back at how people in my family and earlier friend groups behaved and believed. They thought that what they had or could have was conditional on them losing something else. They could be rich, but not have a family. They could be healthy, but not eat well. They could have their dream job, but no time. The fact is, we can have it all if we get past our limiting beliefs and our tendencies of making up excuses.

What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?

Cold showers. At the beginning of the interview, I said I don’t wake up at 5 am and do cold plunges, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the cold and take cold showers. There are a lot of reasons why they are great, from releasing endorphins to improving your willpower and promoting muscle recovery. If you have never taken one, start small. Take a hot shower like you normally do, then switch the water to cold before you get out. Stay under the water for a few seconds and each day increase the time. It won’t necessarily be easy or something you look forward to, but you will come to appreciate how you feel after the fact.

When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?

Escape to nature and take a walk! As you can probably tell by now, I enjoy being outside and I have found the best form of meditation is in walking. I find sitting still at times to be challenging, so instead, I get on my workout clothes and take a stroll. Given, you may be in a large city and not have direct access to forests or beaches, however, you can still find a local park or nice part of town you can walk in. Depending on how stressed I am, my walk may be a few minutes or a few hours but I have never come back from one and felt worse.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?

By intentionally growing my personal brand I have pushed open so many doors and expedited my successes. Let me preface this with a brief training. There is a difference between your personal brand and your business’ brand. One is you and one is your company. For example, my public relations firm is Mashman Ventures, which has its own social media profiles, website, brand awareness, and meaning to the name. By being the founder I can leverage my personal brand and personal following to drive business to whatever I am pushing for at the time.

I would encourage everyone reading this to get serious about scaling their personal brand! It’s as simple as getting on multiple social media platforms, creating content regarding your interests and business/career, and being willing to get in front of more people.

What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?

Something I failed to do early on was protect myself with legal red tape. By red tape, I am referring to contracts, disclaimers, and policies. This is a step most people don’t like to take, myself included and my lack of action left me and my companies vulnerable. Today I take the time to have clients over a certain amount sign contracts, interested parties sign NDAs, and we disclose policies on the firm’s website. By taking these steps you protect yourself, your employees, and your clients, and is something I can’t express the importance of enough.

What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?

You can start consulting on a subject you’re knowledgeable in as early as today! More and more people are looking for ways to make money and work from home, and becoming a consultant is one such business that typically has a low overhead and a large upside. If you are doing something as a career, you likely have enough expertise to charge outside of your 9-to-5 too. Be aware of the risks involved, but start at a price-per-consult (not hourly) model and work your way up!

What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?

I briefly mentioned it earlier, but ClickUp has been a game-changer for me and my organization. It allows us to sort and assign tasks, communicate internally, track time, set deadlines and goals, and see the things we need to do from a macro view. In 2022 we were struggling trying to keep everything organized and visualize our work, but ClickUp has solved that problem.

What is the best $100 you recently spent?

My favorite cigars! I particularly love everything from the Padron and Perdomo brands. I occasionally enjoy a celebratory cigar when I close a client, get a feature, or have had an extraordinarily productive day. These are times that allow me to relax, reflect, and recharge.

Do you have a favorite book or podcast from which you’ve received much value?

I’ll answer both! I love The Ed Mylett Show as Ed is one of my favorite “virtual” mentors. He’s a family-oriented man, has ethics and morals in business and life, and asks questions with a childlike curiosity. I’ve probably listened to at least 80% of his interviews and he doesn’t limit his podcast to business people. He’s brought on athletes, comedians, and doctors, which results in diverse conversations.

As for my favorite book, it is one that I have started to read and am not nearly finished with, called The Power of Will by Frank Channing Haddock. Published in 1907, it talks about willpower as an energy, a force you can use and leverage. It precedes a lot of new thought books we study today and is a hidden gem!

What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?

I just got done rewatching The Lord of The Rings Trilogy by Peter Jackson. I know the movies may not adhere 100% to Tolkien’s writing, but I have so many great memories associated with them. The musical score by Howard Shore is impeccable and I love everything about the films. I’d recommend taking the extra few hours to watch the extended versions. There are some important details that they cut from the theatrical version and they really expand on the story.

Key learnings:

• Focus on growing your personal brand! You can leverage your name and reputation to grow your business and career, and by making it easier for opportunities to seek you out.
• Find strategies and tools that can save you time in your work such as AI and ClickUp.
• Be aware of what helps you remain calm and stay focused! This may be going for walks in nature or working at random places.
• It has been my absolute pleasure talking with you and thank you to the Ideamensch team for featuring me in their interview series!