One word: Grit.
Mr. Isaacson has lead successful entrepreneurial ventures for over 20 years including launching a specialty beverage company called Glacier Ridge, which he sold 5 years later as well as expanding Melitta Coffee into the U.S. Market as the Strategy and Marketing Officer.
Mr. Isaacson has been an active member of a national entrepreneurial group which now has over 10,000 members, and is the global thought leader on entrepreneurship, where he’s connected with many business leaders who are leading innovation and growth companies.
Mr. Isaacson has a passion for changing the current healthcare model through personalized solutions to each individual, versus the “Sick Care” focus that healthcare has become. Marc is a platinum member of the JJ Virgin Health Collaborative; an active member of Michael Fishman’s “Healthcare Summit”; and more . Marc founded “The Essentials of Healthy Living” radio show in the DC market, which has become a trusted weekly radio show interviewing best-selling authors and leading health practitioners from around the world. Marc has a B.S. in Business Management from Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York.
Where did the idea for Village Green Apothecary and IQYou come from?
It came because I run an integrative pharmacy and have been doing integrative health for years and have been unable to help people to the degree, cost, and expertise I wanted to give to other doctors and practitioners and assessments at 10 percent of the cost.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
I try to work out each day, power myself with good food and nutrients and I keep a calendar of priorities and have a virtual office wherever I need it. In this virtual age, I work some every single day and at least 10-12 per day at least 6 days per week.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I come home with ideas and share with my staff and key people, people in my network, and test ideas on them and I also test my ideas out on my wife, Gail, who has always been my biggest supporter.
What’s one trend that really excites you?
Personalized health and how we can see/watch health care change before our eyes.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
One word: Grit.
What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?
Working as a waiter. I am too entrepreneurial and didn’t love the frenetic process. I learned from this that I am more of a relationship person and not a serve everyone at once person with no built in relationship or time to know my customer.
If you were to start again, what would you do differently?
I would have worked on personalized health two decades ago instead of ten years ago.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Network like crazy and identify the right kinds of things to read related to business learning, trends, and industry knowledge.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business? Please explain how.
The usual, which is all about finding awesome people, unique abilities and surrounding yourself with unique ability teams…with learning and passion and a love for what they do and to encourage it and make it complimentary.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
I have had many. Grit is how I have overcome them. You gotta really understand that you are always going to have failures and it is critical to analyze them and grow from them – they are permanent but temporary and necessary for growth.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Anything that can solve a problem and make life easier for people with convergence and unbelievable action and understanding of data – regardless of the area it is in.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
I spent $100 for dinner at the beach labor day weekend with my wife so we could have a date night.
What software and web services do you use? What do you love about them?
We have proprietary software we use that was designed for us and is a part of our offering with IQYou. I also like evernote and my calendaring app, which is super critical.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
Scaling up 2.0. It is one of the most important books you can read on business because it is project driven on people, strategy, finance and more.
What people have influenced your thinking and might be of interest to others?
My father, who was an entrepreneur. Rabbi Steve Baars for relationships, raising kids, and entrepreneurial coaching. Mike Goolben, who ran a big unit for GE Finance.
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Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.