Compound interest is not just for money, it is for relationships and content as well. Instead of simply consuming, begin to create around your interests.
Zack Miller started his first business at the age of 10. Since then he’s spent decades helping other people successfully start, grow and dominate their businesses through his company, Hatch. Zack has used the skills detailed in his book Anomaly: How to Finally Stand Out From the Crowd to land an interview with Daymond John, be chosen as the host of a business TV show on ABC, talk business at the White House, get featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, and raise money from the team that started the Weather Channel. Check out Zack on his podcast, “Zack Miller Says”. He currently resides in Norfolk, VA.
Where did the idea for your company come from?
I was reflecting the past decade of my business career. I wondered if there was one centralized question I continued to get.
And guess what? There was. “I want more people to see me/my biz/my skills/etc quickly and cost effectively so I can do more with my life/my biz/skills/etc.” I had already answered these questions through a plethora of different mediums (webinars, consults, talks, forums, 1-1, social, etc etc etc) and thought why not write a book since it would challenge me. I want folks to be able to read my book, Anomaly and know EXACTLY WHAT TO DO NEXT, not “hey that book was great, but WHAT DO I DO NOW?”
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
I wake up when my dog, Ashebrooke, wants breakfast. Which is usually sometime between 5-6:30am. I feed him, make coffee and then open up the Calm app and meditate before I do anything else. To stay productive throughout the day I focus on hitting one major task. The major task is typically a talk, consulting session or interview for a podcast while the less major tasks I regard in a more on-going basis such as content creation or relationship building through networking or deep diving into a conversation on social media or following-up with meeting. The earlier I wake up the more productive my day goes. I also workout every day so I try to get that done before noon, if my schedule allows it.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I don’t beat around the bush. I just start creating. I think too many focus on the negatives and the what ifs instead of just starting and getting it done. If I have something in mind and don’t start it after a few weeks I realize I don’t care for it or love it and remove it.
What’s one trend that excites you?
Live access across multiple platforms. Before the only people who had access to “going live” was the media. Now if you have a smart phone, you basically can go live wherever and whenever you want. Providing this ability to the world allows us to see a whole new world through a new lens.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
I workout every single day. Yes, some workouts are tougher than others, but I do something physical everyday. I started tracking these workouts using a tool called Productive. It’s an app that I simply respond yes I did the task or no I didn’t. If I say I didn’t, I failed, so I have to say yes.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Understand that compound interest is not just for money, it is for relationships and content as well. Instead of simply consuming, begin to create around your interests.
Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.
Just because someone wears a suit does not mean they are professional. I would much rather (and do) wear jeans and a t-shirt everywhere than fake it up by wearing a suit to be “professional”. Being professional is far more than the clothes someone wears.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Always tell yourself this is a long game and that short wins are nice but if you play the long game, your career will make a bigger impact. If all you care about is short-term wins, you will never win the long-term war.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?
Not worrying about my “competition” and instead creating a friendship with them. What we consume or see on the surface (or their website and social media) is just that. If you create opinions of others without having conversations first you are missing a truly amazing opportunity to meeting new people. Who cares if they do something similar to you. I have found that often times you will exchange business with each other more than fighting over a new customer.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
I tried putting on a national conference in 2013 called Drop Anchor. Terrible name. I was coming off hosting a series of successful startup events and I thought a speaker conference was going to be the next big hit. It’s not that I was wrong about it working, It’s that I thought I could attract 600+ people (from around the world) on a weekday without a strong vision of what their takeaways would be and without relationships with them, yet. I thought the thousands who attended my other events would overlap and they didn’t. Maybe they could have if I would have marketed towards them correctly, but again, I didn’t. A few weeks before the event, I cancelled it. I notified the speakers, still had to pay some. I had to refund the tickets already purchased and lost about $50,000.
To overcome, I looked back and realized that I got cocky and thought it would just work. Instead, I went back to my roots of one on one messages with people who were past customers and focused on what was already working and not this new event.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Podcast analytics are all over the place. A tool, heck it could be called Podcast Analytics, that actually tells podcasters what their downloads on all platforms are, listens, time listened to and other critical data.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
Thank You cards to send to people I recently met. By using an old school method that is rarely used today, I am able to show my new friend that I am willing to go above and beyond and not just send an email or text saying “Nice to meet you”. Rather, I spend a few minutes a day sending out cards to those I come in contact with, thanking them for their time and looking forward to a long future. Those who are on the receiving end of these cards are blown away!
What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?
Productive. Once a day after I do a task, I tell the app I did it. It then gives me a streak.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
North by Scott Jurek. Sure, it is a book about Jurek’s journey in running the Appalachian trail in less than 50 days, but the resilience and trials and tribulations he goes through is one that anyone in their career should learn from. No matter how hard a 50 mile day through the treacherous mountain ranges loom (or your business career) this book can teach you a ton about pushing through.
What is your favorite quote?
Everything happens for a reason — Jack from the hit tv show Lost
Key Learnings:
- Be different
- Create life-long relationships (friendships) by not focusing on short-term wins
- Start small and big wins will happen
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Carlyn runs the day-to-day publishing operation here at ideamensch and interacts with our awesome customers and entrepreneurs. She is likely editing this with a cat on her lap.