Mike Malatesta, author, and the creator of “How’d It Happen” podcast, started his first business in 1992, seven months after being fired from a company he had dreamed he might lead one day. Over the next twenty-two years, he helped run, lead, and grow a startup business that he sold for more money than he ever imagined.
“Over 30 years as an entrepreneur I’ve started and sold two companies. I’ve made good acquisitions, as well as, bad ones, and gained a lot of experience.”
Mike sold his last business at the end of 2021. Currently he invests in over 100 private companies and is personally working only on things that energize him.
His book, Owner Shift: How Getting Selfish Got Me Unstuck, was released at the end of November 2021.
“It was quite an interesting process to write it. And it’s been an amazing process to get to talk about it with so many people and reflect on it myself, as people are talking to me about it. I’m hearing things I didn’t think about or things that they’re seeing that never occurred to me.”
He is very involved in his podcast, “How’d It Happen” with over 250 episodes recorded in the past three years.
“The podcast is something I will continue, because it’s such a great way to satisfy my own curiosity and share amazing stories of success with other businesspeople. My mission is to inspire, activate and maximize the greatness in everybody who listens to it.”
Mike also enjoys working closely with other business owners to share his knowledge and business expertise. His coaching business, Owner Shift Coaching, developed from the book, helps entrepreneurs and leaders imagine the futures they desire and make those futures happen.
His book, Owner Shift: How Getting Selfish Got Me Unstuck, is for entrepreneurs who have experienced some success, but have a feeling of being stuck and uncertain about what to do next.
“I wrote this book for entrepreneurs that find themselves with several years invested into a business and are beginning to wonder; How did I get here in the first place? Where am I going? What am I doing? Do I enjoy this anymore?”
Mike told us that many of the comments he received about the book from readers said that it was not related only to business. It had a wider appeal in relation to life in general and making shifts, when necessary, to continue to progress through life’s journey.
In the book this journey is divided into four stages, the Dream, the Grind, the Break, and the Breakthrough.
“Many business owners don’t make it through the Grind or Break stage to the Breakthrough. In the book, as well as with my coaching, I’m trying to encourage everyone, especially entrepreneurs, not to get stuck. It’s a natural feeling, but don’t stay there.”
Of course, the Dream stage gets it all started. Confidence levels run high because you believe your business is the greatest thing ever and there are no problems, only opportunities for success. The Grind is the reality of needing to do all the things necessary to make the business work, even the unpleasant tasks.
In the Grind stage little details make a difference. After a time, these small details begin to add up and wear on the individual.
“You begin to think, ‘Not Again.’ You are doing less and less of the things you loved about the dream. You are forced to do the many ‘other’ things and you’re the only person to do them, but you’re getting farther away from your dream.”
In the Break Stage, the Grind has essentially taken over and the Dream is long forgotten. Confidence suffers and the future looks very dim. There is no clear vision of what the future holds, and you worry that all you have to look forward to is more grind!
For every entrepreneur that feeling is very scary. It does, however, make them reconsider and redesign their business, or life. Breakthrough is much different than the Dream because the focus is now on what you want and how to create a plan to get there and move forward to Breakthrough.
“The one thing I like to tell people, or at least I like to plant with them about the Break Stage is that while it feels horrible, there’s a real silver lining to getting there. And that silver lining is that you designed a system inside of your business that was perfectly constructed to break you. So that means you can also design a system to get you out.”
There are great coaches and organizations such as, Strategic Coach, Vistage YPO, or EO, who can help you meet other people struggling with the same issues you are facing and help you work on your issues.
“The one tip I can give business owners stuck in the Break Stage is, Get Help. Talk with another entrepreneur and discuss the problems you are facing. Don’t expect someone else to give you the secret answer, but just the act of talking with someone, rather than keeping things bottled up inside, can help the light bulb go off in your head.”
Mike lives on a lake in Wisconsin with his wife, Jamy. He enjoys boxing and works with a trainer twice each week. He considers himself the consummate student and is passionate about continuing to learn new and exciting information.
Mike Malatesta has been there, done that, in the business world. He continues to be involved in all avenues of business and loves to help other business owners become successful.
To learn more about Mike’s podcast, book, or coaching, visit his website: mikemalatesta.com. We enjoyed our conversation with Mike; you can listen to the podcast on iTunes or watch on YouTube.
Three Traits to Soar to Success:
- Curiosity:
“If you are curious, you can attain much more in life, or in business. We’re all born with a tremendous amount of curiosity. As a youngster of three, or four years old our curiosity begins to decline, because we hear NO, all the time. You hear that negative response so many times your natural curiosity begins to wane. To maintain that curiosity is really, really important.”
- Belief:
“There are so many things that you can overcome if you believe that you can, and I don’t mean like silly belief, I mean, belief that you’re willing to work at. It’s just such a strong muscle that I think is a huge advantage.”
- Self-Awareness
“There is a lot of power in being aware of who you really are. How do other people see you, what are you good at, as well as, what you are not so good at. Self-awareness is so important, I still wonder about it, as I make breakthroughs in my own journey. You can fool a lot of people, but you can’t fool yourself. Be okay with knowing who you are and not knowing every answer, because you don’t have to.”
