Transparent Christian Magazine

Entrepreneur and Branding and Marketing Coach John Morgan can be intimidating. If it wasn’t for his disarming smile, penchant for laughter and his ability to put people at ease he would be the guy in the room that you just ‘wouldn’t mess with’. He is tall and has broad shoulders, but more than that, his personality pours out of him like water; it fills up all the empty spaces.

It’s that big personality that has served him well in business, consulting and his public speaking gigs. We got together to talk about his outstanding business success, some new projects, his faith and his family.
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Transparent: You talk about the importance of personality for your brand and business… What is the “John Morgan Personality” and how has it helped you in your successes?
In many ways, I’m a love em’ or hate em’ personality, people either tend to love me or hate me. I think that’s common when you have a big personality. I don’t think there is a single business or entrepreneur out there that I can’t help, and I take that very very seriously. I knew a guy that was close to our family whose business went bankrupt. He was devastated. To this day it haunts me because I could have got in his face, and helped him, and I didn’t. There are many nights that I think about him and it drives me. I don’t want to let anyone down.

I just try to be real with people. I think that’s a big part of my personality as well. I tell the people around me, (though social medial or interacting) ‘here’s what I do well’, ‘here’s what I like to joke about’, ‘here’s the music I listen to’, and they already feel like they know me.

If they don’t know me, they can’t like me and if they don’t like me they can’t trust me, and if they don’t trust me, I can’t help them.

Nobody ever says “I want to do business with the most boring company on the planet”. I’m either doing this to be the best or I’m not doing it, I put everything into everything I do and I think that comes out in my personality.

Transparent: I really loved your “Pay Your Dues” post on your blog. Can you talk about the thoughts behind that? I reminded me of a friend of mine that moved to Nashville recently and he started having concerts to promote causes and ideas, and I thought “that’s not how it works in Nashville” but he doesn’t care and it’s been working for him.
I’ve always felt that I could do whatever I set out to do, but I used to have tons of fear and try to follow along with everyone else. But when you do that, you are chasing someone else’s dream and you will never work as hard. Your mindset determines your success and I don’t mind doing whatever it takes for my customers and my business.

Someone will live their whole lives and never know why they aren’t successful. Look at Zappos, they are selling shoes, and there are millions of people selling shoes, but Zappos is doing things just a little different with their customer service, and they are doing fantastic! The other side of that is that many people copy and don’t ever do anything better or different.

Transparent: John, you have had plenty of business success. What do you attribute that too?
There are a few things that have contributed to my success. My great family and my Christian faith have contributed in a big way. I also believe the subconscious mind drives everything you do, and I believe you can kind of trick it. As an example, I think like a thin person, and I end up finding the times to work out and not crave bad foods. For the same reason, I think like a millionaire. I tend to think abundantly and don’t struggle with money. I believe in the Law of Attraction.

Transparent: What’s that?
The Law of Attraction is the concept that you attract the things you are thinking about, so if you are always thinking about never having enough money, you will never have enough. Let’s not focus on the things we lack. I see this all the time in the area of money and people seem to be hung up on feeling guilty if they have too much money, or say things like “I could never be a millionaire” or “if only I was a millionaire I could really help some people”. If you really want to do well, earn some money and achieve some things, so you can be in a position to help someone!  God wants us to achieve great things. It comes down to a focus thing. Focus on crap, and crap happens… Focus on never having enough and you will lack for your entire life.

Transparent: Who are your favorite authors/thought leaders?
Seth Godin’s one of my favorite authors because of his style, but it’s hard for me to name a standout favorite… Hmmm.. Dan Kennedy maybe? He’s a marketing genius and I’ve been a student of his forever. He’s one of a kind, and the businesses that he helps are incredible. He has a great book series called the “No BS Series”. It’s fun to read, in your face and what you really need to hear.

The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur is a great read for an employee that needs some motivation, or a new entrepreneur.

Transparent: Did you like Crush It? Are you a Gary Vaynerchuk fan?
I didn’t like Crush It, but I like Gary. I’ve met him on the speaking circuit and told him what I thought about “Crush It” (laughs). He DOES have a new book coming out called “The Thank You Economy” though, and THAT’S a great book! Gary has a super cool brand and has worked hard for that.

Transparent: Tell me something funny about you.
My grandmother thinks I work at AOL. (Laughs)

Transparent: Tell me about a crazy experience you have had speaking?
The first time was crazy. I was attending a conference as a student, and I had become friends with the people that were putting it on. They had someone cancel last minute and approached me and said “Hey, would you mind coming up on stage to share your experiences?” I said “Sure” thinking it was going to be some kind of a panel discussion or something. I didn’t have time to think really, and I walked out on stage in front of about 1700 people. I was ‘thrown into the fire’ and I loved it, and they loved it.

I was hooked on Public Speaking, I don’t really have any nightmare stories, I never fell off stage! (Laughs). Someone set off the fire alarm twice in a hotel where I was staying but that was a good thing because the hotel was really on fire (Laughs).

I do have many positive experiences from the road. One time where I was going to go on in front of an exclusive group and the conference room couldn’t get the power point working. I walked out on stage and said “Does anyone here have a laptop I can use?” and this guy said “Hey man here, just use mine”. That was a really cool experience, and I ended up giving that guy a free consultation.

I got an interview with Seth Godin for my website because I was the only one who asked him when we spoke at a conference together. He gave me his personal email, and we’ve exchanged multiple e-mails. If you approach people at the right time, and professionally, you might be surprised at how well people respond.

Transparent: How do you get your speaking engagements?
You speak somewhere, offer good ideas, and put the video up, and word spreads.

I think the real key is that these places not only want a good speaker, but they want a good person, that’s willing to invest.  I don’t just teach, I like to hang out after-wards and talk with people on breaks. People that put the events on can count on me to help make it as great as it can be. I had a friend in Texas and had a speaker bail on him. He asked if I would speak in that person’s slot later in the day, so I ended up speaking twice that day, and of course he’s going to ask me back.

You have to be available and out there, and simply let people know that you speak. I wrote on Facebook and Twitter that I’m interviewing here today with you, and I’m always promoting my current projects.

That’s where event promoters and other businesses go wrong many times. They have this mindset that “If you build it they will come”. No matter what business you are in, you are in the marketing business. I wasn’t the best real estate agent on the planet by far, but I was great with people. I may actually have been a horrible real estate agent (Laughs).

There was this sales contest and if you won, you could park your car in the front parking spot. I thought that was silly, but I ended up winning this monthly contest. There was a guy that had been a real estate agent forever. I think he helped Noah build his first house (Laughs). I was only 22 at the time and he said “I don’t want to be rude, but how in the WORLD did you win this month? I’m the better agent, with WAY more experience and I know this business inside and out!!” I said “you ARE a better agent than me, but I know how to make the phone ring and you don’t. I know how to do what actually matters, which is getting people interested in, and excited about what I’m doing.”

Transparent: What do you love the most about your current working situation?
The fact that I get to see my son! My wife Brooke and I talked about having children and we had both faced some issues as kids. My dad owns a very successful business and he wasn’t always around when I was growing up. I was motivated enough that I wanted a business of my own, but not at the expense of my life. My dad made a lot of sacrifices that I’m grateful for but also that we both regret. Being around my son has always been important to me. My wife owns her own business as well, so it’s challenging and great at the same time. Sometimes we say “Hey, let’s go to lunch and then to the park today” and I’ll realize it’s Tuesday at 11:00 am.

Is there a better moment than that? (Smiles) We don’t need to be back at the office at a certain time!

Transparent: How has God been blowing your mind lately?
Well, we’ve been talking about lifestyle. I own a business that I can run from anywhere, spend lots of time with my family, and wear shorts wherever I go. I have a great wife a cool son, a good marriage and all the time I get asked “how did you do all of this”? For me it all starts with God and prayer. Sometimes I’m praying 50 or 60 times a day and really focusing and attracting the right stuff. I want people to see that the lifestyle, successful business, and great family all have this common theme of God and Jesus. I used to be scared to mention that to people… And some people are going to love it and some aren’t.

Transparent: Tell me about your future.
I turned 30 in December. I am not satisfied with my business and my life. I really want to crank things up. I want to play big, I want to work big. We took a trip recently and I had a LONG prayer with God and I felt like he was telling me that I can make this business bigger. I thought, “well, if that’s what you want me to do, we should do it”.  A couple of months went by, and things stayed the same. Then I read Joel Olsteens book “It’s Your Time” and I redesigned my business a little bit. And then God really blew my mind. A friend of a friend of mine called me and he said “let’s partner on one project”.

This guy had been a competitor of mine in many ways, and I thought “well, THIS isn’t what I had planned” but God put this in my life. As we were working on this project, we decided to partner on the whole thing. The new project is called Brand Out From the Crowd and we’re going to go big with it. A company will get two branding experts… the best in the US and best in the UK. That’s what’s exciting. He and I are eerily alike.

All the business pundits tell you to find a business partner that is strong where you’re week. We have flipped that business model upside down… We are both strong at helping entrepreneurs build their brands, and now, we can pick up each other’s slack, push each other and give our clients the very best. The beauty of this project is that I get to work half the time! I’m going to write a book called “The One Hour Work Week. (Laughs) Tell Tim Ferriss to watch out!! (Laughter)

Transparent: Who have you met that surprised you – either accessible or totally different personality than you were expecting?
I’ve met some business heroes of mine, and the good news is that the vast majority of them are WAY more helpful than you would ever imagine. Most of them say “here’s my personal e-mail, here’s my cell phone” call me if I can ever help you. I try to remember that with my recent success, I want to be the same way.

Transparent:  What should other entrepreneurs consider before they launch their businesses?

Too many people build their business without ever thinking about the lifestyle that they want. I have never really had a job in the standard sense of that word. If I ever had to get a job, I would have to own the company in 6 months or I wouldn’t be happy. I know that life is short, and that I’m supposed to live it to the fullest. I make sure that while I’m building my business, my lifestyle is never sacrificed.

I may have to get online and write a blog post, but at least I’m sitting there with my wife. Sometimes I’m doing conference call and coaching on the phone, and I’ll say to her ‘for the next hour and a half please don’t interrupt me, but after, let’s take that lunch and go ride around.’

Be productive when you are at work. I’m not interested in being busy, I’m interested in being productive. I was living the “Four Hour Work Week” before Tim Ferriss ever wrote that book (Laughs).

You can have a successful business but if you are working all the time, what’s the point? Sometimes people spend all of their time doing tasks that they can pay someone else $10 an hour to do. I don’t do any task in my business that I can pay someone else to do for me. If you are going to work, make it count. Don’t look at your family and say “hey guys I’m going to work, and I’m going to do busy work all day.”

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John is currently launching Brand Out From The Crowd with Dean Hunt.
You can keep up with John here:

http://brandbreakout.com/
http://www.superstarmarketers.com/
Brand Breakout Facebook Page
John Morgan’s Facebook Page

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