736. From the Bottom of the Corporate Ladder to the Top of the Mountain

Michael Giannulis

“One of the things I tell people is look at your hobbies, look at your interests, because passion is nothing more than a hobby set on fire. Gravitate towards that, either with a job or, if that doesn’t exist, start your own…. It just depends on where you are at in your life and what your skill sets are.”

Michael Giannulis’ story began in an average family where he had to work for everything he had. He dropped out of high school, went back to get his diploma and finally went to college. As a guy who started his working life stocking shelves at Walmart, he has seen the spectrum. Now Mike grows and scales companies using real-world experience to make this happen. In 2012 he appeared on the ABC television show, Extreme Weight Loss, and lost 255 pounds over one year. He has gone from the bottom of the corporate ladder to the top of the mountain and loves helping others do the same.

How Did You Start Using Your Talents?

“In the spare time I had managing the retail store, I began to learn more about the Internet—how people were selling products and services online, how to write ads, and I decided to build my first blog, called Mike.com, where I began posting. A friend’s mother was doing direct response work online. She read my work, liked it a lot and offered me a chance to do copywriting and customer service for a course she had just launched to help people start their own Internet business. She mentored me and I learned all the basics of how to build a marketing funnel, how to write the best ads, how to address the unique needs and wants of various market segments—the foundation of the work I do today.”

The Most Impactful Turning Point?

“I had a series of odd jobs during my early twenties as I tried to figure out my path, and was working an overnight job at Walmart, stocking the shelves, just making ends meet. Out of the blue, my mom took out a loan against her house and decided to purchase a new cell phone franchise that became available in our area. This was January, 2006. That was when it all kind of started for me, going from ground zero to managing this new retail store, learning the basics of how to deal with a small staff and managing the operation.”

The Most Powerful Lessons Learned?

“My grandparents bought extra property around their house in Tarpon Springs, Florida, so that their children could build their own houses right there. So I grew up with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters and cousins all pretty much on one street. This close proximity to most of my relatives prepared me for learning how to communicate and deal with different types of people, which has been a great gift on so many levels of my life.”

Steps to Success from Michael Giannulis

1. Life is short and you really need to take advantage of the time you have.

2. Passion is a hobby set on fire. Look at your hobbies, how you spend your free time, what fascinates you. Then ask yourself, is there some service or product that focuses on this passion that doesn’t exist that I might create or if it does exist, that I can get behind and work in.

3. Of course, depending on your age and stage of life and responsibilities, you have got to make a plan and set realistic goals.