Unstoppable Success Podcast

Host: Jaclyn Strominger

Guest: Michael Stephenson

Jaclyn Strominger: Hello, everybody, and welcome to another amazing episode of Unstoppable Success. I'm your host, Jaclyn Strominger, and as you know on this podcast, we hear from amazing leaders and influential people out in the business world who share their tips or insights

Jaclyn Strominger: Their tactics, their tricks, you name it, so that you can have unstoppable success.

Jaclyn Strominger: And today, I get to introduce you to Michael Stephenson. I'm like, Michael's in the house!

Jaclyn Strominger: Woo! Okay, so let me just tell you a little bit about Michael. If you didn't know that I actually know Michael a little bit, he's so amazing, but let me just a little bit about him. He's an entrepreneur who loves meeting new people and helping them grow their business using up-to-date market trends.

Jaclyn Strominger: His primary focus is Brim & Brand. Michael also is a part owner of a new startup coffee company, Black by Choice Coffee, as well as an exotic pet boutique.

Jaclyn Strominger: in Fishkill, New York. Okay, I didn't know about the Exotic Pet Boutique. Michael has been nominated in 2022 for the Top 50 CMO list, and sits on several boards that champion promoting uplifting experiences for inner-city youths.

Jaclyn Strominger: Let me just tell you, listeners, that

Jaclyn Strominger: Michael's the real deal when it comes to all things marketing, branding. He is a fractional CMO, Chief Marketing Officer. So, Michael, welcome to Unstoppable Success, because you are unstoppable!

Michael Stephenson: I appreciate that. Now I feel unstoppable. After that, that little thing that you just did, I'm like, alright, you know, I feel a little bit more confident than I did before walking in here. So I appreciate that. Thank you.

Jaclyn Strominger: So, Michael, you know, Chief Marketing Officer, I mean, when I think of… of success, one of the biggest things that…

Jaclyn Strominger: Helps a business and a person have success is how they market and brand themselves.

Jaclyn Strominger: So walk us through how you got into this, and what do you think it is

Jaclyn Strominger: That makes you unstoppable.

Michael Stephenson: Sure. So, I started off my, corporate career, right, working for, Fairly large company, and…

Michael Stephenson: the first company, right out of college, they had a strong brand, and they had a strong way of going about things. And they had, like, specific people that they went after, which is fairly smart.

Michael Stephenson: But what I was doing wasn't something that I wanted to do forever, right? But I loved the culture. So I wound up getting a job in marketing, for an agency, and the agency had really cool clients, and it was, like, really trendy. They had, like, a bar, like…

Michael Stephenson: All this… yeah, tell me about it.

Jaclyn Strominger: A bar?

Jaclyn Strominger: I'm assuming you meet at Bart in the office.

Michael Stephenson: I'm telling you, a bar in the off… they had a wine room in the build, like…

Michael Stephenson: Crazy. Crazy, crazy, crazy. Guy…

Michael Stephenson: Learned a lot. So, what I learned there, though, is everybody there was so seasoned and so professional, and here comes this young buck that doesn't know anything, right? But I felt the need to kind of prove myself non-stop, and I failed miserably. Oh my god, I failed miserably.

Michael Stephenson: you know, talked when I shouldn't have talked.

Michael Stephenson: You know, they were trying to give me…

Michael Stephenson: Things to learn, but they were so…

Michael Stephenson: season in their job that they couldn't look after the little guy. They were so busy that they had no time to nurture

Michael Stephenson: anyone and help them grow, you know? So, no…

Michael Stephenson: no bad blood or anything, like, it made sense to get rid of me. I knew I sucked. You know, like, when you know you suck at something, and you still trying, and you're like, you know what, I'm gonna do this. And, you know, it just was what it was, and I didn't hold anything against them.

Michael Stephenson: But then I wound up working for another corporation, and this corporation was a big one.

Michael Stephenson: And they didn't even try to have a culture. They knew

Michael Stephenson: they just were not people people. They were a business, it was a corporation, and that's what they did. And I wound up managing several places, and doing some things that, like, were just very corporate-y, like, very, like, non…

Michael Stephenson: personable.

Michael Stephenson: And after a while, I started getting the hint, like, every one of these businesses that I worked for was missing something. Either they had the culture, and they were missing,

Michael Stephenson: just the ability to nurture, or they couldn't… they did nurture, but it wasn't to do anything positive. And it was like, you're always missing something.

Michael Stephenson: And I was like, damn, like, I don't think I could work for a company, because, like, these companies are just mis… like, it's so blatantly obvious that people are people, right? They deserve to be peop… treated like people.

Jaclyn Strominger: Right, right.

Michael Stephenson: Right? And being authentic, like, if you're, like, super cool and trendy and doing all this cool stuff, but you don't have the time to pour into…

Michael Stephenson: The youth?

Michael Stephenson: how super cool and trendy do you think that you'll be? Like, what's your longevity strategy? Like, you don't have one.

Michael Stephenson: Don't.

Jaclyn Strominger: Right, it's really hard to actually have, you know, and just, I don't necessarily interrupt, but, like, you know, what you're saying and, like, in your… your path.

Jaclyn Strominger: You know, which is…

Jaclyn Strominger: What also helps us be a better leader when you… when you see the things that other companies are doing.

Jaclyn Strominger: But…

Jaclyn Strominger: you know, you're talking about one company that you were at, and it's like, no, you needed training. You needed somebody to be there to train people, to take the young person, to elevate them up. I mean, leadership is… that's what they're supposed to be doing. They're supposed to train up.

Jaclyn Strominger: Right? You're supposed to help people go up. If somebody doesn't know something.

Jaclyn Strominger: Again, you don't come out of the womb being the best

Jaclyn Strominger: chief marketing officer. You don't come out of the womb being the best quarterback, or the best basketball player.

Jaclyn Strominger: you have to have somebody to help you hone the skills, or read a book, I don't know, right?

Michael Stephenson: 100% correct.

Michael Stephenson: And that… that put a…

Michael Stephenson: thing in my ear. So, short story, I'll give you a short story, where,

Michael Stephenson: I had an employee at the last corporate job that I had, and he was with the company for 30 years.

Michael Stephenson: 30 years, Jacqueline, he was with that company, and his son actually worked for me. He got out the military, and he had a job, we gave him a job.

Michael Stephenson: Fool.

Michael Stephenson: The guy that was with the company for 3 years wound up having, terminal cancer.

Michael Stephenson: And, you know, was gone for a while. He went from STD to, you know, eventually to, LTD.

Michael Stephenson: But what they don't tell you, corporations, is, like, if you go on the LTD, like, the way that this company particularly worked, he would lose his pension, he would lose all his insurance, he wouldn't be able to leave his family with anything.

Michael Stephenson: So…

Jaclyn Strominger: LTD is long-term disability, just so people.

Michael Stephenson: That is correct.

Jaclyn Strominger: Long-term disability.

Michael Stephenson: Correct. So…

Michael Stephenson: I offered to pool our resources together. I offered all my vacation time, everything, and some of the other employees decided to do the same. Corporate told me no.

Michael Stephenson: And that he needed to come back. If he didn't come back, they were just gonna…

Michael Stephenson: So he came back, lasted a week, and died.

Michael Stephenson: Oh, yeah.

Michael Stephenson: I went to his funeral, And I was the only one.

Michael Stephenson: After 30 years in that company, I was the only one that went to his funeral.

Jaclyn Strominger: Oh my god, that's, like, heartless!

Michael Stephenson: Then I got hurt.

Michael Stephenson: Because they put a hiring freeze, and I couldn't hire people, and I wasn't gonna let my guys go out and do the work.

Michael Stephenson: When I knew they needed another hand. So I got hurt.

Michael Stephenson: And I saw the writing on the wall, because I see how the cop… how they treated people.

Michael Stephenson: So that's when I came to the conclusion, listen, it's not meant to be… Because I care about people.

Michael Stephenson: And I'm just gonna do my own thing. So I asked my wife, I asked my family, I said, listen, I'm gonna go down in a…

Michael Stephenson: Deep hole. For a while.

Michael Stephenson: I don't know. You know, I don't know…

Michael Stephenson: But this is… this is what I'm passionate about, you know? And luckily, my family…

Michael Stephenson: My in-laws, especially, were very, very… understanding.

Michael Stephenson: And… you know, I got corporate, quote, fired from that corporate position.

Michael Stephenson: Man, the day… Jacqueline, I jumped for joy, I had papers ready for my bosses, I'm like, here you go, these are… this is what you need to know, ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba. And they were like, man, you were really ready for this. I was like, man, I was counting down the seconds.

Michael Stephenson: I can get out this place.

Jaclyn Strominger: Oh my god! Right.

Jaclyn Strominger: Okay, well, a couple things. Listeners, something that Michael did that maybe…

Jaclyn Strominger: I just want to point out.

Jaclyn Strominger: You did something with your family.

Jaclyn Strominger: You actually shared with your family

Jaclyn Strominger: For lack of a better word, your vision and your desire, and your… You're…

Jaclyn Strominger: you were clear on what you wanted to do, and you said, you were honest, and said, I don't know where this is gonna go, right? This is what I want to do, and you said, I'm gonna… I might go down a little rabbit hole, I might not be at the top of the game for a little bit, but here's what I want to do, and you…

Jaclyn Strominger: got your family to rally behind you, right? And get support. And…

Jaclyn Strominger: And listeners, that… when you… when you… Are looking for unstoppable success.

Jaclyn Strominger: To share where you want to go, or what matters most to you.

Jaclyn Strominger: With the people that matter most to you.

Jaclyn Strominger: You should get their support.

Jaclyn Strominger: You might get naysayers, and you might get people that would try to talk you out of things.

Jaclyn Strominger: But if you share your passion for it, and you can even say, and I don't know if you did this, and you can let us know, like, you could have said, you know, if this doesn't work out, if I decide to go off on my own, and this doesn't work out, I will find another job in 2 years, but I gotta try.

Michael Stephenson: Yeah, I just…

Michael Stephenson: the… the way that my grandfather-in-law… I love this man, like, he is my everything. And he goes to me, he says, as long as you can take care of your family, because you know that's the right thing to do. I said, absolutely.

Michael Stephenson: And… when I went on my own, I had no clue what to do, Jacqueline. I was like, I was taking, like, 25 bucks, I didn't care what it was, because I needed…

Michael Stephenson: I needed experience. I needed to be able to say, hey, this is what I'm good at. And I sucked. I sucked big time for a while, because I was doing stuff

Michael Stephenson: And…

Michael Stephenson: I had some wins, but I had some losses, right? And the more that I started to do it.

Michael Stephenson: the more I realize, man, I really hate this, but I love this.

Jaclyn Strominger: Right?

Michael Stephenson: And I learned later on, it took me, like, 2-3 years, but after 2 or 3 years, I learned

Michael Stephenson: Can't do it all myself.

Michael Stephenson: Right?

Michael Stephenson: And as a solopreneur, you know, like, it's hard, because everything is on you. So I had to find the right people to surround myself with.

Michael Stephenson: And what I also learned is people that

Michael Stephenson: may know you for one reason, right? They knew me for, management, or they thought sales, which I didn't do sales, but whatever. That's what they knew. And these people, as soon as I shifted and did something different, this… they just owned me.

Michael Stephenson: Talk behind my back, say crazy stuff.

Michael Stephenson: And…

Michael Stephenson: you know, you think that somebody has your back, and then, like, trying to get help, right? Trying to find people that'll legitimately help you. Like, you have questions about running a business, I'm asking you blatantly, and it sounds like I don't know what I'm talking about, because that's what… I don't know what I'm talking about, but I need help.

Michael Stephenson: And people are so quick to dismiss you and say, you should do something else.

Michael Stephenson: asking you for help. I'm not asking you to tell me that I suck at this. I know that. That's why I'm asking you to make me better. And over the years, I've gotten enough people and made enough mistakes that I could have gone one or two ways, Jacqueline, like everybody else.

Michael Stephenson: I could have quit.

Michael Stephenson: Alright, could've kept going.

Michael Stephenson: And I met my now business partner, Jacqueline, and he set me straight. He was like, what are you gonna do, go cry in a corner somewhere? Or are you gonna do something about it?

Michael Stephenson: Because what other option is there?

Jaclyn Strominger: Right.

Michael Stephenson: You either succeed, or you don't.

Michael Stephenson: And if you don't, what are the repercussions for not?

Michael Stephenson: And if you love your family the way that you say that you do.

Michael Stephenson: Then there is no other option.

Jaclyn Strominger: Do you think there was an option to, you know, there are options to pivot? You know, I mean, maybe change the direction of what you were doing to something else, or not necessarily, like, throw in the towel?

Michael Stephenson: I did, I did a lot of pivoting, actually. So, at first, we started off with a crazy name, because I didn't know what we were going to do, so I didn't want to make anything that was related to Stevenson at all.

Michael Stephenson: Which was my strategy, which worked.

Michael Stephenson: It worked.

Jaclyn Strominger: Yeah, no.

Michael Stephenson: But on…

Jaclyn Strominger: I actually.

Michael Stephenson: But on the flip side, I…

Michael Stephenson: started off with doing just social media. And at the time, there weren't all these…

Michael Stephenson: Cool tool and stuff that you can use.

Michael Stephenson: everything's by hand. I'm like, damn, I really hate this. And the more clients that I got, the more I hated it. I'm like, man, I'm not gonna be up here dancing and doing some crazy stuff the whole damn day. So, the one thing I didn't want to do was web design. I actually couldn't stand web design.

Michael Stephenson: And guess what? Now that's the forefront of my business, right? I do more websites than I do anything else.

Michael Stephenson: But I had to learn how to use these different programs, because I would get a programmer, and this is how I learned to get even better. I would get a developer, and the developer sucked at doing design work.

Michael Stephenson: or I would get a designer, and the designer would suck at development.

Michael Stephenson: And then I realized, aha, what if we did both in-house?

Michael Stephenson: What if we could take both, and then have a centralized person that takes care of everything from soup to nuts? My business partner is an amazing brander, understands how to build businesses, that's his strong suit.

Michael Stephenson: I'm a great market strategist, I can figure things out and put things where they need to be, and now, build freakin' sites. Which, again, was not something I ever wanted to…

Michael Stephenson: Due for full-time.

Michael Stephenson: But taking all these different elements and building Brim and Brand, right, as a holistic type of approach, where every business is missing something.

Michael Stephenson: Right. And you need somebody that's objective to go in and identify, this is what you're missing. But not just tell you.

Michael Stephenson: Fix it.

Jaclyn Strominger: Right.

Michael Stephenson: Right? Just fix it. Isn't that something that every business wants to do? They go, okay, I'm listening to you, but can you fix it?

Michael Stephenson: Right. You go to the mechanic, he's telling you all the things wrong with your car, do you really care? No. You want it fixed, because you don't understand half of the crap the man is saying in the first place.

Jaclyn Strominger: Right. Well, half the time, I mean, particularly as a solopreneur, like, I'm thinking about, you know, all the things that a solopreneur does. Like, even if you have a VA, it's like, you're still wearing lots of hats, and you're just like, I just want to automate that, or I just want… can you just take care of that?

Jaclyn Strominger: Right? You know, and that's something, you know, to be able to offer… to be able to be the person or that company

Jaclyn Strominger: to,

Jaclyn Strominger: know that some… like, to say to somebody, oh yeah, you know what? And I will tell you guys this, Michael does have your back. Like, to say, if you need something done, Michael's got your back. Brim and Brandt has your back. Like, they will… you will get it done for your clients.

Jaclyn Strominger: And find a way to do it.

Jaclyn Strominger: Because it is that, like, to be able to have that, you know.

Jaclyn Strominger: That person that's in your back pocket, that you know… that you can count on.

Michael Stephenson: That's it. When we look at, AI right now, AI is, like, super powerful, super, super everywhere.

Michael Stephenson: And the reason why people like it is because they can talk to AI, right? You can talk to chat or whatever, tell it your deepest woes, and it's gonna figure it out for you, right? It's gonna give you something that you can, evolve with.

Jaclyn Strominger: into, right, so to speak.

Michael Stephenson: Right.

Michael Stephenson: the issue that we have, because we integrate a lot with AI, but what we tell people, and here's the differentiator, is AI will keep going. Chat will do anything to make you happy. It will give you the best answer in the world.

Michael Stephenson: And if you say, try something different, it's gonna try something different.

Michael Stephenson: It doesn't mean that it wasn't good, it just means it identified that you were not happy because you keep… kept prompting. So it's gonna find an alternative to what it originally gave you.

Michael Stephenson: Well… We work the same way, except for I can say no.

Michael Stephenson: I can tell you that it's a dumb idea.

Michael Stephenson: And that we need to do something different, right?

Michael Stephenson: Chat's not gonna tell you that, because chat doesn't want you to stop using it.

Michael Stephenson: Right?

Michael Stephenson: there's the big difference. Sometimes, and that's where the fractional support comes in, Jacqueline, is being able to come in and give you

Michael Stephenson: here's the reality of a scenario, right? You can plug everything into AI, and you know what? Hell, let's use it to make this job a lot faster for you, and make it more simple for you, right? But at the end of the day, you need a human to tell you.

Michael Stephenson: this is resonating, and why? I feel it. Like, if you think of music, you need to feel it, right? And then you know that that's the music for you.

Michael Stephenson: A bot can't tell you how to feel. Not yet, anyway.

Jaclyn Strominger: Not yet. But, you know, so a couple things that I actually just want our listeners to really hone in on, and I want to pull out, because…

Jaclyn Strominger: you have so evolved, and, you know, from the time you were in corporate, you know, those first jobs out of school, to finding your path, you know, getting the Hallelujah fired, right? Because when you get fired from a company.

Jaclyn Strominger: You know, it's the whole one door is gonna close and another one opens, and in your case, it was like, the gates opened.

Jaclyn Strominger: Right? And so… and then you're… you're on this path, and listeners, this is the key thing. You were… you were doing things, but you were…

Jaclyn Strominger: Measuring and monitoring and adjusting as you are going along, so that you

Jaclyn Strominger: Said, okay, this is working, that's not working.

Jaclyn Strominger: I'm gonna stick with the things that are working, or I don't like this, I like this, let me do more of this. So it's always that…

Jaclyn Strominger: Measure, monitor, adjust.

Jaclyn Strominger: Go back, measure, monitor, and just, measure, monitor, adjust.

Jaclyn Strominger: And…

Jaclyn Strominger: And I think that that's something that is… like, I really… like, you gotta pat yourself on the back for being able to do that, because that's not something… you know, as you said, you had a choice, you could have…

Jaclyn Strominger: You could have measured, monitor, and adjusted out the door, and said, I'm done, or no, I'm gonna keep going and make this work.

Michael Stephenson: I mean, the biggest thing, the only thing that I'll give myself credit for is not listening to the naysayers, and let it fuel me, right? Because any entrepreneur, like, the people that you thought were closest to you are the ones that turn their backs, saying, I don't know what you're trying to do, or I can't support you, or why don't you go work at McDonald's was the one that got me the most.

Jaclyn Strominger: But, okay, but I want to stick on this for a minute, because I think the thing is really true, because

Jaclyn Strominger: naysayers, like, you know, telling your family one thing, right? But, you know, and some of your family may be naysayers.

Jaclyn Strominger: But this is where some… where I would say, and I ask you the question, when you hear the naysayers, did you go out and find other people that were in… that you could, you know, that you could surround yourself that were more positive people? That, you know.

Jaclyn Strominger: Help fuel your passion?

Michael Stephenson: Yeah, I mean, I took the naysayers as literal fuel, right? So every time that somebody said, you suck, I would…

Michael Stephenson: Drain them of knowledge.

Michael Stephenson: Whereas they would think, like, oh, you know, I don't want to hurt your feelings. You ain't hurting my feelings. Tell me why. Tell me what I did. Tell me…

Michael Stephenson: what hurt… you know, how did I… I messed this up?

Michael Stephenson: Because I wanted to learn so that I never did it again.

Michael Stephenson: Or if it's something that's a soft skill or just part of my personality, I know that that's not the type of client for me.

Michael Stephenson: Right? And then, once you start doing that, and you're listening, and you're taking it for what it is, then you'll find the right rooms.

Michael Stephenson: Because if you're listening, and you're growing, and you're adjusting, it's easier… the rooms will find you, because you're gonna start grab… you're just gonna start being a magnet, and these people are gonna come to you.

Jaclyn Strominger: Right, they're gonna come, right, they are gonna come. You know, and it's so… you know, when I look at your business right now, I'm, you know, you do some amazing things, like, truly amazing things. And one of the things that I think that you…

Jaclyn Strominger: you do that… And we've talked about this, you know, when we've been together, is that

Jaclyn Strominger: You let your team do their job. You don't… you are not the helicopter boss or micromanager. You hired somebody to do a job, you let them do it, and you encourage them

Jaclyn Strominger: To do their… to do their job, and to… to grow in it.

Michael Stephenson: What you're saying is right, but you're trying to beat around the bush. I let them fail, right?

Jaclyn Strominger: Beautiful, yeah.

Michael Stephenson: to face. Right.

Michael Stephenson: Right. And the whole part behind that is, I'll always be there to pick you back up, right? I'm never gonna let you completely fall on your face. If you're a parent out there, you understand, sometimes the kids gotta fall in order to learn how to, you know, you gotta crawl before you can walk. It's one of those scenarios. And especially today.

Michael Stephenson: I find that these kids, and I'm sure that our grandfathers and whatnot said the same things about us, but these kids, like, there's a level of entitlement.

Michael Stephenson: That they have, and it prevents them from really seeing

Michael Stephenson: How to run, or how to… do business.

Michael Stephenson: Right? Because you're not entitled to anything. And the way that I start out with my staff is, you're not entitled to anything. I'm gonna help you, we're gonna get you the training that you need, but understand I've been in business for this long because we have a process that works.

Michael Stephenson: And I'm gonna give you the freedom to make a ton of money.

Michael Stephenson: Or, I'm gonna give you the freedom to not.

Michael Stephenson: Right? But the choice is yours, you have the freedom. I'm gonna give you all the tools, I'm gonna put you in the right position, I'm gonna give you…

Michael Stephenson: Everything that you need.

Michael Stephenson: But you have to listen.

Michael Stephenson: And my team, as you saw, does not leave me.

Michael Stephenson: No. They are.

Michael Stephenson: Responsible.

Michael Stephenson: they are… very pleasant to be around. They understand that the customer comes first.

Michael Stephenson: Right? And it takes forever to build these things and instill this type of culture, but again, think about where I came from, Jacqueline.

Michael Stephenson: One place that had tons of culture.

Michael Stephenson: One place that looked like it had a ton of culture, but none.

Jaclyn Strominger: I did it.

Michael Stephenson: But didn't, right? Another place where it had the culture, but it was just a job that nobody wanted to do.

Michael Stephenson: Right?

Michael Stephenson: And then another place with zero culture.

Michael Stephenson: That made a ton of money.

Michael Stephenson: But it abused people to the point of death.

Jaclyn Strominger: Yeah, which is so painful. It's just so sad.

Jaclyn Strominger: That is so sad.

Michael Stephenson: So, my job, my, my everything.

Michael Stephenson: is to make sure that the culture that we have at Brim

Michael Stephenson: It's fun, it's exciting, it's new, it's innovative, and it allows people to grow.

Michael Stephenson: You know?

Michael Stephenson: And I want people to make money, and I want people to be independent, and I want people to have their own brands, like, I want to build…

Michael Stephenson: An establishment that really looks after people.

Jaclyn Strominger: Which is so… you know, and something you just said, I think, is really important.

Jaclyn Strominger: And I, and I, and I will share, you know, because my impression is that

Jaclyn Strominger: it's, yes, you make money, obviously, but you just said you want your people to make money. It's not about, you know, you making a million and everybody else making $200 or $25,000, you know what I mean? Like.

Jaclyn Strominger: And there's something about sharing in that wealth. Like, as we… as your company grows.

Jaclyn Strominger: you know, people can make additional money. You can make a lot of money if you're part of the… if you're part of it and you believe in it 100%.

Jaclyn Strominger: And that's something that I feel that is what I, you know, it's so unselfish of you.

Jaclyn Strominger: And I think that's really commendable.

Michael Stephenson: I hate that. But, you know, again, it's my business partner. He taught me…

Michael Stephenson: How to be a businessman, but a person.

Michael Stephenson: a man, right? How to be a businessman, but how to be a man. How to stand your ground, how to understand, like…

Michael Stephenson: A CEO does not do everything. You'll never see the CEO bagging a grocery bag, right? You'll never see them on the phone handling a million complaints. They might handle the escalated ones, right? Or they'll get their hands dirty once in a while, because they have to.

Michael Stephenson: But a CEO hires people to do these things, and even though it may be something that you want, that's not necessarily a business, that's more of a hobby. Right. So if you want to do a business, if you want to create a business.

Michael Stephenson: there's certain things you gotta do, and I try to pass that down to as many

Michael Stephenson: people as I possibly can. Because if it wasn't for him giving me a shot.

Michael Stephenson: and pouring into me, I wouldn't be here with you right now, Jacqueline. I would not have been in Forbes, I would not have been in all these talk shows and stuff. Those opportunities would not present themselves if not for a person taking the time out of their life

Michael Stephenson: To pour into me.

Jaclyn Strominger: And that is something that I… that I really…

Jaclyn Strominger: Because you take that, and you pay it forward, because somebody paid it for, you know, to you. You do that for others, and I… and I truly believe that that is something that

Jaclyn Strominger: that…

Jaclyn Strominger: more people need to do, right? You know, or pick up the phone, or send a note to somebody, and ask them, you know, how they got where they got. Or, hey, you know what, I like your profession, I just want to know what you did. I want to know how you got where… got to where you are right now.

Jaclyn Strominger: Like, you know, would you not agree that we should try to instill more of that, like, sort of, like, for lack of a better word, mentoring, or, like, if more people could ask people, and not to be afraid?

Michael Stephenson: Absolutely, I think that's… that's huge. It sucks that, you know, people take advantage of it, because I have been taken advantage of in the past, but, you know…

Michael Stephenson: You can't let that stop you from being a good person.

Michael Stephenson: You know what I mean? Like, you can read the signs and read the… read the tea leaves, as it were, right? Like, oh, - this is a bad situation, I need to get out of it. But…

Michael Stephenson: Overall, not every person is bad, not every person is gonna take advantage of you, and it…

Michael Stephenson: you know, when I do… when I work with kids and I'm doing a talk or whatever.

Michael Stephenson: A lot of other mentors will come to me, and they'd be like, oh, how… like…

Michael Stephenson: how don't you get, like, disheveled or whatever when you're talking? I'm like, listen.

Michael Stephenson: If there's 100 kids in a room.

Michael Stephenson: 90 of them are not paying attention. 9 of them may…

Michael Stephenson: be paying attention, and maybe it doesn't affect them. But it's that one kid.

Michael Stephenson: That I actually did something for.

Michael Stephenson: That one kid that's gonna ask me a question, see me after the meeting, call me, or email me, or whatever the case may be, there's one kid that I had an impact on, then it made it all worth it.

Michael Stephenson: And if more people thought that way.

Michael Stephenson: And stop being protective, because a lot of people are protective, because people take advantage of people, right? So they get overprotective, and they're like, this is my secret.

Michael Stephenson: Mine, you're not gonna get it.

Michael Stephenson: So what happens?

Michael Stephenson: Nothing happens.

Jaclyn Strominger: Great.

Michael Stephenson: That's a shame.

Michael Stephenson: That's a darn shame, because it happened to me. Again, one person.

Michael Stephenson: Finally opened their door, and it's like, oh…

Michael Stephenson: You're a hustler. That's what he said to me the first time. He was like, what do you do? And I told him, he was like, you're a hustler. You do a whole bunch of stuff. Come in.

Michael Stephenson: He's cutting a fish at one of his restaurants.

Michael Stephenson: I'll never forget it in my life, and if it wasn't for him, again, we wouldn't be having this meeting. So, as much of a pain in the butt

Michael Stephenson: That he is… he is, like…

Michael Stephenson: I wouldn't be here. Facts. I would not be here with you right now, Jacqueline.

Michael Stephenson: And I try to tell kids, and anybody that works with us, for us, whatever the case may be.

Michael Stephenson: Just be… understand the person as a human being.

Jaclyn Strominger: Right.

Michael Stephenson: That's it.

Jaclyn Strominger: It is. Okay, so, totally, to change the subject, I'm really curious about this.

Jaclyn Strominger: What's with the exotic pet boutique?

Michael Stephenson: So, I gotta probably update that. So, we had…

Michael Stephenson: a exotic pet boutique. Again, my business partner and I, trying to pay it forward. So, I love reptiles, I do.

Michael Stephenson: And I grew up with them.

Michael Stephenson: But this guy… We… yeah, he was the real deal. I mean, he had…

Jaclyn Strominger: B.

Michael Stephenson: everything. And he was looking for… his girlfriend at the time worked for my business partner at one of his restaurants.

Michael Stephenson: So she put us in contact, and my business partner was like, I know you love reptiles, so I need you to go to this expo with me and check him out and see if he's the real deal.

Michael Stephenson: So I do, and I'm like, he's the real deal.

Michael Stephenson: So then, the guy was like, oh, I need business partners because I'm not good in business.

Michael Stephenson: So my business partner was like, yup.

Michael Stephenson: We need X amount of percentage of the business, and we'll come in, and we'll fix it up.

Michael Stephenson: Everything. And we did.

Michael Stephenson: And this gentleman decided that he didn't like to have partners.

Jaclyn Strominger: Oh!

Michael Stephenson: Because you need to report to your partners what you're doing. You can't just do whatever you want.

Michael Stephenson: And he did not like this, and money kept disappearing. Not saying he took it, I don't think he took it.

Michael Stephenson: But there was no… Way to go!

Jaclyn Strominger: Wait, where'd he go?

Michael Stephenson: Certain amount of money later.

Michael Stephenson: we got on a call, and he pretty much told us, you guys can say whatever you want, it's my business, and I'm gonna run it my way. So we all politely sold our shares for, I think it was, like, a penny or whatever, to his brother, and we said, God bless.

Michael Stephenson: And he got evicted, maybe, like, a month or two after.

Michael Stephenson: The moral of the story is, we took a chance with somebody, right? And again, promoting it, whatever, it was exciting, it was different, but someone taking advantage of your kindness, right?

Jaclyn Strominger: Great.

Jaclyn Strominger: Well, and I think one of the biggest things there, and actually, cause… It happens often, is that…

Jaclyn Strominger: when you get into business with somebody, and once you do it once, and you kind of get burned, you realize you need to have certain agreements in place so that you know that those things don't happen again. Because even though we can trust people and we think everybody's good.

Jaclyn Strominger: You need to have a certain… there's certain requirements that

Jaclyn Strominger: You know, and milestones that have to be met, whether it's weekly, monthly, whatnot, you know, so that you know, you know, where things are going, what people are working on, you know.

Michael Stephenson: the things. All the things. And again, all the things. So, ironically, I still do have exotic pets, because you can't just get rid of them, you know? Like, they're there, and they live for a very long time. So I have about 4… I think we just did the counter, 14 more still in my… my bed.

Jaclyn Strominger: 14?

Michael Stephenson: Yeah, I think it's 14, it's 13 or 14, something like that.

Jaclyn Strominger: Okay, now I just have to ask you a question. Do you take them out to play? Like, what do you do with them, or do they just sit?

Michael Stephenson: Some of them.

Michael Stephenson: Some of… some of them you do.

Michael Stephenson: Some of them are just so beautiful, like, it's just… it's… It's unique, so… You know…

Michael Stephenson: I get it. I completely get it.

Jaclyn Strominger: We have a gecko, we have a gecko that I think is blind, okay? We've had it since, like, my son is… my son's 18, and I got it when we moved here, so it's 8 years old, okay? And, and now my husband actually

Jaclyn Strominger: Feeds it with a, a plunger.

Jaclyn Strominger: Because, like, a little, you know.

Michael Stephenson: Yeah.

Jaclyn Strominger: Because it can't see the worms and stuff, though.

Jaclyn Strominger: Anyway… So, I have…

Michael Stephenson: 3 of those. Your leopard geckos, I have three.

Michael Stephenson: And we mate them, so every so often, they'll give us little eggs or whatever.

Michael Stephenson: And, you know, on the side, I can make a little bit of money there, but we have 3 of those lovely leopard geckos, I have a bearded dragon, I have a boa, I had 2 boas, but one just recently passed.

Michael Stephenson: I have 2 grown, redfoot tortoises, I have one silicata tortoise, I have one Russian tortoise, have a…

Michael Stephenson: what is that thing? Argentinian tegu. Like, I have a lot, right?

Michael Stephenson: you know, once you start, it's like eating Tic Tacs, and you just can't freaking stop. I have no clue why the hell…

Michael Stephenson: You know, somebody… but the best thing that happened to me, Jacqueline, is it was the best… I love my in-laws.

Michael Stephenson: But I love my space more.

Michael Stephenson: They ain't coming here. Not with all those snakes.

Michael Stephenson: Or if they come, they ain't staying for a long time. So it's the best, like, mitigator, right? There's mitigation happening, and nobody has… feelings have to get hurt, they're like, why don't you get rid of it? Because you're not here, that's why I'm not gonna get rid of it, right?

Jaclyn Strominger: I love it!

Michael Stephenson: So just a… just the inside, folks, if you don't want people in your house all the time, put…

Jaclyn Strominger: That's a reptile!

Jaclyn Strominger: Get some reptiles. So sad.

Michael Stephenson: Cut this part out, because this is ridiculous.

Jaclyn Strominger: Oh, it's awesome! Because you know what's really important about this?

Jaclyn Strominger: A key thing to… about… about having reptiles, or doing something… it's something that you like.

Jaclyn Strominger: And you took something that you were passionate about, and you did something with it.

Jaclyn Strominger: And maybe that didn't work out, but it's actually been a theme for a lot of the conversations that I've actually had today. And that is

Jaclyn Strominger: finding something that you are passionate about, or that you… maybe it's not a passion, but that you enjoy doing. And we know that saying that happens all the time, which is, you know, do something that you love and you'll never work a day in your life. Like, I love doing this, I love my podcast, I love connecting with people, I love building relationships. It's…

Jaclyn Strominger: Meeting people, is, like, It's like my caffeine, it's like, it gives me energy, it's just… it fuels me.

Jaclyn Strominger: But let's just say, for example, like, you know, let's say that was the only thing you had done. Okay, so that didn't work out. You could have said, okay, you know what, that didn't work out. I know what we didn't do right. I can go now and

Jaclyn Strominger: do another exotic pet reptile business if you wanted to. It… not in the cards, but again, the key thing is that you… you did something that was based on something that you loved.

Jaclyn Strominger: And so, I think…

Jaclyn Strominger: that's… it's really important. You had other things in the works, but hypothetically, like, if you didn't have all the other things with Brim and Brand going, you know, maybe you… you had a partnership with somebody, and you could have said, hey, you know, partner, I really want to do this part of the business, I want to go find another reptile company.

Michael Stephenson: He would be alright with it, but I don't want to do that. Not a chance. Some of the best things that happen when you do exactly what you said, and you follow, and you do the things that you love.

Michael Stephenson: is you identify, like, I may love this as a hobby.

Jaclyn Strominger: Right.

Michael Stephenson: I may love this.

Michael Stephenson: as…

Michael Stephenson: a once-in-a-while thing, right? Or I may love, like, this specialty piece right here. And I don't really want to go any further than that.

Michael Stephenson: For example, with that lovely reptile story, I didn't know that if you do exotic pets, you gotta have, like.

Michael Stephenson: centipedes, and snails, and things that I would never touch in a… right. I feel the same way, and spiders, like, I don't like any of that. I don't even like…

Jaclyn Strominger: later.

Michael Stephenson: toads or anything like that? No. It's beyond my comfort zone.

Michael Stephenson: So, I stayed, I think I did, like, 3 days where, like, he went on vacation or whatever, and we needed somebody, so I was like, alright, I'll do it. And somebody asked me for some snails?

Michael Stephenson: I said, you gotta come back.

Jaclyn Strominger: You gotta come back. I won't get near those suckers!

Michael Stephenson: I don't even know how to hold it, I don't…

Michael Stephenson: I don't know what to do with this thing, I don't want any parts.

Michael Stephenson: And they were laughing, they were like, well, can I just pick it up? I was like, no.

Michael Stephenson: You just have to wait.

Jaclyn Strominger: Oh, that's too funny. That is so funny.

Michael Stephenson: But again, like, the coffee too, like, all these things were things that we really enjoyed, right? And my business partner goes into business a lot.

Michael Stephenson: And his whole thing… is, man, I don't want to do it by myself, because it's boring.

Michael Stephenson: I'd rather have a partner or somebody that I can work alongside, and that I don't have to do everything, and we can have fun with building something unique.

Jaclyn Strominger: Yep.

Jaclyn Strominger: You know, and I actually kind of want to cap it here, because I think that's also something that's about unstoppable success, what you just said.

Jaclyn Strominger: we can be solopreneurs, but it is so great to actually find somebody who is somebody to partner with. And I would say not necessarily partner with your best friend, because that could be weird, my own little personal opinion, not to put my opinion in there, but… but to partner with somebody because…

Jaclyn Strominger: You have strengths, and your partner has strengths, and usually those two are different, so when you can come together.

Jaclyn Strominger: It's… it's a great partnership, because you each have different strengths that you can work off of, and…

Jaclyn Strominger: as a solopreneur, you can't… you really can't do everything, so you have to start hiring people, but if you're partnering with somebody, you can start off

Jaclyn Strominger: With one step with a leg up, because you already know you've got two people that are doing things.

Jaclyn Strominger: Versus a solopreneur. It just… it's the way I kind of look at things. It's kind of great to have a partner.

Michael Stephenson: Absolutely.

Jaclyn Strominger: Absolutely, yeah. Alright, so, Michael, I could talk to you all day long. What is not coming up next for Brim & Brand? Like, where… what's something that, you know, that,

Jaclyn Strominger: Yeah, that's coming up that's new and different, or where you guys are advancing?

Michael Stephenson: It's always something different, but we'll be, we will be in… Santorini, Greece.

Michael Stephenson: In June.

Michael Stephenson: filming for the CLA, and Jose Escobar, and all the, like, Brandon Godaris, all the big names.

Michael Stephenson: You know, we do travel internationally, that's probably the biggest one that we're looking forward to. And then this weekend, we'll be in Maryland, supporting.

Michael Stephenson: a woman by the name of Brillie Semenov, and she's really an advocate for helping kids with disabilities. So, we live…

Michael Stephenson: We live… we live it, every day.

Michael Stephenson: And we're excited, and if you need somebody to be a part of

Michael Stephenson: Your dream to make it happen.

Michael Stephenson: And you need to get it off the ground, or you feel stagnant, then definitely give us a call.

Jaclyn Strominger: I love it. And seriously, people, like, Michael is such a great help, and he does amazing work. So, best way for people to connect with you is at, Brim & Brand.com.

Michael Stephenson: Anyway, so you can contact… you can go on the website, brimxbrand.com, or you can…

Michael Stephenson: Call me, or send me an email. Send me an email, send me an email, that's definitely better than calling me, and that's mike at brimxbrand.com.

Jaclyn Strominger: Okay, so I'm gonna put that in the show notes, so please, listeners, do me the favor.

Jaclyn Strominger: after you listen to this podcast, go out and connect with Michael. Go to his, go to Brim & Brand's website, and I'll put… he's… one of the things that he was talking about, Santorini, Greece, the CLA, I'll put a link to the Connected Leaders Academy, in…

Jaclyn Strominger: the show notes, and if you can, connect with Jose, let them know that Jacqueline sent you. It is a great, organization. I am not going to be in Santorina, Greece, because I hope to be there next year for a different event.

Jaclyn Strominger: I know.

Jaclyn Strominger: But,

Jaclyn Strominger: Definitely connect with Michael, there are some amazing things that are happening that they are doing. And then do me the favor, please share this episode with your friends, business partners, and associates, because I know that they need to hear these great stories. And lastly, if you haven't already subscribed, subscribe, or I should say second to last, subscribe to the podcast.

Jaclyn Strominger: But, also, please go to our brand new school community on…

Jaclyn Strominger: school, the Unstoppable Success Community on school. I was like, what am I doing? What am I talking about? It's…

Jaclyn Strominger: Unstoppable success on school.

Jaclyn Strominger: You can find it. There will be a link to that in the show notes, too. Come and join us there. The first, people that, join this month, first hundred, get in for free, lifetime access, so you definitely want to be in there. And, again, Michael, thank you so much for being an amazing, amazing guest.

Michael Stephenson: Absolute pleasure, Jacqueline, and it is honest… it's just an honor to be with you, so thank you.

Jaclyn Strominger: Thank you so much. And listeners, thank you so much for listening. Because of you, our podcast keeps on growing, and I truly, truly am grateful from the bottom of my heart. This is Unstoppable Success. Keep leaping to your unstoppable success. I'm your host, Jaclyn Strominger. Until next time.