Copywriter to CEO, with Mike Giannulis

Our guest today, Mike Giannulis, is a serial entrepreneur who understands, and has depended upon, the value of copy to really grow the business.
When I met Mike and we started working together, his main focus was copywriting. But he has built several seven- and eight-figure businesses from scratch. And his the business he runs now, he told me, is currently on track to generate eight figures of revenue.
It’s called Sanetris, with its products and programs focused on health and wellness. He has about 30 people on staff.
Mike also has a personal story you may have heard about. And one time, he weighed 540 pounds, but he has lost and kept off more than 300 pounds.
Today, we’re going to talk about a different transformation in his life, though. The journey from copywriter to CEO.
Here’s what we asked him:
1. Mike, we were working together when you made the transition from copywriter to CEO. I continued to work with you on copy topics, but as I recall, you hired a different coach for your new role as CEO, which of course was a smart thing to do! ☺
Could you tell us about the new skills you needed to develop, as you transitioned from copywriter to CEO?
2. A copywriter, if they’re any good, is focused on the copy and the results it needs to get. A CEO has to lead, guide, and keep track of a business. (I hope I got that right!) What mindset changes did you experience as you moved into the CEO slot… and could you give us an example or two of what that looked like?
3. I’d like to look at the last question from an activity point of view, rather than a mindset point of view. Could you talk about the day-to-differences of managing people and processes, as a CEO, rather than primarily managing words and images, as a copywriter?
4. What was your biggest challenge as a new CEO? How did you deal with it?
5. What was your biggest surprise as a new CEO -- what you expected to happen that didn’t happen, or what you didn’t expect to happen that did happen?
6. If you met a copywriter who was considering expanding their role to CEO, what’s the most important advice you would give them?
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