Mike Michalowicz, author of the bestseller Profit First, shares his innovative approach to writing and business. He licenses frameworks from his books to third parties, allowing him to run a lean operation while promoting his ideas. The conversation dives into his prolific writing process, producing seven books in eight years, and choosing the right partners for collaboration. Michalowicz also discusses the evolution of publishing models and the importance of compelling storytelling. His insights offer valuable lessons for aspiring authors and entrepreneurs alike.
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insights INSIGHT
Fixing Business System Gaps
Mike Michalowicz creates contrarian concepts and codifies them in books to fix gaps between desired and actual business outcomes.
He builds systems that help entrepreneurs achieve profitability by challenging existing assumptions and simplifying complex problems.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Assistant Manages Travel Plans
Mike's assistant Erin manages his schedule and even coordinates whether his wife joins his travel.
This trust has developed over years and frees Mike to focus on his strengths.
insights INSIGHT
Mike's Core Strengths
Mike Michalowicz excels at cheerleading, ideation, and communication.
His genius lies in simplifying complex ideas and believing in entrepreneurs to inspire and guide them.
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Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever
Michael Bungay Stanier
In 'The Coaching Habit,' Michael Bungay Stanier provides a straightforward and effective approach to coaching. Drawing on his extensive experience training managers worldwide, he introduces seven essential coaching questions designed to help managers unlock their team's potential. These questions include the Kickstart Question, the AWE Question, the Lazy Question, the Strategic Question, the Focus Question, the Foundation Question, and the Learning Question. The book emphasizes the importance of saying less and asking more, fostering a collaborative and empowering work environment. It combines practical advice with research in neuroscience and behavioral economics, making coaching a daily, informal part of managerial work rather than a formal event.
On Writing
A Memoir of the Craft
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This book is both a memoir and a writing guide. It details Stephen King's life, from his childhood and early writing endeavors to his struggles with addiction and his near-fatal accident in 1999. The book is divided into sections that cover King's life ('C.V.'), the nature of writing ('What Writing Is'), writing mechanics ('Toolbox'), his advice on the craft ('On Writing'), and his recovery from the accident ('On Living: A Postscript'). King offers practical tips on writing, including the importance of vocabulary, grammar, and style, as well as the need for consistent writing routines and ruthless editing. He emphasizes that good writing comes from within, driven by curiosity, wonder, and emotional honesty rather than commercial motives.
Profit First
Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine
Mike Michalowicz
In 'Profit First', Mike Michalowicz introduces a behavioral approach to accounting that flips the conventional formula from 'Sales - Expenses = Profit' to 'Sales - Profit = Expenses'. This system involves taking a predetermined percentage of sales as profit first and then allocating the remainder for expenses. The book provides practical, step-by-step advice and case studies to help entrepreneurs manage their businesses more effectively, ensuring early and sustained profitability and long-term growth.
Write a Must-Read
Craft a Book That Changes Lives—Including Your Own
A.J. Harper
In 'Write a Must-Read', A.J. Harper shares her expertise on writing nonfiction books that resonate with readers. The book is centered around the 'Reader First' philosophy, emphasizing the importance of understanding and addressing the needs, desires, and challenges of the ideal reader. Harper provides practical advice on identifying the ideal reader, crafting the Core Message, and using teaching points, stories, anecdotes, and case studies to serve the reader. The book also includes guidance on editing and the process of publishing and marketing.
Fix This Next
Mike Michalowicz
Clockwork
Mike Michalowicz
Gino Wickman
In 'Clockwork, Revised & Expanded', Mike Michalowicz provides a step-by-step method for entrepreneurs to achieve an ultra-efficient business. The book is the culmination of over ten years of research and includes hundreds of new real-life case studies and improved processes. It focuses on strategies to empower employees, identify and focus on the most crucial business functions, and improve team efficiency without leadership involvement. The goal is to enable businesses to run themselves, allowing entrepreneurs to live life on their own terms while their businesses continue to grow and turn a profit.
Mike Michalowicz is the author of Profit First, which is used by hundreds of thousands of companies across the globe to drive profit – Creator Science is one of those companies. Profit First has helped me develop sound financials for my business.
He’s also the author of Clockwork, a powerful method to make any business run on automatic, and seven other books as well.
With more than 500,000 book sales, all of Mike’s books have the same goal – to help small business owners and eliminate what he calls “entrepreneurial poverty.” Simon Sinek has called Mike “…the top contender for the patron saint of entrepreneurs.”
This conversation is divided into halves:
The first half explores Mike’s unique model as an author. For each book Mike writes, he partners with a third party to license the frameworks from his books and serve as the done-for-you service provider. This is super uncommon and part of why he’s been so prolific while running a very lean team. So we dig into how that works (and what he’d do differently if he were starting over today).
The second half of the conversation is all about writing books. Mike has published nine books since 2008 – including 7 in the last 8 years. So we dig into how he determines what ideas to turn into books and how to write them so quickly.
Creator Science 
