1 on 1 with the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur Mike Michalowicz

I recently executed an entrepreneurship forum in Jamaica at UWI Mona with the help of two great students featuring Mike Michalowicz, a successful entrepreneur who has built two multi-million dollar businesses that were sold and has now launched a third.

Mike has written a book on entrepreneurship and making do with the tools at hand titled The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur that goes on sale at the end of September and he had asked me to endorse the book. We had connected after presenting at the Boston College Entrepreneurship Society in October 2007 thanks to the then President, Scott Bradley and Facebook.

Mike is a recurring guest on one of my favourite shows, The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, and Deutsch is also on the back of the book as an endorser. Mike is also a guest lecturer for entrepreneurial groups at Babson College, Harvard, Columbia, Penn State and other universities.

 He shared his thoughts about entrepreneurship in Jamaica in this blog post after the visit: Why Jamaica Can (And Will) Lead the World in Next Generation Entrepreneurialism

 I followed up with this interview.

DM: What surprised you most about Jamaica?

MM:I wasn’t as surprised by Jamaica as much as I was surprised by my ignorance.  I can blame it on a million things, like the media, tourist mindset, etc.  But to really know something or someone, I need to get face to face and in the mix of things.  When I visited Jamaica, the real Jamaica – not as a tourist, I was taken aback by the drive of the people I met.  I have to say it surpassed the drive of any other group of people I have ever met.  There is clearly a lot going on here more than tourism.  Entrepreneurial opportunities abound, and the citizens not only seeing them but starting them.

 DM: How did you perceive entrepreneurship in Jamaica?

MM: I clearly sensed a hunger among the young entrepreneurs of Jamaica that I haven’t seen in any country including my own.  That being said, I have been very impressed by the drive and passion of entrepreneurs in my country.  Very impressed.

But, there is something else going on with the Jamaican entrepreneurs. The hunger and desire is stronger than anywhere else, almost manic.  But it is not desperation or panic, but something more focused.  I think it is a sense of, “Now it’s our turn.”  I was taken aback by pride in the Jamaican entrepreneurs.  I feel they absolutely should be prideful, and have a responsibility to become an entrepreneurial powerhouse.  I really feel the world is going to benefit from the relentless drive that I saw here.

DM:You quote Bob Marley in your book as one of the greatest entrepreneurship lessons. Why?

MM: There is one lesson that hands down has the greatest impact on success and failure.  It has been said in multiple ways by the super successes, and there are two people that have said it best, in my opinion.  First was Henry Ford, who said “If you think you can or can’t, you are right.”  The other was Bob Marley who said, “My music will go on forever.  Maybe it’s a fool say that, but when me know facts me can say facts. My music will go on forever.”  In that statement Marley taught us to be prophets of our own future.  We need to empathically believe something to be true, and then the actions to make it happen become apparent.

DM:How does The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur as a book benefit the reader?

MM: I set out from day one, to be radically true to myself and to deliver something I have never seen before.  I have read hundreds of books cover to cover and skimmed thousands more.  Most were marginal at best.  The few great ones had content I had never seen before, but even those I struggled with staying awake at times.  I have read fiction books that I just couldn’t put down… the stories were that good.  So I said, I wish there was a business book that was so powerful educationally I would be moved, and that it was written so effectively like a great fiction book that I couldn’t put it down and would stick with me.  I wrote it, and rewrote it, and rewrote it until it was perfect.  My book will live on forever.  That may sound foolish, but when I know facts…

 DM:What are some of the technology opportunities you noticed in Jamaica while visiting?

MM: I think the technology advantages are in exploiting what is naturally there.  There is a lot of sun in Jamaica, and there is a big green movement.  If you put one and one together, it looks like Jamaica is a natural for solar research and innovation.

Another important note is the access to the internet.  To me, the internet is the greatest equalizer of all times.  While the gun put man’s method of protection on equal footing, the internet has made available knowledge equal.  Jamaica is on equal footing to everyone else in the world when it comes to the internet, and they can use that to compete at the highest levels.

 DM: Will you be back to speak again?

MM: Absolutely!  During that visit, my dream would be to return and meet with Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, and tell him what I have seen.

DM: Do intend to visit other Caribbean islands to speak and inspire entrepreneurs?

MM: Yes.  I plan to travel anywhere and everywhere there are entrepreneurial aspirations.  I want to teach and learn as much as I can about entrepreneurialism.  The more people who pursue launching there own company, the better the world gets.  This is my plan on how I will impact the world.

DM: Why did you sell your first two companies?

MM: They were not in my field of passion.  They were successful because I love launching companies, but at a certain point their services were not what I loved to do… that is when I decided it was time to sell.

DM: What one thing would you tell Caribbean entrepreneurs reading this blog?

I have seen the light with Jamaica’s entrepreneurs, but that won’t have any impact beyond, perhaps, inspiration. The ability to succeed lies squarely on your shoulders, and it all starts with your beliefs.  I want Caribbean entrepreneurs to know that they can more than just do it, but they will lead in it… they just need to believe it first and then it is a fait accompli.

It speaks volumes when an outsider comes to the Caribbean and endorses what so many inside the Caribbean have been saying for some time.

The next 10 years should be great for Caribbean entrepreneurship.