Book
“Entrepreneurship must be the loneliest job on the planet. The world thinks you either ‘have it made’ or you’ve ‘lost your mind.’ No middle ground to be found.”
What is Performance Driven Living?
“Nobody understands an entrepreneur like another entrepreneur. Everyone thinks they do – and many even think they are – but when it comes to the true heart of a risk-it-all, live-on-the-edge, adrenaline-rush, never-enough, just-one-more life of a man on a mission, nobody understands an entrepreneur like another entrepreneur.
“We’re a unique breed, you and I. And, over the course of a lifetime in various businesses, I’ve learned that entrepreneurship must be the loneliest job on the planet. I mean, really. All to lose. All to gain. And the world thinks you either ‘have it made’ or you’ve ‘lost your mind. ’No middle ground to be found.”
GENETIC ENTREPRENEURSHIP
“Being the product of generations of entrepreneurs, Mark Young is no stranger to the high-stakes world of business ownership. In fact, it is almost as if it is something hard-coded in his DNA.
With a childhood so firmly planted in family businesses that even his earliest memories have shadows of entrepreneurship (such as the dedicated telephone in the living room that was dedicated to the “business line” or the coming home from school to pack orders to be shipped to clients), Young claims to have seen it all, from the inside out, yet keeps coming back for more. Young’s first experience at business ownership took place at the age of 16, and after nearly 30 years, still talks about lessons he learned back then: things he would never do again and things that he can’t believe he just knew were right. He frequently quotes his father as saying that “if it were easy, everyone would do it.”
AT YOUR SERVICE
“Today, Young claims to be living a lifelong dream, getting to spend his days helping other entrepreneurs and small business owners identify the most common – and often avoidable – mistakes people make in business. A recent Forbes article quoted that nearly 20% of small businesses fail in their first year, while another 30% will be gone before five years. Another 17% will die before they reach year ten. Statistically, that means that one out of three dreams dies in less than ten years – and leave a pretty big mess behind. “There is just no substitute for good mentorship,” he says, “but as entrepreneurs, we tend to think that there is valor in learning this the hard way.”
With an incredibly diverse résumé of experiences in various business disciplines, Mark Young is an authority on both small business stabilization and growth. “Sadly, many entrepreneurs are often too close to the problem to even see it,” he adds. “Our businesses are personal. We take success and failure personally – no matter what we tell people. But, like any good athlete, we still need trainers to tell us the cold, hard truth. You’d never try out for the Olympics without experienced coaches around you. Why would you try to run a business without surrounding yourself with wise counsel?”
When consulting with small businesses, likely his greatest strength is the incredible speed at which he can understand the business, articulate the problem(s), then devise a strategy for success. Don’t believe it?
“There is just no substitute for good mentorship,
but as entrepreneurs, we tend to think that there
is valor in learning this the hard way.”
MARK YOUNG
LET MARK HELP YOU REACH YOUR GOALS
Mark’s entrepreneurial spirit has led him to start-up many successful businesses in many different arenas. You can learn a lot in over 30 years of running multiple businesses. Whether you’re building rocket ships or running a beauty salon, Mark’s creativity and insight will help you move ahead and become more profitable. Mark is available for success coaching sessions.
A LIFETIME OF RISK-TAKING … AND SUCCESS
Mark began his entrepreneurial career at the tender age of 16. We are not talking about a lemonade stand on his family’s driveway; before he graduated from high school, he had employees more than twice his age working for him.
In the span of almost three decades, Mark has founded dozens of companies and offered valuable advice to others who’ve in turn started many more. Today, Mark Young serves as CEO and is a member of the board of directors of multiple companies.
REVIEW MARK’S SUCCESS PORTFOLIO
“There is no MBA in existence which can teach you how to react to the sinking feeling of having to make payroll on Friday.”
Edu-tainment Master
“As a college professor for nearly 15 years (adjunct, of course), I always referred to my classroom as requiring ‘edu-tainment.’ Let’s face it: In the age of the smart phone, nobody wants to listen to what you have to say if they’re not amused by it. You’re just one swipe away from insignificance. Undergraduate students (oh, heck, even graduate students) need to feel a connection to the presenter if you stand any chance of them feeling a connection to the presentation.
“While this applies to college students, for sure, I hate to admit it, but I’m the same way. I disengage in about 3.6 seconds if you’re providing nothing of relevance to my life. As a business owner, I have no time to waste, and even less intention to waste it. Make your point. Make me laugh. Make me understand why I should be listening. Then, and only then, you may earn enough respect to make me listen.”
Theory + Practice
Unlike many autodidactic, boot-strap entrepreneurs, Mark Young also gets a seat at the table of the traditionally-educated, pedigree-focused elite. Holding various graduate degrees and professional certifications, Young certainly holds the credentials to command the respect of his peers, but would freely counter that the most powerful lessons he has ever learned have come from one of two sources: 1) doing it wrong (repeatedly) and 2) the words of a mentor. “Text books are great, and I have shelves of them (like lots and lots of shelves), but there is no MBA in existence which can teach you how to react to the sinking feeling of having to make payroll on Friday and not knowing where the money is coming from.”
Teach a Man to Fish …
Claiming that the greatest gifts he has ever received have been the astounding teacher evaluations completed at the end of a semester, Young makes a concerted effort to contribute likewise into the lives of anyone with whom he makes acquaintance. And, while no longer spending time in the classroom, he harnesses this passion each day when interacting with clients and potential business partners. Young adds, “I not only get the satisfaction of helping my clients make good business decisions, I get my fix from helping them understand the ‘why’ behind the ‘what,’ which is often a blurred line.”
A public speaker at heart, loving the adrenaline rush that comes from large crowds, Young welcomes the opportunity to work with small businesses, and small business owners, to provide the context and strategic vision required for success in today’s ever-changing business climate. “While working with a brand or brand owner, I find it my responsibility to educate him or her contextually regarding the potential outcomes which may become reality, should he or she not take corrective actions. My time with business owners feels very much like working with college students, often taking the conversation right back to a traditional SWOT analysis and building from there.”
Entrepreneurs are incredible people who are zealous for progress and reward. Often, however, this high-powered engine lacks a solid suspension.
“I not only get the satisfaction of helping my clients make good business decisions,
I get my fix from helping them understand the ‘why’ behind the ‘what,’
which is often a blurred line.”
MARK YOUNG
BUSINESS COACHING
With almost three decades as a business owner under his belt, Mark Young can provide the type of insight that comes from education and experience. As a professor in higher education, Mark sharpened his “edu-tainment” skill, becoming an expert communicator in subjects ranging from the very simple, to the extremely complex. Mark has coached business owners in many different industries. Interested in learning how to improve your business’ bottom line?
SHARING SUCCESS WITH OTHERS
Thanks to his long entrepreneurial career, Mark has been able to acquire the knowledge that comes from practice, not just theory. He knows that there is a steep learning curve and a road full of twists and turns, ups and downs.He loves the challenge of new projects and the satisfaction he gets from helping others achieve their dreams.
“There is something just powerful about the ability to express yourself in writing – forever preserved.”
Date Your Clients
“I’m just strange, I guess. Most people are terrified of both public speaking and essay tests, but for me, they’re both exhilarating experiences. They’re about unique expression, rather than summarization or regurgitation. And, while I love communicating with an audience from a platform, there is no platform I love more than the written word. There is something just powerful about the ability to express yourself in writing – forever preserved.
“My first book, Date Your Clients, started as a letter to a client, honestly. I was trying to explain a marketing strategy, but found myself having to stop every paragraph or two to explain what I was proposing. It started as a critique of the client’s website, but many of the things I was saying would have just read like Greek to an unsophisticated reader. So, as anyone who knows me could predict, I defaulted to speaking in metaphors. All the metaphors. And, when talking about the website, I found myself explaining it like a dating profile.Then a first date. And so on. After a few pages of a letter were written, I stopped writing the letter and a book began.”
Painting Pictures With Words
As entertaining as he is informative, Young has found his niche in being able to connect the dots between complicated, abstract concepts and real-to-life, easily understood situations. In his book Date Your Clients, Young uses humor, mixed with some intentional snark, to break down the complicated, multi-disciplinary world of business management and deliver it in a voice that resonates with the average Joe. “My goal in writing anything is to take the fear out of the equation,” he explains. “In most situations, people fail to act because they are intimidated by the fear of the unknown. If I can rip off that scary mask – a la Scooby Doo style dramatics – then we can reveal the very ordinary villain beneath the façade.”
Natural Born Storyteller
Young attributes his gift for composition to two very primitive root causes: 1) his love for a good story, whether listening, read, watching, or telling; and 2) his “grammar Nazi” grandmother, who early on instilled the necessity to always communicate with clarity and intent, as people will form opinions based on the delivery of a message far more than the content thereof. In hindsight, it kind of sounds a bit traumatic, but I suppose the end justifies the means in this case (characteristic Machiavellian thinking … how entrepreneurial).
The human experience has always been shared through storytelling, often passed down through generations as campfire history lessons, but always told. And as any honest participant would concur, we watch and listen to stories with an attentive ear to the ways in which we can identify with the protagonist. We are enthralled with the story much because we want to be part of it. It fills a deep, often undisclosed, desire within each of us, which is our need to be part of the bigger picture. The longing to be needed, and, in one way or another, feel irreplaceable in the story. Young’s ability to put the reader into the heart of the story is unparalleled, forcing the reader to even reflect on his or her own lives, while on their journey to greater things.
Like Maximus Aurelius, Spartacus, or even Ben Hur, entrepreneurs often find themselves feeling like pawns of the great Colosseum – hunted and hated, yet cheered and adored. And, as Maximus himself would advise, “Hold the line. Stay with me. If you find yourself alone, riding in green fields with the sun on your face, do not be troubled; for you are in Elysium, and you’re already dead!”
The human experience has always been shared through storytelling,
often passed down through generations … we watch and listen to
stories with an attentive ear to the ways in which
we can identify with the protagonist.
MARK YOUNG
Building Professional Equity from Life’s Worst Personal Strikeouts
If, by the title alone, you’re thinking that this book sounds unconventional; you’re right. It isn’t for the faint of heart, if we’re being honest, because its sole purpose is revisiting many of the most embarrassing, traumatic, and wish-you-could-forget moments from your dumpster fire of a love life – then applying all those painful lessons directly to your professional life. Even if your life took the “marry my high school sweetheart” track, it’s not always been wine and roses, I’d bet, so pony up and let’s ride.
Whether you’re a business owner, business manager, or even an aspiring troubadour, there’s something to be learned between the covers of this wit-filled text. So, grab a beer. You may need it. This raw (sometimes very raw) journey is going to need some honesty. I’ll start the conversation, but it is ultimately yours to finish. Introspect and reminisce – and judge if you must – but, at this point, we’re just a couple of friends having a beer and discussing life.
“Seeing and feeling the struggles of others will change you.”
Born to Serve
“I remember the moment that my entire outlook on humanity changed. Literally, I remember the faces, the setting, the entire night. It was like I was instantaneously gifted with a sensitivity to the struggles of other people – and when I tell you that it was a gift, I mean it. It didn’t come with a return policy either. Seeing and feeling the struggles of others will change you.
“And, while I make a conscious effort to find ways to serve others, I actually find the greatest fulfillment in empowering others to get involved. People want to be invited into the story. They would do more, if someone would only ask. Really, I think people are willing and able, but they suffer from the fear of the unknown. Too often, it causes folks to sit on the sidelines and do nothing. Personally, I like being uncomfortable and secretly take pleasure in ‘helping’ others feel it too.”
Spring Into Action
After reading the book Holy Discontent, by Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Church, Young says that he spent quite a bit of time answering the million dollar question posed by Hybels: “What about the state of the world angers you so much that it moves you to action?” It is a wrong that should be made right. It is an uneasiness that haunts your subconscious. It is righteous anger. It is the essence of God, Himself, spurring you into action to do that which aligns with His heart. To Young, this holy discontent wasn’t something as obvious as child poverty or world hunger. He discovered the thing that bothers him most about the world around him is watching people – from all walks of life – live beneath their God-given ability to become more than they are.
A World of Possibilites
Young frequently speaks about people living in the shadows of “what if” and “if only” fears and regrets. “If I were given the ability to change anything about the world, it would be to overwrite the lies that people believe about themselves and their circumstances,” he passionately explains. “Just think about what could be accomplished if we were able to stop worrying about the possibility of failure or rejection and just live as if success was the only option! It’s so hard to imagine, but just take a minute and ask yourself what you would do if you couldn’t fail. Now do it.”
Taking every opportunity to inspire and feed into the lives of everyone he meets, Young believes that rewriting the scripts of people’s inner doubts can have more of an exponential impact on the world than any organized charity. “I have served on, and even led, dozen of both domestic and international humanitarian trips on nearly every continent of the world. I have served on the board of directors for various not-for-profit organizations. I have even personally spent inordinate amounts of time and money serving the homeless community right in the heart of my own city. But nothing – nothing – is more rewarding than watching a single person have that ‘aha moment’ when he realizes that limits are only ever drawn in pencil. That man, or that woman, can change the world.”
While Young is a supporter of various NPOs worldwide, and even acts as executive director of a few of his own initiatives (such as www.eternalperks.com), his passion lies in his ability to see the potential in every person and his desire to liberate that person from their own prison of disbelief. Then comes the paying it forward. Like any entrepreneur, he thinks exponentially, rather than arithmetically.
“Nothing – nothing – is more rewarding than watching a single person have that
‘aha moment’ when he realizes that limits are only ever drawn in pencil.
That man, or that woman, can change the world.”
MARK YOUNG
Counting My Blessings
Everything that I’ve been able to do so far, I’ve accomplished through hard work and persistence; but most importantly, the blessings I’ve received from the Big Boss. I strongly believe God blesses those who put in the dedication, and today I’m grateful for everything that I’ve received.
Would You Like To Help?
Please let me know if you’d like to learn more about the non-profit organizations that I’m involved in.
“Everything should be a competition to the death. ”
A Competition to the Death
“I’ve always loved travel: a love that I coincidentally shared with my step-mother. Also, coincidentally, at a family Christmas gift exchange nearly 20 years ago, we had each purchased the same gift for the other: a copy of the travel guide, 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. At first, she thought that she had accidentally opened the gift she had bought for me, and quickly rewrapped it. After a good laugh, the scorekeeping began, counting how many of the 1,000 places each of us had seen. Then began the lifelong challenge to see who would see more of the 1,000 places before dying – because everything should be a competition to the death. Suffice to say, this would-be innocent dare has turned into the most expensive bucket list ever created.
“Travel keeps me humble. When I can board an airplane and wind up thousands of miles from home, it never ceases to amaze me how incredible small I am in the scheme of things. I am one of nearly 8 billion people in the world, and each of them have unique stories and histories and struggles and interests and dreams and families and fears. At home, I am the primary character in the lives of those around me – the protagonist. I’m the decision maker. The CEO. The consultant. The expert. When I travel, I get to become a tourist and just experience the world while surrounded by people who just have no idea who I am, but freely share their lives and culture (for the right price, of course).”
A Real Life Globe-Trotter
Whether traveling to the heart of Africa doing humanitarian relief (and pretending to be a National Geographic photographer) or walking the Champs-Élysées in Paris (also pretending to be National Geographic photographer), Young finds the experience of travel refreshing and invigorating to the soul. He talks about it being an escape from the monotony of daily life and gives his frequent escapes full credit for replenishing the creative juices that are the heart of his strategic planning. “Being away from the usual helps you dream,” he explains. “When you’re driving down the same road each day on the way to the office, or even singing in the same shower every morning, it’s harder to stretch your imagination. Being surrounded by the same leads to a lot of the same. New experiences and new surroundings free our minds of the monotony and help us imagine that anything can be different.”
Where Are You?
Young’s own mother laughs when she tells people that she never starts a conversation asking “how are you?”; she starts by asking “where are you?” And it is tribute to the free spirit that will gladly – nay, eagerly – buy a ticket and pack a carryon on a moment’s notice. Never invite him anywhere unless you are willing to have him along, because he will likely show up.
“Seeing how big this world is makes me want to become more than I have ever dreamed. And each time I see more of it, my dreams simply get bigger.”
“I am one of nearly 8 billion people in the world, and each of them
have unique stories and histories and struggles and interests
and dreams and families and fears.”
MARK YOUNG
Where Should I Travel Next?
Help me choose. These are some of the places I want to cross-off my bucket list. Which would you choose?