Mitch Joel
(c) Matthew Clemente
Personal branding is often viewed as a crucial ingredient for achieving success in the modern business world. However, this wasn’t always the commonly accepted belief. Entrepreneur and author Mitch Joel is a pioneer in personal branding and has spent much time educating business owners. Joel has built three thriving businesses around his brand.
What is it about Joel’s journey that we can learn from? I sat down with him to find out.
Lesson 1: Harness the Skills You Already Possess
Looking back to 2002, it might seem surprising that business owners needed convincing that their enterprises required a digital footprint. The internet had already existed for a while, but many businesses had yet to recognize its potential. Joel found himself at the forefront of this awareness issue, advocating the significance of an online presence.
“I began to think differently about my past as a journalist and my experience in publishing magazines. I realized there was potential in the content I could create and decided to leverage my skills in new ways,” Mitch reminisced.
His decision set off a cascade of success. Joel’s blog and podcast, titled ‘Six Pixels of Separation,’ became a popular online destination for leaders seeking to use the internet as a tool to build a personal brand and develop a robust network.
Lesson 2: Generate and Exploit Your Own Opportunities
Joel is a lifelong learner who reads avidly and regularly attends conferences. One of his first conferences was a sales event in Toronto titled ‘The Power Within Sales Mastery.’ Despite being in debt and having to wake up at 3:00 a.m. to drive from Montreal to Toronto, Joel was determined to make the most of the event.
During this event, he met Scott Kavanaugh, now one of his close friends. Kavanaugh introduced Joel to a few individuals, and Joel himself reached out to some speakers whose work he admired. He made these connections thanks to his self-described “nerdism.”
At this conference, he was fortunate enough to meet the owner of the event, who extended an invitation for Joel to use a desk and store his bags whenever he was in Toronto. During one of Joel’s visits, the owner invited him to give a talk about personal branding after having followed Joel’s ‘Six Pixels of Separation’ blog and podcast. At the time, few people were discussing the concept of a personal brand.
“It took me a while to understand the magnitude of what I had just agreed to. The gap between accepting this offer and the actual event proved to be very pivotal in my career,” Joel says.
Being asked to present in front of five to six thousand people at a leadership event in Edmonton was a turning point in his journey. Dr. Phil was the headliner at this event. To prepare for his big moment, Joel undertook a rigorous regimen that he jokingly refers to as his ‘Rocky Balboa training mode.
- He collaborated with a friend who was a stand-up comedian.
- He reviewed his speech with his partners countless times.
- He worked with a presentation coach.
- He tested his speech at a friend’s Toastmasters event.
His extensive preparation paid off. Despite his intense pre-event anxiety, Joel’s presentation was a massive success.
“After the presentation, I was ushered to an area where speakers typically sign books. I didn’t have a book at the time, but the program for the event was a magazine that I had written an article for. There was a long line of people waiting to get my autograph and take pictures. It was unbelievable,” Joel remembered.
Lesson 3: My Network is my Net Worth
Joel attributes his understanding of networking’s importance to Jeffrey Gitomer’s ‘Little Red Book of Selling’ and Keith Ferrazzi’s ‘Never Eat Alone.’ These books shaped his views on the significance of a strong network, which has been instrumental throughout his career. Joel’s networking skills not only got him his first presentation opportunity but have also been invaluable in choosing thought leaders for his new venture, ThinkersOne. (See below.)
“When I’m gone, I hope people will say, ‘He had numerous fascinating connections and conversations.’ That’s what genuinely invigorates me,” he said.
Lesson 4: United We Stand
One of Joel’s significant achievements is Twist Image, a company he started in 2000 with a few partners and sold approximately nine years later. Remarkably, no partner quit, left, or failed to pull their weight throughout the company’s lifespan, an unusual occurrence in the volatile landscape of business partnerships.
“Perhaps what I am most proud of is that we did it all without any partners leaving, without anyone not contributing their fair share,” Joel emphasized.
He attributes the longevity of his business partnerships to two crucial factors. Firstly, their divergent interests kept jealousy and competition at bay. Secondly, they vowed from the start that they would always support each other and avoid assigning blame when things went awry.
Lesson 5: ThinkersOne – Successful Businesses Solve Real Problems
Joel’s latest venture, ThinkersOne, aims to make personalized thought leadership from world-renowned thinkers accessible to a wide range of businesses. The platform stemmed from two key realizations:
Consultations or keynote speeches from thought leaders are often unaffordable or inaccessible for small to medium-sized businesses, non-profits, start-ups, and even specific teams within large organizations.
HR and Chief Learning Officers face challenges keeping employees engaged in the evolving hybrid work environment. Joel and his co-founder, Aubrey Rosenhek, invested considerable time and effort into researching and planning ThinkersOne. Now, it is a platform that allows companies to enhance their meetings and events with personalized and bite-sized wisdom from thought leaders globally.
“Thought leaders like us shouldn’t just be available at big gatherings. We should also be accessible in everyday meetings and client interactions. We aim to make individuals like you and I available for everyday meetings, lunch and learns, and gifts for clients,” Joel explained.
ThinkersOne is a prime example of Joel’s continuous innovation and vision. It’s clear that Mitch Joel is a modern-day entrepreneurial savant whose lessons and successes offer invaluable guidance to the leaders of today and tomorrow.
Watch the full interview with Mitch Joel and Dan Pontefract on the Leadership NOW program below, or listen to it on your favorite podcast.
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Pre-order my next book, publishing in November, Work-Life Bloom: How to Nurture a Team That Flourishes, (You won’t want to miss digging in.)
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