Last but not least, I was able to speak with Mr. Larry Gruenwald of Formula2Wealth. His brand story, like the others, spoke about perseverance and finding your way in the face of adversity. I encourage you to read this and the other brand stories. I’m sure you’ll find something that can help you in your own brand.
In five words, describe your brand story.
People Achieving Their Dream Now
Walk me through the step-by-step process that you went through to get to where you are today in your business or career. What was the first thing you did? Next?
While in a personal development training I discovered I was a natural coach. So I thought if I’m such a good coach I wonder if there is any way I can make money doing it as I had never heard of a Business Coach. I started researching and talking to people in the field to see what it would take to be in this line of work. One person, I talked to was the Author of “ Coach Anyone About Anything” and I asked her if they had a certification (which they did and I got Certified as a business coach). Then an associate of theirs hired me to their Consulting Company where I also went through more training. After being with them for awhile, I decided to open my own practice. My biggest challenge was building up a clientele which is where I got stopped. I gave it up for a few years and started a Handy Man business to pay the bills. Then one day a person comped me a ticket to JV Alert ( a training for doing joint ventures to grow your business) and through the networking there I was off again to create my Coaching practice. I found someone to build my website and through the process she encouraged me to step up bigger in my name of my company so I came up with Formula2Wealth International. So my idea was to grow into the image. So still not growing like I wanted to and noticing that the technical part was dragging me down as far as marketing on the internet. Finally, I found a great VA that has now got me in the position where I think I have all the pieces put together to be a success. Wow, what long bumpy road. I have never given up but just felt like it and hit the bottom emotionally for quite a while.
How long were you running your business or on your career path before you started seeing favorable results? (E.g. profits, speaking engagements, notoriety, etc.)
Believe it or not, it has taken me over a decade to get to where I am.
How did you live through those not so favorable times in the first few months/years?
It was definitely a tough period of time, but I just kept on trying and not giving up and just doing anything to make money that I did not want to be doing so I could keep moving forward.
Explain a life altering situation that nearly stopped you from starting your business or following you career path. How did you get back on track?
Oddly, me severing my thumb during a construction job got me back on track with my business. I thought OK God I guess you are really serious and want me to get back to coaching as the first message came about a year before when I fell off a roof. By the way, my thumb was sewn back on, however, I can’t play the guitar as well, but I do have a thumb.
Among well-known brands, there’s one defining distinction that separate IT from the rest. For example, Coca-Cola is known for their distinctive taste. Although many try to emulate it, it can’t be duplicated. What makes your brand unique? What separate you from others in your business or field?
What separates me from others in my field is I don’t necessarily adhere to the status quo but just do what I think is best for the client and what we’ll make then a success in business and life.
Behind every success, there’s an even greater success. Who is and was your biggest cheerleader?
I didn’t just have one cheerleader as I was moving forward in my quest, but a number of folks would confirm the fact that I was really good at my craft and that help me keep moving.
This is the last question so make it good. If a kid walked up to you asking for your advice and you only had a few minutes to give them your best tip, what would it be?
I would confidently tell them…………..remember your dream and keep your eye on the ball no matter what happens or it will get away from you. I know as when I was young and had a dream which was different from what I was describing above I let life and rabbit trails extinguish it and the window of opportunity passed…………………
Thank you, thank you, thank you for joining me this week for the brand story series. It’s been a blast! Larry’s interview completes the brand story series. Pleases visit Larry at http://www.formula2wealth.com. He offers a complimentary coaching session on his blog. Also, check out his self-study coaching program here http://www.results4your.biz/confidentyou.
If you’ve enjoyed the series as much as I have, please share with your network.
Angela