This week I have been lucky enough to interview Andrew Warner.
Andrew is the creator of Mixergy.com which helps ambitious people, who love business learn from a mix of experienced mentors.
Adam: You’ve described yourself as a “passionate salesman my whole life”. Business is clearly in your blood; when did you first recognise this, and what factors do you think contributed to this?
Andrew: When I was young I noticed that bleeding-hearts talk about peace and how the world would be better if we all loved each other. Meanwhile, entrepreneurs work like mad and actually help make the world a better place. Every week, I communicate with people all over the world using technologies built by companies that didn’t exist a decade ago. These interactions go a long way to creating a peaceful world. That’s the kind of contribution that entrepreneurs make.
Adam: The Mixergy mission is all about empowering and inspiring individual entrepreneurs. Is helping other people achieve their full business potential something you feel very strongly about?
Andrew: At a regular job, when you don’t know your way, you have a boss and coworkers to help you figure things out. But what happens when you’re an entrepreneur? You can lose money, confidence or worse. My goal is to give entrepreneurs mentors that they can learn from. Mixergy brings together some of the most successful online entrepreneurs so they can teach what they learned as they built their businesses.
Adam: You’ve been very open about some of the setbacks you’ve faced. It’s inevitable that every entrepreneur will meet hard times; what do you feel are the lessons you’ve learned from things not going the way you had hoped?
Andrew: I saw my biggest failures long before they happened. I just didn’t have the guts to admit it to myself.
Adam: How important is the social networking revolution to Mixergy.com? Does your brand “stand alone”, or do you think that no internet venture can survive without Tweets and Facebook fans?
Andrew: If your readers don’t know the answer to this question, they don’t belong on your site.
Adam: It’s arguable that an economic downturn could actually increase the number of people looking to start their own business. Have you found there to be greater interest in your seminars in recent times?
Andrew: I don’t do seminars. I do think that everyone should be an entrepreneur. It’s easy and cheap to setup a business online. I don’t understand why someone would miss out the eduction and revenue that comes from a business of their own.
Adam: The idea of leaving a legacy is obviously very important to you. Is this a personal ambition, a business strategy, or both?
Andrew: You tell me. What do you think is a more energizing approach to entrepreneurship? A goal of just making a few bucks? Or an aspiration to change the world?
Adam: After phenomenal success with Bradford – Reed, you described yourself as “burned out”, which led to you taking a period of time out. Did this experience alter your approach to achieving a work / life balance, and do you feel it’s helped you to manage your time more effectively?
Andrew: I’ll give you one example of how I changed and how having a life outside of work can help an entrepreneur. When I ran Bradford & Reed, I didn’t think ambitious people should waste their time being social. Not only wouldn’t I go out to dinner with anyone, but I avoided small talk. Now I have people over for dinner, drinks, brunch, etc. While it’s not directly related to work and I often relax and just enjoy myself, it’s led to valuable business relationships that I couldn’t have had otherwise.
Adam: What personal qualities do you consider essential to anyone wishing to forge their own path in business?
Andrew: If you have the ability to maintain your confidence when the world around you seems to be falling apart, you’ll think more clearly and act more decisively.
Adam: Mixergy.com events encourage successful people to share their ideas and experience, and inspire other entrepreneurs too. Which business leaders do you consider to be role models, and why?
Andrew: I still love Andrew Carnegie. The man raised himself by his own bootstraps and became the richest man in the country. Then he turned around and hired a researcher to study him and his successful friends so others could follow in their footsteps. Before he died, Carnegie left his money to charity and inspired other entrepreneurs, like Bill Gates, to give their money to worthy causes instead of leaving it all to their kids.
Adam: Where do you see yourself, and Mixergy.com, in 5 years time?
Andrew: I’m going to spend the next few years interviewing the most successful online entrepreneurs and passing on what I learn from them.
Adam Toren
