We recently connected with Mike Neilan and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Mike with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
My generosity comes from my mom for sure. Growing up, we weren’t well off whatsoever. My parents got divorced when I was 4 years old and my brothers and I spent a majority of our time with our mom. She worked full time and raised us being a single mom. I always saw how hard she worked to provide for us, and she taught us that as well. She had us do chores around the house; taking out the trash, shoveling snow, raking the leaves, doing the dishes, anything you can imagine. She truly taught us that you need to work hard for what you want in life, and that nothing is given to you. My brothers and I are all different but we all know that we need to work for what we want in life, and my mom instilled that in us as kids.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m the COO and Co-Founder of Focus Forward Media, a modern day media production company based in Providence, Rhode Island. We also have a sister brand, Neilan Media, that provides photography + video for weddings. I started capturing weddings in 2015 while I was in college, and we started Focus Forward Media in January of 2018. We have an awesome team that truly works hard, understands our vision, and collaborates really well. I think what I enjoy most about our company is the variety in work we do. At Focus Forward we’ve worked with businesses ranging from real estate developers to construction companies, restaurants, software companies, non-profits, healthcare organizations, and more. We’re not stuck in 1 industry, so we get to be creative in different industries. I think it keeps us from being stagnant and forces us to constantly be innovating. At Neilan Media we’ve worked weddings all over the Northeast, but have also traveled to other areas such as California + Florida, which has been a lot of fun.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
In starting a business and growing a business, I think the 3 most important skills/qualities to have are perseverance, hard work, and having an open mind.
Starting a business is incredibly difficult, and you need to be able to persevere through the tough times in the beginning when you’re getting “no” from people, and things might not be working out. It’s perseverance almost to a sense of delusion because you have to keep going and keep working at it to start getting “yes.”
It’s crucial to work hard when you’re starting out – I can remember working until 12/1am most nights, and then getting up at 7am to continue working. I would even wake up some holidays and work those mornings to get things done and be productive. In the beginning, typically you’re making enough to get by but maybe not enough to hire freelancers or employees to do the work for you, so it’s normal to work long hours to get things done.
Having an open mind is very important too. When I was in the first few years of starting the business, I didn’t know everything and chances are most people don’t. You learn so much as you go – whether it’s from making mistakes or from other people who have done what you’re doing. Having an open mind, being open to feedback, and having that willingness to hear other peoples experiences can be a huge help when you’re starting out. I think it also helps in seeing things from another perspective and having that willingness to try something different.
It’s important to note that you will grow as a person as you grow your business – it’s just a fact. While you’re working on growing your business, you will develop more as a person because you’ll be learning from your experiences, meeting new people, and overall evolving. I’m not the same person I was 7 years ago, or even 5 years ago. I’ve learned so much since starting our company, and it’s played a part in shaping me over the years. If you keep an open mind, work hard, and don’t give up, great things will happen.
We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
In my opinion, I think it’s best to focus on your strengths and find people who compliment your weaknesses. That’s how we’ve built our business and it’s worked very well. My business partner is great at areas I’m not, and vice versa. We really balance each other out, and I think this is very helpful in growing a business.
In one aspect, you need to see things from different perspectives to make decisions and continue growing as a business. And in another aspect, if you focus on your strengths, and let a business partner or employee compliment your weaknesses, you can go further and grow faster than trying to work on your weaknesses too. Running a business takes up a ton of time, so rather than take time to develop your weaknesses, you can move forward while focusing on your strengths.
Now don’t get me wrong, it’s important to grow as a person and evolve too, I don’t mean that you should ignore your weaknesses, but in business I’ve found that doubling down on my strengths has served us well.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://focusforwardmedia.com
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/focusforwardmedia
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FocusForwardMedia/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/focusforwardmedia
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@focusforwardmedia
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