Meet John Manning

We were lucky to catch up with John Manning and Sarah Martin recently and have shared our conversation below.

John, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I believe we found our purpose working in the hospitality industry. In that field of business making people happy is the business. If that isn’t your main focus then you are likely to fail. We realize that profitability coincides with making people feel good. We don’t sell products we sell the feeling of nostalgia and joy.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
This is actually my 2nd business that I have started in the last 10 years. My 1st love has always been music and my 2nd is comics and manga. I took my passions and figured out how to do what I love and make an honest living from it. My soon to be wife Sarah, has been by my side for the last 9 of those years supporting my goals along the way and I feel as if she has been the catalyst for my good business decisions. I always consider “what is good for OUR future” since I’ve been with her.

In June of 2023 we went from flipping cool merchandise like anime figures and Funko Pops! to owning Manning’s Merch and Collectibles. We received our first wholesale/distribution deal with the multimillion dollar, international company Entertainment Earth. While Funko Pops! and anime figures are our focus currently we are constantly updating our inventory with new items and licensed collectibles like Loungefly bags and backpacks, Disney products, gaming accessories, and plushies.

We just launched our website last month https://manningsmerch.square.site/ and will be doing some massive updates in the coming weeks. If you like any of the aforementioned things give us a look and stay up to date with us.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
You have to be able to have a hustle mentality. If you aren’t willing to put in 100% effort after doing an 8 hour shift you will only get what you give. Another great quality or skill is the ability to connect with people on a personal level. If you care about your clients you will notice that you will have more success than those that are just trying to make a sale. The third and probably the most difficult is knowing the trends. You have to understand what people will want before they want it. Having the ability and drive to do the research is very important or you’ll be “chasing trends” and that leads to FOMO which leads to bad decision making.

Be diligent in your research, connect with your clients and LOVE what you do. That’s the best advice I can give to someone who is on a similar journey.

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?
Everyone always tells you to follow your dreams and your passions but that is actually false information. Figure out what you love and what you are good at and make those things the focus. When you are good at something you never look at it as work. When you love something you can never do it enough. The development of things that you are already good at is better than following a false dream for something that you may not have the talent for. Be honest with yourself and do what you are good at. I know plenty of people who love music but that doesn’t mean they should be an artist at the same time that also doesn’t mean they can’t be in the music industry in some other capacity like an artist manager or music producer.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
[email protected]

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