In this episode, Dave interviews Derek Gehl, an “internet marketer and digital entrepreneur” who started out as a door-to-door vacuum salesman. He grew is company The Internet Marketing Center to $30 million in revenue and over a hundred employees before he sold it in 2008. Listen as Derek discusses his life experience and how he’s made a career out of an expertise in selling online.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:35 – Derek’s introduction 02:50 – His podcast is at entrepreneurignited.com 03:15 – How entrepreneurs are “academically challenged” 04:30 – Derek says entrepreneurs don’t thrive in the traditional school system 05:15 – Derek decided he wanted to be a programmer 07:00 – He realized he wouldn’t be successful at it, but he learned about HTML 08:00 – Derek didn’t develop the skillset to be a developer 09:55 – Derek’s early days with online sales and his search for a mentor 10:30 – Cory Rudl became his mentor 11:40 – They started The Internet Marketing Center, which doubled in growth each year 12:55 – They realized they needed to sell the company because they weren’t happy 14:20 – July 5, 2005: Cory died in a car crash 15:30 – There were a lot of hurtles with Cory’s estate 17:40 – The company could not be sold at this point. 18:00 – Derek became the face of the company and continued to drive growth 18:55 – They started marketing the company in 2007, and closed a deal in 2008 with a private equity firm 19:30 – Derek was in an awkward position, because they wanted him to stay with the company 21:15 – The company was sold for $20 million 22:40 – Negotiations with a private equity firm 26:00 – Dave: “They are not your friends.” 27:10 – Difficulties when Derek stayed on as the CEO 28:10 – Derek: “They didn’t understand the company.” 28:50 – Derek decided to leave in 2009 29:40 – He took time to restore his health 30:25 – “I love to work with entrepreneurs. I love to help people start incredible businesses.” –Derek 31:00 – Derek’s target audience in Asia and Australia 32:05 – He found more opportunities there 33:00 – Derek: “I wanted to create a lifestyle business.” 34:40 – He’s making money and has less overhead. 35:20 – His priorities shifted to not focus so much on money. 36:30 – He wanted to meet with “high-quality entrepreneurs.” 37:15 – He wanted time with his family 39:30 – Entrepreneur Ignited—gives people the steps and education to create a business 41:30 – It utilizes the web for businesses 43:30 – The connotation of a “lifestyle business” 45:00 – Derek’s philosophy for business and his life 46:30 – School systems today 48:00 – Derek’s parents/his childhood 49:35 – “From the cow farm to the internet” 50:15 – Dave closes the interview

 

3 Key Points:

Focus on the part of a business that makes you happy. Establish your priorities in life. A lifestyle business is simply a business that gives you more freedom with your life.

 

Resources Mentioned:

Entrepreneur's Organization – The EO Network Slack – A communication alternative to email Entrepreneur Ignited —Steps and education to create a business

 

Credits:

Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives