by Ray Keating
I work with
entrepreneurs, teach about entrepreneurship, and am an entrepreneur. So, I
enjoy interviewing interesting entrepreneurs. One entrepreneur I interviewed
not too long ago was Lou Mongello. The interview turned into a two-part series
for my old Long Island Business News column (running in late summer 2014). I
enjoyed the interview and writing about it, as Lou is the definition of the
optimistic, enthusiastic entrepreneur. Here are the articles…
First in a Two-Part
Series on Following Entrepreneurial Dream
It’s not unusual to hear about people moving from the
northeast – particularly from New York and New Jersey – to Florida. In fact,
it’s been a river of humanity heading south for some time, especially when it
comes to retirees.
It’s also pretty common to come across people with dreams of
turning passions into businesses, but they fail to take the entrepreneurial
plunge.
Then there are those who take their shots at entrepreneurial
success. Consider a guy from New Jersey with a family, a home and a solid
career. He quits his job, sells the house, and heads to Florida to follow his
entrepreneurial dreams built on a lifetime love of Walt Disney World?
That’s what Lou Mongello did. For those dreaming of
transforming a passion into an entrepreneurial reality, Mongello is a role
model.
As he said in an interview, “I get to talk about Walt Disney
World for a living.” Since 2005, he has done an audio podcast on his
WDWRadio.com website, along with videos, blog posts, live events and
broadcasts, and assorted special events… Mongello’s latest book is 102
Ways to Save Money For and At Walt Disney World, and he has written two Walt Disney
World trivia books, and is working on a third.
Bottom line: If you want to know anything about Walt Disney
World, or Disney in general, Lou Mongello is the man. How he became that man is
a fascinating and inspirational story for current and aspiring entrepreneurs.
His passion for Disney goes back to childhood days, with his
family going to Disney World every year – “at least once a year” – since
November 1971. Mongello said, “My parents were Disney fans, and made us Disney
fans. I became fascinated… I learned everything I could about this place that I
was so very much in love with.”
When he eventually told his wife that he wanted to write a
book, her response was: “Well, all you know about is Disney World.” Mongello
reported, “I went downstairs and started writing, and haven’t come out of the
basement since.”
As he tells it, he was doing well as a lawyer in New Jersey,
with an IT consulting business on the side. But a book on Disney World led to
the website to articles to podcasts. It “snowballed.” He was flying back and
forth to Florida, and then the realization hit: “I think I can make a business
out of this hobby. I sold the house I thought I was going to own forever. I
brought money to my closing, which, as you know, is not the way it’s supposed
to work. And I packed up the Honda Odyssey, and I moved to Florida.”
He went full-time talking and covering Disney in 2007. He
called it “a very big, very scary leap of faith.” Unlike those who talk about
following their entrepreneurial dreams but never really pull the trigger,
Mongello decided “to go all in.”
What’s Mongello’s advice when looking to start up a
business? He states in straightforward fashion, “You need to find out what your
passion is .., define your goals,” and “start taking action however small.”
He also warned: “Prepare yourself and the people around you
for the sacrifices that you need to make. There are going to be sacrifices. For
most people, it doesn’t happen overnight.” Mongello noted “an incredible
support system” in his own journey, including “my wife and my parents.” It’s
that support system that gets “you through tough times with business,” adding
that’s “one of the most important aspects that people really need to keep in
mind.”
Next week’s column will touch on some of Mongello’s insights
regarding brands, customers, social media and podcasts. For now, let’s close
with a Lou Mongello inspirational note for entrepreneurial dreamers: “You can
do what you love and do it full time.” He certainly has.
Second in a Two-Part
Series on Following Entrepreneurial Dream
How do you turn a passion into a business? That’s a question
I often work through with the MBA students that I teach at Dowling College.
The best lessons, as those students will tell you, often
come from the real-world experiences of entrepreneurs, rather than from a
textbook.
Lou Mongello is just such an entrepreneur. As explained in
last week’s column, Mongello gave up being a lawyer in New Jersey and moved to
Florida to become one of the foremost experts on Walt Disney World, and all things
Disney. He does podcasts, videos, live broadcasts, hosts events, and writes
books on Disney World. Consider that Podcast Awards voted his WDWRadio.com
podcasts the best travel podcast for every year from 2006 through 2013.
Mongello’s entrepreneurial ventures also include speaking to
businesses, schools and conferences on ways of achieving business dreams, and
advising podcasters on how to make their ventures profitable.
When I asked Mongello about what he had learned from the
Disney company for his own enterprise, he spoke about one’s brand: “You hear
the name Disney and there is a level of expectation in that brand that I think
is so much higher than anyone else, which is why I think the Disney brand has
such incredible brand loyalty.” He noted that “you have an expectation
visiting” Walt Disney World, and “99.9% of time it is going to be magical.”
(Yes, he used the word “magical.”) For his own business, he explained,
“Everything that I put out had to rise to that same level. Because it was
associated with the Disney brand, but more importantly because my name was on
it.”
And what about his customers, that is, his listeners?
Mongello said, “I hate the word fans. I believe, and the way I treat the people
that listen, is they’re not fans, they’re my friends because that’s how they
look at me. They hear your voice every week. They watch you. They trust you.
They know you better than I know them.” This perspective on customers has
allowed Mongello to build an “incredible community.” He boils it down: “Treat
them as friends, they become incredibly loyal. They also become the most
passionate evangelists. They are the marketing team for me.”
That’s very much the case in the online, social media
universe. Technology has allowed businesses to reach people in powerful ways.
At the same time, consumers have heightened expectations when it comes to
social media interaction. Treat customers as friends, and that’s very good
business.
For Mongello, “All my social media stuff, all of my email
get answered by me. I will not hand it off to somebody else because if you are
going to write to me or tweet to me, you better believe that I will give the
courtesy of a personal response.” He added that many big brands are catching on
and “humanizing that experience.”
But what about his bread and butter – the podcast? Mongello
predicts big things, and it’s hard to argue against his reasoning. He said, “I
think the next 12 to 18 months there is going to be this incredible explosion
of podcasting and this business of on-demand delivery of content… The
podcasting medium is so incredibly personal. I’m inside your ears. You may be
driving, you may be on the treadmill, but you’re focused on one thing… It is an
incredibly intimate thing. There is incredible power there. There is incredible
opportunity. So, businesses need to realize that they need to start getting on
this platform.” Again, he points to popular podcasts on iTunes, highlighting
that some larger firms are getting it on podcasts.
Finally, on a more general level regarding entrepreneurship,
Mongello’s optimism cannot be restrained. He said, “I really am focused on
helping other entrepreneurs. As a ‘solepreneur,’ I get how tough it is to be in
a room by yourself struggling with an idea.” Then he adds, “There’s room for us
all to succeed.”
______________
Mr. Keating is an
economist and novelist who writes on a wide range of topics. His Pastor Stephen
Grant novels have received considerable acclaim, including The River: A Pastor
Stephen Grant Novel being a finalist for KFUO radio’s Book of the Year 2014,
and Murderer’s Row: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel nominated for Book of the Year
2015.
The Pastor Stephen
Grant Novels are available at Amazon…
