Mo Abdul better known as @wiseguymo on Instagram is a 23-year-old college dropout turned six-figure entrepreneur. He’s generated over $2,000,000 in revenue for multiple companies, and has done it all from his skills in sales and marketing.
Can you tell us a story about what brought you into Online Marketing?
It really all started when I was in high school. I noticed some Ads on Facebook and I was intrigued on how those advertisers were doing it. I ended up making an email and opted into every single offer I could come across. I then tried to reverse engineer all the ads I liked. I did this throughout high school and college. Heck, I still even do it today. Thinking deeply, it was one of the things that helped me figure out the psychology of selling, and ultimately led me to where I am today.
Can you share a story about a mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson it taught you?
A huge mistake I made when I was first starting off was being scared to invest to learn, grow and network. If I would have went all money in (like Nipsey Hussle said) early on I’m sure I would have had more opportunities in the online space. I think the reason why I hesitated before was because of the scarcity of money I was used to. I grew up in a low-income setting so in the back of my mind there was always a type of skepticism in learning new things, growing, and ultimately investing in myself because people where I’m from don’t do things “outside the box”. I feel like a lot of people that grew up with not a lot or have immigrant parents have this barrier or something that holds them back when trying to pursue something outside of going to school and getting the “dream job”. Once I realized that those barriers were all mental, the sky was the limit and I was able to do things I never thought of.
At the end of the day the biggest thing that helped me was investing in myself, networking, and constant self-education.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Honestly if you love what you do, and if you have true freedom over yourself and your business you’ll never burn out. I always hear people talking about having a work-life balance, etc but when you have a business that runs on a system then you’re able to have the freedom of doing what you want, when you want. Besides that I would say travel as much as you can so you can reset and reflect.
What has also helped me thrive to where I am is literally a set of goals and a to do list for every week/month. I break them down into categories on my phone’s calendar app that includes a section for family, business, personal, and social.
How have you used your success to bring transparency and growth in business?
Entrepreneurship is all about providing value. Without that, then you are no true entrepreneur. It’s all about giving value to those within your sphere of influence. If you do that, the more successful you become. If you don’t, then you will fail. Guaranteed.
With that said, I do have plans of putting together opportunities for people that are in similar situations as I was before. I plan on helping people learn how they can use social media platforms to grow their businesses, push causes, and build influence!
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me before I started my company” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
- Don’t limit yourself – When I started my first company I looked at it as a way to make money on the side while working a job. Had I known the potential from the beginning my company would be much farther along than it is now.
- Network – Understand the value of networking. A majority of the clients that my digital marketing agency works with come through referrals and the only way to get referrals in marketing is being the best at what you do. It also never hurts to know as many people as you can. Besides, it’s not about what you know, but who you know.
- It’s not easy money – There’s a common misconception is that owning an online business is less work than working for one, and that it’s easy money. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. I remember when I was just starting up and would put in 12 to 18 hours of work to get my businesses going. On top of that learning how to start, manage, and figure out how to become profitable/staying that way.
- Build Systems – When I first started my company a lot of simple, everyday tasks took a very long time to do when I could have gotten them done in a fraction of the time by implementing systems, setting up partnerships, and hiring VA’s. Once I was able to put these tools in place I was able to be more effective with my time and in turn do a better job for my customers and clients.
- Think Long Term – Always look at the big picture whenever you start something. That’s something I didn’t realize until I started to actually build my business for the long term. In the business world things are always changing so you have to stay ahead of the curve. Think long term.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I would start a movement to give people the freedom to live on their terms. Most people feel trapped in their everyday life and the negative impact does not only affect them but the others surrounding them. Instead of people just dreaming about doing things, I want to create a movement that will push them to go out and accomplish their dreams and goals! At the end of the day, there’s more to life than what society and the people around us have told us.
How can our readers follow you on social media? You can follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/wiseguymo/