After a successful 19-year career in the clothing business, Michael Coles tested his entrepreneurial skills in 1977, when he co-founded Great American Cookie Company with an investment of only $8,000. When he started the Great American Cookie Company, there were three major cookie companies in business. One had almost 100 stores and the other two had 50 each. When he sold the company in 1998 with sales over $100 million, the Great American Cookie Company was the largest franchisor of cookie stores with the other companies having already closed down. He is now a transformational leader and the author of Time to Get Tough.
Let’s dive in and hear more from Michael how he created the $100 Million Cookie Company.
Things you will learn in this episode:
[00:01 – 06:42] Opening Segment
- I introduce today’s guest, Michael Coles
- Bio
- Make sure to check out guestio.com
- Michael gives us some background on her story
- Growing up in Buffalo, NY
- Going through bankruptcy as a family
- Deciding to set out and start working at 13
- School life
[06:43 – 19:16] The $100 Million Cookie Company
- Michael talks about his social circles and work life growing up
- The impact of his mentor
- Michael shares about his life after high school
- Moving in with his brother
- Getting into college
- Encouraged to work first before college
- The job that propelled Michael forward
- Managing a rough territory in a clothing business
- Growing accounts for almost 3 years
- Setting out into Detroit
- Michael’s journey into the cookie industry
- A word from our sponsors
[19:17 – 28:46] Time to Get Tough
- Michael shares how his accident set up the rest of his life
- Being told your limits
- Beginning to get his life back
- Lessons from setting records in biking
- Learning about business
- We learn more from our mistakes
- The story behind Caribou Coffee
- Creating loyalty
- Making decisions as the CEO
- Getting held back by ‘good’
[28:47 – 36:30] Closing Segment
- Who you know or what you know
- Learn what you don’t know
- Surround yourself with the right people
- Michael’s advice around mentorship and coaching
- ThE RaNDoM RoUnD
- How to engage with Michael
- Links below
- Final words
Tweetable Quotes:
“You just don’t realize the impact you might have on somebody’s life.” – Michael Coles
“You got two choices: you can just give up, or you can say, ‘I’m going to finish this, I’m going to learn from it so I can move on so I don’t make the same mistakes…” – Michael Coles
Resources Mentioned:
Connect and engage with Michael on LinkedIn. Check out https://michaelcoles.com/ and secure your key to success.
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