Mike Myers has spent his life building successful businesses in the healthcare space. And we got the chance to sit down and chat with him about what he does, who he helps, and what he’s learned during his extensive and storied career.
Check out our interview with Mike below.
Can You Tell Us a Bit About Your Background?
I’ve spent my career in the healthcare space. I started my first business 20 years ago with two partners. We grew to about 250 staff and three offices around the country. We eventually sold that business to a publicly traded company which was then bought out by a private equity firm. I left that company about six or seven years ago.
After that, ultimately, I wasn’t ready to retire and I wasn’t ready to work for somebody else, so I started again. The intrinsic rewards that come from building your own company and working with great people and clients are huge.
Today, I have two businesses: Cross & Wild and Crowdpharm. We specialize in consulting and advertising for the healthcare industry and our clients are B2B and B2C companies in fields like medical devices, pharma, diagnostic tests, and biotech.
We help them with a full suite of services, from logo design to creative development, TV, web, digital, SEO, and more.
What Are The Most Rewarding Parts of Your Business?
The most rewarding part of my work is helping our clients win and succeed. It’s awesome and a lot of fun. Advertising, consulting, and public relations are a lot like a chess match–you’re playing against an entire field of opponents and it’s really fun when you can help your client win. It’s rewarding for them and rewarding for you.
But beyond that, in our industry, helping clients win often means helping patients get what they need. So, when I can help someone provide a solution that can save someone’s life, that’s amazing.
The fun part, as I said, is helping clients win and helping patients get the help that they need. But, I’d be really missing something big or even bigger if I didn’t say that working with the amazing people on my current and previous teams is truly enjoyable. Hiring, mentoring, and interacting with great people on a daily basis truly provide me with intrinsic rewards and enjoyment. I’m constantly amazed at what people can do when given the opportunity. I really do learn something new from fellow team members on a daily basis.
How Do You Spend Your Time When You’re Not Working On Your Businesses?
Outside of my business, I also teach a Healthcare Consulting course at the University of Arizona, Tucson.
It’s a huge passion project of mine. I even told them that I’d do it for free when I started!
I’m a big supporter of the U of AZ. I think it’s an amazing institution, and having the ability to positively impact people’s careers and lives also offers a ton of intrinsic rewards.
I also really love being able to help and mentor professionals in my field. I think it’s so important to be able to pay it forward and help people get ahead.
My biggest passion project, though, is my wife and three kids. Spending time with them is a big focus in my life. I guess you can also say that brainwashing works because my wife, who went to the U of A, and I have three kids who have all attended our alma mater.
What Are the Biggest Lessons You’ve Learned as a Business Owner?
There have been a few big lessons I’ve learned.
The first one is that you have to enjoy what you’re doing. And working smart is more important than working a million hours a week. For a lot of people building businesses, they feel like they have to work 24/7 and say that they love it. But, I believe that working smart is more important than working long hours. There’s no doubt that you’re going to have to put in some long hours sometimes, but it doesn’t have to be every single day.
The second thing I’ve learned is that you have to have your financial stuff in order from the beginning. You can’t just assume that if you’re billing people and making money, you’re going to be profitable. Financial acumen is so important, so make sure to get that locked in from the outset.
And finally, I’ve learned that it’s so important to work with people that you can trust and depend upon. My belief has always been that you should hire for attitude and train for skill. I’d rather hire someone who would run through a brick wall trying to get something done, and then train them for the skills they need for the job than to hire someone who’s already super skilled but a pain in the butt to work with.
How Did You Come to Work at The Post?
My business actually has three offices across the U.S. The first office was in New York, the second was in San Diego, now the third one is here at The Post.
I ultimately didn’t want to build a historical agency model. I didn’t want to fill a building and have my staff be billable down to quarter-hour increments.
I wanted something that enabled me to have the privacy I needed but to still have access to things like conference rooms as well as the ability to scale up or down.
Also, I’m just not as productive working at home. I’m better off working away from my house – just ask my wife.
So, I was looking for a space to rent. I even considered buying a small house near the University to use as an office for myself and my team. Then my wife actually saw the sign for The Post, because we live close by, and she walked in and was blown away.
I’ve had a number of different flexible office spaces and this is one of the nicest ones I’ve been in. I really like the community they’ve built here as well as the events they host. It’s really a full-service office.
For about 15 years, we paid the rent and ran our own office on top of running our business. It’s nice not to have to worry about that facet of things anymore.
What Are Your Plans for the Future of Your Business?
We have a proprietary global network of contractors who specialize in healthcare that we can tap into in real-time. Right now, we have 3200 people in 66 countries and 33 timezones, including all 50 states, who are vetted and managed in a proprietary application.
I want to get that number up to 10,000 contractors.
That way, if a client comes and says they need help in, say, women’s health, we have 160 people with advertising experience in women’s health. Some are writers, others are designers–whoever we need. That way, we can establish a team really quickly and save our clients a ton of money while doing some amazing work for them and their brands.
What Would You Tell People Who Want to Learn More About You?
I’d tell them to reach out if I can help! A lot of what I do is in healthcare, but I also consult with businesses of all different types. As I said, I love helping people in their careers and I’m happy to chat with people.
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