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806: Mike Michalowicz – Like Clockwork: Design Your Business to Run Without You


Imagine taking a four-week vacation from your business. I know, even the thought of it might put you into a brief panic. But imagine that it’s not only possible, but also the best thing you could do for your business – and it probably is! In fact, your business might even grow without you. It takes a plan, and that plan is called ‘Clockwork,’ which is why we’re talking to Mike Michalowicz today. A favorite guest on The Self-Employed Life, Mike’s mission is to eradicate entrepreneurial poverty. One way he does this is by helping entrepreneurs like us to design our businesses to run without us — hence, the concept of Clockwork. In this conversation, we discuss fractionalizing yourself, leveraging your core competencies, scaling vs. growing, and becoming a shareholder in your own business. As Mike says, we should be the soul – not the heart – of our own businesses.


By his 35th birthday, Mike Michalowicz had founded and sold two multi-million dollar companies. Confident that he had the formula to success, he became a small business angel investor...and proceeded to lose his entire fortune. Then he started all over again, driven to find better ways to grow healthy, strong companies. Mike has devoted his life to the research and delivery of innovative, impactful entrepreneurial strategies to you. On mission to serve you, he has created perennially top selling books including: The Pumpkin Plan, Clockwork, Fix This Next, Get Different and Profit First, with over a million readers, remaining on Amazon’s Best Seller list after 8 years. Mike is also a popular main stage keynote speaker on innovative entrepreneurial topics; speaking to thousands of audience members. Clockwork: Revised & Expanded: Design your business to run itself is Mike’s latest release, coming August 2022.


And be sure to subscribe to The Self-Employed Life in Apple Podcasts or follow us on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts so you don’t miss an episode.


Everything you need can all be found at jeffreyshaw.com.


Mike Michalowicz, thank you so much for being here!


Remember, you might be in business FOR yourself but you are not in business BY yourself.

Be your best self. Be proud and keep changing the world.


Guest Contact


Contact Jeffrey


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Host Jeffrey Shaw is a Small Business Consultant, Brand Management Consultant, Business Coach for Entrepreneurs, Keynote Speaker, TEDx Speaker and author of LINGO and The Self Employed Life (May 2021). Supporting self-employed business owners with business and personal development strategies they need to create sustainable success.

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