Michael Luchies is a writer and entrepreneur. He is the Founder of TrepRep, member of the Kahuna Business Group team, Co-Host of the Entrepreneurs on Campus Radio Show, TEDxNormal speaker, and Co-Host of the Trepidemic Podcast. Connect with Michael on Twitter and email him to discover how to increase your personal and business brand’s reach and revenue at Michael@TrepRep.com. He loves writing, He loves entrepreneurs, and also he can help your business so if you want to really get to know him, check out the interview of the Founder of TrepRep & entrepreneur Michael Luchies.
We spoke to him about some of his inspirations growing up as well as his plans for the future in the world of entrepreneurs. Here is what he had to say:
Tention Free : Let’s talk a bit about your work and what is the secret behind your success?
Michael Luchies: As an entrepreneur and writer, I don’t think I’ll ever get to a point where I can say that I’m “successful.”
I think it’s part of what drives us. If we (entrepreneurs) were quick to settle with our current accomplishments, we would give up long before we made any impactful change or did anything truly noteworthy. Look at Elon Musk. Starting Tesla Motors is a huge accomplishment, but he didn’t settle at that, he built SpaceX as well.
I think never being satisfied and always looking to accomplish more, serve more people, and create a larger impact on the people you know, your community, and beyond is a necessity for becoming whatever you deem to be “successful.”
Tention Free : What are you working on now?
Michael Luchies : This is a very busy and exciting time. When running a business, being busy means business is good, so although I would love a couple more hours of sleep each night, it’s comforting to know that what I’m providing is in high demand.
My business TrepRep, works with small businesses and entrepreneurs to help connect their story with customers and their desired audience. I work with them to develop a content strategy, and then create content that will go on blogs, their website, and external media. For example, one of my clients writes for the Huffington Post. I work with them to come up with new ideas, interview them based on the topic they are going to write about, and then help guide the article to create the biggest impact possible.
Any business that is looking to develop and spread their positive message to the world, I can help.
Tention Free : What inspires your creativity ?
Michael Luchies : It’s not a unique answer, but everything. There isn’t a day or even an hour that goes by in which I’m not inspired by something around me.
The key is to open yourself up to as many resources and viewpoints as possible. Today alone, I will work on projects for six different companies. This allows me to speak from six different viewpoints and to work with six different groups of people. The more you can expose yourself to different groups of people and different areas of study, the better.
I studied entrepreneurship in college, which helped me obtain a skillset of seeing anything as a business opportunity. This is a very valuable skill and something I try to use when helping businesses and individuals. For nearly four years, I worked with entrepreneurial-minded students while working for a non-profit. I got to hear their ideas and help them with their businesses. This also gave me a wide base of views and has helped inspire my creativity.
Tention Free : please share your experience of giving a TEDx talk at TEDxNormal?
Michael Luchies : It was a very rewarding and scary experience. I had about 9 months to plan for the talk, and I thought I had the perfect topic right away.
Things in life kept leading me to choose a different topic from what I had originally chosen. My original talk was about the benefits you can gain from storytelling for your business, which was completely selfish. After working with a coach and thinking deeply about the talk I wanted to share with the world, I changed my speech to “The Importance of Being an Unselfish Storyteller” just about three weeks before the talk!
It was a very nerve-racking 8-minute speech, but I’m so glad I had this opportunity and would certainly recommend other people pursue this experience if they have the chance to do so.
Tention Free : Who are your inspirations?
Michael Luchies : I feel like we can be inspired by aspects of nearly everyone, but we need to carefully pick the people we use as role models. For example, I can be inspired by a politician’s ability to dodge hateful media questions without considering him or her an inspiration/role model.
I’m inspired by entrepreneurs in general. Most have had to overcome significant barriers to get where they are and have had to develop leadership skills, the ability to handle finances, and so much more.
Tention Free : What are your plans & hopes for the future ?
Michael Luchies : I’m very lucky to know what my passion is – helping people, and specifically, entrepreneurs. If I can help businesses spread the good work that they are doing to others, I am helping the world become a better place in my own way. This can take many forms; from writing for an entrepreneur to helping a young startup founder name his business. It’s what I love to do, and I want to do more of it. Whatever opportunities come my way that allow me to help people, I’m interested in.
If someone is trying to figure out what they are passionate about, they should reverse-engineer their life. On your deathbed, what will you look back upon and wish you had done or accomplished? For me, it was helping others and not accumulating a massive amount of wealth. This helped me understand that I’m not motivated by money, but by helping others – entrepreneurs.
Tention Free : Do you set goals for yourself and how do you do that?
Michael Luchies : I set goals frequently, but I’ve learned to be very careful with setting goals. On January 1st of 2015, I set a goal to publish a new and unique article every single day of the year. People said I was crazy, and they were right.
I went a full six months and over 180 articles before changing my goals and letting this one go unfinished. I’m still proud of what I accomplished, but I didn’t have good enough reasons to set this lofty goal. It became too time consuming.
Whatever goals you set, make sure there is a solid reason for setting them. Don’t set them just to set them.
Tention Free : What motivates you to do your best work?
Michael Luchies : Interest, skill, and passion. To truly do my best work, I need to be interested it, feel confident in my skill in that area, and have a certain level of passion for it. It doesn’t need to be my favorite thing in the world, but must have parts of those three ingredients.
Take my writing for entrepreneurs. I’m interested in helping businesses grow in whatever way possible, am skilled and experienced at writing, and I’m truly passionate about entrepreneurship and venture creation.
And just for the record, interest and passion are more important than skill. Even if you don’t have experience or skill in an area, if it’s what will make you happy and makes you jump out of bed with a smile on your face each day, I think you can overcome a lack of skill to some degree, unless that is the primary requirement. I’m not saying to quit your day job to become a professional athlete if you’re not skilled at it, but if you love working with children and nothing would make you happier than being a teacher, you don’t have to be the world’s greatest professor to make an impact. Just do it!
Tention Free : How can people find you and follow you online?
Michael Luchies : You can follow me on Twitter @MichaelLuchies, and visit my website at www.michaelluchies.com.
