Mike Alden - How Writing A Book Can Positively Impact Your Business

The Casey Adams Show

Listener.com Podcast Network

Business, Entrepreneurship

4.8 • 637 Ratings

🗓️ 16 January 2024

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode, Casey Adams interviews Mike Alden, the CEO of Alden Publishing and co-founder of Wicked Happy. They discuss Mike's journey in publishing and marketing books, the changes in the publishing world, and the success of authors. Mike shares his background and the impact of books on his life. They also dive into the lessons Mike has learned in business, including the importance of marketing and taking care of oneself financially. In this conversation, Mike Alden shares his experiences and insights on various aspects of business and personal growth. He discusses the mistakes he made in being too generous and overpaying people, as well as the importance of staying focused and not taking the eye off the ball in business. Alden emphasizes the difference in mindset between employees and business owners, highlighting the need for owners to be vigilant and have a top-level understanding of every aspect of the business. He also shares the story behind the creation of the brand 'Wicked Happy' and the importance of finding happiness and helping others. Additionally, Alden offers advice on publishing books and financing options for aspiring authors.

Takeaways

Self-publishing has become more accessible and viable for authors, allowing them to bypass traditional publishers.

Success as an author is not solely determined by making bestseller lists, but by defining one's own goals and reaching the intended audience.

Books have the power to spark change and influence readers, even if the impact is not immediate.

Lessons learned in business include the importance of marketing, taking care of oneself financially, and learning from successful authors and entrepreneurs. Avoid being too generous and overpaying people in business.

Stay focused and don't take your eye off the ball.

Employees may not care as much about the business as the owner, so it's important to stay vigilant.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Full Circle Moment

01:17 Mike Alden's Journey in Publishing and Marketing Books

06:24 Changes in the Publishing World

08:26 Mike Alden's Background and Journey

15:07 Writing and Publishing the First Book

19:52 Success as an Author

20:43 Influential Authors and Books

25:06 The Impact of Books on Mike Alden's Life

36:19 Lessons Learned in Business

38:40 Being Too Generous and Overpaying People

40:30 Taking Eye off the Ball in Business

41:59 Employees Not Caring as Much as the Owner

42:28 Owner's Understanding of Every Aspect of the Business

45:48 The Genesis of Wicked Happy

53:27 Helping People and Finding Happiness

56:51 Publishing Books and Financing

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome back to the Casey Adams Show. Today I am joined by Mike Alden, the CEO of Alden Publishing
0:08.1	and the co-founder of Wicked Happy. Mike, thanks so much coming on the show.
0:12.5	Thanks for having you, man. I'm super excited to be here. I think I was telling you earlier,
0:15.8	the setup's a little bit different than what we're used to. I'm actually not doing this out of
0:19.1	my house, but I'm excited to be here.
0:26.1	I'm excited to talk to you, and it's great to see you. Yeah, you as well, man. I think it's, it's so great to come full circle. I think for the audience and those listening, I would love to just touch
0:30.7	on that. You were the first person who I was actually a guest on your podcast when I was 16 years old, living at home. And the fact that,
0:39.3	again, we're coming full circle to having you on the show today after almost six years of hosting
0:43.2	my end show. It's quite surreal for me. And I'm super excited about today's episode. Well, it was super
0:48.7	cool because I, so, you know, I've been busy building businesses, right? So like my social media is really that
0:54.3	strong. I just didn't have time for it. You know, at one point I had a couple hundred employees
0:58.1	and we're doing all these things. And, but I'm watching what was going on on social media. And I think
1:02.0	it was you on Snapchat. And I was just like so impressed. I'm like, what is this kid doing and I got to learn from him, you know? So it was somewhat self-serving a little bit.
1:12.6	I reached out to you and I was like, hey, man, when you come on my podcast, because I really
1:15.3	just wanted to learn from you, I had no idea that you were 16. The best part about it is that
1:19.7	is when you said yes, it was literally in between dinner and lacrosse practice.
1:28.2	That's crazy.
1:29.3	I mean, to think back on those days are insane.
1:33.7	Right.
1:34.3	It was so cool, man.
1:36.6	Wow.
1:36.9	Again, just to come full circle real quick, thank you so much for believing me at that
	...

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