P27: How the Rise & Fall of Athletic Attic… led to an Easy Fundraising Idea! (🔐 a Continuation of EP 195🔓)
Video & Audio of Our Call:
Background:
Howard tells us about the last 25 years of his entrepreneurial journey. In his original episode, we discussed what he learned from the Spacer Company & then starting his own Aerospace Manufacturing business… In Part II, we start off discussing his transition into the Retail Business… If you want to hear our initial interview with Howard, just go to Episode 195. Read-A-Thon is Howard’s latest venture, which is a rapidly growing school fundraising platform across the country. Their award-winning Read-A-Thon platform makes it easy for the school to raise more money while boosting the education of their students. Prior to Read-A-Thon, Howard founded and established Easy Fundraising Ideas in 2002. He has also started and acquired a number of companies in different industries such as aerospace, manufacturing, fabrication, web development, and retail.
Time-Stamped Show Notes:
- [2:46] Howard acquired another manufacturing company but he decided to sell it after only 2 years.
- [9:32] After selling the manufacturing company, Howard bought three retail stores, which he describes as a very dumb decision.
- [10:28] There were several mistakes Howard did when he acquired the retail stores.
- [12:16] The shoe retail stores did well for the first three years. However, sales began to go down when the top shoe brands were not hot items anymore.
- [17:57] According to Howard, retail and food are brutally difficult businesses to run. He advises most entrepreneurs to stay away from them.
- [19:43] The retail stores were sold but Howard has to attend to all the debt settlements and he lost a ton of money in the process.
- [21:47] At 43 years old, Howard tried applying for a job.
- [25:27] In 2001, Howard started a company called Easy Fundraising ideas, which is one of the first product fundraising websites in the country.
- [28:14] The concept of Read-A-Thon was born.
- [33:40] Howard shares a very good lesson that he has learned in running a business.
- [39:36] At 45 years old and with two grown sons, Howard and his wife decided to adopt a baby girl.
- [42:21] There was a lot of effort, time, and money spent on owning the word Read-a-thon. They’ve also acquired the word Readathon.
- [47:40] Howard offers another piece of advice for people who own trademarks.
- [49:40] There are two important things that Howard has learned in 35 years of entrepreneurship.
- [52:20] The support of his wife was crucial in Howard’s success. He would never be in this position today without the help and support of his wife.
Fabulous 4 Questions:
- 📖📚 Favorite Books? Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.
- 🙌😎 Favorite Amazon.com purchase? Crunchy Peanut Butter.
- 🌱💸 Favorite Tool that's GROWN your Business? Our business is unique so we develop our own CMS and processes.
- 💭💡 BIGGEST Challenge keeping your Business from GROWING? Figuring out better distribution methods to reach every elementary school decision maker in America.
Key Point from the Interview:
- “One thing that every entrepreneur needs to learn is at some point, if it's clear you cannot win, it’s time to cut your losses and move forward or that failure could destroy you.”
Resources Mentioned:
- Email: [email protected]
- LinkedIn: hgottlieb
- Facebook: @readathons
- Read-a-thon.com
- Howard Gottlieb of Read-a-thon Featured in Authority Magazine
- Read-A-Thon Fundraiser Helps Schools Raise Money
- School in Florida Raises Thousands Through Readathon
Secret Resources:
