Misfit Entrepreneur
  • Start Here!
  • About
  • Podcast
  • Media
  • Archives
  • Blog
  • Speaking
  • Contact

Subscribe and Listen Today!

Inspiring and Actionable Content Weekly from Misfit Entpreneurs

Misfit Entrepreneur Itunes
Subscribe on Itunes
Picture
Misfit Entrepreneur Stitcher
Subscribe on Stitcher
Misfit TuneIn
Misfit Entrepreneur RSS Feed
Subscribe on RSS
The Misfit Entrepreneur on Soundcloud

Join Misfit Nation and Get a FREE Copy of "The Top 10 Lessons to Thrive and Succeed" from over 200 Episodes of Misfit Entrepreneurs!
Misfit Entrepreneur 15: Kelly Roach

Dave Lukas Chats with Mike Juergens

292:  What If?  The Art of Possibility with Serial Entrepreneur and Modern Day Renaissance Man, Mike Juergens

This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Michael Juergens.  Mike is a very interesting guy and a modern-day renaissance man.  He runs the winery solutions practice for a Big Four firm.  He founded the wine industry in the Kingdom of Bhutan.  He owns the award-winning So-Cal Rum company that boasts the highest rated silver rum of all time.  He runs the Drinking and Knowing Things newsletter and is the author of the best-selling book with the same name.  And if that is not enough, he is an adventure race addict and candidate to become the 58th American to qualify as a Master of Wine.  Oh, and he’s also a professor at the University of California Irvine.

Mike’s motto is “do epic stuff with awesome people,” And on this show, we have epic conversations with awesome people.  So, I’ve asked Mike to come on today to share how he’s done all he’s done and what he’s learned along the way.

www.DrinkingandKnowingThings.com
Misfit Minute
Don't Miss Even More Resources to Help You Each Week. Click Here and Subscribe to the Misfit Minute!

Show Notes

Mike got to where he through interesting experiences that he was not afraid to lean into.  As he says, the universe is constantly presenting us with opportunities and we are often too caught up in our day to day to realize or, even if we do, we don’t lean in on it.  So, Mike decided to lean in on everything that seems cool and that has lead him to where he is. 

Explain more about we should and can lean into the opportunities in our lives…

  • If you are going Kayaking in a whitewater rapid, the rapid is going to take you to the bottom.
  • The goal is the make it to the bottom and have the best time without having any major issues.
  • If you can nudge yourself into the middles, the fast part, and not try to control it, but let it take you, it will get you to the bottom.
  • The analogy applies to the universe as if you try to fight the universe, you don’t get anywhere and get beat up, but if you get into the flow of the universe, you will go places you don’t expect – but they are the right places for you to be.
  • Mike gives a few examples at the 6:30 mark.

With all that you do, you still choose to work and have a job.  Why still do that when you have all your businesses?
  • Mike loves what he does, and his job is to travel around and hang out at wineries and help them.
  • He was doing that as a hobby before starting the vertical at the firm.
  • He gets paid to do his passion.
  • He’s built a business within a business.

Talk about how you created your role…
  • The corporate culture allows for it.
  • He has started 6 different practices during his career at the firm.
  • It has been having a good idea and the sponsors for it, communicating it well to get support and momentum – and then having the guts to do it and take the risk.
  • It also easier to do when you have already done it and shown success which he has done.

How do you keep up with everything?  How do you schedule your life?
  • He was a single dad for many years and had to be very structured around their schedule.
  • He would get up at 3am every day.
  • As the kids got older and did not need him for so much, it freed up a lot of time as he stayed on the same schedule.
  • Don’t attend non-essential meetings.
  • Delegate and let go where needed.
  • And he truly wants to live the life he has and does what is needed to do so.

How did you create the wine industry in the Kingdom of Bhutan?
  • Mike has been adventure racing in all kinds of different places and his girlfriend had read a book that took place in Bhutan.
  • She always wanted to go there.
  • He got an email about doing a marathon in Bhutan and applied.
  • He surprised his girlfriend but was confused and thought it was an island in the tropics, and she explained it was in the Himalayas.
  • Bhutan is self-sustaining and has incredible crops/soil.
  • Everywhere he went, he asked about wineries, and no one knew what he was talking about.
  • He met some people from the government, and they told him they did not have wineries.
  • He told them they were screwing up, went home and wrote a white paper about it and sent it to them.
  • They asked him to help build the industry.

What did you have to do to get started?
  • He helped them understand the possibilities.
  • He wrote a 10-year business plan to follow.
  • It is literally building from scratch.
  • Mike paid for phase 1 and then got a series A round for phase 2.
  • He personally planted the first vine, a merlot.
  • Pre-covid, he went every quarter and there is a team of 100 people there.

Lessons learned?
  • They don’t know what grape will ultimately work best, so they have adopted a philosophy of failure to see which grapes are going to work.
  • It takes 3-5 years to figure this out.
  • It’s a core strategy for them to try a bunch of different things and see which ones work which is different than a typical business strategy. 
  • You have to be careful not too be wide and broad, but not too narrow at the same time.
  • Building the industry is the most risk he’s take in business.

At the 29 min mark, Mike talks about how he got into the rum business…
  • One of his best friends and his son are big rum guys.
  • One day, they were all sitting around having drinks and his friend said, “we should start a distillery!”
  • Mike said, “what if?”  What if we could create a competitor to Bacardi silver rum and focused on that category – and just did it better.
  • They didn’t know anything about how to do it, but started talking to people who did.
  • The found out that they could be better and it would not cost much, so they did it and had it made.  And it won. 
  • They outsourced the making and bottling of the rum.

You’ve spent 25 years traveling the world meeting people, what are the most important things you’ve learned about life and business?
  • It’s all about people and relationships. 

Advice for people that aren’t living the life they are capable of?
  • Get outside your comfort zone.  The people least like you are the ones you need to meet and learn from the most.

What does it mean to optimize the runner’s mindset?
  • Recognize that you are capable of much more than you believe.
  • We place limitations on ourselves.
  • 40% rule.  When you body is telling you that you are done – you have 60% still left.
  • Acknowledge that you are capable of more because you are.

We have a great conversation on racing and breaking through mental limitations…

Drinking and knowing things – what should they know about wine?
  • There is a wine for everyone.
  • Just explore and be willing to try them
  • Drinking and Knowing Things book Vol 1 and 2  - check it out.
​
What’s your favorite wine?
  • Burgundy, Pino nior from France

Best Quote

  • Get outside your comfort zone.  The people least like you are the ones you need to meet and learn from the most
Misfit Three

Picture
Do epic stuff with cool people.  Don’t leave anything on the table.

Picture
Don’t fight the universe.

Picture
Ask “What if?”


Show Sponsors

Misfit Entrepreneur - ReaditforMe
Misfit Entrepreneur - ReaditforMe
Misfits, I am a big fan of high-quality products that deliver exceptional value, have great style and are long-lasting.  I bet you are too, and that is why I want you to check out Jenni Kayne Home.  Jenni’s style is effortlessly Californian and allows you to really make a room come alive and their accessories are of the utmost quality and also make wonderful gifts.  In fact, my wife is really happy with me right now as I got her one of Jenni’s Sonoma Throw Blankets and she never has it out of her sight.  It is so soft and comfortable on cold winter evenings. 

But, Jenni Kayne has so much more including beds, chairs, sofas, linens, even candles to make a room complete.  They create California-inspired classics for any room or mood. Grounded in natural textures and inviting neutrals, these are the pieces you’ll love coming home to.

And right now, Jenni Kayne is giving Misfit listeners 15% of their first order using the promo code Misfit at checkout. 

Just go to www.JenniKayne.com and use the promo code Misfit. 

Create the space you’ll never want to leave at JenniKayne.com ​
Misfits, it’s not often that I come upon a truly unique business that grabs my attention and shows me a completely new way of creating a side-income or even a 6-figure income with very little effort on my part.  In fact, most of the time, opportunities that promise this type of experience are too good to be true and don’t pan out.  But there are ones that do, and I found one in Ecom Automation Gurus. 

EAG offers turnkey passive income e-commerce businesses in the e-commerce and YouTube industries. 

It is truly done for you business management.  They create your e-commerce store, select the best products in the most demand according to their proprietary processes and manage all of the sales and client support for you.  With YouTube, they create and manage pages that generate income from advertising.  And when I say, “done for you,” I mean done for you.  They handle product research, product listings, customer support, optimization, full client support for you the business owner. 

EAG has helped many clients add an extra $100 up to $100,000+ a month in passive income.  You're the owner and EAG is the contractor and the way they make money is they get a percent of the profits earned.  This gives them all the incentive to maximize your sales and keep them growing. 

In fact, I like their model so much that I am customer, and I can say the experience has been awesome!

And after my experience, I wanted to share EAG with you the Misfit listeners.  And I worked with them to give you a 15% discount off any of EAG's services.   All you have to do is go to  www.ecomautomationgurus.com and mention Dave Lukas or The Misfit Entrepreneur podcast on the booking page when you schedule a call.  
© MISFIT ENTREPRENEUR 2018. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  Terms and Conditions.  Privacy Policy.   Affiliate Disclaimer
  • Start Here!
  • About
  • Podcast
  • Media
  • Archives
  • Blog
  • Speaking
  • Contact