Mads has more than 10 years of experience in Fortune 500 companies, such as Xerox and IBM, and more than 7 years of experience coaching and consulting online entrepreneurs.
He has also spoken at many larger events, such as CMSEO, TiECon, DCBKK, DMSS Bali, SEO Spring Training, and the Survive and Thrive Ecommerce Summit.
Mads is currently owning and running three companies and managing more than 100 people. He doesn’t just talk the talk; he walks the walk.
As well as being a management expert, Mads is also an expert on growing and scaling an online business.
He is one of the industry experts in the DISC methodology, which is a cornerstone of his management philosophy, and he shares his knowledge through the Effective Management Mastery course and community.
How did you start out as a marketer?
I first started doing some affiliate marketing through SEO in 2006, while I had a corporate job.
In 2012, I started my own management coaching business and have since started an outsourcing company in the Philippines and a media publishing business focused specifically on building affiliate websites.
Looking back, what was your hardest struggle when it came to delivering results?
Focus: I think for all entrepreneurs, there’s a lot of interesting things out there, but success only comes from focus.
How did you get your first client back then, and what kind of service did you do for them?
My first coaching client I found through networking initially charged very little, but over time I have increased my rates significantly.
What do you find most rewarding about what you do?
Building teams and businesses is super fun, and the ability to build jobs and exciting opportunities for others is fantastic and the most rewarding part of it for me.
We have a lot of readers who are bent on becoming freelancers. Aside from freelancing, how else can someone earn online? And what is your advice?
If I had to start over, I would get my hands on either the Authority Hacker or Affiliate Lab Course; these are both focused on building an audience through SEO that can be monetized in various ways.
If you were given the chance to build your career all over again, what would you do differently so that you could achieve your dreams faster?
More focus, and as above, plenty of good “blueprints” about what to do; the secret is taking focused action.
Most people stop too early and keep doubting themselves.
How is your typical work day structured?
I usually go to the gym first thing in the morning, then eat breakfast.
This sets me up for success. I generally plan three work sprints each day of 60–90 minutes each that are dedicated to particular tasks based on what is currently my top priority.
Outside of that, I then follow up on communication (email, chats, etc.) and have meetings with clients, my team, podcasting, etc.
Can you tell us about a time where you had to put in significant effort up front and then wait a long time for success?
Building any business is really about this: it generally takes 3 years or around 1000 days for a first business to be successful.
Most people think it’s quick or easy to build a solid business, but it’s not!
What recently developed marketing strategy, technique, or tool interests you the most right now?
AI is super interesting in general; I’m not sure there’s a particular tool at this point in time, but it will be a huge game changer sooner or later.
What do you do to stay up-to-date with new marketing techniques?
Be in the right circles of people. Networking is key to success in any business.
Can you tell us about a project you’re most proud of from your past work history?
Generally building my management coaching business, where I’ve helped 100’s of business owners grow and scale their businesses through better management skills and understanding
Which one book or blog post would you recommend every marketer read?
“First Break All the Rules”—just because I love management and if you want to be successful in building a business, this book is fantastic.
What advice would you share with other marketers who want to become more productive?
I’ve got a full productivity course, but the main secret is to understand your priorities and what really makes a difference. A super book in this regard is called “The One Thing.”
If there’s one marketing guru you’d recommend, who and why?
I’m not much into guru’s; I tend to find people who are walking the walk; some of my favorites are Matt Diggity, Gaël Breton, James Dooley, and Craig Campbell. An up-and-coming start that’s super interesting to follow as well is Umer Qureshi over at guideblogging.com.
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