John Seckel, originally from Philadelphia, now resides in beautiful San Diego, California. He graduated from Northeastern University in December of 2003. John Seckel has always known that he wanted to be a successful entrepreneur and he has made good on that promise to himself. He has gotten to this point through his hard work focus. If you ask anyone who knows him, they will tell you that he is the hardest working person they know. John Seckel regards hard work as one of the core values of his life.
John Seckel began his career with Wachovia. From there, he went on to start Seckel Enterprises, LLC. As the President and CEO, Seckel provided investment consulting to high wealth individuals, in addition to small, medium and enterprise businesses. Today, Seckel Enterprises generates in excess of $20MM in consumer sales.
Since his time with Wachovia, he has successfully founded several companies, including Exclusive Marketing Agency. John Seckel and the team at Exclusive Marketing Agency sees marketing and social media as an essential part of any business today, but unfortunately, also knows that many small businesses and young professionals can’t afford marketing services due to the astronomical prices. This was the inspiration behind launching Exclusive Marketing Agency.
John Seckel continues to thrive in various industries today. For more information on John Seckel’s ventures visit his website or check out Lean Soul and Cheap Social Media.
John Seckel attributes his success to several organizations, but primarily Northeastern University. He attended the school until 2003 and got the most possible out of his time there. He enjoyed the cooperative learning offered by the school and was involved in several of their internship programs. John Seckel blogs about topics related to his businesses, and his passions on his blogs at JohnSeckel.com, JohnSeckel.net, and JohnSeckel.org. Head over to one or all to read further!
Our Interview With John Seckel
What’s the most important thing we should know about you?
John Seckel: I’m always thinking. Whether it be my next adventure, a new problem to solve, how to deliver more value to our clients or how to be a better father, often it feels like i’m working 24/7. I’ve learned to accept it, as it is a part of being a serial entrepreneur!
Name the most impactful lesson you learned from failure
John Seckel: Never take shortcuts and always communicate open and honestly with your employees, clients and partners. Set things up for long term success. There are too many businesses and CEO’s that are looking for ‘get rich quick’ schemes are marketing “products”, that if they would have taken the right/longer path the first time, they would have been there by now!
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
John Seckel: Building a flexible and rewarding life with my family where I can be an available husband and father to my new amazing young girls Lilliana and Mariella. They are the pride and joy of my life.
What did you waste the most time on when you were first starting your career?
John Seckel: Trying to find something perfect and prestigious. Out of school, I wanted to work for a large investment bank, I wanted the suit and I wanted to work on Wall Street (not any other street). Now that i’m older and wiser, I know that none of that matters or will make you happy. You need to understand who you really are, what makes you happy and devote your time and energy towards those things. If you’re passionate and doing things you enjoy, you’ll never work a day in your life!
Name a tool you use for work that you can’t live without.
John Seckel: HubSpot. Sales automation, time management and the right messaging is the key to success in any sales-oriented business. If you know it takes 10 leads to gain 1 sale, but you need 50 sales in order to live the life you want, then either make 500 phone calls a day, or insert some technology that can handle it for you. HubSpot is my software of choice and manages my schedule and time.
What is your favorite hobby and why?
John Seckel: Sweating and Sports. Nothing else treats the adrenaline rush, ups and downs as much as a great workout, a tennis match or 4 hours on a serene golf course!
What excited you the most about your industry right now?
John Seckel: Taking my knowledge and expertise, and giving it to people who truly struggle in marketing to open their eyes to the right way. There are many great CEO’s out there, but most CEO’s aren’t creative, and they all reach a point where the business plateau’s because they can’t handle being the HR department, payroll, legal, CFO, CMO and the other dozen hats they typically wear. However, they typically are the best salesperson in the company. Marketing is the ability for a particular group of people to drive constant business opportunities to its best salespeople. When that happens, it is a beautiful thing!
What concerns you most about your industry right now?
John Seckel: That, unfortunately, there is very little barrier to entry in this marketing industry. Anyone with a laptop can call themselves a “Digital Marketer”. Then you have businesses trust people that use their money to learn marketing, and the results are mostly very poor. It creates an overall distrust in the marketing world because every client we’ll talk to has had some poor experience in the past.
What’s the greatest risk you’ve ever taken?
John Seckel: In 2007, 5 years out of school, having just bought a new home, making great money working for a large corporation, great benefits, I decided to resign and start working for myself out of the loft on my new phone. It was one of the scariest moments of my life but I also figured out that i’m resilient, I never give up, and that I always have money making ideas flowing through my brain. I knew it was the last day that I would ever work for anyone else.
Name one small habit that positively impacts your productivity.
John Seckel: Getting up early. I get up between 5am and 6am every day. Usually by 7am the mountain of emails sitting in my inbox has been reviewed, my To-Do list has been made, and then I can enjoy my cup of coffee.
What tips do you have for getting a seat at the table?
John Seckel: Never give up, work hard, be persistent and always respectful. If you deserve a seat at the table, those four things will get you your shot.
What book has made the biggest impact on your life?
John Seckel: I don’t read many books and I should certainly read more, but I’m a big Tony Robbins fan. Constant positive and motivating messages whether be in your Facebook feed, e-mail or whatever, can have positive (and big) impacts in your daily life.
Do you value intelligence or common sense more? Why?
John Seckel: Common sense. People with common sense can usually figure out the tough problems if given enough time, and then apply them in the way they need to be applied.
What would you consider to be the perfect day?
John Seckel: I’m lucky enough to be living in San Diego, which in my opinion is one of the finest cities in the United States. I’m new here, and I’ve said this many times in the last couple weeks, so I’m happy to share on a bigger scale. In May, on a school night I came home early from work around 3:00pm, grabbed my girls, brought them to the beach and jumped around in the waves and sand for a couple hours. At 6:30ish, we were watching the sun set, waves crash and ended up at a small beachside taco place eating fresh fish tacos. This was all on a school night, and certainly impossible living in Pennsylvania previously. A day is perfect when my kids pass out on the couch with a little smile on their face, without any energy left and a little sand residue in their hair.
