Amy Ewart of Solo-E interviews Lou Bortone about his success since launching multiple business, and what has contributed to it, besides his obvious good humor!
INTERVIEW
Amy Ewart:
Tell us about yourself – your name, location, business(es), a little background.
Lou Bortone:
My name is Lou Bortone.
I was born and grew up in Boston, Mass.
My dad worked at the local NBC affiliate TV station in Boston, so I pretty much grew up at a television station.
I went to Boston College and studied TV and Communications.
My first job was in the mailroom at WBZ-TV in Boston.
Eventually, I worked my way “down” to radio!
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I worked in radio promotion and marketing for several stations in Boston before moving to Los Angeles. In L.A. I worked at E! Entertainment Television and later for a division of Fox.
There I was the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Advertising.
It was a pretty glamorous job!
Lots of celeb sitings and red carpet premieres and parties!
After a while, I got bored with all the money, power and perks and decided to give up the constant fun and sunshine to return to New England.
OK, the real reason was that my wife and I had boy/girl twins, so we decided to escape the rat race and “settle down” in the country.
What I didn’t know at the time was that, you can’t really settle down when you have toddler twins!
In any event, I worked in a dot-com job for a while, then worked again in local television and radio until I decided to go solo in 2007.
All the while, I had been freelancing with writing, as well as video production.
Today, I’ve got a few different businesses which all seem to fall under the umbrella of “story-telling.”
I’m a copywriter, ghostwriter, branding consultant and video producer.
Those may all seem unrelated, but they are really just different ways of helping entrepreneurs get their message or story out!
AE: How long have you been a solo-entrepreneur?
LB:
Full time, only since January, 2007.
AE: For everyone that does not yet know, Lou is an
award-winning marketing executive in the media industry.
Lou served as National Promotion Manager for E! Entertainment Television, and later as Senior VP of Marketing and Advertising for Fox Family Worldwide, a division of Fox, in Los Angeles.
Lou, what made you choose to be a Solo-E Entrepreneur?
LB:
I wish I had a more noble answer, but the truth is that I just got sick of making all my former bosses rich!
Don’t get me wrong, I have tremendous respect and admiration for my bosses and mentors, but I felt it was time to finally take control of my own destiny… Plus I was tired of getting up early and driving an hour or more just to go to a traditional, 9 to 5 job.
AE: One question I know Solo Entrepreneurs want to know, I did when I began too, and that is, when you are starting out, how long does it take until I become profitable?
Can I make a living doing this?
Lou, you are a father and a husband, you have a beautiful family, how did you start a fresh new business with no clientele, to the point where you can be a Solo Entrepreneur full time?
LB:
It was really just a leap of faith and a fair amount of confidence that I could pull it off.
I had been ramping up some of the freelance work while I was still working full time, but I found that it was really an all-or-nothing proposition. I discovered that it’s not something where you can just dip your toes in the water… You have to really dive right in!
(And pray you don’t drown!)
AE: Your belief in abundance and contributing is very evident.
You provide your readers with free resources, offer to donate marketing materials, you also donate to WorldVision.org.
We think you represent solo-entrepreneurs well when you lead by example.
Is that something that means a lot to you?
To be approachable, abundant?
And how do you make decisions about which JV’s to do, or who to collaborate with – do you use that philosophy?
LB:
As much as I loved the L.A. lifestyle and cushy entertainment industry jobs, I didn’t particularly like the person I was becoming there.
So now I figure it’s time to sort of make up for that and get some good karma going!
Actually, I wasn’t that bad a boss in Hollywood, but I was becoming jaded. Now, I want to be known as someone who everyone likes to work with.
I want to be fun and funny and generous and helpful, because I know that will all come back to me… “in this life or the next,” as Russell Crowe’s character says in the movie Gladiator.
AE: How many different marketing angles do you use and is this wide spectrum difficult to maintain?
For example, as a reader, I am one of your subscribers and I see you using YouTube, Constant Contact, Solo-E Certified Expert Marketing Program, and Expert Yahoo Group, you are also a Solo-E Blog Author, you create e-books, sample videos, articles, you use E-mail Marketing.
How do you keep all these elements fresh and updated?
That is a lot of marketing methods.
Which one is most effective do you think?
(E.g. Video?
Copywriting?
Both?)
LB:
In an effort to cover all my bases and grow the business as quickly as possible, I’m probably going in too many different directions.
I’m throwing a lot of stuff against the wall to see what sticks.
However, I’m starting to streamline and narrow my marketing efforts.
I think a lot of entrepreneurs are creative, idea people – So the constant challenge is trying to stay focused!
As a writer, I lean toward article writing, blog posts, ezines and e-mail marketing.
I can write pretty quickly, and I try to repurpose content for different media.
My favorite marketing effort, though, is joint ventures.
I love partnering with cool people!
AE: Describe your typical work day…do you work at home or in a separate office and why? How many hours a day do you work?
LB:
I’m not sure if there’s any such thing as a “typical” day.
I work at home, so my hours are anything but normal.
I usually work most of the day, then I start up again after the kids go to bed.
I tend to work best late at night.
On weekends I work around the kids’ baseball and soccer schedules.
I really work constantly, but most of the time it doesn’t really seem like work…
AE: What challenges do you come across working as a Solo-Entrepreneur?
(E.g. child care, no separation between work and home, late nights, etc.)
LB
: It’s been a huge adjustment working at home.
I think my wife is ready to strangle me, because I still work at the kitchen table a lot of the time.
So, yes, child care has also been tough because, when my 9-year-old twins get home from school, all hell breaks lose!
Fortunately, I’ve learned to work with Spongebob Squarepants blaring in the background!
When I’m doing video editing and post production, I have an editing system and equipment in my attic, so I hole away up there and get lots of video work done.
AE: What kind of support “staff” do you have, if any? Do you have any traditional employees or subcontractors that you work with?
LB:
I have an Emmy-award-winning video production partner who I work with on most of my video production work.
He’s amazing – The stuff he shoots just looks so good.
After he gets the footage, I typically do the video editing and post production.
As for my admin stuff, I use two fellow Solo-e experts: Erin Blaskie is my wonderful VA, and Monica Ross and her team handle my bookkeeping.
They are both fantastic.
I used to kid that, when I lived in L.A., I had an entire “staff” at my house: A gardener, a cleaning lady, a nanny, etc.
These days, it’s just me and my virtual helpers!
(Though, if someone comes up with a Virtual Cleaning company, count me in!)
AE: How do you invest in yourself to keep your skills and your work fresh?
OR What have you invested in where you have seen great results or value?
(E.g. Product Factory, BYS Program, hiring a VA, Solo-E Participation, etc.)
LB:
I guess I never do anything half-way, and my passion for education and continued learning is a big example.
I’ve invested a king’s ransom in e-learning, conferences, teleseminars, and workshops over the last two years.
I’ve done Michael Port’s “Book Yourself Solid” and “Product Factory” several times, as well as Mitch Meyerson’s “Guerrilla Marketing Coaching” program – along with many others.
I’ve attended Jack Canfield live events. Those programs are great, but the real bonus has been all the incredible people I’ve met from all over the world.
Some have even become clients, but almost all have become good friends.
AE: How have you structured your company to ensure that you are not doing ‘all’ the work, yet there is still fluid communication between your clients and subcontractors?
LB:
Ironically, on the ghostwriting side, I can only accept 2 or 3 clients a year – because I’m writing full-length business books for them.
So, in that respect, it’s pretty easy to manage my clients.
As for the copywriting, video and creative stuff, I’m still doing most of the work myself – but I don’t have a problem with that.
I’m very accessible and collaborative, so I’ve never had a problem communicating or keeping in touch with my clients.
AE: What do you believe are the most important keys to success as a solo entrepreneur?
LB:
It’s really important to me to work with people I like and respect.
On the flip side, I want working with me to be a fun, easy and stress-free experience.
Of course, the work I produce will be great, but the experience should also be fun and memorable.
So, if I have any “secret” to success, it’s just to be nice, have fun and over- deliver every time.
AE: What does Success mean to you?
LB:
My somewhat skewed vision of success means not having to take any crap from anyone.
Success to me also means not buying into that “starving artist” or “starving writer” BS.
And finally, it means getting to hand pick and choose the people I want to work with.
AE: What do you enjoy about being a solo-entrepreneur?
LB:
I love the flexibility of being able to run out in the middle of the day to attend my kids’ school play or recital.
I love being able to blast Amy Winehouse or Foo Fighters music while I’m working, and I love not having to deal with the drama or dysfunction of most “corporate” offices.
AE: What keeps you inspired?
LB:
I watch my fellow solopreneurs and colleagues with tremendous respect and amazement.
Those folks keep me inspired and motivated.
Also, the friends I’ve made in BYS and other online classes have been inspiring.
I also read constantly when I’m not working – at least a book a week.
AE:
Bonus question: What do you think you’d be doing if you weren’t a solopreneur?
LB:
I’m pretty sure that I would have ended up a “Wiseguy” or Mafia kingpin, mostly because of where I grew up and the people in my neighborhood.
I think I would have made a pretty good Don, but fortunately my life took a bit of a different path!
Now, the only time I wish I was in the mob is when clients owe me money!
