Sean Manning is Founder and CEO of Payroll Vault, an outsourced payroll and HR service for small-businesses. Founded in 2007, Payroll Vault began franchising in 2012 and now spans the U.S. Sean previously owned Insperience Business Services and the co-author of the book ‘Six Steps to Small Business Success.’
Entrepreneurial Role Models:
When business started difficulties overcame:
“The biggest difficulty for me was translating the job into the business. So, when you have your first career opportunity or your first job you do look at it as a job. And I think you kind of train your mind that I have to show up at eight, I have to leave at five, I have to take my breaks. Everything seems to be scheduled and kind of structured. The one I noticed for me in translating that into business ownership is I actually became very unstructured in my thinking. Not in my actions but in my thinking. And the term outside of the box is very similar to that unstructured pattern. And for me it was how to do customer service better, how to treat people I work with better. How do I grow this business? How do I make it more efficient? How do I leverage technology? So, I became very unstructured in my thinking and I think that allowed me to just really enjoy what I was accomplishing”…[Listen for More]
Favourite Books:
- The Trust Edge: How Top Leaders Gain Faster Results, Deeper Relationships, and a Stronger Bottom Line Book by David Horsager
- Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business book by Gino Wickman
Also mentioned:
- Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive: Outsell, Outmanage, Outmotivate and Outnegotiate your Competition Book by Harvey Mackay
- What They Don’t Teach You At Harvard Business School Book by Mark H. McCormack
Favourite Quote:
“Letting people having fun giving them the freedom to feel confident and letting mistakes happen in a safe environment that builds a respectable business and creates rewarding career experiences”
Recommended Online Resources:
ACG – Accelerator
Best Advice to Other Entrepreneurs:
“Let your mind be free a little bit. Look at the business opportunities, study it… Obviously we talked about some good books. Leverage those. And then kind of roll the dice and be excited about the opportunity. After you study the model make sure it’s financially stable then you can make that investment and hopefully be successful with the business”…[Listen for More]
More About Sean Manning:
- Payroll Vault
- Six Steps to Small Business Success: How to Start, Manage, and Sell Your Business book by B Doerhoff and Sean Manning
Neil’s Quote at the Beginning:
“Believe you can and you will.” Unknown
Other Quotes From the Chat with Sean Manning:
- “There is always changes you would make in business. But I just think that is part of business journey is try this, try that. Did that work? Check in with people. Business is a constant learning experience ”
- “Just know that sometimes your investments one payoff. When they didn’t, I was probably a little bit too rushed ”
- “Sometimes you need to slow down a little bit and do some more validation so you don’t make a mistake in investing dollars in a project or an item that doesn’t payoff”
- “Anything is possible. You can own a business, you can become an executive, you can do pretty much whatever you want. You have just got to commit to your gut feeling on a lot of things but don’t shy away from people that are there to help you and mentor you and give you advice. And if you take that advice and make it actionable people see that and they really appreciate that and they may offer you more advice and better advice. My recommendation find some good mentors but take action around what it is that you want to do and I think other people really appreciate that”
- “a lot of people say hey how did you get so lucky? And I think about that little bit. Luck doesn’t happen, luck is when preparedness meets opportunity. So, I think being prepared is extremely important. And that’s paying attention to not only what you are doing now but possibly in the future. Because if you are prepared and get a little bit lucky because when that opportunity comes you can leverage it and take advantage of it. So, I think at least being prepared is critical”
- “Trust is an important component to business in working with others”
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