Knowledge is power — learn everything.
As part of my series about 5 Things You Need To Know In Order To Run a Successful Company, I had the pleasure of interviewing Michael Kleinman. Michael is a serial entrepreneur, running several online businesses and a successful payment processing company. Mr. Kleinman saw the niche in credit card processing for CBD businesses, so he strived to find banks that will have the appetite for this type of business niche. The forward thinking of Mr. Kleinman allows his companies to be successful as he constantly looks for niches and edges to stand out from the crowd.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story of what first introduced you into this business or helped you get interested in the business?
I was interested in the niche of the cannabis industry through noticing we could not get approvals on our domestic credit card processing platforms, for medium/high risk processing. It led me to understand the need to help cannabis customers bank within the legal limits, and find ways to help them succeed in doing so by allowing payment processing for CBD clients.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
I’ve got to meet a lot of good people, and really learn about the trials and tribulations hemp businesses owners go through when trying to do something good in the world, and being given road blocks on every single turn. I’ve really had the most interesting experiences with those that are unstoppable, and meeting people who just don’t give up, despite all odds are working against them in this banking environment to run businesses related to hemp.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
The first mistake I learned was trusting every sales organization that I got in contact with. I spoke with a lot of guys overseas that I never met, and they would waste a lot of my time, and thus I would waste clients time.
The lesson I learned out of this was not to trust everyone you meet, if its too good to be true, it is.
Are you working on any exciting projects now?
Yes we’re working on developing new banking relationships within the CBD space, so we can continue to strive and provide forward thinking solutions for hemp processing.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Yes, my business partner Andrew. Without watching his dedication and forward thinking with his business, I would never now what it means to find that edge and truly work hard.
This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?
I keep it simple, and don’t over think it with marketing, if you have a good product/service that people need in a niche, it will sell itself. I use explanation sales, as opposed to pressure sales.
Can you share your top “5 Things You Need To Know In Order To Run a Successful Company”? Please share a story or example for each.
- Patience — You must be patient for new solutions to come out and be introduced to the marketplace. When I first started, we didn’t have much, and we had to wait. Also approval times can be very long in this industry
- Tolerance — You must be able to withstand the ups and downs of the trials and tribulations that go along with being in the industry.
- Insight — You must be always looking at what will change and how you can adapt.
- Forward thinking — You must be thinking about how you can move forward without thinking too far ahead, but enough to not get you down.
- Resilience — You must be able to take strong blows in this business. When you are knocked off the horse get right back on.
What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?
Knowledge is power — learn everything.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
The being in the now movement, live life day-by-day.