Founder's Story - Becoming Unstoppable: Mike "C-Roc" Ciorrocco on Personal Growth and Building a Billion-Dollar Brand | S2:E62

Episode Date: September 20, 2024

In this episode, Daniel Robbins reconnects with Mike "C-Roc" Ciorrocco, founder of That One Brand and a two-time bestselling author. They dive into the evolution of Mike's entrepreneurial journey, discussing the spark that ignited his passion for creating a brand that truly reflects his identity and purpose. Mike shares insights into his "That One" philosophy, which emphasizes the importance of standing out by embracing one's unique qualities and being unapologetically authentic.Mike also discusses the challenges and rewards of entrepreneurship, including his experience in writing and launching books, the importance of timing in business, and how he's leveraging his brand to create new opportunities. His dedication to personal growth, faith, and family shines through as he explains how these elements drive his success and vision for the future.Key Points Discussed:Mike’s journey from corporate roles to entrepreneurship and the freedom it brings.The creation of That One Brand and the importance of self-assessment in building a brand.How embracing uniqueness and being unapologetically authentic can set you apart in business.The challenges and therapeutic process of writing and launching books.The impact of timing on business ventures, both positive and negative.Mike’s focus on building a billion-dollar brand and his commitment to constant growth.The role of faith in Mike’s life and how it shapes his personal and professional decisions.Insights into leveraging media, building authority, and creating proximity to success.The upcoming That One Podcast Mastermind Tour and its vision for connecting with top business leaders.How to connect with Mike "C-Roc" Ciorrocco and join him on his journey.Relevant Links:Mike "C-Roc" Ciorrocco's InstagramOur Sponsors:* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyOur Sponsors:* Check out Indeed: indeed.com/FOUNDERSSTORY* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyOur Sponsors:* Check out PrizePicks and use my code FOUNDERS for a great deal: www.prizepicks.com* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Hey, everyone. Welcome back to Founders Story. Today, we have a special guest that I got to meet, I think it was two years ago, on social audio, which we're going to dive into that. It's bringing back a lot of memories, and I can't wait to dive into what's been happening since the last time we spoke, maybe two years ago. But Mike C. Rock, he is the founder of That One Brand and the best-selling author twice. And we're going to dive into all the things that you've been doing, working on your new book. But Mike, it's really great to see you again. Isn't it weird that it's not audio only? Yeah, man. I like looking at people and I like having my face out there, you know, Daniel. So it's great to have a conversation with you and great to reconnect, brother. I know. I don't think we ever had a face to face conversation, which is which is pretty funny.

That was the whole 2021 year, right? 2021, half of 2022. Well, let's dive into what made you even want to be an entrepreneur. So what was it that was the spark for you? Yeah, I worked for several companies. My parents, grandparents, uncles, they were all entrepreneurs, but I really liked the freedom and I like to be able to cause and create. And the companies that I work for, I'd have to go through, you know, kind of a bureaucracy, right. To be able to create and have ideas and test things out. And, you know, I wanted to be C-Rock wrong versus, you know, somebody else

is taking responsibility for it. If I want to try something, I wanted to have that freedom and responsibility to be wrong. Because to me, being wrong gives you an opportunity to get gather data to try again, and continue to evolve and get better. So yeah, that's that's the reason that I love entrepreneurship. That's why I wanted to be, and I want to cause and create more things. Isn't it amazing having the freedom? I mean, I remember working a corporate job, and no matter how much PTO time they gave us or working remote, it's not the same. Yeah, no, 100%. See, I like working when I want to work, too.

I can work on Saturdays and Sundays. The day of the week really doesn't matter. So for me, I just working when I want to work too. I can work on Saturdays and Sundays. The day of the really earned that vacation time. Let's, let's talk about that one brand. So what are you doing at that one brand? What does it consist of? Well, the brand started when I started doing some work on myself and really identifying who I am. I think it's important for everybody to really take some time to do that and do a self-assessment of like, okay, what is my mission in life? What are my goals? What, what are my non-negotiable, my standards that I'm not gonna negotiate with,

with myself or anybody else? And then also identifying the uniqueness of myself, the quirkiness, the weirdness, and then lean into it unapologetically. And that's how you become that one. And that one is so important to become because it's not about being the best, it's about being you.

And the fact of the matter is, is that most people are blending in Daniel, and it's not good. Like you don't get attention when you blend in and there's different ways to get attention. We talked about this offline, but you could be a sensationalist, a merchant of chaos, I'll say. And they have a term in media. If it bleeds, it reads, or you can be a person that really steps into who you are unapologetically and be that one. And so I came up with this idea with this and I wanted to create a brand when I did this that could go on several different industries, several different verticals.

We started out with getting people booked on top podcasts with warm introductions and really emphasizing the relationship part with the podcast host. And it's been amazing, man. We've attracted New York Times bestselling authors, top entrepreneurs, billionaires, top CEOs of Fortune 50 companies, movie producers, you name it. So if somebody was to ask you, what are you made of? What would you say? Yeah, so this changes on a daily basis but most recently i'm really diving

into my my faith and and really developing my faith and strengthening my faith in god um i'm a firm believer that that i've been saved by uh omnipresent omnipotent omniloving god and for me i think i'm really made of the Holy Spirit and what God has put into me and the purposes God's put into me, and I really have some regrets of not, and I shouldn't be, but regretful of not sharing more of that and more of my faith journey earlier on, but it's become a really important part of my life right now, so.

I find it fascinating that it seems like people for many years were not really talking about faith. I think a lot of people have moved away from from maybe the the typical religion and and they're you know they'd be they'd say maybe they're more spiritual but i feel like the last maybe two or three years it's kind of swinging the other way now that i'm hearing a lot of people publicly talk about faith which is very interesting. I find it fascinating.

Why do you think that is? Because people are starting to see what's going on in their lives and in their environment, their communities around them, and they don't like it. And then they start asking questions. And when you start to ask questions,

amazing things happen. The answers will start to appear. And people are starting to realize that there is some kind of structure that we need in our lives some kind of discipline and we need to understand that we don't have control over everything and being able to surrender and being vulnerable is a powerful powerful uh condition to be in or have and and that's what i'm what i'm seeing out there it's it's more you know apparent to me than ever that people should stop caring what people think and focus on their relationship with a higher power

so that they can get some guidance to help people on the most dynamics possible, including themselves, their family, their groups that they're in, like their teams and work environment, mankind, the earth. I mean, all these dynamics that we need to focus on can affect each and every one of the dynamics. So I think that's what we're seeing. And I just have a firm belief

in the plan that God set out and I trust in it. And I don't want to ask questions except for, hey, guide me, what do I do next? So social media has seemed to possibly create great things, as we know, right? Like business, relationships, connections. But it also has created loneliness and lack of connection. So how do you see social media fitting into your life? Well, that's a tool, right? So social media is a tool or a platform you can use to advance your mission. Most people are drifting and they're on purpose.

Everybody's on purpose, Daniel, but it's whose purpose are you on, right? So if you're on someone, you're like your own purpose, you're going to use social media to achieve the mission that you're on. So it doesn't, it's not just social media, it's alcohol, it's parties, it's television, Netflix, whatever's out there. Those are all vehicles that you can use, but you need to really identify who you are and whose purpose are you following? Because I got to tell you, if you're not following your own purpose, you're following someone else's. Someone else has got you. And then you're going to go on that mission and then

you're going to regret and be miserable. That's what happens every time somebody's on someone else's mission. Matter of fact, Simon Sinek wrote a book, Find Your Why. And I think he should have, he made the word why real big. But he, I don't think he emphasized enough the word your. Because it is so powerful to understand how important it is to find your why. And I think he should have really put your really big. Yeah, I mean, for me, it took me decades to figure out my why. And I think he should have really put your really big. Yeah. I mean, for me, it took me decades to figure out my why. I think we, we, we have this feeling like I read this book,

find your why. And all of a sudden I have my why, but not realizing like, no, I mean, it can take, at least for me, it took me decades going through different things to one day. I finally realized like, you know what, this is my why, and I'm going to stick to it. But I'm with you until I figured that out. I was kind of like, you know, cruising around lost 100%. You're not really, you're not really lost. You may feel that way that that feeling comes from being on someone else's purpose. Most of the time, it becomes a purpose of the media becomes a purpose of social media of the people that are on there, and they're swaying you, and you're a puppet.

And I don't know about you, but I don't ever want to be a puppet. I'd rather be the puppet master in control at cause, being guided by a higher power. And that's the way I roll, and it's worked out really well for me and those around me in my environment and those that I have impact on. So currently right now, in this moment, in about two hours, I have to submit my manuscript for a book. Like literally in two hours after this conversation, I have to go and make sure that it's finished to submit this. How does this feel after you, after like working on these books now, submitting this manuscript, launching this book, walk me through like how

this whole process was for you. Did you say get to or have to? Both. Okay. Yeah. I mean, really, it's a perspective. I have to get to. Yeah, you're right. You have an amazing opportunity to impact people, but also what writing a book and a manuscript is therapeutic, right? You get to do this opportunity, man. There's not many people that get to do this opportunity. So it's very important to stress that. But you know, the process for me, what was the question with the what's the process like? Or what? Yeah. So how was the whole process

of writing the book? And then when the book comes out and seeing the book on the shelf? I know this is like a big question, but just any any parts of this whole process that stood out for you? Yeah, I mean, I do think the therapeutic part of it writing a book was is, you know, it's it's tough, especially when you're writing about stories of your life, things you've been through, which my book, Rocket Fuel Converts FX, was about. It was about my life and this law that I created, which was everything that you come across, you have a choice. Two options. You can store the stuff in your trunk where it weighs you down. Hey, everyone.

I'm not sure if you've heard, but our show Founders Story is now available on the iHeartRadio app. So check that out. iHeartRadio online or you grab the app. It's super easy. You can listen to all of our episodes wherever you enjoy your podcast, whether that's iHeartRadio, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and many more, but check it out. And slows you down, or you can store it in your fuel tank, where you can convert it into rocket fuel and become unstoppable. And so when I had to face these different things in my life, I had to ask that question, was I storing this stuff in my trunk? And is this part of things that are weighing me down and slowing me down, or did I store it in my tank? And you can always make the decision again,

even if you made the wrong decision in the past. So a very therapeutic vision, casting a vision out of what you expect. Like I had Grant Cardone writing the forward for the book before he even knew that I wanted him to, before the book was even started. Being a bestseller, had that already planned and visualized. And then going through the steps to do that

and understanding that and when it came tough or became difficult just to keep going. Like the goal is keep going, keep chipping away. And then to see the fruits of your labor come. It's very, very satisfying, except for the fact that more importantly than anything, when you do accomplish that, it's the question you have to ask yourself after you celebrate for five minutes is what's next. So what for you? And I love that. Thank you for sharing about it's being it's therapeutic. It's for sure like nerve wracking because I'm

rethinking and reliving things that I have to then put down. And and then I'm like, oh, my gosh, people are going to read this. How were they going to think about me? And I'm concerned about that. But then I'm thinking, I hope somebody is motivated by this or maybe they'll be inspired or changed. But but now after you've you've now launched two books, what have you found that they have done in terms of business for you? Well, credibility is a huge thing. I think authority and credibility creates that, especially if you do the work and get the message out about the book, talk about the book, be obsessively talking about it. So, yeah, credibility and authority is huge. Opportunities for podcasts and stages.

For me, it's a good opportunity to go back and reflect and see how far I've come since I wrote the book. And yeah, I mean, it's a calling card, really. I mean, I haven't made a whole lot of money with selling books, honestly. It's not like a publisher came to me and said, hey, you should write a book. So the last few months, I've been practicing how to learn Spanish because it is really a passion of mine. I've been using Rosetta Stone.

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cardone to write the forward for the book because i was mentored by him at first from afar and then i started you know going and implementing some of the things he was talking about and making friends with some of the people in his organization and then getting a no grant and and having him write the forward for the book at a time where he became a television personality being on Undercover Billionaire, the timing was perfect. And so that gave me proximity and that gave me elevation because of that. And so that's what it's done for me. And anything I ever do, I'm going to have to make sure I tag on to someone else respectfully, reward that person, make sure it's there, there it's an even trade to some degree. And maybe I'm over delivery because you need that.

You need to, you need to attach on to those that have already done it. And I think that allows you to tap into their, their, you know, ecosystem. So we've, I've talked to other incredible people like yourself. And I'd say the number one thing that they have always mentioned is timing. And just how important timing was with the ability for them to be successful. How, besides the book, has timing been something that's positively impacted you in business other than the book and working with Grant Cardone? Oh, of course. And negatively as well. I mean, there's a tech platform, Blueprinted, that we put out right before AI came out and became popular. And it ate our lunch because what we were doing with that tech platform was basically creating not a course platform,

but a platform that people could put their SOPs in and share their SOPs with their community or people. And really when it came down to it, when AI came out, you could just go to catch EPT and put, Hey, I need an SOP for this. And without paying for it in a matter of five seconds, it comes up with the SOP. So that was a timing thing that affected us negatively. However, it gave me a experience that I would have never had anywhere else of how to raise capital, being around people that are in tech, understanding how to build tech, what it takes to go to market. So there's a lot of positives that came from it as well. I would say timing-wise, positively, was that book was right around the pandemic. And doing that and being around that allowed me to be online a lot more and Zoom calls

and reach out to people and have 15-minute Zoom calls with people to connect and network. So yeah, I mean, and now podcasting is starting to take off. And that one agency came around at the right time because there's a lot of companies that are built on Filipino VAs, which I don't have a problem with that. And they're cold pitching guests on the shows. And all of us podcast hosts get tons and tons of pitches that are cold misaligned and they're missing the most important part which is the relationship and i noticed that and i saw a hole in the market of the relationship part and the intentionality and alignment part and so the timing for this what we're doing now is phenomenal and And so, yeah, that's helped me with that. I loved the idea. I remember you were telling me about this SOP idea and I was like, holy crap,

this is what everybody needs. This is an incredible idea. And who would have thought, you know, chat GBT would come out and then, you know, all these things would happen. I'm totally with you when it comes to pitching. We get pitched all the time every day. Something I always notice, and I will sometimes email people back to let them know. I'm like, look, you're pitching me somebody, but I don't understand how that person is going to make my audience. How is it going to relate to my audience? Then how is it going to make my life better? Because in the end of the day, we know we get a lot of pitches so it's like there's no shortage of people being pitched but it's like they they always just tell me like this is so and so and this is what they do but i'm like yeah but how does that fit into my audience or like like what is how does that matter to me is it newsworthy you know it's like

is it relevant to anything they never take the time to personalize anything so i'm glad that you brought that up and by the way i've seen your pitching it's amazing it is amazing i can tell a massive difference between people that just cold send like hundreds of emails the same email and they're just i feel like it's just, it doesn't really work anymore. It's just too, there's too much noise in the market. So, so I appreciate that. Let's talk about that one brand. What's the future? So I write down every day that that one will become a billion dollar brand. I have no idea like how that's going to happen. Honestly, I don't, I just commit. Commitment is so important because commitment leads to your attention being set, your intention being set intention directs

your attention. So I know that I freak out sometimes when I write these things down and I'm like, I have no idea how this is going to happen. And I start to panic for a minute and I'm like, wait a minute, commitment, intention, attention, cause and create. And, and so I remind myself of that formula. So that one, I created it to go on a lot of different companies. It can be a licensed brand that can go on a lot of different companies. I just got to put the work in with my team to build it and then find people that believe in the vision of becoming that one. And then add great people to the team, bring in their visions, their execution. And who knows I mean you know we may form a media company we may form a clothing line there's several different

verticals that we could get into but right now I'm at a stage you're you're you're actually interviewing me at a stage where I feel that later on down the road you're gonna say dude I had C Rock on here he was just starting that that one brand and everybody's heard of it I think I know so many people that have already heard of C-Rock. So that, you know, you're already there. Like you're already at that place. It's not like you're starting from zero.

So that's, you know, that's a great part in itself, right? I think it's like starting from zero is challenging. But what I've seen with you is like you build your personal brand where you can then insert different things in. And, you know, you can get at a higher level. Your success level is already like up 50% on whatever it is that you do, I would think, because you've built that personal brand and you've done 1,101 interviews. Yeah, I agree. But just for me and personally, I wake up every day pretending nobody's ever heard of me. I started zero every day. That freaks me out a little bit.

It forces me to take action and make sure every day is worth it. I got to put in the work. I don't think that 50% is the number. I really think it's maybe 1%. When I do create this brand to become whatever... By the way, a billion is just a number. It's just a made-up number. It's just a target, right? But when I get, let's say I do get there, I'll still think to myself, okay, 10% down. Because if I get there, that means that I'm capable of so much

more. And I always think to myself, Daniel, I want to see how far I can take this thing, this thing, this opportunity that God's given me. It reminds me of Amazon, like the day one company. I know there's a few other ones. I've seen even TikTok uses that phrase too, or day zero or day one. It's like every day we think like we, you know, we just started yesterday. What point in your life, besides a billion dollars,

is there something else in your life that if you achieve it, you're like, wow, you know what? I did it. Well, so i've been married 21 and a half years now so i'm going to continue to focus on making sure my marriage keeps getting better every day my relationship with my wife is the best it possibly can be and support her and her dreams but there's one thing in my mind my son and my daughter i'm creating opportunities for everything i'm doing whether any kind of money comes in whatsoever i'm creating

opportunities my son wants to go and film and television through this. What I do, I have connections to people and film and television. He got invited to go on set and be a PA and start from the bottom. My daughter wants to be a golfer and she's 12 and I'm intentionally setting out time aside and intention for her to have every opportunity to be a professional golfer if it's in the cards for her. So for me, I want to grow this brand, focus on my family. And then if my son and daughter can be successful through something that I've done, where I laid the groundwork for connection, or just time and opportunity to practice and be focused on what we're doing, that's a great life for me. Man, amazing. I'm always shocked about how younger generations are picking up golf and women. It's becoming like a really big sport for women with golf. It's really shocking

to me. Um, but that's amazing though. Do you play golf? Yeah, I love golf. I need to try it. What's your favorite sport right now? Are you into like paddle or was it pickleball? Are you doing any of those? Yeah, my son and my daughter, we play pickleball are you doing any of those yeah my son we and my daughter we play pickleball here or there but really golf is golf is my favorite i have a passion for it uh i love coaching softball my daughter plays softball as well and and then as far as watching i like to watch golf baseball and um football golf baseball and football yeah yeah thank you for sharing that i i need to get more into sports i I feel like I watched the Olympics and I was super motivated. Like, you know what? I want to represent some country somewhere in the world for something at the next

Olympics. But let's talk about any future products or services. Do you have something that's on the horizon that we can all get excited about? Yeah. So we just launched that one podcast mastermind tour where I've been doing this, uh, my, all my podcasting in my studio here at the house. It's a bit amazing. It's very easy and efficient. However, I need to get on the road. And so what I'm going to be doing, I'm going to go to speak at other people's events about becoming that one and then have a little breakout podcast episodes off of that.

And then I'm creating my own tour where I'm going from city to city over the next year, starting in LA next Friday, and I'm going to bring celebrities and top business people in to be interviewed. And then those that want proximity to that, because I believe elevation comes from proximity and they would like to be interviewed on that one podcast with Mike C rock and have a content package created from the episode behind the scenes, B roll and all that. And then be able to network with all the people that I interview and come to these locations. We're putting packages together and we already have

interest that people are sending money to us to be able to be a part of that. And so we're going to Vegas next Miami, Chicago, New York, Scottsdale. We're making a tour out of it and pretending that I'm a famous musician or something like going on tour. I love that, man. That's a great thing now. You don't have to be a musician. You don't have to be an athlete. You don't have to be a movie star, a TV star to be able to create media to then do these things. I think it's an incredible time for media in just my personal opinion. But I can't wait to see you on one of these tours. I totally am with building authority

and leveraging media and then proximity. I think Clubhouse for me was like one of those times where I really felt proximity is power in a sense like I never even expected. So I totally am with that. I can't wait. I'm going to join you in Miami and New York just because I feel like, I don't know, I feel like those two cities are calling to me. But if people want to get in touch with you, they want to find out information, they want to join you, how can they do so? The best way to do it is go to instagram at mikey c rock and shoot me a dm and then i can lead you and feel like funnel you to the right direction for your needs because that's to me um i have several different links and all that but dm into me on

instagram i answer all my dms i love talking to people and it's mikey c rock on instagram mikey c rock on instagram really great seeing. I'm super happy that we're able to touch base again after two years. You really never know. You never know who one will meet, and then you never know who you're going to meet again and what's going to happen there. This world, it's so incredibly small. Sometimes it's mind blowing. Yeah, I agree, man. It's an awesome opportunity for us to maybe do calls you know, cause and create a future together here. Awesome. Thanks for joining us today again on Founders Story. Appreciate your time. Thanks, man. Appreciate you. Thank you for tuning in to Founders Story. Keep exploring,

keep dreaming, and join us next time for more inspiring entrepreneurial journeys.