Micah Johnson co-founded BGBO Co. for a purpose, to help companies take their businesses to the next level and prosper.
How does his company do this? First, Micah Johnson and BGBO Co. iron out the business’ kinks by “solving growth problems.” Next, BGBO sets out “helping them become better organized.” Businesses face obstacles to success every day, and it’s part of a CEO’s job to address these obstacles before they appear. So, Micah also leads business in “proactively addressing roadblocks.”
As co-founder and CEO of BGBO Co., Micah Johnson knows the value of an external voice in shaping company decisions. Most of the time, we all need the advice of an expert before we decide to do significant actions. With Micah, businesses can feel safe in trusting an expert and experienced voice in the boardroom.
All businesses strive for maximum success, which is why Micah Johnson and BGBO’s services have become invaluable. They can help you overcome all adversities that should emerge against your company.
Micah Johnson has seen it all, too. In his 18 years working in the field, he has been a CEO, COO, and CTO. He has “founded, merged, scaled, and sold.” This level of experience has given him what it takes not only to run a company, but also to let it thrive in its industry.
Since his last venture, Micah Johnson has also launched an operations agency, which helps start-ups and e-commerce businesses grow. Among his services are giving insight to companies; devising strategies; improving processes, and getting projects finished on-time or, better, early.
He has also worked with a bunch of professionals in different fields and sectors, giving them access to his vast operations knowledge. Working with Micah, you’ll know which mistakes to avoid, and how to solve problems.
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Jerome Knyszewski: Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
Micah Johnson: I first got started as an entrepreneur when I was 20 years old. I dropped out of college after my second semester to pursue my own business ideas. I worked around the clock, made sales calls during the day, and then turned around and did client work at night. That business gave me the confidence to continue growing and scaling companies. A few years after starting, I merged it with a larger company and got my first taste of what could be possible. Afterward, I started and built up a software company, which I exited in 2018. I now consult for other companies doing what I love most — creating processes and improving their operations so that they can scale and grow.
Jerome Knyszewski: Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?
Micah Johnson: In my first business, I also worked a full-time job at RadioShack (gotta do whatever it takes sometimes!) so that I had income while building my business. Money was tight in the beginning and for a while after that. I rented a loft apartment above an art studio and many times ate army rations for dinner. I loved painting, but I couldn’t even afford canvases; I painted on expanded cardboard boxes. It was not glamorous back then! I never gave up though, and I knew I could do it. My drive came from the internal push of seeing other entrepreneurs, who weren’t necessarily very skilled, still have a successful business. That inspired me to take the plunge of starting my own business and dropping out of college. I have not looked back since.
Jerome Knyszewski: Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘takeaways’ you learned from that?
Micah Johnson: I’ve made so many mistakes! My biggest mistake and learning curve was not looking at the red flags I’d see in interviews and being too optimistic about whether they could do the job that I was hiring for. That really hurt the culture of the company in the beginning. We’d have team members that ended up having to carry too much of the weight while other team members were only causing more problems. I finally had the realization slap me in the face when one of my top employees got in a yelling match with me over not hiring someone just because they could do some of the job! Sometimes we need that slap in the face! After that moment, I stopped doing the hiring and delegated it to people that were better at it than myself.
Jerome Knyszewski: Can you please share your “Five Things You Need To Know To Delegate Effectively and Be Completely Satisfied With the Results?” Please share a story or an example for each.
Micah Johnson:
- It is never going to be exactly like you would do it, and that is better than okay!
- In the beginning, a task may take others longer to execute than it would have taken you, As an entrepreneur, think about how many books and articles you’ve read, how many meetings you have been a part of, and how people you’ve spoken to about your company. Now compare that to the person you have delegated to for further understanding of the place they are in professionally.
- Stop doing your own bookkeeping and find a freelancer! Watching money go in and out can be extremely stressful for an entrepreneur. Even if you are financial-minded and enjoy doing it, it is work that can be done by an inexpensive expert. It will save you more than time; it will save your sanity. I remember trying to do it myself, and I would get to the point that I felt sick for days. It was truly unneeded because of how accounts payable and accounts receivable flow through a company. The moment I started delegating that and only saw reports at the end of the month, I was able to keep myself mentally sane!
- No one can read your mind! Document what you want, how you want it, and what resources are available to use to create what you need. When I started hiring software developers, I would not take the time to document User Stories, the bigger picture of the software, or how everything would work together and then end results were always disappointing. It wasn’t until I took the time to set up the task that the execution by our software team was amazing!
- Remember that if you do everything, you’re getting things done in a very linear fashion. In order to grow your business faster, you need many people doing many different things simultaneously.
Jerome Knyszewski: How can our readers further follow you online?
Micah Johnson:
Jerome Knyszewski: This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this!
