Welcome Back to Go Big to Give Big Podcasts with Randy Molland and Steve Arneson. Today we are joined by Mike Claudio! Mike Claudio is a seasoned sales and business development professional with 15+ years of sales and sales leadership experience. He has helped several construction companies grow from a leadership position and decided to turn that into a career as a sales consultant and coach for professionals in the construction industry via starting WinRate Consulting in early 2018. So far Mike has worked with over 25 companies and helped several grow by 7-figures in process. Mike is driven by helping business owners and sales professionals reach their potential by teaching his best practices created through on the job training with sales and leadership roles in several types of industries and business types along the way. He is a published author, a professional speaker, multiple business owner, Father, and Husband. [00:00 - 06:49] The Journey of Building a Business • Mike Claudio is a seasoned sales and business development professional, who has shifted his focus to serving small businesses and making impact with his non-profits. • Mike's talks about his journey from corporate America to being a small businesses owner, and he now coaches as his opportunity to give back to other starting entrepreneurs. [06:49 - 19:13] The Dark Side of Loyalty • Mike shares why loyalty is so difficult to obtain and why you have to be careful with your partnerships. • He also learned that it's important to have standards for loyalty and that it's easy for partnerships to become difficult when one party's loyalty is too high. • Partnerships can be difficult because people have different standards and expectations • Mike advises listeners to negotiate their standards for loyalty carefully, as resentment can build over time if they're not careful. • If someone is unwilling or unable to evolve closer to your standards, then the relationship is not going to work [19:13 - 25:11] Why There is no Such Thing as Self-Made Success. • Mike explains why he thinks that there are no self-made entrepreneurs and how the people around him brought his career to success. • Mike tells how he started from a difficult and depressive life to build impact and wealth due to the help of his wife. [25:11 - 37:57] Impact Drives Success in Your Business • Mike discusses his journey with Champion’s Shoes, a non-profit that gifts pairs of shoes to kids in need. • Champion’s Shoes started with a hundred shoes and now has since expanded to 4,500 pairs of shoes being given away in two years. • Mike’s mission is to help people to build the championship version of their life. • Mike talks about how his relationship with money changed after he started giving back and how this has inspired him to make a bigger impact with his non-profit [37:57 – 40:55] Mike’s Most Memorable Giving Moment • Mike tells us the story of how he impacted the life of a girl with his Champion’s Shoes non-profit and how that experience made him to give even more. [40:55 - 43:40] Quick Questions • Brag about one charity you like: My Very Own Bed and Dream on 3 • What would get you more excited? Donating a $1 million check or spending a week physically helping others: Physically helping. For Mike, that experience is immeasurable.  • Who inspires you with their giving? Mike doesn’t pay attention to what other people are doing, so no answer. Do you think entrepreneurs should start giving from day one or after they have some seen some success? Mike argues that being impact driven is more important than giving from day one because sometimes giving something is not enough. • What is the first thing that you think of when you hear Go Big to Give Big: Being unapologetically yourself on what you are and represent. • In one word, describe the feeling you get when you give: Joy. • Do you believe that money can buy you happiness: Money is the vehicle