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Mitchell Levy, CEO,
Happy About Publishing

1. What inspired you to start a publishing company?
I wanted to create a product company in an industry that has not been transformed by the Internet (yet). Publishing is that industry. The business models we've implemented are what you'd expect from a publishing company that started today. It's fun, we can create and put a book in the marketplace 5-6 times faster than traditional publishers, and we pay our authors significantly higher royalty rates. Being able to walk into an existing industry and knowing that I could create a firm that could make these statements is what inspired me.

2. Tell us about some of your most exciting experiences in joint-venturing.
I think of my company as a private publisher for individuals and firms that need one. A number of the deals with authors and executive editors are joint ventures where we share the risk and rewards associated with a book or a series of books. Excitement starts when my partner gets to see the fruit of their labor in book form. It continues when the books sell and they make money. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. The real win for the professional service providers are speaking and consulting engagements that come from the book and for the corporations; it's the thought leadership and leads they get. There's nothing more exciting then helping your partner succeed. Of course that means we're succeeding along with them.

We just published a book by Valerie Orsoni-Vauthey on Joint Venturing. Although written by Valerie, it articulates my thoughts on successful joint venturing. I don't think I could be as excited as Valerie is, but I'm pretty close.

3. As CEO of Happy About, what were some of the greatest obstacles that you faced in your first year, and how did you pull through?
When you start a quick-to-market, short-book publishing company, the concept sounds great, however partners and customers can't put their arms around it without actually holding onto a book. I had to spend the first year building the infrastructure, which included putting together relationships with ghost writing firms (we have over 125 ghost writers), setting up distribution through Amazon, BN.com, Baker & Taylor, Ingram, 50 retailers and 130 libraries, and of course writing a couple of books. Of the first five books we published, I authored three of them. It turns out that I was the easiest author to secure. For the next 20, I might author one of them. As much as I enjoy writing, as the CEO I continually need to remind myself to "work on the business" and not "in the business."

Another key obstacle for larger corporations was showing momentum. I kept getting the response, "I like what you're doing but, please show some momentum and get back to me." In the first year, I had to define what momentum was, then make sure I showed it. I described it as creating 5-10 books and securing 10 executive editors. This, I was able to accomplish. My current definition of momentum is much more ambitious.

4. Describe a day at your work!
I think every CEO directs him/herself and their staff to focus on one or more of the following three areas in a day: 1) Prospect for new business 2) Build product/service for tomorrow 3) Service existing clients

At the start of the company, I spent a lot of time on 1 & 2 since I didn't have many clients. Today, I try to manage an equal proportion of time among all three. I typically think about my business on an annual basis, then quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily. I'll reflect at the end of each day, week, month, quarter, and year in relation to the proportion of time I've spent in each area, and in regards to the goals I've set for that period of time.

5. Whom or what motivates you daily? Striking deals to create and market books. Succeeding through others by helping them reach their goals. The more folks I can help win in a day, the better.

6. What is the key message that you want to pass on to your clients and colleagues?
Let me answer that in two ways:
1) You can do it! You can achieve anything you want in life as long as you create the vision, and then have the perseverance to deliver it by yourself and through the partnerships you create.

2) Let me help you. A book is the best vehicle an individual or company can use to drive thought leadership and generate leads. To that extent, publishing a book doesn't have to be hard and you don't have to be taken advantage of. We help folks achieve their business goals through publishing in a short amount of time (3-4 months vs. 18-24) and with significantly highly royalty rates. We are currently looking for authors and corporations that would like books written for them. If you are interested, please contact me directly at 408-257-3000 or visit our Website, happyabout.info and click on contribute.