This Entrepreneur Drove Across the Country to Sell His Product to Walmart
John Mack now consults business owners on how to sell their products.
By Madison Semarjian •
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Struggling to pay the bills at age 48, John Mack's power was shut off. So he rented out his guest house, bought an RV and road-tripped across America to pitch his transforming gloves to thousands of Walmart stores.
Years later, Mack found himself in the Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch boardroom listening to David Meltzer, investor and CEO of Sports 1, tell him how he wears Mack's gloves on a regular basis.
Mack credits his success to his unique growth strategy: Walmart. He was looking for a cost-effective way to scale his business, and Walmart happened to be the solution.
While it wasn't easy traveling by himself to thousands of Walmarts across the U.S. to pitch to store managers, Mack claims it was worth it. "From my understanding … most people don't scale their business by going store to store," he says. "I am doing the buyers homework for them -- meeting with store managers and market managers. I am creating my own opportunity."
Mack now helps other entrepreneurs find the success he has through his consulting business, The Idea Experts, LLC.
Though his business teaches entrepreneurs how to scale their businesses to achieve their goals, Mack knows the most important lessons in starting a business are the ones you'll learn from your own experience.
"You have to be self-taught. You have to be a solution-solving machine," he says. "Colleges don't teach you the most important aspects of entrepreneurship like grit and the ability to deal with stress."
