November 17, 2025 • 34 mins
We explore what it takes to build durable businesses across franchises, real estate and investing, and why humility, people and discipline beat ego every time. Marcél Clark shares how sacrifice fuels momentum, how leaders stay accountable and how to build teams that win.
• people first leadership and culture
• startup sacrifice and the myth of balance
• going all in versus part-time mindset
• learning the science of your business
• systems for accountability and metrics
• hiring smarter and checking your ego
• building trust through consistency and clarity
• mentors, networks and avoiding costly mistakes
• turning around a failing territory with a plan
• focus, anti-complacency and generational wealth
• practical advice: one step at a time and never quit
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The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any organization or entity. The information provided in this podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional advice. Listeners should consult with their own professional advisors before implementing any suggestions or recommendations made in this podcast. The speakers and guests are not responsible for any actions taken by listeners based on the information presented in this podcast. The podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice or services. The speakers and guests make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the information, products, services, or related graphics contained in this ...
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
Welcome to Unpack Podcast with your host,
Leadership Consultant, RonHarvey of Global Core Strategies
and Consulting.
Ron believes that leadership isthe fundamental driver towards
making a difference.
So now, to find out more of whatit means to unpack leadership,
here's your host, Ron Harvey.
SPEAKER_02 (00:20):
Good afternoon.
This is Ron Harvey, the VicePresident, Chief Operating
Officer for Global CoreStrategies and Consulting.
And we're based out of Columbia,South Carolina.
And our business really is abouthelping leaders be better
connected to their workforce andthe people that actually make
them successful.
So we're all about taking careof people at the end of the day.
You know, we got core values, wegot mission statements, but we
truly believe that people arethe foundation of your business
(00:41):
and they make or break you.
So we try to help leaders beeffective at doing the right
thing with them, through them,and by them to be successful in
business.
But we always pause and werelease an episode or a podcast
with a leader from around theworld, um, from all over, quite
honestly.
And we've been doing this nowabout 18 months, and we are
super excited that we bring somany people from different
(01:02):
backgrounds, differentindustries from around the
country to talk about leadershipand people and the difference
that it makes.
So I'm super excited to haveMark Marcel on with us, and I'm
going to invite him to introducehimself.
You guys know I don't introduceanyone.
Um, I don't want to mess it up,and who knows them better than
them?
So I'm going to invite Marcel tocome on in.
Man, welcome to the show, man,and thank you for saying yes.
SPEAKER_00 (01:23):
Ha ha, thank you, Ron.
I really appreciate the theplatform.
So anytime I get a chance toreach out to you know successful
people in in the business world,I'm always hopping on the
opportunity.
SPEAKER_02 (01:35):
Yes, yes.
So, Mark Marcel, before we diveinto it, I'd love for people to
know who you are, if you in yourservices, your products, or what
you do, you know, a little bitof background about you.
What would you share with usthat you want us to know about
you?
You know, so I always invitepeople just to share.
You know, we promote businesseshere, we talk about products and
services here, and we talk aboutleadership.
Um, but tell us a little bitthat you want us to know about
you that would be helpful.
SPEAKER_00 (01:55):
Yeah, I'm incredibly diverse at this point.
So, uh generationalentrepreneur, real estate
developer, stock marketarchitect, cryptocurrency
investor.
So I do a lot of differentthings um in the world of
business.
I've been an entrepreneur forover two decades now.
So well versed in a lot ofdifferent areas.
I spend a lot of my time tryingto mentor uh young youth these
(02:16):
days, and I also try my best touh coach young professionals
that may have been doing the uhwhole nine to five thing all of
their lives, but now they wantto own a business.
So I do a lot of businesscoaching um in that area.
But yeah, I have a prettydiverse palette.
If you want to learn a lot moreabout me, just go to
marcelclark.co.
(02:37):
So you'll see it's all lined upfor you guys, and it's a great
website, but it talks about allof my ventures.
I'm a recent author, I justpublished a book, High in the
Plain View that I think isincredibly motivational.
So I believe a lot of peoplewill benefit from that book.
But yeah, I have a I have adiverse palette at this point.
I also just signed a deal withMarcos Pizza for a three-unit
deal there.
(02:57):
So yeah, I'm just I like I likeI started with generational
entrepreneur, do a lot ofdifferent things, um, but never
too much.
I would try to keep it withinyou know the conglomerate that
I'm building, and I'm reallyjust happy to be able to be in
business because that's what Ido.
SPEAKER_02 (03:12):
Awesome, awesome.
So, really quick, I mean youshared a lot, and I'll I'll
unpack some of that as we gothrough it.
SPEAKER_00 (03:17):
Family man, children, you know, yeah, yeah,
family is everything.
Yeah, every everything, familyand God is everything.
So family is I have uh I havetwo, I have two daughters and
one son.
My daughter lives in New York,um, and she's doing really,
really well.
My son is just starting, he'sjust finished wrapped up his
first year of college, and thenmy daughter is trailing him.
(03:38):
She's um in the 11th grade,going to be in 12th grade next
year.
So, yeah, have a nice, nicefamily.
Everybody's doing their thing.
Um, but yeah, all of them, youknow, when they're under my
tutelage, all of them aremotivated to be great.
Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_02 (03:53):
And I reason I ask that because you know, you're
doing a lot.
And and one of the things about,you know, when you're you're
successful and and it doesn'tcome easy, you got to put a lot
of work in.
How do you balance making surethat you don't you don't lose
out on no, you're working hardfor your family, but you also
want to make sure you'respending enough quality time.
How do you do that balancing actthat entrepreneurs, because they
can suck you in?
You can find yourself, you know,burning the kennel on both ends
(04:15):
when you got a family and be anentrepreneur.
How did you manage to to to dowell and still tutor the
children?
SPEAKER_00 (04:20):
You know, I've always been all about family,
but I do have to concede thatwhen you when you're doing a
startup, you're gonna be all in.
Like the first franchise I everpurchased, the Maids Home
Services, when I would be arounda lot of the veterans, they were
like, Okay, Marcel, you're aboutto go underwater for two years.
I was like, What does that mean?
They were like, Two years,you're just not gonna be able to
do anything or see anybody, youit's gonna be all about the
(04:42):
business.
I would be inclined to say thatthey were absolutely right.
So I don't know initially ifyou're gonna have balance.
I don't I don't I think peopletry to promote that, but I'm
not, I don't believe that'strue.
Uh, but again, you know, I wasraised understanding that you
know sacrifice is required,right?
My mom told me that you're gonnahave to sacrifice.
So I think the sacrifice isworth it because I did play a
(05:04):
little catch-up.
Uh it they were real smallanyway when I started my
business.
So I mean, two, three years old,they don't remember much anyway,
right?
So when they started to getolder, I was already my
companies were starting tomature, so I did have a chance
to kind of like level theplaying field, but yeah, it's
going to be challenging for anytrue entrepreneur to kind of
(05:25):
like have balance initiallybecause it's like anything else.
You you have to give it 100% ifyou really want to win.
SPEAKER_02 (05:31):
Yeah, I love it.
I mean, and you're beingtransparent, which I tell
everybody on the show, though,we're gonna be honest, we're
gonna tell you, hey, here'shere's what we unpacked is that
you had to be on the water fortwo years, like, hey, this is
what you're trying to get done.
It's gonna take you, it's likegoing on Shark Tank when they
ask them all the time, hey, areyou really in this business or
are you treating this as ahobby?
Because they don't want toinvest if you're not really in
the company.
(05:52):
Um, and so I was, you know, Ilove that you're sharing that.
Hey, I had to, I got to make adecision and make a sacrifice
and have that conversation withmy family, which is important to
have it so they know what theexpectation is.
SPEAKER_00 (06:02):
Absolutely.
And I tell people all the time,like, I have a lot of realtors
that work in my in my portfolio,but you can there's a clear
difference between a part-timerealtor and a full-time realtor.
This right off the break, youknow, full-time realtor has
everything laid out, portfolio,they know exactly what they
have.
100 contacts, they can take careof almost anything.
Part-time is a kind of like theyjust in it trying to make a
(06:24):
quick dollar.
Can they get the commission?
It's just two totally differentmindsets.
And if you're not 100%, it's it.
I just I really try to gravitateaway from that because I need
somebody that's fully dedicatedbecause it tells me that they
really are gonna be about itevery single day.
Part-time, again, I'm notknocking knocking anybody that
does anything as a side hustle,but they just aren't as invested
because clearly they havesomething else that's you know
(06:46):
providing them some level ofincome.
So that level of desperationisn't there when when it's what
you do every day, and this ishow you're gonna basically
obtain your income, then you'reall in.
But when you kind of like, uh,you know, I had this check next
door, you know, uh so it's likeyou're not really, it's okay,
but they're not going, Oh, I'mgoing, I got I have to get after
(07:07):
it.
It's just too totally mindset.
So I I agree.
If you're not 100% in, I'm notreally, I don't understand.
Yeah, I just don't do it.
SPEAKER_02 (07:14):
Wow, yeah.
And and and so for those thatare listening, it is so
important.
You're talking about somethingon here though, Marcel.
You talk about mindset.
So when you look at your mompour some stuff into you, you're
you're doing uh multiple things,and and you're you're juggling,
you know, and you got them inthe air and you sound like
you're doing really, really wellthere.
What mindset did or where didyou develop the mindset to to
come in, roll up your sleeves,put the work in?
(07:35):
Where does that come from?
Because it it's not an overnightthing.
Uh, I don't know if you're bornwith it or not born with it.
Where does it come from?
SPEAKER_00 (07:42):
Oh, that's a lot.
So, so two things.
My dad was an entrepreneur.
So when I was a kid, I actuallyhad a close-up one-on-one look
at what entrepreneursentrepreneurship looks looked
like.
So we owned it, he owned thefish market, and then when we
moved to Philly, he owned abunch of corner stores, they're
like 7-Elevens, and that's whereyou could get those incredibly
uh worldwide popularcheesesteaks.
(08:04):
But that up, that upfrontschooling, first of all, was
there.
Two, I I think you know thatquestion, are you born to be an
entrepreneur?
is kind of interesting becausehonestly, I started out in the
nine to five world of appeasingmy mom, right?
Because once I got once Iobtained my graduate degree, it
was kind of like, well, you feltlike you had to go and do the
nine-to-five thing.
So I did that coming out ofcollege and I wasn't happy.
(08:27):
I was always a leader, no matterwhat environment I was in, but I
still had to learn how to be anentrepreneur, right?
So I think it's kind of like atrick question because to me,
it's both.
You can't teach leadership,either you're a leader or you're
not.
It's either in you, you havethese traits that basically they
just show themselves or youdon't have them.
(08:47):
That's just one thing.
But in anything, when you'retrying to become great and
you're trying to learn, you haveto learn.
You have to be, you have to bein, you have to really be like
immersed in the education ofthat field.
So you you still have to learnregardless.
There's no way that you couldjust say, Oh, um, you I can't
just own Marco's pizzas and I'mjust gonna be successful.
(09:08):
No, I literally have to now diveinto the science of pizza,
right?
I like I leave I need to knowevery single thing I possibly
can about making a pizza if Iwant to be dominant in the
field.
So it's it's a it's a I thinkit's both, if you ask me that
question.
SPEAKER_02 (09:24):
Yeah, I mean, I appreciate it.
Let me let me unpack for asecond, though.
You said, hey, you know, I if Igo on go into Marco's pizza, I
gotta understand the sci, Igotta understand everything
about this business, other thanthe fact that we're we're
putting a pie on on a box andsomeone's gonna come buy it.
How important is it for anybody,regardless of industry, to
(09:45):
understand everything about thebusiness in your industry to be
successful?
How important is that to for youfor us?
SPEAKER_00 (09:52):
It's key.
So fortunately for me, I'veowned the franchise in the past,
but there's it's an intricatesystem to it, targeting what
type of customer you you needthat you're you're going after.
The households, how what areashave the most households?
Where should you actually plantthat first location?
From the science of freshness ofthe food, how long do they have
(10:14):
to deliver it to a household?
All of these things are alreadykind of pretty much understood
within the realm, but you haveto learn it, you have to
understand it yourself.
You can't just think you're justgonna walk in there and just
sell pizzas and get them out thedoor and it's gonna work because
it won't work that way.
When you deal, especially whenyou buy franchises, you have to
follow their methodology becausealready proven that's the reason
(10:35):
why they've been able to expand.
If you can't execute oneverything that they're gonna
teach you, again, see, learn it,you're not gonna win.
It's just I I've I've seen umMcDonald's that have gone out of
business, you know.
I've watched a couple ofdifferent franchises go out of
business.
So just because you receive afranchise model, or just because
you know you could be an owner,that's not a uh a guaranteed
(10:58):
formula for success.
SPEAKER_02 (11:00):
Can you tie that for you?
I mean, I love where you'regoing at with I want to unpack a
little bit here on theleadership aspect of it.
So when you go in, yeah, you mayhave this idea, I'm gonna do
pizza, or I'm gonna doMcDonald's, I'm gonna do a UPS
store.
How important is it for thefranchise owner, the leader, to
make sure that they take care ofthe people that are actually
gonna do the work in theorganization?
(11:22):
Because it's not enough for youto go around, and you can't you
can't really make thatorganization work just by your
own hands and feet anymore.
Your success is more than justthe work that you can do.
How important is it for you todo a really good job of taking
care of people?
SPEAKER_00 (11:34):
People, people are people, they are everything.
And it's interesting that youcould you brought that up.
When I bought my firstfranchise, it residential
cleaning is all Latinos, likealmost 100% Latinos, as your uh
your front-end, front-basedworkers.
So when I was there, I'm I'mlike one, I'm an I'm obviously
(11:54):
clearly American, but I was intraining with a couple of owners
that were from you know Latinocountries.
Literally, they they theyautomatically figured that I
would most likely not be assuccessful as them based on the
fact that they felt like it wasgonna be a language barrier.
All I truly did was found me areally, really, really good
field manager that can basicallyarticulate what I wanted to
(12:16):
articulate.
And this in the bottom line is Igrossed way more than them over
the over the first five yearsbecause I put more of my
emphasis on my management staff.
I hired people that were morelike me, people that are
definitely bilingual, but when Italk to them in our pro in our
business meetings, they couldtranslate that to my employees.
So, and I never ever had ameeting with an employee without
(12:37):
a manager there to make surethat our communication was
clear.
So, communication and teams meaneverything, but that's a perfect
example of where you would youwould have thought that yeah,
they probably are right.
I mean, I'm not Latino, so I'mnot gonna have that cultural
connection and we're not gonnawork out.
No, that wasn't true at all.
Again, I ended up grossing waymore than them because the
structure of my organization wasdifferent, but again, leadership
(12:59):
skills or leadership skills,when people feel like you care
about them, when people feellike they're invested in what
you're doing, they're much more,they're gonna be much more
motivated when they walk throughthe door.
And I knew that was important,and we were able to achieve
that, and and and we willsubsequently we were we were
pretty um successful.
SPEAKER_02 (13:15):
How much thank you for unpacking that?
How much of it when you first gointo this, you know it, um, you
know you can be successful.
How often, you know, um, ordangerous is it for you as an
entrepreneur or a leader in inthat aspect to make it about you
and let your ego get in the way?
I mean, you know, you see peoplethat that walk in and it's hey,
I own the company, blah blahblah, whatever.
(13:36):
How dangerous is it for you tolet your ego get in the way?
You're in any leadership role?
SPEAKER_00 (13:40):
Yeah, that's a rookie move.
Anyone that lets business go totheir hand and they feel like
they're too successful, that'sthat's a recipe for disaster.
You're only as good as thepeople that you're around.
Uh even in my real estatedevelopment uh projects, I hire
people that's much smarter thanme.
Much smarter than me.
They they have me beat on everylevel.
(14:01):
I am not the person that thinksthat I know the most in the in
the room.
They'll tell you when I'm inthere, I'm mostly learning.
You know, I I can I can admit,yeah, I'm the font, I'm the
funding behind the deal.
My name is on these projects.
Yes, I'm the developer, but atthe end of the day, my general
contractor can run circlesaround me.
I would never treat him any justbased on just humanity and just
(14:23):
me as a person, I would nevertreat anybody differently,
regardless.
I don't believe anybody's onsome level when you're above
levels.
That's just ridiculousness.
But at the same time, you know,I was raised to just treat
people well.
That's it.
It's not hard.
This is not a hard, you know,concept.
Just treat people well, right?
And just and you know, and holdthem accountable.
(14:43):
When people make mistakes, youknow, talk to them and and and
make sure that you clarify whereyou want to go in the future.
But it's it's not, you you'renever, you're never the biggest
person in the room.
It's that's impossible becauseyou can't grow under those
circumstances.
You have to surround yourselfwith people that know more than
you, they're hungry, they canguide you correctly, and they
(15:04):
can make really good decisions.
And that's me.
I'm all about empowering people.
I'm not about trying to you knowdominate all the conversations.
I don't like hearing myselfspeak.
I'm really more about okay,what's the what how do we
resolve this problem?
What's the next step?
When are we gonna get there?
What does success look like inthis realm?
That's it.
But yeah, no, you're neveryou're never the biggest person
in the room.
(15:25):
You know, owning a business isnice, but a lot of people own
businesses, to be quite honestwith you.
A lot of people back in the dayhad business cars that could
say, Oh, I have a business.
That's not that is not the sameas creating a conglomerate,
creating a successful company,creating something that's going
to be long-lasting, generationaluh wealth, like that can that's
(15:46):
gonna be a pillar ofgenerational wealth.
It's not the same.
So, like, always humbleyourself, always humble yourself
and relax because things changelike this.
We saw what happened with thepandemic.
We could that could that couldtake up the whole show over
here, you know?
And that situation was veryscary, and a lot of businesses
didn't survive for a lot ofdifferent reasons, but it shows
you that things can be great inbusiness one day, the next day
(16:09):
things could take, and that'sthat's the world I live in.
SPEAKER_02 (16:11):
Wow, wow.
So on the wall behind you, yougot work hard, stay humble.
Where did you get is that wherethe what what why behind the
wall and what what do you putthat up for?
And how do you live by that?
SPEAKER_00 (16:22):
Um, I I I put that up there to remind every person
that walks to my office thatthat's that's the way my mindset
is, and I definitely, you know,I live by it, like work hard
every single day.
You every day isn't promise, youknow, you don't know what
tomorrow's gonna bring.
So give it a hundred percentevery single time you walk
through the door.
At the same time, stay humblebecause you'll you'll experience
success with that with thismindset.
(16:44):
But I always feel like I got Ihave further to go.
Now I like to enjoy you know thesuccess of my ventures.
So I'm telling people, yeah, youshould definitely do that too.
But never feel like, okay, likelike okay, I'm the man, I made
it.
Ah, uh I'm in the building now.
Everybody everybody be quiet.
Like, nah, that's just not okay.
Life's not that's not whatlife's for.
(17:05):
So always be humble, appreciatewhere you are, and you and
always get after it.
So that's that's why it's on mywall.
SPEAKER_02 (17:11):
Yeah.
So for you, you're in thebusiness, you're doing multiple
things, and what you're doing,so much stuff.
How do you stay current andcontinue to grow yourself?
What is it that you're doing foryour own professional
development?
SPEAKER_00 (17:23):
Well, I'm always in tune with everything that's
that's happening every day.
So I'm in the I'm in themarkets, right?
So I'm always looking at C NBCfirst thing when I wake up.
Then I'm hitting the gym, andthen I'm looking at articles.
I my feed is full of things thatare industry standards.
So, whatever industries I'minvolved in, that's coming
through my feed.
(17:43):
That's ongoing education.
That's why I love technologynow.
Really, if you tie into theright organizations and the
right feeds, you'll get ongoinginformation constantly.
Obviously, I like to um attendnetwork events, but I'm real
strategic about that now.
I don't just attend anything,right?
It has to definitely be in thelane of something that I'm
(18:04):
actually doing and where I'mgoing to meet like-minded people
there in the industry.
So there's a lot of ways to stayeducation that to stay educated
now because of the technology.
This is just a stream now ofthis information that you can
get from anywhere.
So it's up to you to customizewhat kind of information you
want to take in, honestly.
SPEAKER_02 (18:24):
Yeah.
How do you how do you know,Marcel?
How do you make sure that youyou come as you're growing?
Who are you looking for now orlooking to to mentor you and be
almost like this guy becauseyou've done a lot, you're doing
a lot.
How do you find a mentor?
SPEAKER_00 (18:38):
I from industry to industry, uh, again, like real
estate development is my one ofmy really big projects right
now.
So we're doing a huge project inDC.
And my general contract, thelane, is really cool.
So I'm always when I again, whenI'm in a project or if I'm going
into an industry, I always trymy best to find top leadership.
(19:01):
So even with DeMarcos deal, Iknow two of the owners there in
the region already.
We've already done lunch acouple of times.
I'm already getting to knowthese people ahead.
So it's not really hard to findmentors if you know if you put
yourself in the right positionand again, humble yourself, let
them know listen, I'm justtrying to learn what this
business is all about, what arethe ups and downs, the do's and
(19:24):
don'ts?
A lot of people are really open.
They're there, they they justwant to see you win too.
So it's not hard.
You just have to seek thosepeople out, and again, just
present your genuine self, andand normally that falls in line.
SPEAKER_02 (19:36):
Yes, yes.
You mentioned earlier on there,uh Martel, hold yourself
accountable.
What are the most difficultthings can be to hold yourself
accountable?
It's it's easier to tellsomebody else what they've done
wrong and what they need to do,and and you follow up with them.
But one of the most difficultthings in my journey is
self-accountability.
You know, in the work thatyou're doing, how how do you how
(19:58):
do you get how do you do it?
Make sure that you're followingthrough and doing what you got
to do.
How do you hold yourselfaccountable?
What are the what are somethings that you can share with
the audience that's looking atyou know, from a leadership
role, once you get to a certainlevel, there's a responsibility
for you to make sure that youraudio matches your video, that
you're doing what you expectothers to do.
How do you do it?
SPEAKER_00 (20:16):
Yeah, a lot of times with anything that I'm involved
in, I'm really goal-oriented.
So I already have like setmeasurements and standards
across all of my businesseswhere we need to be at a certain
time uh to make sure that we'regoing to be successful.
So I'm definitely looking at thethe technicals of those
parameters.
At the same time, holding myselfaccountable means every time we
(20:38):
have any kind of issue in any ofmy companies, first thing I'm
trying to analyze is what did Ido that you know led to this
situation, if I had anyinvolvement at all.
So that's just being able tocheck yourself on every level
all of the time.
Again, it goes into what we weretalking about earlier.
You can't always have the egobecause if you can't check
(20:58):
yourself and you can't takeresponsibility for mistakes and
go, yeah, I could, I should havemade, I should have done this.
But but you can't evolve, right?
So if I do make a mistake, thething about it is the way my
mind works is it's recorded andit'll come back, it'll be it'll
be a different version somewheredown the line, even this five or
ten years down the line, Ialready know how to handle it.
So it's about evolution for me,right?
(21:19):
Like actually takingresponsibility means, okay, what
happened in this situation?
What could I have donedifferently and moving on?
For me, when when I'm as aleader, specifically for people
that are working within myorganization, a lot of times,
you know, when they when theycome into my office, it's kind
of like, well, this is theproblem, this is the problem,
this is the problem.
And early on, I really set thetone and was like, listen, Mr.
(21:43):
ABC, I'm already paying you toresolve these problems.
So I'm paying you to deal withthese issues, not bring them
into my office, but to actuallydeal with them.
And if you want to run, run, ifyou want to run it by me, what
your resolution to the issuewas, I'm totally on board with
that.
But think about it before youcome talk to me because this is
what you're paying for, right?
You're a manager, handleproblems, issues, resolve them.
(22:05):
You're not, you're not, I'm notpaying you to come tell me what
your problems are because I Ihave a lot to deal with already.
So, like letting people knowwhere they are and giving them
the empowerment to make theright decisions, that's the
other thing that can I can kindof help you avoid, you know,
huge mistakes.
But yeah, I think accountabilitythough, it's across all levels.
That's my point here.
Like, I hold myself accountable,but I definitely make sure that
(22:28):
everybody within my realm isheld accountable too.
And I think it keeps it itavoids a whole lot of nonsense
down the road.
Everybody in our in my in myconference calls, in my
meetings, it's it's really liketheir move forward type of
meetings.
If it's a problem that they wantto throw out to the group, it
must be a real problem.
But a lot of times my managersare really um perceptual and
(22:49):
they know what they know whatthey perceptive and they know
exactly what they want to do.
So again, it's about theorganization you build.
SPEAKER_02 (22:55):
Awesome.
How do you so you you're youhave a team, you're doing
multiple things.
How how have you what have youdone that's that's allowed you
to build trust within yourorganization?
So I'm a new entrepreneur, I'm anew leader on the team, and I
need to build trust so I can Ican get out of the way.
Um, and I can empower people andnot look over my shoulder all
the time.
What have you done in the in thepast to help build trust within
your teams?
SPEAKER_00 (23:15):
Personal relationships, just actually
getting down and and getting toknow each other on a personal
level, knowing each other'sfamilies, knowing where our past
experiences, our um pastcareers, how do they end up in
my space, how how I ended up intheir space, just getting to
really know people and lettingthem know that what I say, my
(23:35):
word is my bond, right?
People love to people lovepeople that they know when
they're talking to you.
When I'm talking to you, I'm I'mbeing as honest as I can be, as
transparent as I can be, and myword is my bond.
Whatever I say, I say, and Istand behind it and I'm gonna do
it.
When you do that and you'reconsistent in those areas, it's
it's all it's automatic.
(23:56):
It's automatic.
SPEAKER_02 (23:57):
Yes, yes.
Is there a time you know, asyou've been on many journeys,
I'm sure you had you've had somefrom failures um that didn't go
the way you wanted it to?
How did what what's somethingthat that didn't go the way you
wanted to, and how did yourecover from it?
SPEAKER_00 (24:11):
Uh early lesson when I bought my very first
franchise.
If you notice, I call I keep ongoing back to that.
We had a deal where um when Iwhen I bought the franchise, it
was in a really good area.
However, some of the zip codesweren't performing well at all.
I think I may have been about$80,000 into the deal, and I and
I was talking to the to theowners, and they kind of weren't
(24:33):
really giving me really goodfeedback.
My business coach wasn't givingme real good feedback, and it
was just going south.
So I took it into my own hands.
I created uh a business plan, uhI created a business plan to
expand my territory.
So created a business plan,expanded my territory.
So I want I had to fly out ofNebraska, pitch the CEOs on it,
(24:54):
and because normally when theyhave you locked into a deal, you
locked to a deal.
They usually don't let you buyany additional territory.
But my pitch was listen, I needthis additional territory to
leverage this section that'sjust not really working out.
These codes that aren't workingout.
Before I even was on the plane,they were shaking my hand.
They were like, all the yearsthat we've been running this
franchise, I've never had anowner come out here and pitch us
(25:15):
anything on that level.
They were like, nobody has everwritten a business plan for
expansion.
That was, you know, it was itwas like, okay, and it was and
it was it was a game changerbecause they saw my level of
commitment, and they were justall in after that.
So it really, I was able to turnit around based on the expanded
(25:36):
territory that they sold me.
Um, and it became a real winner.
But yeah, it was it was takingit into my own hands and going,
hey, listen, this has to, thishas to help, which goes back to
what I was telling you earlier.
At that moment in time, that wasthe own, that was my only
franchise.
It was my first business.
And the level of desperationthat tells you, I have to win
(25:57):
here.
Like this has to work, right?
That's my mindset.
I'm like, this has to work.
So I don't know what's going onand why this isn't working out
right now, but how do I fix it?
Because I have no other options.
That's when you when you youwhen you become successful.
Because I was just, it was justit what I wasn't gonna let it
fail.
You know, like I don't, I didn'tcare.
(26:18):
I had to walk on my hands andand deliver and go to houses,
hand out flyers.
I I was gonna do it, right?
It was I had no choice.
Young kids, family at home, comeon.
That's what I mean.
Like that level, when you hadthat level of desperation, it
creates something inside youthat makes you go, go like it's
go time.
SPEAKER_02 (26:38):
Yeah, you got you gotta you gotta get up and do
it.
How do you make sure that onceyou become successful, that you
don't become complacent?
You know, as you talk about, youknow, the story you shared about
those people that have neverever presented a business plan,
have been there forever, nevertalked about expanding the
territory.
And sometimes success can makeyou too comfortable that you
stop doing the things that gotyou there and the things that's
necessary.
(26:58):
Um, how do you make sure youdon't become complacent?
SPEAKER_00 (27:01):
Um, you know, once you become successful, you know,
I think that breaks down theindividual personality and
character, right?
So it's funny, going into 2025,I said, based on everything that
I've explained, I was like, I'mnot doing anything else new,
right?
I was like, I'm not bringing onany new business.
I said, I'm going to focus nowon my conglomerate.
(27:21):
Like, I'm going to now focus onbuilding these aspects of my my
uh organization, but I'm notgoing to bring on any new
business.
So for some of us entrepreneurs,because I'm always getting into
everything, right?
You know, author, franchisedeals, commercial cleaning
service, like it could it canalso be a detriment, right?
You can all you can also do toomany things.
(27:43):
So that's what you I said itcomes down to an individual and
their and their aspirations,because sometimes there are
owners and there areentrepreneurs that are really
cool and complacent with gettingto a certain level in their
business, and they're like, youknow what, I want to enjoy my
freedoms now.
It's time for me to you know flyall over the world.
I totally get that, and Iactually agree with that
(28:04):
concept.
But there are those of us thatare always trying to really like
now, it's all about generationalwealth, right?
When I watch my kids, where theyare in life, where I am on the
planet, how long I'm gonna behere.
My thought process is I need tobuild something that's gonna
last, and they'll be able tohave the the level of financial
freedom that even I haven't had,right?
So that's my that's mymotivation, right?
(28:25):
So some people aren't motivatedfor that though.
So I think it always breaks downto individual personalities and
the type of entrepreneur thatyou are.
But again, I I clap foreverybody that even steps into
the realm becauseentrepreneurship is is is
incredibly uh challenging, isit's difficult, like you
mentioned, you're going to fail,you can't take things
(28:47):
personally.
It's just a lot that comes alongwith this world that I'm in.
And if you step into it andyou're and and you've been able
to survive and you'resuccessful, kudos to you and
handle it whatever way you wantto handle it.
Quite honestly.
SPEAKER_02 (29:03):
Yeah.
So you you've walked through,you've done a lot.
What's some of the best adviceyou've been given that you still
live by today?
SPEAKER_00 (29:15):
Um I think the the best, some of the best advice
I've been given was to alwaysfocus on one step at a time,
right?
Don't don't don't be tooconcerned about what's around
the corner in two weeks fromnow.
Just put one foot in front ofthe other, regardless of what
(29:35):
you're doing.
Just one step at a time.
If you're if you're moving theball in increments every single
day, you're going to findyourself at the other end of the
football.
It's in the uh football field,it's inevitable.
So really taking that day to dayum look at what you're doing and
really appreciating every momentand just focusing on pushing the
ball one step at a time.
I think that's the way you doachieve like true overall goals
(29:58):
because you're always moving in.
Right direction.
You're not distracted.
You're incredibly focused andyou're just taking it one day at
a time.
So that's how I am.
It's just one day at a time.
And I'm always just trying topush the ball forward in with at
whichever field it is that youknow I'm I'm focusing business
on, but I'm just trying to pushthe ball just in increments.
I don't need touchdowns everysingle day.
(30:19):
I just want to take, I just wantto push it forward.
SPEAKER_02 (30:22):
Awesome.
Awesome.
Thank you.
Thank you.
As we kind of get ready to wrapit up, you know, you mentioned
earlier, you know, having abusiness coach.
Um, and you know, that onedidn't work out, but I'm sure
you'll probably still, you know,you got someone that you have
the, you know, their ear, youknow, as you continue to grow
your business.
So you mentioned business coachearlier.
What's the value of you having abusiness coach as you went
through and you've grown overtime and you continue to grow?
(30:44):
What was the value of you havinga business coach to get you
there?
SPEAKER_00 (30:49):
You always want to have somebody that has expertise
specifically in the field thatyou're thinking about going into
or you're in, just becausethey've already experienced
certain things and they can helpguide you and help you avoid
certain mistakes.
Because mistakes not only can becost costly, but they can be
costly financially too, right?
So mentally and financially,mistakes could be costly.
(31:12):
So mentors are really good athelping you not only avoid those
mistakes, but most mentors havereally good connections.
So you want to be able to tapinto their networks.
Very important because again,those networks are established
networks because they've been inthe field for decades.
And when you can take advantageof those things that I just
mentioned, it could definitelyhelp you, it can help propel you
(31:32):
forward easily.
SPEAKER_02 (31:34):
Yes, yes.
Thank you, thank you.
So as we get ready to wrap up,any any last-minute advice you
um you'd like to share, and thenI'll actually if you can give
out your contact information,you know.
All right, I think I'm backagain.
SPEAKER_00 (31:44):
Yeah, you're back.
Yeah, um, I quote your questionthough.
Okay, never give up, never,never quit.
Never never never uh concede tothat that inner part of you just
ask you, why are you doing it?
Every last one of usentrepreneurs go through that.
Like, why am why did I startthis?
Why am I doing this?
(32:05):
Is it worth it?
Uh never quit.
It's always worth it.
The the the reward on so manydifferent levels when it comes
to financial freedom, uh mentalfreedom, um every freedom that I
could ever put together is is ison the other side of success
when it becomes to being anentrepreneur.
(32:25):
Uh I wake up every day and I'mI'm incredibly pleased.
I have no no reason to be nothappy, right?
Like I'm happy to go to work,I'm happy to handle my business,
I'm happy to be in my myenvironment because I'm doing
what I love to do.
So yeah, never quit.
Always if you if you if it'sreally in you, get after it
every single day.
(32:45):
Let's get after it.
And and you'll you'll end upwhere you want to be at some
point.
SPEAKER_02 (32:50):
Yes, yes.
Thank you so much, Marcel.
SPEAKER_00 (32:52):
Best way to reach you.
Best way to reach me is MarcelClark.co.
So that's plug me in MarcelClark.co.
But honestly, at this point, ifyou just plug in Marcel Clark
Entrepreneur in a Google, I takeover the whole page.
Like everything.
You want to find me, it's easyto find me.
So yeah, Marcel ClarkEntrepreneur, plug it into
(33:12):
Google, Google, and you'llyou'll find me.
You catch me anywhere.
SPEAKER_02 (33:16):
Appreciate it, man.
Thank you so much for coming onthe show.
And for everyone that's beenwith us and you you you have
supported this podcast.
Thank you so much.
Continue to tell your friendsand your colleagues.
You know, if you know someonethat's interested in being a
guest, we'd love to hear someinsight.
Our goal is really to add valueto our community, add value
across the country about what wedo, how we learned it, the
mistakes we've made, but toreally share.
(33:36):
And so we're we're we're reallyhonored for the opportunity to
give back something that we'velearned and that's working for
us.
Um, we don't have all theanswers, but we're pretty
transparent.
So thank you to to Marcel forcoming on.
Thank you for staying with usfor you know a couple minutes
just to let us drop somethinginto that may help you be
successful.
Um, so Marcel and I will signoff.
And until next time on Unpackwith Ron Harvey, we will see you
(33:58):
on next Monday as we dropanother podcast.
Have a great one, everyone.
SPEAKER_01 (34:04):
Well, we hope you enjoyed this edition of Unpack
Podcast with LeadershipConsultant Ron Harvey.
Remember to join us every Mondayas Ron Unpacks Sound Advice,
providing real answers for realleadership challenges.
Until next time, remember to addvalue and make a difference
where you are or the people youserve.
(34:26):
Because people always matter.
Welcome to Unpack Podcast with your host,
Leadership Consultant, RonHarvey of Global Core Strategies
and Consulting.
Ron believes that leadership isthe fundamental driver towards
making a difference.
So now, to find out more of whatit means to unpack leadership,
here's your host, Ron Harvey.
SPEAKER_02 (00:20):
Good afternoon.
This is Ron Harvey, the VicePresident, Chief Operating
Officer for Global CoreStrategies and Consulting.
And we're based out of Columbia,South Carolina.
And our business really is abouthelping leaders be better
connected to their workforce andthe people that actually make
them successful.
So we're all about taking careof people at the end of the day.
You know, we got core values, wegot mission statements, but we
truly believe that people arethe foundation of your business
(00:41):
and they make or break you.
So we try to help leaders beeffective at doing the right
thing with them, through them,and by them to be successful in
business.
But we always pause and werelease an episode or a podcast
with a leader from around theworld, um, from all over, quite
honestly.
And we've been doing this nowabout 18 months, and we are
super excited that we bring somany people from different
(01:02):
backgrounds, differentindustries from around the
country to talk about leadershipand people and the difference
that it makes.
So I'm super excited to haveMark Marcel on with us, and I'm
going to invite him to introducehimself.
You guys know I don't introduceanyone.
Um, I don't want to mess it up,and who knows them better than
them?
So I'm going to invite Marcel tocome on in.
Man, welcome to the show, man,and thank you for saying yes.
SPEAKER_00 (01:23):
Ha ha, thank you, Ron.
I really appreciate the theplatform.
So anytime I get a chance toreach out to you know successful
people in in the business world,I'm always hopping on the
opportunity.
SPEAKER_02 (01:35):
Yes, yes.
So, Mark Marcel, before we diveinto it, I'd love for people to
know who you are, if you in yourservices, your products, or what
you do, you know, a little bitof background about you.
What would you share with usthat you want us to know about
you?
You know, so I always invitepeople just to share.
You know, we promote businesseshere, we talk about products and
services here, and we talk aboutleadership.
Um, but tell us a little bitthat you want us to know about
you that would be helpful.
SPEAKER_00 (01:55):
Yeah, I'm incredibly diverse at this point.
So, uh generationalentrepreneur, real estate
developer, stock marketarchitect, cryptocurrency
investor.
So I do a lot of differentthings um in the world of
business.
I've been an entrepreneur forover two decades now.
So well versed in a lot ofdifferent areas.
I spend a lot of my time tryingto mentor uh young youth these
(02:16):
days, and I also try my best touh coach young professionals
that may have been doing the uhwhole nine to five thing all of
their lives, but now they wantto own a business.
So I do a lot of businesscoaching um in that area.
But yeah, I have a prettydiverse palette.
If you want to learn a lot moreabout me, just go to
marcelclark.co.
(02:37):
So you'll see it's all lined upfor you guys, and it's a great
website, but it talks about allof my ventures.
I'm a recent author, I justpublished a book, High in the
Plain View that I think isincredibly motivational.
So I believe a lot of peoplewill benefit from that book.
But yeah, I have a I have adiverse palette at this point.
I also just signed a deal withMarcos Pizza for a three-unit
deal there.
(02:57):
So yeah, I'm just I like I likeI started with generational
entrepreneur, do a lot ofdifferent things, um, but never
too much.
I would try to keep it withinyou know the conglomerate that
I'm building, and I'm reallyjust happy to be able to be in
business because that's what Ido.
SPEAKER_02 (03:12):
Awesome, awesome.
So, really quick, I mean youshared a lot, and I'll I'll
unpack some of that as we gothrough it.
SPEAKER_00 (03:17):
Family man, children, you know, yeah, yeah,
family is everything.
Yeah, every everything, familyand God is everything.
So family is I have uh I havetwo, I have two daughters and
one son.
My daughter lives in New York,um, and she's doing really,
really well.
My son is just starting, he'sjust finished wrapped up his
first year of college, and thenmy daughter is trailing him.
(03:38):
She's um in the 11th grade,going to be in 12th grade next
year.
So, yeah, have a nice, nicefamily.
Everybody's doing their thing.
Um, but yeah, all of them, youknow, when they're under my
tutelage, all of them aremotivated to be great.
Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_02 (03:53):
And I reason I ask that because you know, you're
doing a lot.
And and one of the things about,you know, when you're you're
successful and and it doesn'tcome easy, you got to put a lot
of work in.
How do you balance making surethat you don't you don't lose
out on no, you're working hardfor your family, but you also
want to make sure you'respending enough quality time.
How do you do that balancing actthat entrepreneurs, because they
can suck you in?
You can find yourself, you know,burning the kennel on both ends
(04:15):
when you got a family and be anentrepreneur.
How did you manage to to to dowell and still tutor the
children?
SPEAKER_00 (04:20):
You know, I've always been all about family,
but I do have to concede thatwhen you when you're doing a
startup, you're gonna be all in.
Like the first franchise I everpurchased, the Maids Home
Services, when I would be arounda lot of the veterans, they were
like, Okay, Marcel, you're aboutto go underwater for two years.
I was like, What does that mean?
They were like, Two years,you're just not gonna be able to
do anything or see anybody, youit's gonna be all about the
(04:42):
business.
I would be inclined to say thatthey were absolutely right.
So I don't know initially ifyou're gonna have balance.
I don't I don't I think peopletry to promote that, but I'm
not, I don't believe that'strue.
Uh, but again, you know, I wasraised understanding that you
know sacrifice is required,right?
My mom told me that you're gonnahave to sacrifice.
So I think the sacrifice isworth it because I did play a
(05:04):
little catch-up.
Uh it they were real smallanyway when I started my
business.
So I mean, two, three years old,they don't remember much anyway,
right?
So when they started to getolder, I was already my
companies were starting tomature, so I did have a chance
to kind of like level theplaying field, but yeah, it's
going to be challenging for anytrue entrepreneur to kind of
(05:25):
like have balance initiallybecause it's like anything else.
You you have to give it 100% ifyou really want to win.
SPEAKER_02 (05:31):
Yeah, I love it.
I mean, and you're beingtransparent, which I tell
everybody on the show, though,we're gonna be honest, we're
gonna tell you, hey, here'shere's what we unpacked is that
you had to be on the water fortwo years, like, hey, this is
what you're trying to get done.
It's gonna take you, it's likegoing on Shark Tank when they
ask them all the time, hey, areyou really in this business or
are you treating this as ahobby?
Because they don't want toinvest if you're not really in
the company.
(05:52):
Um, and so I was, you know, Ilove that you're sharing that.
Hey, I had to, I got to make adecision and make a sacrifice
and have that conversation withmy family, which is important to
have it so they know what theexpectation is.
SPEAKER_00 (06:02):
Absolutely.
And I tell people all the time,like, I have a lot of realtors
that work in my in my portfolio,but you can there's a clear
difference between a part-timerealtor and a full-time realtor.
This right off the break, youknow, full-time realtor has
everything laid out, portfolio,they know exactly what they
have.
100 contacts, they can take careof almost anything.
Part-time is a kind of like theyjust in it trying to make a
(06:24):
quick dollar.
Can they get the commission?
It's just two totally differentmindsets.
And if you're not 100%, it's it.
I just I really try to gravitateaway from that because I need
somebody that's fully dedicatedbecause it tells me that they
really are gonna be about itevery single day.
Part-time, again, I'm notknocking knocking anybody that
does anything as a side hustle,but they just aren't as invested
because clearly they havesomething else that's you know
(06:46):
providing them some level ofincome.
So that level of desperationisn't there when when it's what
you do every day, and this ishow you're gonna basically
obtain your income, then you'reall in.
But when you kind of like, uh,you know, I had this check next
door, you know, uh so it's likeyou're not really, it's okay,
but they're not going, Oh, I'mgoing, I got I have to get after
(07:07):
it.
It's just too totally mindset.
So I I agree.
If you're not 100% in, I'm notreally, I don't understand.
Yeah, I just don't do it.
SPEAKER_02 (07:14):
Wow, yeah.
And and and so for those thatare listening, it is so
important.
You're talking about somethingon here though, Marcel.
You talk about mindset.
So when you look at your mompour some stuff into you, you're
you're doing uh multiple things,and and you're you're juggling,
you know, and you got them inthe air and you sound like
you're doing really, really wellthere.
What mindset did or where didyou develop the mindset to to
come in, roll up your sleeves,put the work in?
(07:35):
Where does that come from?
Because it it's not an overnightthing.
Uh, I don't know if you're bornwith it or not born with it.
Where does it come from?
SPEAKER_00 (07:42):
Oh, that's a lot.
So, so two things.
My dad was an entrepreneur.
So when I was a kid, I actuallyhad a close-up one-on-one look
at what entrepreneursentrepreneurship looks looked
like.
So we owned it, he owned thefish market, and then when we
moved to Philly, he owned abunch of corner stores, they're
like 7-Elevens, and that's whereyou could get those incredibly
uh worldwide popularcheesesteaks.
(08:04):
But that up, that upfrontschooling, first of all, was
there.
Two, I I think you know thatquestion, are you born to be an
entrepreneur?
is kind of interesting becausehonestly, I started out in the
nine to five world of appeasingmy mom, right?
Because once I got once Iobtained my graduate degree, it
was kind of like, well, you feltlike you had to go and do the
nine-to-five thing.
So I did that coming out ofcollege and I wasn't happy.
(08:27):
I was always a leader, no matterwhat environment I was in, but I
still had to learn how to be anentrepreneur, right?
So I think it's kind of like atrick question because to me,
it's both.
You can't teach leadership,either you're a leader or you're
not.
It's either in you, you havethese traits that basically they
just show themselves or youdon't have them.
(08:47):
That's just one thing.
But in anything, when you'retrying to become great and
you're trying to learn, you haveto learn.
You have to be, you have to bein, you have to really be like
immersed in the education ofthat field.
So you you still have to learnregardless.
There's no way that you couldjust say, Oh, um, you I can't
just own Marco's pizzas and I'mjust gonna be successful.
(09:08):
No, I literally have to now diveinto the science of pizza,
right?
I like I leave I need to knowevery single thing I possibly
can about making a pizza if Iwant to be dominant in the
field.
So it's it's a it's a I thinkit's both, if you ask me that
question.
SPEAKER_02 (09:24):
Yeah, I mean, I appreciate it.
Let me let me unpack for asecond, though.
You said, hey, you know, I if Igo on go into Marco's pizza, I
gotta understand the sci, Igotta understand everything
about this business, other thanthe fact that we're we're
putting a pie on on a box andsomeone's gonna come buy it.
How important is it for anybody,regardless of industry, to
(09:45):
understand everything about thebusiness in your industry to be
successful?
How important is that to for youfor us?
SPEAKER_00 (09:52):
It's key.
So fortunately for me, I'veowned the franchise in the past,
but there's it's an intricatesystem to it, targeting what
type of customer you you needthat you're you're going after.
The households, how what areashave the most households?
Where should you actually plantthat first location?
From the science of freshness ofthe food, how long do they have
(10:14):
to deliver it to a household?
All of these things are alreadykind of pretty much understood
within the realm, but you haveto learn it, you have to
understand it yourself.
You can't just think you're justgonna walk in there and just
sell pizzas and get them out thedoor and it's gonna work because
it won't work that way.
When you deal, especially whenyou buy franchises, you have to
follow their methodology becausealready proven that's the reason
(10:35):
why they've been able to expand.
If you can't execute oneverything that they're gonna
teach you, again, see, learn it,you're not gonna win.
It's just I I've I've seen umMcDonald's that have gone out of
business, you know.
I've watched a couple ofdifferent franchises go out of
business.
So just because you receive afranchise model, or just because
you know you could be an owner,that's not a uh a guaranteed
(10:58):
formula for success.
SPEAKER_02 (11:00):
Can you tie that for you?
I mean, I love where you'regoing at with I want to unpack a
little bit here on theleadership aspect of it.
So when you go in, yeah, you mayhave this idea, I'm gonna do
pizza, or I'm gonna doMcDonald's, I'm gonna do a UPS
store.
How important is it for thefranchise owner, the leader, to
make sure that they take care ofthe people that are actually
gonna do the work in theorganization?
(11:22):
Because it's not enough for youto go around, and you can't you
can't really make thatorganization work just by your
own hands and feet anymore.
Your success is more than justthe work that you can do.
How important is it for you todo a really good job of taking
care of people?
SPEAKER_00 (11:34):
People, people are people, they are everything.
And it's interesting that youcould you brought that up.
When I bought my firstfranchise, it residential
cleaning is all Latinos, likealmost 100% Latinos, as your uh
your front-end, front-basedworkers.
So when I was there, I'm I'mlike one, I'm an I'm obviously
(11:54):
clearly American, but I was intraining with a couple of owners
that were from you know Latinocountries.
Literally, they they theyautomatically figured that I
would most likely not be assuccessful as them based on the
fact that they felt like it wasgonna be a language barrier.
All I truly did was found me areally, really, really good
field manager that can basicallyarticulate what I wanted to
(12:16):
articulate.
And this in the bottom line is Igrossed way more than them over
the over the first five yearsbecause I put more of my
emphasis on my management staff.
I hired people that were morelike me, people that are
definitely bilingual, but when Italk to them in our pro in our
business meetings, they couldtranslate that to my employees.
So, and I never ever had ameeting with an employee without
(12:37):
a manager there to make surethat our communication was
clear.
So, communication and teams meaneverything, but that's a perfect
example of where you would youwould have thought that yeah,
they probably are right.
I mean, I'm not Latino, so I'mnot gonna have that cultural
connection and we're not gonnawork out.
No, that wasn't true at all.
Again, I ended up grossing waymore than them because the
structure of my organization wasdifferent, but again, leadership
(12:59):
skills or leadership skills,when people feel like you care
about them, when people feellike they're invested in what
you're doing, they're much more,they're gonna be much more
motivated when they walk throughthe door.
And I knew that was important,and we were able to achieve
that, and and and we willsubsequently we were we were
pretty um successful.
SPEAKER_02 (13:15):
How much thank you for unpacking that?
How much of it when you first gointo this, you know it, um, you
know you can be successful.
How often, you know, um, ordangerous is it for you as an
entrepreneur or a leader in inthat aspect to make it about you
and let your ego get in the way?
I mean, you know, you see peoplethat that walk in and it's hey,
I own the company, blah blahblah, whatever.
(13:36):
How dangerous is it for you tolet your ego get in the way?
You're in any leadership role?
SPEAKER_00 (13:40):
Yeah, that's a rookie move.
Anyone that lets business go totheir hand and they feel like
they're too successful, that'sthat's a recipe for disaster.
You're only as good as thepeople that you're around.
Uh even in my real estatedevelopment uh projects, I hire
people that's much smarter thanme.
Much smarter than me.
They they have me beat on everylevel.
(14:01):
I am not the person that thinksthat I know the most in the in
the room.
They'll tell you when I'm inthere, I'm mostly learning.
You know, I I can I can admit,yeah, I'm the font, I'm the
funding behind the deal.
My name is on these projects.
Yes, I'm the developer, but atthe end of the day, my general
contractor can run circlesaround me.
I would never treat him any justbased on just humanity and just
(14:23):
me as a person, I would nevertreat anybody differently,
regardless.
I don't believe anybody's onsome level when you're above
levels.
That's just ridiculousness.
But at the same time, you know,I was raised to just treat
people well.
That's it.
It's not hard.
This is not a hard, you know,concept.
Just treat people well, right?
And just and you know, and holdthem accountable.
(14:43):
When people make mistakes, youknow, talk to them and and and
make sure that you clarify whereyou want to go in the future.
But it's it's not, you you'renever, you're never the biggest
person in the room.
It's that's impossible becauseyou can't grow under those
circumstances.
You have to surround yourselfwith people that know more than
you, they're hungry, they canguide you correctly, and they
(15:04):
can make really good decisions.
And that's me.
I'm all about empowering people.
I'm not about trying to you knowdominate all the conversations.
I don't like hearing myselfspeak.
I'm really more about okay,what's the what how do we
resolve this problem?
What's the next step?
When are we gonna get there?
What does success look like inthis realm?
That's it.
But yeah, no, you're neveryou're never the biggest person
in the room.
(15:25):
You know, owning a business isnice, but a lot of people own
businesses, to be quite honestwith you.
A lot of people back in the dayhad business cars that could
say, Oh, I have a business.
That's not that is not the sameas creating a conglomerate,
creating a successful company,creating something that's going
to be long-lasting, generationaluh wealth, like that can that's
(15:46):
gonna be a pillar ofgenerational wealth.
It's not the same.
So, like, always humbleyourself, always humble yourself
and relax because things changelike this.
We saw what happened with thepandemic.
We could that could that couldtake up the whole show over
here, you know?
And that situation was veryscary, and a lot of businesses
didn't survive for a lot ofdifferent reasons, but it shows
you that things can be great inbusiness one day, the next day
(16:09):
things could take, and that'sthat's the world I live in.
SPEAKER_02 (16:11):
Wow, wow.
So on the wall behind you, yougot work hard, stay humble.
Where did you get is that wherethe what what why behind the
wall and what what do you putthat up for?
And how do you live by that?
SPEAKER_00 (16:22):
Um, I I I put that up there to remind every person
that walks to my office thatthat's that's the way my mindset
is, and I definitely, you know,I live by it, like work hard
every single day.
You every day isn't promise, youknow, you don't know what
tomorrow's gonna bring.
So give it a hundred percentevery single time you walk
through the door.
At the same time, stay humblebecause you'll you'll experience
success with that with thismindset.
(16:44):
But I always feel like I got Ihave further to go.
Now I like to enjoy you know thesuccess of my ventures.
So I'm telling people, yeah, youshould definitely do that too.
But never feel like, okay, likelike okay, I'm the man, I made
it.
Ah, uh I'm in the building now.
Everybody everybody be quiet.
Like, nah, that's just not okay.
Life's not that's not whatlife's for.
(17:05):
So always be humble, appreciatewhere you are, and you and
always get after it.
So that's that's why it's on mywall.
SPEAKER_02 (17:11):
Yeah.
So for you, you're in thebusiness, you're doing multiple
things, and what you're doing,so much stuff.
How do you stay current andcontinue to grow yourself?
What is it that you're doing foryour own professional
development?
SPEAKER_00 (17:23):
Well, I'm always in tune with everything that's
that's happening every day.
So I'm in the I'm in themarkets, right?
So I'm always looking at C NBCfirst thing when I wake up.
Then I'm hitting the gym, andthen I'm looking at articles.
I my feed is full of things thatare industry standards.
So, whatever industries I'minvolved in, that's coming
through my feed.
(17:43):
That's ongoing education.
That's why I love technologynow.
Really, if you tie into theright organizations and the
right feeds, you'll get ongoinginformation constantly.
Obviously, I like to um attendnetwork events, but I'm real
strategic about that now.
I don't just attend anything,right?
It has to definitely be in thelane of something that I'm
(18:04):
actually doing and where I'mgoing to meet like-minded people
there in the industry.
So there's a lot of ways to stayeducation that to stay educated
now because of the technology.
This is just a stream now ofthis information that you can
get from anywhere.
So it's up to you to customizewhat kind of information you
want to take in, honestly.
SPEAKER_02 (18:24):
Yeah.
How do you how do you know,Marcel?
How do you make sure that youyou come as you're growing?
Who are you looking for now orlooking to to mentor you and be
almost like this guy becauseyou've done a lot, you're doing
a lot.
How do you find a mentor?
SPEAKER_00 (18:38):
I from industry to industry, uh, again, like real
estate development is my one ofmy really big projects right
now.
So we're doing a huge project inDC.
And my general contract, thelane, is really cool.
So I'm always when I again, whenI'm in a project or if I'm going
into an industry, I always trymy best to find top leadership.
(19:01):
So even with DeMarcos deal, Iknow two of the owners there in
the region already.
We've already done lunch acouple of times.
I'm already getting to knowthese people ahead.
So it's not really hard to findmentors if you know if you put
yourself in the right positionand again, humble yourself, let
them know listen, I'm justtrying to learn what this
business is all about, what arethe ups and downs, the do's and
(19:24):
don'ts?
A lot of people are really open.
They're there, they they justwant to see you win too.
So it's not hard.
You just have to seek thosepeople out, and again, just
present your genuine self, andand normally that falls in line.
SPEAKER_02 (19:36):
Yes, yes.
You mentioned earlier on there,uh Martel, hold yourself
accountable.
What are the most difficultthings can be to hold yourself
accountable?
It's it's easier to tellsomebody else what they've done
wrong and what they need to do,and and you follow up with them.
But one of the most difficultthings in my journey is
self-accountability.
You know, in the work thatyou're doing, how how do you how
(19:58):
do you get how do you do it?
Make sure that you're followingthrough and doing what you got
to do.
How do you hold yourselfaccountable?
What are the what are somethings that you can share with
the audience that's looking atyou know, from a leadership
role, once you get to a certainlevel, there's a responsibility
for you to make sure that youraudio matches your video, that
you're doing what you expectothers to do.
How do you do it?
SPEAKER_00 (20:16):
Yeah, a lot of times with anything that I'm involved
in, I'm really goal-oriented.
So I already have like setmeasurements and standards
across all of my businesseswhere we need to be at a certain
time uh to make sure that we'regoing to be successful.
So I'm definitely looking at thethe technicals of those
parameters.
At the same time, holding myselfaccountable means every time we
(20:38):
have any kind of issue in any ofmy companies, first thing I'm
trying to analyze is what did Ido that you know led to this
situation, if I had anyinvolvement at all.
So that's just being able tocheck yourself on every level
all of the time.
Again, it goes into what we weretalking about earlier.
You can't always have the egobecause if you can't check
(20:58):
yourself and you can't takeresponsibility for mistakes and
go, yeah, I could, I should havemade, I should have done this.
But but you can't evolve, right?
So if I do make a mistake, thething about it is the way my
mind works is it's recorded andit'll come back, it'll be it'll
be a different version somewheredown the line, even this five or
ten years down the line, Ialready know how to handle it.
So it's about evolution for me,right?
(21:19):
Like actually takingresponsibility means, okay, what
happened in this situation?
What could I have donedifferently and moving on?
For me, when when I'm as aleader, specifically for people
that are working within myorganization, a lot of times,
you know, when they when theycome into my office, it's kind
of like, well, this is theproblem, this is the problem,
this is the problem.
And early on, I really set thetone and was like, listen, Mr.
(21:43):
ABC, I'm already paying you toresolve these problems.
So I'm paying you to deal withthese issues, not bring them
into my office, but to actuallydeal with them.
And if you want to run, run, ifyou want to run it by me, what
your resolution to the issuewas, I'm totally on board with
that.
But think about it before youcome talk to me because this is
what you're paying for, right?
You're a manager, handleproblems, issues, resolve them.
(22:05):
You're not, you're not, I'm notpaying you to come tell me what
your problems are because I Ihave a lot to deal with already.
So, like letting people knowwhere they are and giving them
the empowerment to make theright decisions, that's the
other thing that can I can kindof help you avoid, you know,
huge mistakes.
But yeah, I think accountabilitythough, it's across all levels.
That's my point here.
Like, I hold myself accountable,but I definitely make sure that
(22:28):
everybody within my realm isheld accountable too.
And I think it keeps it itavoids a whole lot of nonsense
down the road.
Everybody in our in my in myconference calls, in my
meetings, it's it's really liketheir move forward type of
meetings.
If it's a problem that they wantto throw out to the group, it
must be a real problem.
But a lot of times my managersare really um perceptual and
(22:49):
they know what they know whatthey perceptive and they know
exactly what they want to do.
So again, it's about theorganization you build.
SPEAKER_02 (22:55):
Awesome.
How do you so you you're youhave a team, you're doing
multiple things.
How how have you what have youdone that's that's allowed you
to build trust within yourorganization?
So I'm a new entrepreneur, I'm anew leader on the team, and I
need to build trust so I can Ican get out of the way.
Um, and I can empower people andnot look over my shoulder all
the time.
What have you done in the in thepast to help build trust within
your teams?
SPEAKER_00 (23:15):
Personal relationships, just actually
getting down and and getting toknow each other on a personal
level, knowing each other'sfamilies, knowing where our past
experiences, our um pastcareers, how do they end up in
my space, how how I ended up intheir space, just getting to
really know people and lettingthem know that what I say, my
(23:35):
word is my bond, right?
People love to people lovepeople that they know when
they're talking to you.
When I'm talking to you, I'm I'mbeing as honest as I can be, as
transparent as I can be, and myword is my bond.
Whatever I say, I say, and Istand behind it and I'm gonna do
it.
When you do that and you'reconsistent in those areas, it's
it's all it's automatic.
(23:56):
It's automatic.
SPEAKER_02 (23:57):
Yes, yes.
Is there a time you know, asyou've been on many journeys,
I'm sure you had you've had somefrom failures um that didn't go
the way you wanted it to?
How did what what's somethingthat that didn't go the way you
wanted to, and how did yourecover from it?
SPEAKER_00 (24:11):
Uh early lesson when I bought my very first
franchise.
If you notice, I call I keep ongoing back to that.
We had a deal where um when Iwhen I bought the franchise, it
was in a really good area.
However, some of the zip codesweren't performing well at all.
I think I may have been about$80,000 into the deal, and I and
I was talking to the to theowners, and they kind of weren't
(24:33):
really giving me really goodfeedback.
My business coach wasn't givingme real good feedback, and it
was just going south.
So I took it into my own hands.
I created uh a business plan, uhI created a business plan to
expand my territory.
So created a business plan,expanded my territory.
So I want I had to fly out ofNebraska, pitch the CEOs on it,
(24:54):
and because normally when theyhave you locked into a deal, you
locked to a deal.
They usually don't let you buyany additional territory.
But my pitch was listen, I needthis additional territory to
leverage this section that'sjust not really working out.
These codes that aren't workingout.
Before I even was on the plane,they were shaking my hand.
They were like, all the yearsthat we've been running this
franchise, I've never had anowner come out here and pitch us
(25:15):
anything on that level.
They were like, nobody has everwritten a business plan for
expansion.
That was, you know, it was itwas like, okay, and it was and
it was it was a game changerbecause they saw my level of
commitment, and they were justall in after that.
So it really, I was able to turnit around based on the expanded
(25:36):
territory that they sold me.
Um, and it became a real winner.
But yeah, it was it was takingit into my own hands and going,
hey, listen, this has to, thishas to help, which goes back to
what I was telling you earlier.
At that moment in time, that wasthe own, that was my only
franchise.
It was my first business.
And the level of desperationthat tells you, I have to win
(25:57):
here.
Like this has to work, right?
That's my mindset.
I'm like, this has to work.
So I don't know what's going onand why this isn't working out
right now, but how do I fix it?
Because I have no other options.
That's when you when you youwhen you become successful.
Because I was just, it was justit what I wasn't gonna let it
fail.
You know, like I don't, I didn'tcare.
(26:18):
I had to walk on my hands andand deliver and go to houses,
hand out flyers.
I I was gonna do it, right?
It was I had no choice.
Young kids, family at home, comeon.
That's what I mean.
Like that level, when you hadthat level of desperation, it
creates something inside youthat makes you go, go like it's
go time.
SPEAKER_02 (26:38):
Yeah, you got you gotta you gotta get up and do
it.
How do you make sure that onceyou become successful, that you
don't become complacent?
You know, as you talk about, youknow, the story you shared about
those people that have neverever presented a business plan,
have been there forever, nevertalked about expanding the
territory.
And sometimes success can makeyou too comfortable that you
stop doing the things that gotyou there and the things that's
necessary.
(26:58):
Um, how do you make sure youdon't become complacent?
SPEAKER_00 (27:01):
Um, you know, once you become successful, you know,
I think that breaks down theindividual personality and
character, right?
So it's funny, going into 2025,I said, based on everything that
I've explained, I was like, I'mnot doing anything else new,
right?
I was like, I'm not bringing onany new business.
I said, I'm going to focus nowon my conglomerate.
(27:21):
Like, I'm going to now focus onbuilding these aspects of my my
uh organization, but I'm notgoing to bring on any new
business.
So for some of us entrepreneurs,because I'm always getting into
everything, right?
You know, author, franchisedeals, commercial cleaning
service, like it could it canalso be a detriment, right?
You can all you can also do toomany things.
(27:43):
So that's what you I said itcomes down to an individual and
their and their aspirations,because sometimes there are
owners and there areentrepreneurs that are really
cool and complacent with gettingto a certain level in their
business, and they're like, youknow what, I want to enjoy my
freedoms now.
It's time for me to you know flyall over the world.
I totally get that, and Iactually agree with that
(28:04):
concept.
But there are those of us thatare always trying to really like
now, it's all about generationalwealth, right?
When I watch my kids, where theyare in life, where I am on the
planet, how long I'm gonna behere.
My thought process is I need tobuild something that's gonna
last, and they'll be able tohave the the level of financial
freedom that even I haven't had,right?
So that's my that's mymotivation, right?
(28:25):
So some people aren't motivatedfor that though.
So I think it always breaks downto individual personalities and
the type of entrepreneur thatyou are.
But again, I I clap foreverybody that even steps into
the realm becauseentrepreneurship is is is
incredibly uh challenging, isit's difficult, like you
mentioned, you're going to fail,you can't take things
(28:47):
personally.
It's just a lot that comes alongwith this world that I'm in.
And if you step into it andyou're and and you've been able
to survive and you'resuccessful, kudos to you and
handle it whatever way you wantto handle it.
Quite honestly.
SPEAKER_02 (29:03):
Yeah.
So you you've walked through,you've done a lot.
What's some of the best adviceyou've been given that you still
live by today?
SPEAKER_00 (29:15):
Um I think the the best, some of the best advice
I've been given was to alwaysfocus on one step at a time,
right?
Don't don't don't be tooconcerned about what's around
the corner in two weeks fromnow.
Just put one foot in front ofthe other, regardless of what
(29:35):
you're doing.
Just one step at a time.
If you're if you're moving theball in increments every single
day, you're going to findyourself at the other end of the
football.
It's in the uh football field,it's inevitable.
So really taking that day to dayum look at what you're doing and
really appreciating every momentand just focusing on pushing the
ball one step at a time.
I think that's the way you doachieve like true overall goals
(29:58):
because you're always moving in.
Right direction.
You're not distracted.
You're incredibly focused andyou're just taking it one day at
a time.
So that's how I am.
It's just one day at a time.
And I'm always just trying topush the ball forward in with at
whichever field it is that youknow I'm I'm focusing business
on, but I'm just trying to pushthe ball just in increments.
I don't need touchdowns everysingle day.
(30:19):
I just want to take, I just wantto push it forward.
SPEAKER_02 (30:22):
Awesome.
Awesome.
Thank you.
Thank you.
As we kind of get ready to wrapit up, you know, you mentioned
earlier, you know, having abusiness coach.
Um, and you know, that onedidn't work out, but I'm sure
you'll probably still, you know,you got someone that you have
the, you know, their ear, youknow, as you continue to grow
your business.
So you mentioned business coachearlier.
What's the value of you having abusiness coach as you went
through and you've grown overtime and you continue to grow?
(30:44):
What was the value of you havinga business coach to get you
there?
SPEAKER_00 (30:49):
You always want to have somebody that has expertise
specifically in the field thatyou're thinking about going into
or you're in, just becausethey've already experienced
certain things and they can helpguide you and help you avoid
certain mistakes.
Because mistakes not only can becost costly, but they can be
costly financially too, right?
So mentally and financially,mistakes could be costly.
(31:12):
So mentors are really good athelping you not only avoid those
mistakes, but most mentors havereally good connections.
So you want to be able to tapinto their networks.
Very important because again,those networks are established
networks because they've been inthe field for decades.
And when you can take advantageof those things that I just
mentioned, it could definitelyhelp you, it can help propel you
(31:32):
forward easily.
SPEAKER_02 (31:34):
Yes, yes.
Thank you, thank you.
So as we get ready to wrap up,any any last-minute advice you
um you'd like to share, and thenI'll actually if you can give
out your contact information,you know.
All right, I think I'm backagain.
SPEAKER_00 (31:44):
Yeah, you're back.
Yeah, um, I quote your questionthough.
Okay, never give up, never,never quit.
Never never never uh concede tothat that inner part of you just
ask you, why are you doing it?
Every last one of usentrepreneurs go through that.
Like, why am why did I startthis?
Why am I doing this?
(32:05):
Is it worth it?
Uh never quit.
It's always worth it.
The the the reward on so manydifferent levels when it comes
to financial freedom, uh mentalfreedom, um every freedom that I
could ever put together is is ison the other side of success
when it becomes to being anentrepreneur.
(32:25):
Uh I wake up every day and I'mI'm incredibly pleased.
I have no no reason to be nothappy, right?
Like I'm happy to go to work,I'm happy to handle my business,
I'm happy to be in my myenvironment because I'm doing
what I love to do.
So yeah, never quit.
Always if you if you if it'sreally in you, get after it
every single day.
(32:45):
Let's get after it.
And and you'll you'll end upwhere you want to be at some
point.
SPEAKER_02 (32:50):
Yes, yes.
Thank you so much, Marcel.
SPEAKER_00 (32:52):
Best way to reach you.
Best way to reach me is MarcelClark.co.
So that's plug me in MarcelClark.co.
But honestly, at this point, ifyou just plug in Marcel Clark
Entrepreneur in a Google, I takeover the whole page.
Like everything.
You want to find me, it's easyto find me.
So yeah, Marcel ClarkEntrepreneur, plug it into
(33:12):
Google, Google, and you'llyou'll find me.
You catch me anywhere.
SPEAKER_02 (33:16):
Appreciate it, man.
Thank you so much for coming onthe show.
And for everyone that's beenwith us and you you you have
supported this podcast.
Thank you so much.
Continue to tell your friendsand your colleagues.
You know, if you know someonethat's interested in being a
guest, we'd love to hear someinsight.
Our goal is really to add valueto our community, add value
across the country about what wedo, how we learned it, the
mistakes we've made, but toreally share.
(33:36):
And so we're we're we're reallyhonored for the opportunity to
give back something that we'velearned and that's working for
us.
Um, we don't have all theanswers, but we're pretty
transparent.
So thank you to to Marcel forcoming on.
Thank you for staying with usfor you know a couple minutes
just to let us drop somethinginto that may help you be
successful.
Um, so Marcel and I will signoff.
And until next time on Unpackwith Ron Harvey, we will see you
(33:58):
on next Monday as we dropanother podcast.
Have a great one, everyone.
SPEAKER_01 (34:04):
Well, we hope you enjoyed this edition of Unpack
Podcast with LeadershipConsultant Ron Harvey.
Remember to join us every Mondayas Ron Unpacks Sound Advice,
providing real answers for realleadership challenges.
Until next time, remember to addvalue and make a difference
where you are or the people youserve.
(34:26):
Because people always matter.
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