Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark Blocker.
It’s an honor to speak with you today. Why don’t you give us some details about you and your story. How did you get to where you are today?
I’m from Alamogordo, New Mexico, born into a military family. I’m the youngest out of 6 total children. I moved to Suburban Detroit, Michigan when I was 9 years old and haven’t left since. I graduated from Henry Ford II High School in 2008 and Graduated from University of Phoenix in 2014. I have worked in numerous sales and marketing jobs including Primerica, AT&T, Vector Marketing, and more for 6 years, before landing a job at a local McDonald’s in 2012. Shortly after graduating college, I tried to use my degree and get into the medical field, failing miserably. I kept getting told that I have great talent but no experience. In so, I felt as if I had no way out. I had a former college football teammate come to me and talk about starting my own business. Long story short, I created my Sports Company, Big Block Athletics, 2 weeks later. I became a Success Coach after having great success building my Foundation, Mark Blocker Foundation and Big Block Athletics into successful businesses. I also am an Angel Investor through OurCrowd.
I’m sure your success has not come easily. What challenges have you had to overcome along the way?
Well, part of what we do at Big Block Athletics is sponsor athletes. In 2017, we were looking to sponsor our first female athlete. She found my company through a tweet that was retweeted. She was all the way in Columbus, Ohio and decided to become a sponsored athlete. She wanted me to sponsor a rugby team also. Now, I’m only 1 full year as a CEO and the business was still fairly new so, I wasn’t sure if it would be a good idea but, I really wanted her to be a sponsored athlete for my business, so I said, Okay and did it. I had to deal with a very mean director of the rugby team who tried to bully me. She was so insistent on trying to bully me into doing what she wanted me to do. I had to find a fine line between having professionalism and not allowing anyone to bully me at the same time. I overcame that adversity.
Let’s talk about the work you do. What do you specialize in and why should someone work with you over the competition?
For my services, I provide start-up entrepreneurs one on one coaching building their business from start-up to scalable and I provide mentorship for their personal development. With my track record of building successful businesses, and having a strong portfolio as an Angel Investor, I believe that I set myself apart just from that alone. If a start-up entrepreneur wants to have a successful business, they should look at what I have built and the knowledge and expertise I contain that will get them over the hump
What’s your best piece of advice for readers who desire to find success in their life?
Believe in yourself. When you have a dream, you must do all that you can to protect it. Go out there and continuously improve your skills. That’s another way to show that you believe that you have a future by doing all the things you can to improve and grow.
Speaking of success, what does the word mean to you?
Success means to me to achieve a goal or a dream. It can be financial means also. It all depends on what you want out of life. If you want to be a star musician and you achieve that, you are a successful musician.
What’s next for you?
I have a speaking engagement for the Body Positivity Summit and I’m also a guest speaker for the Body Positivity Podcast. I got local podcast that I’m guest speaker on also. I got so much going on that I’m just taking it all in one at a time.
Finally, how can people connect with you if they want to learn more.
You can find me on my social media platforms. My Facebook account is www.facebook.com/markblocker32. My Twitter account is @BigBlock49 For professionals, you can find me at LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-blocker-6aa1a361/ I’m always available by e-mail at markbsuccesscoach@outlook.com