Today we’d like to introduce you to Scott D. Clary.
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 feel like answering the question ‘how did you get to where you are today’ assumes your journey is coming to a close, but realistically, I’m just getting started.
To summarize where I’ve been and where I am, I am a career sales and marketing executive, writer and podcaster.
I’ve worked in several tech companies, and I’ve been part of two exits. In my career, I’ve worked with some of the brightest and most brilliant minds by consulting companies coming out of tech incubators.
I’ve built a strong personal brand and a podcast (Success Story) that has amassed millions of downloads, and I’m currently the co-founder and CEO of a health tech and wellness brand, OnMi.
I’m sure your success has not come easily. What challenges have you had to overcome along the way?
I did not come from an entrepreneurial family. I came from a family that valued safety and predictability in their career. For me, it created the challenge of having to look at the world through a different lens. When you grow up in a certain environment, it’s easy for you to fall into the trap of assuming your path through life should look like your parents or your friends.
No one in my family was an entrepreneur so doing things that were riskier or outside the norm, were uncomfortable for me, and for my family.
I had to push myself to take risks, to do things that were uncomfortable, and to look at the world through a different lens.
And once I saw the world through a different lens, then my biggest challenge was having the courage to always bet on myself – and candidly, I don’t think that always counting on myself will ever not be terrifying and challenging, but it’s a necessity to get to where I want to get to.
Let’s talk about the work you do. What do you specialize in and why should someone work with you over the competition?
It’s a great question, because I do, a lot. I have two passions. My personal brand and my company. My podcast and personal brand is a means for me to build a community, create feedback mechanisms for my thoughts and ideas, and create incredible content that gives me access to some of the smartest people in the world. I hope people consume my content and listen to my show because it helps them learn from the best and brightest and make their own journey a little easier.
The company I co-founded and now run, OnMi is a combination of my loves, tech and wellness. We are changing the way people keep themselves healthy through a different delivery mechanism for vitamins and botanicals – transdermal vitamin patches. We’re disrupting the entire supplement industry, making people comfortable with, and cognizant of, what they put into their bodies.
What’s your best piece of advice for readers who desire to find success in their life?
Over the course of my career I see three main traits tied to success in any profession, industry or career.
1. Curiosity: Learn to be okay figuring things out on your own.
2. Self-awareness: Have an idea of what your blind spots are and learn how to fill them.
3. Tenacity and Perseverance: Get through the hard times.
Now if someone is able to embody these three traits, regardless of where they come from, and persevere for 10+ years, all of a sudden, success is no longer as elusive as it once seemed. I am a firm believer that if you do something, for a long enough period of time, and you don’t give up… you will eventually figure it out. There are two reasons why people don’t find success in their life.
1. They don’t define their own version of success and live by someone else’s.
2. They give up too quickly.
Speaking of success, what does the word mean to you?
My definition of success definitely has changed over time. I think that when we’re all young, we’re a little naive as to what success is. When we’re just starting out in our careers, we always want the better job, or more money
When you start making money, you realize that the definition of success is no longer tied to money, it’s tied to freedom. True success is when you don’t feel trapped but can do what it is you love.
What’s next for you?
What’s next for me is to continue to create incredible content and build disruptive, meaningful companies.
I’m obsessed with creating, and I’m obsessed with building, and I don’t think I want to stop either, anytime soon. Although I’ve built a strong personal brand, and I run a podcast that gets millions of downloads and rates as one of the top 100 business podcasts in the world, I still love being an operator and building businesses. I will continue to grow my personal brand and show and take OnMi to wherever I can take it.
One thing I’ve found is to only work on things that you really believe in, it makes it much easier to stick with it for the long term (which is, honestly, what it takes to make anything successful). I’m fortunate to be working on things I love with incredible teams and people, which makes it that much easier. I’ll keep building the podcast until it’s the #1 business podcast globally, and keep growing OnMi until we’ve disrupted the entire vitamin and supplement industry, and then I’ll figure out what to do next.
Finally, how can people connect with you if they want to learn more?
I would absolutely love if people reach out, I read every email and answer every DM (until I can’t), so they can email me at scott@scottdclary.com, find all my social as well as the podcast at scottdclary.com or follow me on Twitter, IG (or anywhere) @scottdclary.