About Patch Baker and Mobius Media Solutions:
In 2015, after many years working for and around the US Military and Government Agencies, it was time to enter the “real world” and get a “real job” in the civilian world.
I had a rude awakening; I sucked at “real world” jobs. The Marine Corps taught me a lot, but it did not teach me how to be a good civilian.
After being fired from my first two jobs, I realized I was on a collision course with the bottom. I was falling fast with no real place to go or person to turn to.
So I decided to do something crazy. I decided to build a business and base it on something I already knew: the military.
The way I see it, The United States Military is the largest corporation on the planet, with a mission that cannot fail. The military is also structured in a way that allows high turnover without losing the 100% readiness of the overall force.
No Commander is needed on the front line every moment of every day, and that meant if I did it right, I would be able to deploy the company anywhere I wanted from my laptop.
And that’s exactly what I did. I realized there was no limit to how big an impact I could make. I finally found a game that felt infinite.
I began to seek out industry leaders and learned everything they would teach me. I bought every course I could get my hands on and paid numerous consultants to help me in areas where I was weak.
Next thing you know, I (and a few buddies) built a Digital Marketing company and were outperforming our peers.
We became industry leaders in record time and I started getting invites to speak on stages around the country.
A few short years later we were acquiring companies, growing them and positioning them for exits.
Today, I want to focus my time on companies that can change the world by impacting others. I am not interested in just pushing another product or service.
I am lucky enough to have an amazing team of Digital Marketers, Business Development Specialists, Merger & Acquisition Managers, Legal and Financial Experts, and a powerhouse stack of Family Office and Private Investors to make the whole thing work.
The possibilities are endless.
Andy Jacob sat down with the “Entrepreneurs Entrepreneur”, Patch Baker to discuss investing, partnerships, entrances, exits, and – what else? – entrepreneurship.
As Andy quickly notes, Patch looks at business in a much different way than many entrepreneurs. He really focuses on building the best businesses. What does Patch think is the most important thing when looking at a business?
Without a doubt, Patch thinks the most important part of any business is the Team. You have to look at WHO the people are. As Patch says, “you can fix a business, you can adjust a product, you can bring on a new revenue stream…but you can’t fix stupid. It’s hard to beat.” Too many business owners treat their businesses like their baby, while being the bottleneck for mega growth; they end up shooting themselves in the foot.
Andy discusses experience and gut feel as factors in choosing the right Team, but also knows Patch is a big believer in data. How important is data?
While he loves data, Patch thinks people are so overloaded with data, they don’t even know what they’re looking at anymore.
He talks about a functional business, which has to have a product people want, it has to be the thing they say it is, and they have to have some way to get people to see the product (or service). A product (or service) you can get to market that has profit at the end of it. “You’d be surprised how many people do not figure that part out!” Patch says. When entering a business, Patch pushes their limits, which can be disruptive.
Let’s talk about young entrepreneurs. Andy mentions they love tech, and sometimes their customers suffer for it because it creates a disassociation.
Patch totally agrees. Not everyone is a tech person, and it is important young, tech savvy entrepreneurs realize that. Sometimes, Patch and his Team go into a company, strip out some tech in order to streamline training and how people use the tech to maximize effectiveness.
While customers are important to a business, they frequently have no idea what they want, and what they ask for is not always what they want. It may be unpopular, but Patch doesn’t believe the customer is always right. Your system should educate the customer when they come in the door on what they actually need, not the latest internet buzz word. Educate people on why they need something they didn’t even know was available, possible, or expected. Surprise and delight them, don’t just give them another upsell.
You should use your creativity and analyze the right data, to understand and identify the problems, in order to educate the client on what they want and need.
