Episode 5 – John Malecki
“I’m completely self taught. I learned how to make furniture on youtube.” – John Malecki
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John Malecki (@john_malecki) is a self taught furniture maker and entrepreneur who has made the leap from the NFL to full time self employment in the Maker Space. We have an awesome conversation talking about his transition from the NFL to being a furniture designer and content provider in the wood and metal working trade. One of my favorite parts of our conversation is talking about the ups and downs of having your own business as well as how to provide not only great products as a maker but great content as well. I loved hearing his story of going from NFL to Maker and the lessons all throughout the process.
Buckle up, because John is a straight forward talker who has a lot of great things to say in an honest way. I think you are gonna love this episode and get a lot out of it!
Topics include:
- How John went from the NFL to the Maker Space
- Business advice and how to make a living doing what you love
- The mind set of owning your own business
- Getting over your fear of doing what you love
- Two projects John has done that stick out as learning lessons
- Identifying what you are good at and not good at and finding help for your weaknesses
- Brands that John likes
- Details of hustling in your own business
- Book list
- John’s schedule
Connect with John and his businesses here:
- Website/Blog: johnmalecki.com
- Website (Metal and Wood): metalandwood.us
- Instagram: @john_malecki
- Facebook: John Malecki
- Youtube : John Malecki
Don’t forget to connect with me here:
- Website/Store: fieldtreasuredesigns.com
- Instagram: @fieldtreasuredesigns
- Facebook: Field Treasure Designs
- Twitter: @fieldtreasure
Also don’t forget to leave a good review on iTunes HERE.
Now, enjoy the show! (Below are all the show notes and links.)
- Listen to it on iTunes
- Stream it by Clicking Here.
- Download it as an MP3 by Right-Clicking Here and choosing “Download File As.”
Here are the links to everything we talked about:
Various Mentions
- Ana White
- Jimmy DiResta
- Marc Spagnuolo (Wood Whisperer)
- Gary Vaynerchuck
Brands
- Pitt
- Nike
- Carhartt
- Dickies
- Duluth Trading
- John Deere
- Harley Davidson
- Westinghouse
- General Electric
- Apple
Books
- Shoe Dog by Phil Knight // By HERE
- Start with Why by Simon Senek // Buy HERE
- Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance // Buy HERE
- Jobs by Walter Issacson // Buy HERE
- Content Inc. by Joe Pulizzi // Buy HERE
- Ask Gary Vee by Gary Vaynerchuck // Buy HERE
- Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin // Buy HERE
- Red Rising Series by Pierce Brown // Buy HERE
Great Quotes: (all quotes are John’s unless mentioned otherwise)
“The opportunity for content producers in the maker space is something that is truly unique…”
“I’m completely self taught. I learned how to make furniture on youtube.”
“I had a wood shop for one semester in middle school.”
“Your longest life dream could suddenly come to an end and the sun is still coming up tomorrow.”
“There’s a thousand ways to skin a cat and I think there’s two thousand ways to cut a piece of wood.”
“I’ve always been brand obsessive.”
“There’s not been one successful person in the history of humanity who has done it on their own.”
“You have to be willing to ask for help.”
“Sometimes I try not to eat dinner at my work bench.” 🙂
Have you listened to Episode 4? I talked with Odin Clack of Odin Leather Goods
- Listen to it on iTunes
- Stream it by Clicking Here.
- Download it as an MP3 by Right-Clicking Here and choosing “Download File As.”
As always, please let me know in the comments what you liked, how I can continue tweaking this new Podcast. I’d also love any guest recommendations you might have!
