If you do not face your fears and the things that make you anxious, then they will be harder than ever to overcome and take action.

Gary David is the CEO and founder of the country’s number one supplement for bodybuilders, CrazyMass. Before he founded the company in 2006, Gary was a bodybuilder, who participated in several regional competitions and worked as a personal trainer throughout the Michigan area. After seeing many gym goers struggle to see results with the muscle building enhancers on the market, Gary began doing a lot of research and saw that most products were made with ingredients that were damaging the body, not making it stronger! Out of frustration, Gary decided to create a natural and safe supplement without the nasty side effects of using synthetic or illegal substances and came up with the formula for ISO*Ignite, and CrazyMass was born.

Gary David currently lives in Northwest Michigan with his wife and children. Together they love spending time on his four-wheeler, boating, working out, and hiking around Lake Michigan. Gary’s goal is to help gym fanatics get the results that they want without any of the nasty stuff hidden in popular products.

Where did the idea for your company come from?

As you know, I have been in the fitness and bodybuilding circuit for many years before starting CrazyMass. I would see these guys at the gym who were struggling to add on significant muscle, and the supplements they were taking were full of synthetic stuff that wasn’t going to help them on their journey. Even I struggled to build muscle especially when I was deep into bodybuilding. I decided to do a bunch of research and found several vital nutrients and natural products that would help gain muscle without the side effects or without using illegal methods. From there, my company was born. CrazyMass has solved the issues that so many of us gym goers experience.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

My typical day begins somewhere around 5:00 A.M. I do a bit of cardio and start hitting the weights for about an hour. From there, I grab breakfast and start getting ready for the day. By then my wife and kids are awake, so I spend some time with them before they head off to school and my wife to work. By 8 A.M., I am at the office where I spend my mornings in many meetings with partners, employees, and investors. At noon, I take a lunch break then I spend the afternoons with my team working on new products and marketing strategies to promote the CrazyMass brand. Typically I am leaving the office around 6 P.M. Sometimes I hit the gym again if I have a lot of energy but usually I am rushing home to spend time with my family. Once my kids are in bed, I usually do some more work, like answering customer emails or doing research. I never stop! My goal is to be in bed before 11 PM so I can wake up early and do it all over again.

How do you bring ideas to life?

There are a few ways I bring new ideas into the picture. First off, I do a ton of researching, because I want to make sure that our products are high-quality and will perform in the same way that we say they’re going to, and that each new supplement we come up with are safe for our customers to take. Next, I will write down my ideas and each morning when I get to work. From there, I will talk with business partners and our researchers and tell them what my views are so that they can test and if the thoughts are right, then the partners can make decisions from there and add their input. If everyone agrees, then we speak to our manufacturing and marketing teams, to get things off the ground and begin promoting the new product on our website and social media pages. So far, it has seemed to work quite well for the company.

What’s one trend that excites you?

One that has been exciting me has been in what we eat and Paleo has been the way to go for a while. We are actually in the process of researching product ingredients that fit in the Paleo, Whole 30, Keto, and Primal lifestyles that help these potential customers get the extra boost to reach their muscle building goals without compromising their dietary needs. Our goal is to make sure that our products are as natural and safe as possible, and can fit into any eating style out there. We are getting close to perfecting some new CrazyMass supplements and will announce it once we get everything in place.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

The one habit that has helped me over the years is that I am incredibly organized, and I research everything. Before I go to bed, I will plan out my days down to the second, because I want to make sure that I can get as much done as I can while at work. I also organize tasks, by the length of time it takes to complete them. I get the more extended tasks out of the way first, then work on the shorter ones and will mark each one off as I finish them. It gives me more of a sense of accomplishment and keeps me on the path of reaching each goal for the day.

What advice would you give your younger self?

There are two things that I would tell myself if I had the opportunity to do things over. The first thing I would say to myself is that I shouldn’t fear the unknown and whatever I do, I need to charge at it head-on. If you do not face your fears and the things that make you anxious, then they will be harder than ever to overcome and take action. Also, it took me a long time to remember that when we do make mistakes, we need to learn from them so they will not happen again. Mistakes happen, and they can be some of the greatest lessons that we learn in our lives.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

Oh goodness, this is a tough question. Well, the one thing that I have said that nobody agrees with me on is when we first started getting successful I was telling my marketing team, which we needed to change our marketing strategies to make us stand out even more than before. You know, to create enough interest in our products and company to bring more customers our way. Well back then, marketing experts were using real people testimonials, rather than come up with a cliché type of slogan. But nobody on the team agreed with me that these testimonials would work.

I decided to take it upon myself and began emailing customers who have been using our products for a while and had them give me their opinions on the supplements. We wanted honest, which included the good, the bad, and the truly ugly. I was lucky enough to get a good dozen reviews, and I had our web designer add them to the website, and it worked. The reason why it worked, is because potential customers will know what they’re getting themselves into and how it may or may not work with their chemistry. From there, our sales went through the roof, and we were getting a lot of profits from those testimonials alone.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

I treat my customers and employees like people, rather than just a paycheck and a number. I make sure that everyone is treated the same amount of respect that I would want and listen to their challenges so that we can come up with solutions. You never know when you’re going to lose those customers or those who work for you, and honestly, they’re the backbone of any successful business. I make sure that I am kind to everyone, and not in the pretentious mindset either. When you’re fair to those around you, they tend to do their best work or become returning customers.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

Two strategies helped us grow CrazyMass. The first strategy was making us stand out from the competition. You have to answer what makes your products and business unique, how is it going to help your customer where others cannot, and several others. From there, you can create advertising and complementary products to bring more value to our buyers.

The second strategy that has been amazing for growth is social media. Everyone is getting on platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and others. You have to put a focus on your brand’s internet presence, and interact with your followers. Not only does it help spread the word about who we are and what we sell, but it also shows everyone that we care about what they want and to be there to assist with any concerns, questions and other inquiries.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

When I very first started out, I didn’t market my products in a way that would help our profits grow, and for a while, I thought the whole idea of CrazyMass was going to become a bust. It was a tough time for us, and I am not the kind of guy who is excellent at failing. I had to come up with a strategy, to draw interest in what we were selling because while there is a massive market for bodybuilding and health and wellness supplements, there are a lot of companies that sell similar products. My marketing guys and I came up with some ideas that would make us stand out from the competition and repriced each product to make them more affordable for everyone. From there, the sales went up, and our success was inevitable.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

There are so many different types of business ideas out there, and while I can say try this or check out that, the best business is one that revolves around what you’re passionate about. Write down a list of things that you enjoy doing and research how you can turn it into a successful business. Then when you find “the one” passion, you can see yourself doing and begin doing the necessary steps to get started. I only say this because if say you jump on the latest trend, then there is a good chance that you can fail at whatever that trend is, because you are just going through the motions, rather than something you believe in and don’t care about outside of just working. Because when you don’t care, then you will not achieve the success you were aiming for.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

About a month ago, I took my family to Mackinac Island and spent a week in the beautiful Upper Peninsula. We toured around the island, indulged in Mackinac Island fudge, did some camping and visited the Soo Locks, up in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan. It was more than $100 for the entire trip, but it was worth the money because I was able to really spend some quality time with my family and take a nice break away from all things technology to relax.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive? How do you use it?

I use Zoho, which is a CRM and it helps me with so much when it comes to running CrazyMass. It’s web-based so that you can use it from any computer or your cell phone and I can set it up to do all types of tasks for me. It handles sales or customer service calls, emails, live chat, can set up blueprints for your business, analyze sales and so much more. I have been using them for years, and it’s priced just right for individuals, small businesses or multibillion-dollar corporations. I cannot beat the value and all the features that Zoho has provided for my company and me.

Using it is pretty straightforward, click on one of the options at the top of the page, which has their menu and enter the info you need to keep about customers, accounts and the like. You can also add data via spreadsheet or switching over from another CRM to Zoho, and there are a few options to choose from. To do more complex tasks, or to customize, Zoho has tons of training videos within their platform, so always be sure to take a look at those.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

The one book that I think the business community as a whole should check out is The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene. Not only is it witty and will give you tons of advice for those who are striving to become an influential entrepreneur, but to create a lot of success for whatever business a person decides to get into. It certainly keeps you reading, and his methods are easy to follow and provide a lot of no-nonsense advice that is twisted in a way. This book isn’t your father’s guide to building a business, but it’s definitely worth the read.

What is your favorite quote?

My favorite quote is from Albert Einstein. He says “The only place where success comes before work, is in the dictionary.” This quote is inspiring because he is saying that the only way to become successful is not just sitting around and doing nothing, you have to work hard for it. Einstein is one of the most brilliant and inspiring individuals in history, and he worked hard to achieve his goals, and I look at him as someone who I think if he was still around, who would push me to keep improving and getting better.

Key learnings:

● Success does not come to you by sitting on your butt. You have to work for what you want.

● Treat those around you as people, and not a number or a paycheck.

● Learn from your mistakes. Do not let them create fear and get in the way of achieving your goals.