Entrepreneur

Founder And President

CEM And CEO Clubs

Joe Mancuso’s entrepreneurial instincts began at a very young age. “As a kid I had paper routes, lawn mowing, snow blowing, anything that would produce any income because I had the advantage of growing up in a middle class family rather than a rich family,” recalls Mancuso.

Much can be learned from our most challenging or lowest points in life as this jewel of a story from Joe’s high school days will attest to. “When I was in the ninth grade I made the transition from junior high to high school. I was going through the normal phases of braces on your teeth and pimples, you know, I didn’t look that good. I also had to wear glasses so my life was pretty miserable.”

“Then one day at one of our assembly’s, one of the teachers came up to me and said that so and so who was going to read the cafeteria report got sick and we don’t have anybody to read it. Would you do it? I said, sure, I’ll read it, it’s only one paragraph, four sentences. I read it over, five, maybe ten times, it would be a breeze.”

“I went up there without my glasses on. I read the first line perfectly that I memorized. But then, I just froze and stood there. I couldn’t find my place, I couldn’t read the paper without my glasses. 3,000 kids in the assembly started laughing and stamping their feet. One of the teachers finally took me by the arm since I was blind without my glasses and led me to the nurse’s office where I promptly threw up. I went home and didn’t come back to school for three days.”

The ironic thing is that speaking in front of a group is one of the greatest fears that entrepreneurs face. Today, Mancuso makes his living, and a very successful one at that, doing public speaking. He has spoken in over 200 American cities and in 40 foreign countries.

Once out of high school, Joe wanted to attend a private college but just didn’t have all of the tuition money he needed. So what did he do? He did what any entrepreneur would do, he found a way, even though the odds were against him.

“At 19, I took what tuition money I had and went to New York and booked a concert with Johnny Mathis singing. The whole tuition was loaded on Johnny Mathis. The gamble paid off, I now had three times the tuition, I was king of the hill. Over the next four years at school I booked over 50 concerts in three cities.”

Not all were so successful. “I booked Chubby Checker at a dance. Unfortunately we had a snowstorm. We lost $5,000 Friday, $5,000 Saturday, and $5,000 Sunday. In 1961 that was big money. I was flat broke. I couldn’t go to college next semester because I had no money.” Joe worked out a deal with Johnny Mathis’ manager, booked him, and soon was back on his feet. He soon made so much that he was able to buy his own car. “In college that’s pretty big stuff,” laughingly recalls our former collegiate entrepreneur.

Since then, Mancuso has earned his Electrical Engineering degree from W.P.I., an MBA from Harvard Business School as well as his Doctorate in Educational Administration from Boston University.

So what has he done lately? To put it mildly, Joe has helped literally millions of entrepreneurs get one step closer to their dreams. Mancuso is the founder of the non-profit Center for Entrepreneurial Management Inc. (CEM) and the Chief Executive Officers Club (CEO Club) and The Presidential Advisory Council (PAC). He has also written 24 leading books on small business and entrepreneurship, which have sold nearly two million copies.

The CEM averages about 3,000 members a year. It was designed to provide a continual flow of timely, quality information to make the task of growing a business just a little easier. Their annual dues of just $96 have never been raised in the twenty years of existence. Also, members receive over $400 worth of helpful information. Included are yearly subscriptions to Inc. Magazine, Success Magazine, American Expresses’, Your Company and the CEM’s own monthly publication, The Chief Executive Officer’s Newsletter to name a few. Discounts are also offered on top books and audiotapes from their huge entrepreneurial library.

The CEO Club is dedicated to improving the quality and profitability of business enterprises through shared experience and personal growth. There are currently twelve chapters in the United States with over 400 members. Each chapter meets eight times per year in formal program sessions. The initial requirements for membership in the CEO Club are that the candidates be chief executive officers of businesses with annual sales above $2 million. Members pay about $1,000 per year on average for dues, depending on the size of the organization.

The PAC is available to CEO Club members only. Under the guidance of a paid facilitator, who is always, also a CEO, a subset of about a dozen members agree to serve as a mutual board of advisors/directors for one another. Each PAC meets eight times annually at a different council member’s business location. The PAC focuses on the host business’s biggest opportunity/problem. The PAC utilizes the mastermind principle from Napoleon Hill’s classic book “Think and Grow Rich.”

Regarding the American Dream. “It’s a wonderful story. We have a member in Los Angeles. His name is Marty Shih. I met Marty eight years ago along with his sister Helen. They were selling flowers across the street from the CEO Club meeting at the L.A. Athletic Club. I bought some flowers from them. I gave him two bucks and he gave me the flowers. That’s how I met him. Today, he employs over 1,000 people. His company is the Asian Business Connection.”

Only in America could someone first fail terribly at public speaking and now make a good living at it. At 19, roll the dice on his college tuition, triple it, lose it, regain it, and later earn three degrees. Then, help millions of entrepreneurs through CEM, CEO Club, PAC, write 24 books, and live life to the fullest in his 10,000–square-foot penthouse in Manhattan.

Chubby Checker, Johnny Mathis and small business owners everywhere are proud that Joe had the courage to take the risk, enjoy the rewards and give back to so many. Joe Mancuso, is the entrepreneur’s entrepreneur.

 Resource Information:

CEO Clubs, CEM