We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Michael Scott Novilla. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Michael Scott below.
Michael Scott, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you take vacations? How do you keep things going – any advice for entrepreneurs who feel like they can’t step away from their business for a short vacation?
You can divide your life into work OR vacation. The old, work OR play. You hear all the time ‘work hard, play hard.’ Well I prefer to combine my life into work AND play. What’s the difference? Well back in 2012 I took my event business NOVA 535 paperless. Yes, in 2012. That was part of my overall strategy to digitize, and systemize, a complex, live event business. I own a single venue. It’s the historic 1920 built building we renovated into NOVA 535 Unique Event Space, back in 2008. I focused on systemizing and digitizing all the roles for NOVA 535, especially my role as the owner. So I made sure that I could perform everything right on my laptop. Then the vendors could work their magic, in person, at the venue. That means that I can work from anywhere. And boy have I!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
Hello! I’m Entrepreneur Michael Scott Novilla, born on April Fools Day in beautiful downtown St. Pete, Florida. I’ve always loved learning, exploring, and making things better. Since completing my MBA in 1993, I’ve bought, renovated, and managed over a hundred historic buildings. Along the way, I realized my hometown deserved a unique event space, so I built a world-class venue called NOVA 535. Since opening in 2008, I’ve produced over 2,000 5-Star weddings, ceremonies, fundraisers, fashion shows, and live events. In 2009, needing the company of like-minded folks, I created the Entrepreneur Social Club, a network of business owners from around the world who meet every Thursday night, to collaborate, mentor, and share knowledge. Now, while Globetrotting, I’m using my expertise to consult with business owners worldwide, showing them how to achieve world-class service and operations in their business. In 2019, I published my first book “It’s 5 am Go Home,” a hilarious, fun-to-read adventure story, and guide to producing your own 5-Star wedding, magical celebration, and most epic of parties! As of this moment, March 2022, I’ve visited 99 countries around the globe. #Grateful #Thankful
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
Word of Mouth. We all spend WAY TOO MUCH TIME on social media. Clicking, liking, endless scrolling, OMFG STOP! It’s mind-numbing and mostly counter productive. Even though, back in University, I hated “networking’. Now a days, I never think of it as networking; instead my frame of mind is just trying to be helpful. I LOVE helping fellow Entrepreneurs and small business owners. Each time you can be helpful to someone, it’s a chance for a lifelong connection. And possibly a friendship and business opportunity.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
When the great (real estate) crash of 2008-2010 happened, I had to sell my entire real estate portfolio. 100 lakefront homes and apartments that I had purchased, renovated and managed over a decade. I purchased the 535 building with CASH, with plans to renovate it into NOVA 535. That $500K was my savings, and sadly, right at the worse time, the collapse happened and the banks panicked. So I had to sell everything, and focus entirely on renovating NOVA 535. Why did I buy with cash? Well it saved me all the bank regulations hassle, and probably $40K in BS “closing fees.” I had plenty of credit and near perfect FICO scores, but never imagined that the banks would both remove ALL my lines of credit, credit cards AND that ZERO new $$$ would be available. Our permanent post-construction loan was all ready to go. Then it was withdrawn. There was ALWAYS $$$ available, just more expensive during recessions. Which I’d survived 3 at that point. But THIS “Black Swan” (read the book) was a real knock-out punch. But as all good fighters do, I got back up and kept on fighting. Learning to NEVER rely on banks, instead relying on lean operating systems, profit first, good cash flows, 5-star customer service and always spending less than you make. Here we are in 2022, post COVID, (another Black Swan), we are better and stronger than ever.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://michaelsnovilla.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/MichaelSNovilla
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelScottNovilla
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelsnovilla
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/michaelscottnovilla
- Other:
- Business: https://nova535.com
- Published Book: https://its5amgohome.com
- Social Club: https://
entrepreneursocialclub.com