We recently connected with Michael Johnson and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Michael, thanks for joining us today. Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.

Growing up, my mother had a saying that became the soundtrack of my life: “Nothing beats a failure but a try.” At the time, I didn’t realize how deeply those six words would shape my approach to business, leadership, and life itself.

As a child, I first heard her say it after a piano recital where I stumbled through every note. I remember feeling embarrassed, ready to quit altogether. But my mother just smiled, handed me a tissue, and said gently, “Nothing beats a failure but a try.”

It wasn’t just comfort — it was a challenge.

Over time, I came to understand what she meant. Trying doesn’t guarantee success. It guarantees growth. And in entrepreneurship, growth is everything.

My mother worked two jobs and became a paralegal. She didn’t have investors, mentors, or an MBA — just grit, and a belief that effort was its own kind of victory. Watching her taught me that progress doesn’t come from waiting for the perfect moment or the perfect plan. It comes from taking the next step, even when the outcome is uncertain.

That mindset became the foundation of my entrepreneurial journey. When I launched my business, I faced rejection after rejection. There were months when the bank account barely made sense and days when giving up seemed easier. But every time, I’d hear my mother’s voice again — that simple reminder that failure only wins when you stop trying.

Entrepreneurs know this truth all too well: every product that flops, every pitch that falls flat, every “no” from an investor carries the potential to teach something vital — if you keep trying. Success doesn’t come from avoiding risk; it comes from engaging with it relentlessly, learning faster than you fail.

My mother’s wisdom wasn’t written in a business book or taught in a seminar. It was lived — in the way she showed up, pushed through fatigue, and refused to let setbacks define her.

Today, when I mentor founders or lead my team through tough quarters, I pass her words along. Because perseverance isn’t just a personal virtue — it’s a business strategy.

In the end, it’s not the market, the competition, or the economy that determines our fate. It’s our willingness to keep showing up. To keep trying.

Because my mother was right: nothing beats a failure but a try.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Many people ask how did Johnson & Associates come into existence. For Mike Johnson, CEO and Founder of Johnson & Associates, that moment came in the middle of a corporate career that looked successful on paper—but felt increasingly hollow in practice.

Mike had spent years climbing a proverbial ladder, believing that effort and excellence would naturally translate to reward. Then came the wake-up call: a $10 million cost-saving initiative he led that earned him nothing more than a handshake and a 2.5% raise.

“I realized I was creating exponential value for a system that only paid me linearly,” Mike recalls. “That’s when it hit me—if I wanted to build something that matched my effort, I’d have to build it myself.”

How He Got Into the Business

Mike’s journey into entrepreneurship wasn’t born from comfort—it was born from clarity. After years in corporate and seeing strategic operations, he recognized a gap between ideas and execution. Companies had no shortage of talent or creativity; what they lacked were the systems and processes to turn great ideas into sustainable results.
That realization became the foundation for Johnson & Associates, a consulting firm dedicated to helping businesses design scalable operations that drive profitability and long-term efficiency.

“I saw viable businesses failing because they didn’t have frameworks to connect innovation with implementation,” Mike explains. “At Johnson & Associates, we bridge that gap. We turn vision into an actionable strategy, and use that strategy to bring people success.”

What Johnson & Associates Provides:
Johnson & Associates specializes in organizational strategy, process optimization, and leadership development, serving mid-sized to enterprise-level companies across industries.

Their services include:
Strategic Growth Planning – Aligning business vision with actionable systems.
Go-To-Market Strategies: For Products and Services
Operational Excellence – Streamlining workflows to eliminate waste and maximize output.
Leadership Coaching – Empowering executives and managers to lead with clarity and accountability.
Change Management – Guiding teams through transformation with minimal disruption.
Every solution is data-driven, human-centered, and tailored to the unique DNA of each organization.

What Sets Them Apart:
the foundation of his proprietary WHIP Methodology—a performance framework designed to help organizations stay focused, agile, and accountable in the face of constant change.

WHIP dives into:

What/Why – What exactly is your business and why does it matter to the world beyond a company increasing their bottom line? What problems does the business solve if successful?
How –Systematic and processes that are repeatable and can build longevity.
Impacted Parties – From Employees and vendors to community partners…who is impacted by your business?
Performance Measurement – How is success measured?

The WHIP Methodology isn’t just a business model—it’s a mindset,” Mike explains. “It’s about developing leaders and organizations that don’t crumble under pressure, but thrive because they’ve built habits of resilience.”
This approach helps clients transform chaos into clarity, aligning culture, process, and performance into a single rhythm of progress. It’s not theory—it’s practice. It’s the hard-won wisdom of someone who’s lived both sides of the business equation.

Who They Serve and the Impact They’re Making
Johnson & Associates serves entrepreneurs, executives, and organizations that are ready to scale with purpose. Whether it’s helping a growing company navigate its first multimillion-dollar year or guiding an established firm through reinvention, their mission remains the same: to build businesses that run smarter, not harder.

“Our impact isn’t solely measured in revenue,” Mike notes. “It’s measured in leaders who rediscover their confidence, teams that start thriving again, and organizations that finally operate in alignment with their vision.”

From his first bold step into entrepreneurship to leading a firm that empowers others to do the same, Mike Johnson has lived his mother’s wisdom to the fullest.

Because in life and in business, he knows the truth better than anyone:
Nothing beats a failure but a try.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Don’t be afraid to post quality content that aligns with who you and what you’re all about! There are some times where I posted 3-4 times a day. Not just for visibility, but social media’s algorithms begin to spread your content more when you’re consistent.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to unlearn the belief that “if I don’t do it, it won’t be done correctly.” For years, I equated excellence with doing everything myself. But I came to understand that mindset limits growth—for me and for my team. True leadership isn’t about control; it’s about trust. When you empower capable people, coach rather than correct, and allow your systems to work, the results often exceed what you could have achieved alone. Letting go wasn’t a loss of quality—it was an expansion of it.

Backstory:
For most of my career, I wore that phrase like a badge of honor: “If I don’t do it, it won’t be done correctly.”

At first, it sounded like accountability. In reality, it was control disguised as excellence.
When I transitioned from corporate life to building my own company, that belief came with me. I was the strategist, the marketer, the client liaison, the bookkeeper—sometimes even the project manager. I prided myself on being the one who “made it happen.” But somewhere along the line, that strength turned into a ceiling.

I was exhausted, resentful, and unknowingly limiting the very growth I said I wanted.

Then I realized something humbling: my obsession with doing everything perfectly was really a lack of trust — in others and, in some ways, in myself.

One day, while juggling multiple client deliverables, I missed an opportunity that could have tripled my revenue for the quarter. Not because I didn’t have the capability — but because I didn’t have the capacity.

That was my wake-up call. I finally understood that doing it all wasn’t leadership — it was survival. And survival mode and growth mode cannot coexist.

So, I started to unlearn. Slowly. Intentionally.

If you’re an entrepreneur or leader still holding onto that phrase — “If I don’t do it, it won’t be done correctly” — it’s time to challenge it. You built something worth trusting. Now trust the people and processes that keep it moving.

Because in the end, excellence isn’t about doing everything yourself — it’s about building something that works even when you don’t.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.iammikejohnson.com
• Instagram: iammikejohnson2
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iammikejohnson
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@iammikejohnson2