Mihoko: Absolutely. Let’s do this.

John: Yes! Mihoko is an inventor of The Carlin. The Carlin is a patent pending hair accessory that makes styling hair a breeze. Born in Tokyo, Japan she came to the U.S. alone at the age of 12. And before launching the TheCarlin.co she worked at major financial service firms like Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch as a CPA and an investment advisor for 12 years. Mihoko, take a minute, fill in some gaps from that intro and give us just a little glimpse of your personal life.

Mihoko: Well, thank you for having me on this show, John. I have been listening to Entrepreneur on Fire since 2008 and I wanted to be entrepreneur but I didn’t have an idea or product so I listened to EOfire frequently for inspiration and that’s part of reason I didn’t give up becoming entrepreneur and that’s why I’m here today so thank you.

John: Thank you for that, Mihoko. I receive those words and thank you for listening.

Mihoko: Yeah, thank you. So as you mentioned, I created The Carlin, which is a innovative hair accessory to make styling hair very easy. So it’s [inaudible] [00:01:08] you to be able to style your hair beautifully without using any heat or chemicals. And I created The Carlin because I had very difficult time styling my hair quickly in the morning. I used to have two hours commute to my office in San Francisco and I struggled to get ready quickly. It’s either I had to wake up at 5:00 in the morning or earlier and be able to spend some time getting ready, or wake up at 6:00 in the morning or earlier and then show up to the office not looking so great. So of course many days I stayed in bed to get that extra hour sleep.

So as a temporary solution, I used to wear these plastic curls. I would heat them up in the morning, wear them, and drive to my office. The whole idea was once I got to the parking lot I will take them off so that my hair was at least curled. But then one day my boss caught me as I was pulling into the office parking lot. You know, and I looked very silly wearing these bright pink, plastic curls in my head and I was horrified and embarrassed. And I think the worst part was he actually pretended as he didn’t see me and I knew at that moment I had to find a better way to style my hair.

So that’s when the idea for The Carlin came about. I grew up doing ballet so the classic updo inspiration came from that experience. I never actually had intention to sell The Carlin. I made it just for myself, but whenever I wore it, I was asked by other women where I got it and where they can purchase it and I probably give out about 100 units before I decided to sell The Carlin, before I got serious about making this a business. So once I decide to make The Carlin as a product I actually flew my mom from Tokyo, Japan and we were in this tiny studio in New Jersey trying 50 fabrics and so many wires trying to get –

John: You’re like mom, this is not a vacation. You are here to work.

Mihoko: Well, I paid for her ticket and I definitely had to take her out to dinner and musicals in New York City. But, yeah, we were working. I mean, our – my studio apartment looks like a manufacturing ground floor, we had so much fabric and we were covered. And I probably went through a couple of sewing machines as well because we were trying so many things. So The Carlin, like you mentioned in the introduction, is patent pending and it is currently sold in my store online as well as a few retail locations in Colorado. So I know you love talking about the numbers and I do too.

John: Yeah.

Mihoko: So since launching the site on September 30 of 2016 I sold over 1,500 units to date. And so I know it’s not a huge number, but in three months I been in business, I sold – my sales been $25,000.00.

John: Fire Nation, this is exciting on multiple levels. Again, you have to keep your eyes open; your ears open when you’re walking around this world like what are things that are missing? How can you maybe, you know, fix that void? Fill that need? And again, it has to be something that really means something to you that you can get excited about. There could have been ten things that Mihoko could have done, nine things she rightfully said no to, but the tenth thing was The Carlin.

Now a couple quick questions before we do move on. I’m on your website right now. Actually, I can’t wait to press the play button on this video because I’m sure it’s gonna be a really cool video, but who is this cute dog on your page? He’s adorable, or she’s adorable.

Mihoko: Oh, thank you. That’s Otis. He’s a pug like you can see. And actually The Carlin means pug in French. So I named my product after my dog.

John: See, that’s perfect because that was my next question, I was asking where did the name The Carlin come from? And if came after, of course, this gorgeous pug that’s on your site right now. So, awesome stuff. And Mihoko, never qualify what you say with like I know it’s not that much, or you know 25 – this is game changing, Fire Nation. When you create something that people want, that people part with their hard-earned money for, that’s incredibly exciting.

Never compare yourself to other sales or to other people. Compare and despair. Only compare yourself to you yesterday and if you win that comparison, then you’re winning in life. And Mihoko, you’re on a great trajectory. I’m excited for you. Speaking of which, let’s talk about your Freedom Journal goal. What did that journey look like and how did you crush it?

Mihoko: Yes, so I got the Freedom Journal as soon as I began my journey or when I launched TheCarlin.co. And, you know, John, I’ve been following you since 2008 and I’ve been so impressed by how you create daily podcasts. I mean, not weekly, it’s daily. That’s massive amount of content. So I thought, you know, if I can learn about productivity from anyone, it has to be you. So I was so excited to learn about Freedom Journal.

I ordered one and when it arrived I was so impressed by the attention to details of how it was manufactured. It’s just a really well-made product and I bring it to coffee shop and people stop by and they’re like whoa, that’s a great looking journal. So I even actually reached out to you about manufacturing because I was curious where you – how you got it manufactured. And you were so kind, you responded to me in an hour and introduced me to Prouduct team with Richie Norton and I actually reached out to him that night and he responded to me and he introduced me to his partner [inaudible] [00:07:05]. And they are actually helping me manufacture Carlin now.

John: No kidding. That’s so exciting. And real quick, Fire Nation, that’s Prouduct, it’s like a little combination between the word proud and product. So Prouduct.com with the man Richie Norton. I’m so happy about that Mihoko. I had no idea.

Mihoko: Yeah, and, no it’s been working out so great and I’m so happy to have CFN and Richie and Prouduct team on my side because trying to manufacture it, it’s very hard and I’m just so grateful to have them on my side and you gave me the connection.

John: Yeah. Well, not to break in because you’re just on such a role here, but it’s so important, Fire Nation, that you find the right team to make this happen because I’ll tell you, before I found these people, Mihoko, I went to Alibaba like, you know, most other people do. What a nightmare. I mean, some people have had some success there, but when you’re talking to somebody on Alibaba, you have to assume that you’re talking to like the ninth layer, like the middle man of the middle man of the middle man of the middle man and you’re never gonna win that way.

Like I love Prouduct because they go – they literally, like TFN, the guy that you just mentioned, he goes right to the manufacturer, you get pictures. Did I – I think I told you this, Mihoko yet, but last year when I had those 30,000 Freedom Journals printed, the entire manufacturing plant got together, because my birthday’s on December 16, and they sent me a birthday video.

They all sang Happy Birthday to me first in English and then in Chinese, or Mandarin, and it was just really cool to have – to see the faces of people that produced the Freedom Journal and to know that these are just like great people with great families and they’re proud of what they’re creating. So, you know, we use the exact same place for the production of the Mastery Journal, and it’s just a great feeling.

Mihoko: Yeah, and I’m really excited for your Mastery Journal because the Freedom Journal has been such a great tool for me growing my business. It really helps me focus on what’s most important, which are, you know, having gratitude for all the good things in my life and then focusing on executing actions that would get me closer to my goals.

As a new business owner, I’m in charge of learning my business from marketing, sales, fulfillment, customer service. I mean, I was up till 3:00 in the morning shipping last night. So it is easy to get overwhelmed by everything I have to do so when I begin my day with entering Freedom Journal, it helps me step back and look at the bigger picture and stay productive because I’m focused on activities that move most needle to grow my business. It really give me a framework to stay focused.

And I look at my time like investment asset and I know that sounds a little financial thing, but we all have limited time available so I have to figure out how to invest my time that gives me the biggest return on investment. And the Freedom Journal is part of that process to increase my ROI. And when I was launching my business I thought it would take me a while to turn profit and I was just telling my best friend that I was prepared to set my ego aside and drive Uber if I have to –

John: Yeah.

Mihoko: –until I turn profit. You know, that was a promise I made to myself when I left my corporate world. I said I’m going to do whatever it takes to make this happen. But now because I’m able to focus on most important activities, I have been able to grow my business much faster than expected. And I also had a goal to build a business that contributes to making the world a better place. You do that by – I know you contribute I think net profits to Pencils of Promise. So I have a similar thing where I donate 10 percent of net profits to pug rescue organization to help homeless pugs.

John: Nice.

Mihoko: Yeah, and I’m just so excited and I’m grateful that the progress I have been able to make so far and be able to give back. And that’s really due to being able to stay focused and be productive and the Freedom Journal is definitely part of that. So thank you.

John: Wow, well, I love all of that. And real quick, Fire Nation, it’s better to be up till 3:00 a.m. shipping your product than being up till 3:00 a.m. stressed out because nobody’s ordering your product. So always take everything and shift it into that positive light because what else is there to do? You know, Mihoko’s up till 3:00 a.m. shipping her own product because she’s getting so many gosh-darn orders. That is phenomenal. And Mihoko, how do you, as an individual who obviously values your time to a high level as you rightfully so should, how do you define productivity?

Mihoko: I rate my productivity based on whether I was able to execute actions that are most important to my business growth. So just like any entrepreneur I have both good days and bad days. You know, life is never straight line up so the biggest challenge is no matter whether I’m having good day or bad day, be able to prioritize, take the emotions out and do the things that I need to do.

I also believe it is important to take care of myself so that in my – I’m the best version of myself. So when I write in Freedom Journal every morning I always have an action item to exercise and eat well. When I was younger I was bit of workaholic. When I was at the Price Waterhouse Coopers I would work 15 hours a day, weekend, and including the weekend. And eventually I actually fell asleep on the highway and crashed my car. And that was definitely a wake-up call, yeah.

So I had to learn to take care of myself. And in Japan, you know, we are told to put others first. So initially I struggled with the concept of self-care, but now I know it is not a selfish thing to focus on my well-being because we have to be the best version of ourselves to do more and to serve others. So I definitely have those action items every day on my journal.

John: Execute actions that are important to business growth. Just absorb that, Fire Nation. Now Mihoko, how do you define discipline?

Mihoko: So I define discipline as having ability to get things done when you don’t feel like it. So when I write my top three goals in the Freedom Journal I ask myself why these goals are important to me so when I have a day I’m feeling down I go back and read my entries. And that often fuel me to complete my key tasks and continue my journey to reach my goals.

Before the Freedom Journal I had to-do list with many items. And there were so many days I didn’t complete all items on my to-do list. Looking back I had way too many stuff and I didn’t have a good way of prioritizing. And the worst part was I felt bad about myself because I was unable to ever complete my never-ending to-do list. Now I design my day around key activities that bring me closer to achieving my top goals so I get less distracted.

So just like outline in Freedom Journal, I select top three activities. I don’t do ten, 20, 50. I keep it to three. And by keeping it simple I don’t overwhelm myself and right now my top priorities are to serve my customers and spread the word about The Carlin. So the key activities will be related to these two areas and you have pages in Freedom Journal that help me prioritize and really stay focused. So I learned to say no to things that do not add to my well-being or achieving my goals and that’s been a great learning through this process.

John: I love that. And Fire Nation, one of the key things within the Freedom Journal is to talk about the two wonderful things that happened today because so often as entrepreneurs our heads are down and we’re putting out fires. And we might get to the end of the week and be like I haven’t celebrated any wins. Well, if you put down two wonderful things that happen every single day, that’s gonna always bring you to that gratitude of that you’re doing something positive for your business.

And No. 2, when you do have that really bad day like Mihoko was talking about, go back 30 days, 40 days and look at two wonderful things that just happened on a random day and have that beautiful memory and just soak in it for a second and then get back to work with probably a little bigger smile on your face, or actually a smile on your face. Now, Mihoko, how do you define the word focus?

Mihoko: There are so many ways to build business. I mean, that’s the wonderful thing about our time is that there are so many options. But for example, I have a physical product just like your journal and I can grow my business by focusing on getting into large retail shops, or focus on online sales and that can by Amazon, Etsy, or my online shop, or a combination of both. So my job is to figure out the best strategy to grow my business and that’s my focus.

I have always believed in the power of internet. Actually, when I was 14 years old I begged my parents to let me go to computer school. And so I was this weird kid among old adult learning HTML before there was a Google. I love that I can reach massive audience cost effectively and my online store is open 24 hours. So I focus on spreading the word about my product over the internet and once I decided to focus on the internet sales, I was able to come up with activities that I need to execute. I also wanted to build a meaningful brand.

I’m not focused on QuickBooks, you know, so I’m gradually scaling and each step I make sure that I can serve my customers well. And I know it’s a super expensive item to purchase, it’s starting at $19.99 so it’s very reasonable, but I want them to have a great experience shopping on my site and I want them to feel great when they receive the package from me. And the best part of my job is hearing how The Carlin made their days just a little easier and they felt more beautiful.

So with Freedom Journal I do the same process to define my top activities so that I’m executing the most important activities every day. And when you are able to execute the right activities consistently, that’s when the miracle happens, that’s when the progress happens. It’s never overnight. You know, success, it’s a gradual – it requires consistency and focus and persistence. And probably the best part about keeping the Freedom Journal is that I am able to see my progress and I feel great about how I spend my day, which I wasn’t getting from, you know, my to-to list. So, yeah.

John: That’s where the magic happens, Fire Nation. I love how Mihoko just put that. And you can obviously tell that she’s a person who really cares about her product and presentation and how she talked about receiving the Freedom Journal and how it just made her feel like wow, like I invested in something, I parted with my hard-earned dollars, and I feel like I’m getting something of value, of worth, that’s coming back. That was my goal and that’s Mihoko’s goal with her product.

And you can obviously tell that she cares about productivity, about discipline and about focus. You know, these are three things that she’s working on intraday, I’m working on intraday, and the Mastery Journal is going to be your guide, Fire Nation, to mastering these three skills in 100 days because again, we all have the ups and the downs and the struggles and this is gonna be your step by step, hand-holding guide to make sure that you’re focused on the productivity, you’re focused on your discipline and you’re focused on your focus intraday, day to day, so that you can be the best version of you. Now that’s at themasteryjournal.com so go check it out.

And Mihoko, don’t you go anywhere because we’re about to crush the lightning round after we thank our sponsors. Mihoko, are you prepared for the lightning round?

Mihoko: Absolutely. Let’s do this.

John: What was holding you back from becoming an entrepreneur?

Mihoko: So I am the first family member to graduate from college so my family had high hope that I grew my career in prestigious company. And for longest time I just didn’t wanna disappoint them so I stayed many years, like you said in my introduction, in corporate America. I think it was hard because I actually had a great career in banks. However, I always knew I wanted to build my own business so I finally decided to follow my heart and take responsibility for my life.

John: What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

Mihoko: So John, I received the first 30 day of the Mastery Journal and following really stuck with me, and I actually wrote it down and it’s posted in my bedroom and refrigerator and everywhere. So you wrote, “The meaning for accomplishments take time. Learn the basics, build a foundation, and take one step at a time. Over the time, the fog will lift and you will realize how far you have come.”

John: I wrote that.

Mihoko: Yeah, I know you wrote that and it applies to me every day because, you know, a lot of times I’m not 100 percent – I mean, I don’t 100 percent for sure if something is going to work or not, but it’s actually the act of doing that I get clarity. And I saw – you wrote this in such a beautiful way so I just wanted to – I mean, that’s on my refrigerator right now.

John: Well, in 1576 episodes, Mihoko, you’re the first person whose best advice they’ve ever received has quoted me back so this is amazing. This is a day for celebration. And can you share a personal habit that contributes to your success?

Mihoko: I live very simply and I manage my finances well. So my father went bankrupt when I was actually in college and I saw my family having everything to almost having nothing. So, that’s part of reason I became CPA and I was working in the financial services. I did not purchase, like for example, as asset that decrease value with my cash. I live my life with investor mindset and not a consumer mindset. I invested in Freedom Journal because it’s an investment to me. I learn a valuable skill from that journal.

And, you know, at age 36 I was able to leave my corporate world and invest in building my business and I think that’s amazing. I mean, coming from someone who didn’t know anybody in America, who didn’t have any strong foundation, I’m just so grateful for where I am today and I’m 100 percent self-funded. I receive a handful of people who wants to invest in my business, but I have not taken a single cent. And I think all entrepreneurs need to know not only about how to make money, but also how to maximize what they keep at the end of the day.

John: I love all of this, Mihoko, so by the way, if you’re ever looking for investors, at least hit me up. I wouldn’t mind reading what your terms are because they seem like they’d be pretty fair probably. But what I love about all of this, Fire Nation, is like really just absorbing that habit and that investment mindset and saying hey, I’m going to invest in things that are going to grow. And Mihoko, just think, when you do become ultra-famous and wealthy, that Freedom Journal that you wrote to take you there, to launch you off, I mean, that’s gonna be worth millions. So I mean, that’s why it is an investment.

Mihoko: I will create a book for that. I mean, I do record in details and [inaudible] [00:23:08].

John: So cool. So can you share an internet resource with Fire Nation?

Mihoko: Yes, absolutely. So it’s called Coopt, C-O-O-P-T, and it’s a plugin that you can add to your ecommerce shop or to your website and basically it helps you turn your visitors to share about your page and product. With Coopt, like instead of just giving the discount code, you’re basically offering a discount when they share about you and your product. And you can find out more about it on getcoopt.com and I believe there’s even free trial offer on the website. And I recommend it for anyone who wants to spread the word about their product and services.

John: So what do you offer through getcoopt? Like what’s an example of something you’ve tried that’s worked?

Mihoko: Sure. My message is I will say help us spread the word. I probably say like my partner, which I’m talking about Otis the dog, you know, my partner is a man of very few words so please help us spread the word. And I’ll have the link and when somebody click on the link, Coopt take care of all of the sharing. And once the person shares on their Facebook, they are offered a promotion code for 10 percent off.

John: Wow, super cool. Love that. Literally, I think you’re gonna find that on my website tomorrow, Mihoko because it’s brilliant and I just take action like that. Now if you could recommend one book, what would it be and why?

Mihoko: Yes, so I have a book called Anyone Can Do It. It was written by Sahar and Bobby Hashemi. They are the founders of Coffee Republic, and I know it might not be a well-known name in America, but they were the Starbucks before the Starbucks went into U.K. And they were banker and lawyer in New York City and they had a death in the family and they had to go back to U.K. and they just really missed their cappuccinos and lattes they were able to get in New York City. So they started a coffee company.

And this book, Anyone Can Do It, is a detailed story of how they did it, how they built the business and how they sold it. And it’s a wonderful book and I recommend it for anyone who is entrepreneur or who is thinking about starting a business because it’s really – when I read this book, it literally felt like I was just right there.

John: Oh, I’m so bummed. They don’t have a Kindle version of it. That’s sad.

Mihoko: Yeah, I’ll send one to you, John. No problem.

John: Oh, thank you.

Mihoko: They do and I even actually reached out to Sahar because I was just so impressed by her and she responded back and that was wonderful.

John: That’s so cool.

Mihoko: Yeah, I recommend this book to anyone.

John: Yeah, I’m looking at the title right now. Super great cover, looks like a great book, looking forward to reading that for sure. And Mihoko, let’s end today on fire with a parting piece of guidance, the best way that we can connect with you, and then we’ll say goodbye.

Mihoko: Thank you, John. So you can learn more about The Carlin at TheCarlin.co. Like John said I have a new video up where me and my dog talk about the product and it took a lot of guts to put the video together, like you can hear my accent. It was very easy for me to say, you know, I will just hire model and have somebody else do it. And when I was listening to your podcast from Shane Stott he talked about how important it is that we are the best supporter for our product and services and so that’s why I decided that I will actually be in the video and be the spokesperson. So I’m –

John: I mean, how many takes was that? Because your dog is just so patient.

Mihoko: Actually, that was three takes. He did really, really well. He just a really calm dog and, you know, if you look at the video, he almost look like he’s smiling a little bit.

John: Yeah, he’s happy.

Mihoko: Yeah, he’s happy pug and yeah, I mean, there’s a product named after him.

John: I love it.

Mihoko: The best way to reach me is by email and my email address is hello@mihoko.co.

John: Real quick, parting piece of guidance.

Mihoko: Just do it. And I know that’s from Nike, but you know, when – we learn from by doing and we have so much resources available in this world to learn from and make it happen. I didn’t have an idea for product or service for longest time. I mean, I was listening to EOfire, listening about journey and there were many days I was frustrated on myself for not having the idea. But by doing it comes and it takes patience and discipline. And so the best advice that I have is, you know, learn from doing and learn from executing.

John: By doing it comes. I love that phrase. And Fire Nation, you’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with and you’ve been hanging out with MW and JLD today. So keep up the heat and head over to eofire.com. Just type Mihoko, that’s M-I-H-O-K-O in the search bar. Her show notes page will pop up with everything that we’ve been chatting about today. These are the best show notes in the biz, time stamps, links galore.

And of course head directly over to thecarlin, that’s C-A-R-L-I-N, dot co, so TheCarlin.co, watch that amazing video she has there and just check it out. I actually have watched it silent because, you know, we’re chatting, but I can’t wait to go watch it with the audio on, that will be fun. And email Mihoko directly at hello@mihoko.com. Say hello and ask her some questions, she’ll be happy to get back to you no doubt. Mihoko, thank you for sharing your journey with Fire Nation today. For that we salute you and we’ll catch you on the flip side.

Mihoko: Thank you so much.