In order for your interview to be posted on Magazine/News Placement Sites, kindly answer the mandatory questions listed below. We would also suggest answering the “Recommended” ones though. Please understand the more questions you answer, the better your interview will look. If you want your business to be successful, you will have to be prepared to be interviewed by serious newspapers and magazines. So consider this as a Media training exercise. The list of questions we are asking are the ones most Public Relations company uses to prepare you before scheduling an interview.
Please try and be honest and avoid “cliché” answers.
Also, make sure to send in a high resolution photo (preferably headshot) with this interview. If you can send additional photos (of your company) it will help. You can also send a video of your company with the interview. Please understand that the more information you send, the better your interview will stand out from others.
Please note we reserve the final right on selecting which answers to publish as well as story angles to use. If you want to preview the interview before we post it, kindly let us know.
Mandatory Questions –
Q1 : Kindly give our readers an introduction to your business. Please include what your business is all about, in which city you are located and if you have offices in multiple locations/ cities.
Ans : We supply the aerobics and fitness industry with professional high quality audio equipment, specializing in wireless headworn microphones for teaching and instructing fitness classes. We are located in upstate NY and ship all over the world.
Q2 : Kindly give us a brief description about yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements).
Ans : I began my Audio career working as the General Manager for JoShel Engineering, a distributor of audio equipment for aerobics 1992.
I joined the nuclear industry in 1999 and began applying much of that technology to the design of our fitness headsets.
Q3 : What inspired you to (start a new business venture) or (to make significant changes in an existing business)? How did the idea for your business come about?
Ans : During my time with Joshel Engineering I realized no one was really making any heavy duty equipment to stand up to the rigorous abuse of the fitness instructor. Started Mazuk Technologies in 1999 where we began designing and manufacturing wireless headset microphones specifically for aerobics instructors as well as distributing other fitness audio manufacturers’ products.
Q4 : What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
Ans : Your customers are your foundation, treat your customers the way you would want your grandmother treated. Standby your products or service. No matter the circumstance, the customer is always right. This should be a rule to guide your business through its growth, from customer service to user experience to product development.
Build a business from something you truly enjoy doing. To have a greater chance of success build a business around what you know and are good at. Your heart needs to be in it to be happy and grow your business.
Be frugal! Watch every dollar and always verify expenses. Maintain as low of an overhead as you can. Give each expense thorough consideration, if you don’t need it then don’t buy it.
Q5 : What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
Ans : Need to be able to manage your time. You must prioritize and plan ahead.
Good communication skills. Your customers need to be able to relate to you and your products.
Should have good learning skill. Dedicate a portion of your day to researching new items/ideas in your industry.
Q6 : How many hours do you work a day on average?
Ans : I personally work 14 hours a day.
Q7 : To what do you most attribute your success?
Ans : I attribute my success to working smarter instead of harder.
Q8 : How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
Ans : We market through the internet, Fitness publications & trade shows
Q9 : Where did your organizations funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
Ans : Funded it myself.
Q10 : What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
Ans : The key to long term success is innovation. Innovation will give your business an advantage in competing markets and provides a better connection to developing markets, which will lead to more growth. Innovation can also help develop original concepts while giving the innovator a proactive, confident attitude to take risks and get things done.
Q11 : Where you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
Ans : I expect Mazuk Technologies to make a huge impact on the fitness audio industry. We will be helping countless Fitness Instructors to keep their vocal cords healthy.
Q12 : Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
Ans : A business I admire other than my own is Oswego Industries. Oswego Industries is a private, non-profit organization that provides programs and services to adults with disabilities. The services they provide are remarkable.
Recommended Questions –
Q1 : How important have good employees been to your success?
Ans : Having good employees can either make or break your business. We treat our employees as partners opposed to employees. Every employee is involved in any large decision being made at Mazuk Technologies. They have a true ownership and are always willing to go above and beyond to meet a deadline or even just to get a customer their order a day earlier.
Q2 : How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?
Ans : It’s time to give up on an idea when there is no positive progress & no problems have been solved.
Q3 : What motivates you?
Ans : Our company is motivated by the consistent positive feedback from our customers. Nothing gives us more joy than a note or an e-mail from a client telling us that we exceeded their every expectation.
Q5 : How do you generate new ideas?
Ans : We tend to generate new ideas from trade shows, not only trade shows in our industry but many different industries. We are always asking ourselves how can we make that work for our customer or do our customers have a need for that.
Q6 : How do you define success?
Ans : I define success by being able to look forward to going into work in the morning. ser
Q7 : How do you build a successful customer base?
Ans : Offer your customers a quality product at a fair price. Offer the best service in your market. Be willing to go the extra mile to please your customers.
Q8 : What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Ans : The pride I have in saying I designed that, I built that & I sell that high quality product.
Q9 : What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Ans : Our most satisfying moment is our recent expansion. We have tripled our inventory and built a new factory.
Q10 : What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
Ans : The major difference is that when you are an entrepreneur you will feel stress over everything even if it’s not in your control. When you work for someone else you never feel personally responsible for things that are not in your control.
Q11 : What kind of culture exists in your organization? How did you establish this tone and why did you institute this particular type of culture?
Ans : Our organization has a very family style culture. All our employees get along great and even spend time outside of work with each other. We try to establish a stress-free environment by encouraging our employees to take frequent and long breaks. There are plenty of activities to do at Mazuk Technologies including billiards, swimming pool, and of course the weekly Jart/Lawn Dart tournament.
Q12 : In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.
Ans : Rewarding
Optional Questions –
Q1 : How did you decide on the location for your business?
Ans : We ship all over the world so our business could have been established anywhere. We chose to be close to our family and friends.
Q2 : Who has been your greatest inspiration?
Ans : My greatest inspiration was my grandfather Philip F Pecora. He instilled in me his strong work ethic and showed me that anything can be accomplished through hard work and perseverance.
Contact Detail :
Company Name : Mazuk Technologies
Address : 535 West 5th St
City : Oswego
State : NY
Zip Code : 13126
Phone : 315-343-1919
E-mail Id : mazuk@twcny.rr.com
Url : fitnessmics.com
