Question: 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.
Answer: Comprehensive Insurance is a full-service agency which focuses on finding the right solutions for each client for individuals & businesses to make sure there assets are properly protected.
Question: Kindly give us a brief description of yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements).
Answer: My name Is John Magno. I grew up in Hawthorne, NJ. I attended Saint Joseph’s Regional High School in Montvale NJ and graduated in 1999. After high school I decided to go to community college because I was working at the time and didn’t want to give up the opportunity. At the age of 19 I became an equity trader at a hedge fund. I had a successful career as a trader which ended in 2018. I learned more about life and how the world worked and was grateful for the opportunity. Within that time, I was able to get involved in real estate investments and rentals. I started to invest slowly after the crash of 2009 and by 2016 I opened a Real Estate Investment firm which focused on the purchase of distressed properties which I still am active in today. In 2017 Nick & I had the idea of opening a Property & Casualty division which would complement is wealth advisory firm. We did research and got licensed. The idea sat for a few years because our lives were busy in our own careers but by the beginning of 2020, we finally pulled the trigger and opened the doors to Comprehensive Insurance Agency in Park Ridge NJ. We started with 0 clients and 1 employee. We have 10 full-time employees now, 6 years later and our business is thriving. We take pride in what we do and love helping each client.
Question: 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?
Answer: My parents are Italian immigrants who taught me to have an incredible work ethic. They both owned their own businesses. My dad had his own tailor shop for almost 40 years in Ridgewood NJ and my mom had an Italian Café in Hawthorne NJ. They have 5 kids and they both worked harder than anyone I ever knew. I met Nick in High School and we became & became great friends and once he graduated college, he went to work with his dad who founded his own business. I guess you can say entrepreneurship is in our blood!
Question: What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
Answer:
- NEVER GIVE UP
- BELIEVE IN YOURSELF
- HAVE PATIENCE w/ YOURSELF
Question: What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
Answer:
- CONFIDENCE
- TRUST IN YOUR OWN DECISION MAKING
- A GOOD VISONARY
Question: How many hours do you work a day on average?
Answer: THERE IS NO LIMIT – I AM TASK & GOAL ORIENTED – NO TIME LIMIT
Question: To what do you most attribute your success?
Answer: MY PARENTS first and foremost and WIFE for the support and raising my wonderful children and creating a great home and world for us
Question: How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
Answer: No marketing – world of mouth only, when you love to help people they will refer you.
Question: Where did your organizations funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
Answer: No outside capital investment was needed. We all had our own capital. The most costly thing invested was and will always be our TIME
Question: What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
Answer: SET A GOAL and don’t stop till you get there
Question: Where you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
Answer: In 5 to 10 years, I definitely see us having at least 2 to 3 locations and our business growing 5 to 10 times its current size
Question: Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
Answer: I admire all companies that started from zero and that had no help. That passion and desire to succeed is something that makes some of the biggest success stories in history.
Recommended Questions –
Question: How important have good employees been to your success?
Answer: ABSOLUTELY ESSESENTIAL
Question: How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?
Answer: NEVER GIVE UP ON AN IDEA I BELIEVE IN
Question: What motivates you?
Answer: PROGRESS
Question: How do you generate new ideas?
Answer: BY TALKING TO PEOPLE & READING
Question: How do you define success?
Answer: BY HOW HEALTHY AN INDIVIDUAL IS PHYSICALLY, MENTALLY, FINANCIALLY, & SOCIALLY
Question: How do you build a successful customer base?
Answer: I ALWAYS ANSWER MY PHONE & AND RESPOND TO A CLIENT’S NEEDS. I TREAT PEOPLE HOW I LIKE TO BE TREATED
Question: What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Answer: FLEXIBILITY OF TIME – DOING WHAT I WANT & NOT BEING TOLD WHAT TO DO. ABILITY TO BUILD A BRAND
Question: What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Answer: HELPING EACH & EVERY CLIENT – BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS NETWORK
Question: What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
Answer: ENTREPRENUERS NEVER STOP WORKING – NO 9-5 NO M – F
Question: What kind of culture exists in your organization? How did you establish this tone and why did you institute this particular type of culture?
Answer: EVERYONE AT COMPREHENSIVE IS LIKE FAMILY
Question: In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.
Answer: COURAGEOUS
Question: If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
Answer: I WOULD OF WENT INTO BUSINESS FOR MYSELF AT AN EARLIER AGE
Question: How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?
Answer: IT HAS BEEN FINANCIALLY REWARDING – SOMETIMES THE EXTRA WORKING HOURS CAN BE CHALLENING
Question: What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?
Answer: MY GREAT FEAR IS FAILURE – I MANAGE IT BY WORKING EACH & EVERY DAY TOWARDS MY SHORT- & LONG-TERM GOALS
Question: How did you decide on the location for your business?
Answer: MY PARTNER NICK OWNED THE BUILDING IN PARK RIDGE & OFFICE SPACE BECAME AVAILABLE
Question: Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?
Answer: YES – PERSISTENCE – NEVER GIVE UP & BELIEVE IN YOURSELF
Question: If you could talk to one person from history, who would it be and why?
Answer: WARREN BUFFETT – BECAUSE HE IS A SIMPLE MAN WITH VALUEABLE PRINICIPAL – VERY GROUNDED INDIVIDUAL FOR HOW MUCH HE HAS ACCOMPLISHED
Question: Who has been your greatest inspiration?
Answer: MY PARENTS
Question: What book has inspired you the most? (OR what is your favorite book?)
Answer: NOT A BIG READER – BUT A PLAN TO BE ONE DAY
Question: What are some of the biggest mistakes you’ve made?
Answer: HANGING OUT WITH THE WRONG PEOPLE
Question: How can you prevent mistakes or do damage control?
Answer: HAVING BETTER JUDGEMENT – UNDERSTANDING WHO YOU ARE & YOUR SURROUNDINGS – ALWAYS HAVE TO HAVE GOALS IN LIFE & HANG OUT WITH PEOPLE THAT ARE LIKE MINDED
Question: What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
Answer: SPENDING TIME WITH MY FAMILY- GOLFING – FISHING – GOING OUT TO DINNER – TRAVELING
Question: What makes you happy?
Answer: MAKING & SEEING MY FAMILY HAPPY
Question: What sacrifices have you had to make to be a successful entrepreneur?
Answer: MY BIGGEST SACRIFICE IN MY LIFE IS THE TIME I PUT INTO MY WORK
Question: If you were conducting this interview, what question would you ask?