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Corey Blake is a husband, father, and digital entrepreneur. Corey is the President and Partner at MWI, a global digital marketing agency that dedicates itself to helping great client partners thrive in their respective industries online. MWI is a multi-million dollar international agency with offices in the US, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen, China. As President at MWI, Corey oversees all culture, business development, internal growth, and expansion of MWI’s mission to new areas around the globe. Corey’s passion for high quality communication, proactive hustle, and personal growth has helped him lead MWI to what it is today.
Corey is a husband to his beautiful wife Bridgette, and father to his two sons Jensen and Lewis. Of all the joys he finds in his work life, nothing makes him happier than the time he spends with his beautiful family as they explore and grow together.
City: Military Brat… “From” South Carolina, Utah, Japan, and Germany.
Hobbies: Sports (or anything competitive:)), Longboarding, Reading, The Beach (I currently live on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii:))
Favorite quote: “When you go somewhere, be there.”
Twitter: @jcoreyblake
Hey Corey, very nice having you on the site. Why did you decide to become an entrepreneur?
I’ve never been able to stomach “regular jobs.” I worked in the Costco meat department right after high school, and knew that whatever I did with my life, it wasn’t going to be working for “the man”. Whether it was selling Pokemon cards in my backyard as a 10 year old, or selling everything from Dish Network to custom art door to door as a teenager, I’ve always had entrepreneurship and salesmanship in my blood.
Who were your biggest influences? Was there a defining moment in your life?
My Father raised me and my 3 siblings by himself from the time I was 5. He served in the Air Force for 22 years, was stationed everywhere from Alaska to Kosovo, and somehow we all turned out alright:). His consistency, dedication to the task at hand, get it done attitude, and hustle in everything he does has influenced me greatly.
There have been a lot of “defining moments” for me, but as an entrepreneur I would say that it was the first time I felt the rush of closing a deal as I sold a Charizard that I got in a $2 pack of Pokemon cards, for $30 in the mid 90’s.
What are you working on? How did you come up with this idea?
I’m working on building an amazing digital marketing agency, MWI. We’ve got offices in the US, Hong Kong, and Shenzen China, and we are working our tails off to build the best offering for our client partners, and best company culture that we can. My partner, Josh Steimle, and I crossed paths about 4 years ago when he asked for my help with some sales consulting. We realized the power of our partnership pretty quickly, and have been building the company ever since.
What makes MWI stand out? What has been your favorite moment with it? What’s the vision?
There are a lot of digital marketing companies out there, and we pride ourselves in only working with clients that we truly feel we can help succeed. We are not in the business of taking a company’s money for the sake of taking their money and adding to our bottom line. We truly want to help businesses we are passionate about, grow. That abundance mentality and attitude separate us from the masses.
My favorite moments at MWI are always those where I see our team members grow and progress; not just professionally as a result of being a part of MWI, but also in their personal lives with their own goals and ambitions. For me, it’s all about the people, and seeing our people be fulfilled makes all the sleepless nights worth it.
Our vision is Global Domination:) We look forward to expanding our brand and offering globally over time, making our amazing offering available to client partners, and top talent looking for an awesome place to work, everywhere.
If you do Facebook ads, what types of creatives/campaigns do you use (we like specifics)? If you don’t, what untapped marketing channels do you take advantage of?
We’ve dabbled in FB ads for ourselves, but we don’t do much. We drive our traffic and sales through thought leadership, digital PR, and influencer marketing.
Did you experience failure along the way? What did you learn from it?
My biggest failures at MWI have involved making poor hiring decisions. Hiring out of necessity and urgency, instead of taking the time to find the right fit. Bad hires cost a lot in time and money, and we all know how valuable time and money are. We’ve modified our hiring process over the years, and are in a great place with vetting our talent to ensure great culture, character, and competence in all of our people.
Value-add questions
Give the readers the best entrepreneurship advice you have.
Always give at least 51% in all of your relationships, and provide real value to everyone you work with; whether it be employees, clients, etc. If you are able to provide real value, and you’ve got the work ethic to back that value up, good things will happen.
Teach us something about sales.
The sales process has to fueled by three things: validity, value, and urgency. Potential clients need to be able to validate your company and offering (case studies, good PR, testimonials, etc.), see the value that you can offer them, and understand why they need to work with you, or buy your product today instead of tomorrow.
What should an entrepreneur focus on?
Providing real value to it’s users/clients.
What are some of your favorite books?
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, #AskGaryVee, Man’s Search For Meaning, and…. The Giver.
Where do you see yourself and your product in a couple years?
I see myself still running MWI, with a global sales force and still amazing, just larger, team of employees. A few more offices open and pumping on all cylinders, working with client partners that we love and whose success we are passionate about. I also see myself as more of a thought leader in the Bizdev/Sales space, spreading the good word of how great communication coupled with specific strategy can lead to huge growth and success for all companies that can provide true value to the world.
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