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CEOs carry numerous weight. They manage businesses, people, expectations of stakeholders, and so way more. What makes these people tick and what does it take to achieve success on this role? That’s what I’m on a mission to seek out out with The CEO Series. I’m heading to the workplaces of inspiring business leaders to learn their personal stories and gain insights into their methods for getting the perfect out of their employees and themselves.
Related: Avoid These 3 Key Mistakes for Team Success in 2024
On this episode, I visited Sean Riley, CEO of Dude Wipes. It’s a extremely fun brand that has outrageous marketing, but they aren’t any joke. They’re projecting to do over $120 million in sales, they usually are disrupting your complete toilet paper industry. Here are some key takeaways from that conversation. Watch the video above to listen to every thing Sean needed to say in regards to the dynamic growth of the powerhouse company.
On entering into the role of a CEO
“Well, the very first thing I did was change my title. I call myself the Chief Executive Dude because that is more fun and that is more who I’m. And that is what Dude Wipes is alleged to be. Just since you’re a CEO does not imply you may’t be yourself.”
The surprising truth you learn as a CEO
“You need to form of transition to doing less and being there more for people in a supportive way. You need to learn to let things go once you grow to be a CEO, which perhaps people do not realize. They think, ‘Oh, the CEO does it all of the stuff. Things keep piling up on their desk they usually’ve got to do that, this and that.’ But that is not what you would like to do because the CEO. You wish to have great people around you and have them grow and encourage them to do well. Think of Phil Jackson’s journey. You’re not taking the last shot on the court anymore. You’re not the star player. You’re stepping off the court attempting to be the Zen Master. You’re attempting to ensure that every one of the things in all of the several parts of your small business work well together.”
Origin story
“Our origin story is a fun and authentic one which I feel numerous people can relate to. It was me and my buddies sitting around, wanting to provide you with a fantastic business idea. And I put these baby wipes within the apartment and everybody began getting hooked on them. They were so a lot better than toilet paper and we began to wonder Why doesn’t something like this exist? From there it was all about determining tips on how to construct a brand that represented who we were on the time. Guys sitting on a couch, eating burritos, drinking beers, Googling every thing. making phone calls. Who could make these wipes? How do I incorporate an organization? It was nearly knocking out one thing after one other.”
On the important thing to success
“We made $150,000 our first 12 months, which sort of blew our minds. But it was the emotional reactions we saw from people very early on that gave us more confidence than probably the revenue. When Dude Wipes got into people’s hands, they laughed or they passed them to other people. Making people laugh, and getting them talking was a high that kept pushing us. That belief that this can connect with people is every thing. You need to imagine day one this shall be big. If you do not, you will not make it to a few of these breakout moments like after we got on Shark Tank. We saw that customers liked it, so we believed we could do all these insane things and disrupt an enormous toilet paper industry.”
Hear more from Sean about running an organization with a really unique culture within the above video. And try more profiles of revolutionary and impactful leaders by visiting The CEO Series archives.
