Adam Lawrence, Co-Founder of ClearHat , Turned Reading into a Bedtime Ritual
Adam Lawrence is the co-founder of ClearHat, a company that provides digital marketing courses for entrepreneurs who want to grow their businesses.
In his early twenties, while bartending in LA, Adam started to take internet marketing side projects, in order to be able to support himself.
Year later, after his own set of failures, tons of pitches that led him nowhere, and even living in the back of his car for a month, Adam started two successful marketing firms: The Baker Brook Group, a brand marketing agency, and RedTundra, a PPC ad firm.
He later met Shaan Patel, a Shark Tank entrepreneur, and begin working together. Adam and Shaan used digital marketing to gain new customers and grow their revenue to millions, and now they teach others their step-by-step marketing blueprint.
Earlier this year, they launched ClearHat, where they offer premium video courses on 10 marketing topics: Content Marketing, Public Relations & Media, Product Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Guerrilla Marketing, Conversion Optimization, Facebook Ads, Google AdWords, Lead Generation, Webinar Marketing.
The name of their company, “Clear Hat”, is a reference to Black Hat – the term used to define shady SEO practices that might get overnight results, while also leading to a ban from search engine’s results altogether, because of violating their terms.
Keep on reading and you’ll find out what books helped Adam change the way he thinks about business, common mistakes made by entrepreneurs, and what skills he’d recommend to young marketers to focus on.
What’s your favorite book and why? Business and non-business, if possible.
Business: Rework. It is a bible for entrepreneurs in the digital age.
Non-Business: To Kill A Mockingbird. It’s just the best.
Others: Eleven Rings by Phil Jackson, How Good Do You Want To Be by Nick Saban, Purple Cow by Seth Godin.
Was there a moment, specifically, when something you read in a book helped you? Can you tell me about it?
Rework. I realized that I wasn’t going to be Peter Thiel or Elon Musk and that I needed to change the way I think about business.
What books would you recommend to young people interested in your career path? Why? (no number limit here)
Rework for the examples given above.
I’m interested in finding out more about your reading habits. How often do you read? What format do you prefer?
I have never read a book on a tablet or any device. I like holding the book and making a place for it on my bookshelves.
How do you make time for reading?
I hate reading. I always have. Except for Harry Potter and To Kill A Mockingbird, which I’ve read dozens of times. So I have to force myself to do it.
My good fortune in this area came when I realized that reading was the only thing I could do before bed to help me fall asleep relatively quickly. I’ve always had a hard time falling asleep. So my pre-bed ritual always consists of reading for 30 minutes a night.
How do you choose what books to read next?
Amazon reviews! Very helpful.
Do you prioritize the books recommended by certain people? Is there anyone that you consider a book-recommendations guru?
I used to, but then I realized that author’s books are also like movies; just because someone has written/produced a good one is by no means a guarantee that the next one will be good or valuable. That said, I will read anything Jim Collins puts out.
What book are you currently reading and what are you expecting to gain from it?
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. Looking to gain: perspective.
There are always new tools and techniques trending in digital marketing – from growth hacking to influencer marketing, native advertising and so on. However, the principles remain the same. What skills would you recommend a young marketer to focus on? How to stay on top of their game?
Businesses have one goal: increase the bottom line. Help business owners do that and you’ll be fine. Consumers are much more complicated, but finding out what demographics want is a great start.
Even though most people are aware that “overnight success usually takes 10 years”, they are still looking for shortcuts and “latest hacks”. What are the common mistakes made by entrepreneurs?
Thinking your product/service is special and that people “should” want to buy it. No one should want to buy anything.
Links where you can follow Adam Lawrence or find out more about his projects:
- Clear Hat Marketing
- Adam’s LinkedIn account
- Forbes: “Shark Tank Prep Course Winner Launches Another Startup: 10 New Courses For Entrepreneurs“
- Inc: “How 2 Entrepreneurs Went From Living in a Car to Building a $10 Million Business“
- Reddit AMA: “I’m Adam Lawrence, A Serial Entrepreneur Who Just Launched His Third Digital Marketing Business – AMA!“
All books mentioned by Adam Lawrence in this interview:
- Rework by Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success by Phil Jackson
- How Good Do You Want to Be?: A Champion’s Tips on How to Lead and Succeed at Work and in Life by Nick Saban, Brian Curtis
- Purple Cow by Seth Godin
- Harry Potter Box Set by J.K. Rowling