E26: Be Yourself by Building a Business That Gives You The Lifestyle You Desire with Mike Moore

Jim: What is up Remote Start Nation? Let's get something started. I'm Jim Doyon and I wanna welcome you to another episode of Remote Start, where I bring you stories and strategies on how to start a business, build a brand, and create your desired lifestyle. Remote Start Nation, if you are in the process of growing your brand and taking it to the next level, I feel this episode's really gonna resonate with you. But on the other side, if you're just starting or thinking about starting a business, it's very important to take a step back and think about what you want in life personally, how you want your business to tie in to your personal life and your lifestyle with your family, would you? And as you grow, it's important to stay true to your values and what you want to do for your personal life.

In this episode, we're going to go over building a business that fits with your desired lifestyle. In addition to that, we're going to be covering how your business success comes down to building a successful relationship with your partners, other people in your industry and the community you're in as a whole. And in order to do that, I brought on someone special that I've been friends with for almost 15 years, someone I've always admired as being a great connector who is truly out there living his life to the fullest. Mike is partners in Ironclad Tattoo Studio, they're located in Detroit, Michigan. He's built a great business and personally carved out a name for himself as a top carer in the industry. He's also an ambassador for a lot of other brands and has built a successful business on some core principles that Mike's going to share with us today. Remote Start Nation, without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to my good friend, Mike Moore. Mike, welcome to Remote Start Nation brother.

Mike: Hey, what's up Jim? Thanks for having me, buddy.

Jim: Oh, dude. I'm so excited we finally get to do this episode. I know we've been talking about it for a long time. It's just hard to fit something in when you're traveling the world every week, bud.

Mike: Spent a lot of time coming, man, but we gotta lock down finally.

Jim: That's awesome, that's awesome. Well, thank you so much and I know the Remote Start Nation is gonna be stoked on this episode as well. Mike, let's start this off. What's one thing someone wouldn't know about you if they had just met you?

Mike: One thing they ever know is that I am a lot nicer than I look and, no, I always just wanna have a good time, but I also wanna make sure that everybody around me is, is happy and enjoying themselves as well.

Jim: Dude, that's so true. And that's, from the first time I met you, it was like, you know, you could be intimidating and you know, look that way, but as soon as you talk to you, it's like, Oh, this guy is awesome.

Mike: People just, you know, I could look all like tough guy, whatever, and as soon as I smile or talk anything, they're like, Oh no, that this guy's super, super nice.

Jim: Yeah, a hundred percent. So do, what's the most important principle you run your business on?

Mike: I mean, the one thing that it's really hard to try to find that line, but like I always talk about my crew as being my coworkers more than my employees. So the one thing is though, is I always be like, you know, people are like, Oh, these are my coworkers, or, you know, my, you know, my tattoo or this and this, but trying to end up, you know, being a coworker, but also being a boss as well and it's a really weird line to try to juggle between.

Jim: So does that relate to your personal life at all, or is your personal life and your business separate in that principle?

Mike: Generally, my personal life and my business life is pretty separate, you know, like as much as I really care about every single person that I work with, you know, usually like, as far as how my lifestyle and how my things are, and how my business one is too, like I, there is a slight overlap, but I do generally kind of keep them separate and it's not for any reason specifically, but it's just more or less that that's just, it seems to work out pretty good that way, but I do have individual relationships with everybody that works with us, and then I, you know, then collectively we have our, a very healthy work relationship too.

Jim: So, you know, talking about your personal life and kind of sit on the intro and, you know, you're honestly, you're one of the happiest people I know, you're one of the most outgoing people I know, and you know, every time I've been out with you make a point of connecting others and making people just feel loved and welcome to the scenario, you know? Do you feel that that's helped you grow your business?

Mike: Oh a hundred percent, because somehow you just end up, you know, inter meeting somebody, introducing somebody else, but then somehow you just get around to meeting somebody, that ends up being, either another tattoo or that end up working for me, somebody that end up doing guest spot, you know, a big, venue or platform for that is the tattoo can mentions as you know, because you've worked a million of them, but you end up just crossing past and then it could just be something where we met up at a booth, and then you're like, Oh, you know, here's this person and then, or you're at the bar, you know, during the Tattoo convention and you meet somebody and the next thing you know, you end up having a business relationship with them for a really, really long time. So it's one of those things where it's a missed opportunity if you aren't a friendly person and you don't end up just saying hi to somebody or just, you know, give a couple seconds of your time just to listen to somebody else.

Jim: I agree with you so much and you're right, like being out on the road, like as a business, you know, being involved in your community, I think is one of the most important things you can do. And if you're out there and you're taking the time to be involved and you know, for you and I, when we met back in the day, it was, and you, for you still, it's the tattoo industry and doing the tattoo conventions and being involved in those, you get to learn so much about your audience, about your customer, about the influencers in your space, about the people that you wanna do business with, to your point, and to your personality, which I feel has been such a success for you, is that you don't miss out on an opportunity to make a connection. And that's either one on one with somebody or if someone comes into the circle that you're talking to, you stop and you make sure to introduce them immediately and you know, you talk about everybody at on such a high level that it's like automatically they have such a head start with whoever you're introducing them to ,you know, and that's such an incredible quality and I definitely respect you for that.

Mike: Well, a lot of it too is, you know, proper manners too, you know, like, you know, on top of it being like a whole, you know, business standpoint and a social standpoint, but also just respect for, you know, making sure, like if you're talking in a group of people, your back's not to somebody, whether it's blocking them out, you know, you gotta open up the circle and, you know, just keep the flow and keep everybody involved and you know, whether, you know their, whatever involvement, level of involvement of you know, social aspect that they wanna be, if they just wanna be a listener and stuff's cool, if they wanna be, you know, super engaging in the conversation, cool but, you know, it's, you can't just assume that somebody doesn't wanna be involved, so just say hi to everybody.

Jim: That's great input, Mike, and, you know, Remote Start Nation, I hope you take a step back and listen to that again and I don't care if you're in the tech space, I don't care if you have a startup, I don't care if it's, you know, if you are in the tattoo industry, like Mike, it applies to anything you do and understanding people, getting out, making the connection, being outgoing, and truly making people feel welcome, Like that's the underlining part of it, right? Like you said, it's manners, it's making them feel welcome, it's understanding their social cues to see, you know, whether they're comfortable being the lead in the conversation or sitting back and yeah, you've done a great job with that. Remote Start Nation, I hope you really take that value that Mike just dropped and run with it. Mike, what's the biggest challenge that you face today in owning and running a business in your industry?

Mike: I think a lot of it is as far as like, you know, I've been piercing for 18 years, I've had my own business like at Ironclad for 10 years this year, but like when you end up starting it up, everything seemed a lot easier. But like, you know, the further you end up getting in and the older that you get, you realize that, you know, everything's evolved and it changes so trying to end up changing how you run your business to fit the times, you know, like, tattoo shops aren't just, you know, rough around the edges, kind of shops like, you know, there's studios that are more boutique, there's still, traditional tattoo shops where, you know, it's a little bit rough around the edges, but it's still, everybody's very respectful and stuff too, but like trying to end up evolving with everything else to make sure that I'm not leaving anybody out and then everything smooth, really, because as far as like me with being a piercer, I'm 39 years old and I gotta pick out what an 18 year old person would like in their naval you know, like it's really hard to like try, you know, sticking with the fashions and with the times and paying attention to what people actually really want and then how I can actually like, provide that as a service, you know. And then especially right now with, turnaround times and all that stuff too, like trying to balance out, having inventory and all that stuff, and then by the time certain inventory gets here, maybe some fashion or trend changed, so I was trying to stay ahead of it, that's probably the biggest one right now, and it's mainly on the piercing side of things, the tattooer side of things, it ends up seeing a little more smoothly on my end as a business owner, but obviously, The TED tour themselves have their own, you know, thing that they have to keep up on and, you know, making sure that they're doing a good job.

Jim: So that's, yeah, that's good input. How'd you get in an industry?

Mike: So generally, I mean, I grew up in a biker family, so my grandpa was the president of a biker club. So I grew up around, you know, all my friends' dads, you know, getting tattooed in their kitchen, you know, no shirts on, doing the whiskey thing, and you're just kinda like, you know, this little dude walking through, well then I kind of, you know, got interested in the tattooing things and piercing and all that stuff, so I started getting tattooed and pierced myself, but then, when I was in college, I was just like, you know what? This seems like something I could be interested in. So then I was fortunate enough to be in the middle core scene, I was a college student and I also worked at Dejavu Strip Club, so I had three different, you know, groups of people that I had influences from, but also would let me practice on them. So incidentally enough, you know, someone that I pierced probably, you know, before I was actually a piercer, talked to a shop and then they go, Hey, we need a piercer, and then I started working there and It wasn't an ideal situation, so when I quit, I end up finding somebody that end up wanting to start a business and then I am starting piercing there and then that's how I actually started piercing as a job and then I ended up quitting the strip club industry and quit college, and then I just, I ran with it no matter what my parents or anybody said I should or shouldn't do, and it seemed to work out.

Jim: Did you get a lot of bad feedback like right away, like people thinking you should be in a different industry and doing something different with yourself?

Mike: Well, generally what it was is mainly from like family, you know, like the, you know, everybody always thinks that if you're gonna take a route that is not the traditional, you know, go to college, go work at GM or anything like that, like you need to take the safe, you know, safe route like everybody else did. And I was like, dude, I'm like, I don't, you know, I liked having fun, I liked wearing what I wanted to wear. you know, I just really, really felt strongly that I was gonna do a good job at it, that no matter what, I end up sticking with it. And no matter what ended up popping up, I just kept running with it and tried finding the fun out of it. So even with different jewelry companies, you know, I was a rep for some jewelry companies where I got to travel the country and I was gonna shop to shop and then every single city was, you know, a new face, a new person, I'm either meeting for the first time or I've met before, and then you go out and you have dinner and all that stuff, you have a good time, you end up working business, you wake up the next day, you're on the road, you go to the next spot. And it was, it was awesome. So like, yeah. Kind of hard for me to end up wanting, listen to anybody else when they don't look happy with their nine to five, and I'm having a great time with doing what I'm doing, so it's kind of just made sense for me just to stay with it.

Jim: So you knew back then that this industry, you know, being a piercer, owning a tattoo studio that could afford you your lifestyle that you wanted to live.

Mike: Totally. And then the one thing that did help too is the fact that like I was doing well enough where I was at, but then I ended up getting, I knew I could do better and so I ended up getting a job offer for a really big company and that's funny because before I even got there, like, you're gonna work three days a week and I'm like, I don't know how I'm gonna live off three days a week. So I ended up getting a second job working at like Urban Outfitters, and then after my first week I quit Urban Outfitters, I'm like, I'm making more than three days , you know, at the other shop I was at and then I end up taking over the whole piercing side of that shop, you know? And so it's just one of those things where like, you know, it depends on where you're at, and it depends on like your demographic of people, it depends on the quality of the service that you're providing and that end up making a huge difference on me evolving and staying with it.

Jim: So let's go back in time to, you know, now you've worked as a peer surf for multiple different companies, you've seen multiple different companies in the industry and how they've been ran, you know, talk to me about some of the things that you saw and experience that made you understand like, Hey, I want to do my own thing, like, what was that transition like? You know, did you just one day say, Hey, I'm gonna start my own business or, you know, was it a long thought, you know, drawn out thought process and planning on getting to where you're at.

Mike: Well the one thing it was, it was huge because obviously with the industry as a whole, you know, tattooers of the general main focus, I mean, piercing was always like a, like, you know, on the back burner, and yeah, the one thing was always, I never thought I was a back burner kind of person, so I always wanted to like work hard and like kind of like push everything forward and try to like do the best I can and even with my old shop, you know, when you feel like that you're the only one trying, like, you know, making sure everything's clean, all that stuff, and you're like, you're trying to run everything and you don't have the help from your fellow, you know, coworkers or the fellow tattooers or anything like this, and I was like, you know what, like this got to the point where I'm like, I felt like I was just babysitting and I was doing all this work for with no help, so I end up just talking to my one business partner, Keith, and he's a tattooer, he's been tattooing for like 25, 30 years, and at the time it was 10 years, you know, less than that but I was like, Dude, we need to get the fuck outta here. I'm like, you have, you know, we're like polar opposites, you know, he was like grumpy and very like, you know, cynical and then like over optimistic and super happy and then we balanced each other out so well that literally we've never had one single argument in the entire time we've had a business, arrangement, like he'd bring me down a notch, I'd bring him up. Now I'm like a little more cranky, and he's like super, like nice, and it's like over the years, love each but it just ended up working and it made sense. And then with what I knew and I had to bring to the industry as far as my perspective, and then with him and his knowledge, it just end up working out and it made the most sense for us to do our own thing.

Jim: That's awesome. So what was, so going back 10 years, you guys have this conversation, you decide you're gonna go and open your own thing, you know? Is there anything you change from how you did things or you know, now fast forwarding to 10 years of being in business, is there anything that you would've done differently in the start?

Mike: Well, it's kind of hard to even say that because, say, what would have changed. Because like, the things I didn't like in the future were things I wouldn't have changed at the start, so, you know, like we end up, you know, bringing in a really well known tattoo and we knew that our foundation of getting reputation or getting other tattoos versus to have this one person and so this one person in which end up bringing in, you know, Matt Landon, you know, and like that was a huge deal because like we saw this person and then, you know, we were like, dude, this dude has super like potential and like he's gonna kill it. And then with getting the one tattoo, we end up bringing him in and then end up bringing, it was like every single person we end up bringing in, brought in the next person, you know, and then end up growing from there. So, you know, even if we were to say like, you know, I would've done something different like that, the chain of events might not have been the same as it is now. So, I'm totally, you know, there's obviously some, you know, bumps and bruises on the way, but I wouldn't really change anything because you know, who knows what it would be right now if I did.

Jim: And for yourself personally, I mean, you've always been someone that's traveled and you know, this episode is about, you know, understanding yourself and the lifestyle you wanna live before, you know, starting a business or if you are in a business and you're working long hours and like you said from previous experience with businesses you worked for, that people weren't happy, they weren't living their life to their fullest, they were, you know, doing things that, you know, they're tied down and you hear about all the time with business owners that are so involved in what they're doing that they forget about themselves. Is there, I mean I think part of your success, and correct me if I'm wrong, but you've held true to your belief of you know, being yourself this whole time.

Mike: A hundred percent. And then the thing is though, is it's, that's the only thing I know I can do a hundred percent all the time, is just be me, and then, you know, me as a person, you know, reflects, I mean, and obviously it's a gift and a curse sometimes too, because, you know, you wanna end up making sure that everybody's happy and all that stuff too, but you also still have to be a boss, so like that whole, like me just trying to be nice and be friendly and all that stuff too, like, you know, you know, the kindness can be mistaken for weakness thing is, you know, is a real thing but you know, I still never let that overshadow just me being me, you know, just trying to be a good person and make sure I do the best I can for the staff and for myself.

Jim: Now, would that, would that personal and business relationship with your staff, is there any advice that you can give the Remote Start Nation that like is something that's helped you, because I'm sure it was a lot harder when you first started to have that, you know, friend boss relationship than you do now, I'm sure you figured it out by now.

Mike: Well, the lot of it I think is you know, just addressing everybody individually and just asking them how they're doing, you know, like the thing is though is you can really people can have your, their whole inner conversation with themselves of like, Oh, this person's probably acting like this, and then you just kind of just assume this whole situation when you can just ask the person and be like, Hey, how are you doing? How's everything going? And you know, and then find out from there. And then maybe they just need to end up just getting someone off their chest, maybe thought, you know, one thing was an issue, but it was a whole different thing. And then you could just address it individually, but just being a friend to these people, first too sometimes helps a lot, you know?

Jim: Yeah. So let's talk about Ironclad for a minute. What the goal for ironclad looking in the future and even talk about how you've evolved over the years?

Mike: Well, generally the goal is right now is it's the same as it actually always been, you know, it's just making sure we keep the tattooers and the piercers and staff that we have happy, you know, obviously, you know, people evolve and grow and stuff as I did too, so like times that any of the other tattoos were like, you know what, it's time for me to move on, I've, we've all been nothing but supportive of them, you know, like we want everybody to thrive and do well, we also want to have a business to run, so we obviously wanna keep people there, you know but a lot of it's just making sure that we have, you know, a good environment that everybody's happy and comfortable in. So if that involves us changing the whole interior, repainting, all this other stuff, you know if somebody wants something, we just make sure we do the best that we can do it because it's their workspace too, you know? So, if we make everybody else happy and comfortable in their space, then it's gonna end up being a better environment for our clients to come into as well. So, and then plus it's kind of cool too, when you have clients that's been coming to you for 10 years and they're like, Oh, you guys redecorate again, oh, I like this. you know, and it gives fresh outlook on that too. But then, you know, even with the tattooers end up going and then we end up bringing in new people, it also ends up giving, you know, our returning clientele like, you know, fresh artists to link up with in an atmosphere that they've already been comfortable with and they wanna stick with too. So, you know, sticking with the formula that we've always have is something that we're just gonna keep doing until it doesn't work, which it seems to be working.

Jim: We're sticking, do you see room for expansion in the industry and in your area with ironclad or you feel like just the one location and what you guys are doing is where you want to be.

Mike: Well, we've had two different times where we're gonna expand and then it just didn't seem right, and so we just bailed on it. And, you know, the first time we were gonna end up doing a second location, but then right before we were starting to sign everything, you know, our crew was like, we don't wanna separate, we wanna stay together, and so we're like, well, why would we end up making everybody move away from each other when they wanna work together and so we just bailed on it and then we thought we needed more space, like within, like last year and then, you know, one of our really good tattooers, Maise Hill, was like, you know, hey, before you end the signing this, I wanna let you know that, you know, I'm gonna, I'm gonna end up moving on and relocating, we're like, oh, thank you for letting us know, but you know, like, now, you know we can end, we're using that space and we just kind of end up demoing some walls down, we reconfigured the inside, you know, layout of the shop, and then we end up making it to where whatever space we thought we needed, we didn't end up needing anymore. So, you know we're fine with the one spot right now, and we just keep everybody together, and it doesn't, I won't have to feel so disconnected where I'm like, pushing time in between two different places and it could just focus on like the people that we have now, because it's enough, you know, like sometimes just knowing that you have what you want and what you need as opposed to just keep trying to strive for more and more and more and making it to where it's a lot more work, but a lot less fun and a lot more stressful and all that stuff too when I'm happy with how it is right now.

Jim: When it goes back to your values personally, right? Like right, you want to go out and you wanna have a good time and you wanna travel and you want do the things that you love doing in life, and a lot of times, like you said, like you know, the grass isn't always greener, it's, you're gonna put all this extra stress and you know, I'll, even just by listening to here, I could tell that going back and having that relationship with your employee, Like that helped to see you a lot of stress and a lot of headache and, cause if I can tell you right now, just even talking to other shop owners where they do a big build out or they open a second location and then all of a sudden their team lets them know after all of that's done because they don't have that same type of relationship that you do.

Mike: Yeah. And it's helped out a lot too, because then it just boils down to showing that they have as much respect for me as I do for them, you know? And it's a good feeling too, and I don't wanna end up, you know, jeopardizing that, you know?

Jim: Definitely. So, let's talk about community for a second. I mean, a big part of the success of Ironclad is, you know, you talked about your relationship with your business partner, you talked about your relationship with your team there, your team that works with you, the other tattoo artists and piercers, you know, let's talk about the, just the industry and the relationship with other industry people as well as just the community as a whole and what you've done there to help the success of your company?

Mike: Well, and when it all boils down to all of it, it actually all has boiled around or works around fun, you know, somehow, one way or another, so like if I'm out going to a show, you know, I'd end up meeting, you know, some people and then we just ended chatting and chatting and then, you know, it could end up being drawing business, you know, new business to me, but it end up, you know, cross promoting other businesses and other brands and all that stuff room, so a lot of like long time friends including you, Joe Gal, Chad, like with, all our separate businesses, bands and all that stuff, we all started off, at a certain level and we've all grown with each other by like cross promoting each other, end up doing you, like wearing each other's shirts, pumping each other up, reposting things on social media, doing photo shoots for each other and it's like, it was just a huge melting pot between all of our businesses, all of our brands restaurants and bars and all that stuff too and it just we're fortunate enough that like, you know, in the community we're in here, that we were all able to thrive with each other, but then we all branched out in our own ways across the country and world too, so I always thought that that was really, really cool and that, you know, you can have fun, but also still, you know, run a business and help each other grow too.

Jim: That's so true. It's about, it's bigger than yourself, right? It's about getting out there and helping others first and you know, not trying. If you look at things with how can they help me? It's not gonna work, it might work for a short, short term, but it's about that, you know, like you said, that relationships and building that community, it's funny you brought up Chad, like, and you know Chad, great band from Detroit Wilson, awesome band, we sponsored him for years, we were always great friends. Chad and I is, Him and I have been con connecting lately, and he's gonna start working in the Woodward movement building, you know, it's like an office space, you know, just let him have a space there and you know, he's already connecting, you know, that's what other people that are interested, and you never realize, like, this goes back to what we said in the very beginning of going out and you, inviting people into your circle when you're, when you're out and networking and establishing these relationships, like, you never know what's gonna come of it. And so if you go out and you're an asshole and you're not friendly and you don't make people feel welcome. A lot of that's, you're not gonna get any of that. And so here we are, 15 years later from when we met, you know? 10 to 15 years later, and we're still good friends. Chad, I just brought him up, you brought him up. Like it's cool how all of this is just goes full circle and you know, it all starts with being outgoing and networking and being part of your community.

Mike: A hundred percent. I mean, it literally like a lot of the stuff that I've got to do really fun, like, you know, couldn't say enough all the people that I just named in that little group of like us starting off in our little bubble and stuff like the one Wilson Music video, like it was probably one of the most fun days ever, and it's like, you know, I'm wearing all like ink addict stuff and then, you know, and then it's Chad's music video and then me and Joe, were in it and then all our friends and it's like all it was like a melting pot of all of the people that we're all growing together, all in like one like little all day fun music festival or music video, and I would like, that was one of my most fun memories of just like, of all the things that I can think of I'm like, dude, that music video of day was really, really fun. You know? But it's just literally like everybody having a good time and just good people helping good people, and then, just because you can have fun at your job, you know, doesn't, you know, discredit the quality of your job, it's not our fault that we can be around awesome people and have fun, still and have a successful business, you know, trying to find that that's something that you're interested in and you actually like, wanna end up having fun responsibly and you know, and be still re respectful in your industry, you just gotta just surround yourself with really, really good people and just see where it goes.

Jim: That surrounding yourself with good people is such a, people talk about it, you'll read lot of books about it, people post about it, but I don't think enough people do it. I think people get lazy on bringing people in around them and they're excited of any relationship or, you know, any new employee and I think, a lot of times it hurts you more than it helps, it's so important from the beginning to find the people that you feel comfortable with that can help you grow as you help them grow.

Mike: Well, that's what you were saying back what you were saying earlier too, as far as like looking out, not what you know everybody can do for you, but just going out what like you wanna do with everybody else and people end up trying to end up, if they're trying to surround themselves with good people, it's like they're trying to force it too. And then the one thing that's not the way to go about it too is thing has to, you know, have things have to happen like organically and you have to actually have that actual connection with the person, so, you know, a lot of times people are like, I gotta start myself a good people but you also gotta be a good person yourself too, that people wanna be around because that's when you're gonna end up getting the most out of everything, you know?

Jim: So you gotta be real, right?

Mike: Be real, because if you end up like, you know, there's a group of people you're like, Oh man, that's the people that's gonna help me do my thing and you're just kind of just going in aggressive and you're kind of going in and you're not being respectful of that group of people and stuff too, you're not for one, you're not gonna get out of it what you want out of it, but also you might end up damaging some possible future relationships with these people, you know, by not being a good person yourself and not being true to what your intentions are in the first place.

Jim: Absolutely. That's really good advice. Mike, what's your daily routine like, look like?

Mike: Well, I kind of have like a little bit of a OCD situation too. So like, you know, I get up do all the feeding thing, I make sure I'm in the shower by 10 o'clock every morning, at least I have alarm set for that, but, you know, I get to work an hour early before we even open so I can just make sure everything's done in a certain way, but generally I just try to keep everything, if I keep everything consistent on that part, then everything else kind of can be a little more relaxed. But I'm only hand on piercing these days, three days a week, but then I do all my other stuff I can do for my phone or everybody else does their job well, at my business that it takes less work off of me. So those responsibilities are delegated pretty evenly and pretty great. So, you know my schedule is pretty smooth because everybody else is contributing their part too.

Jim: And you know, you hit on piercing three days a week, so you're working in your business or on your craft as a sir part of the time, and the other time you're working to run your business and grow your company, grow your brand, so that's, you know, it's important when you can segment things that way and you can run your business and, you know, like you said before and you just said it again, you know, surrounding yourself with the right people, you put your people in place, in your business that allow you the freedom to run your business from your phone because they're taking care of their shit and getting it done.

Mike: Yeah, and it's huge because the thing is though, is if I'm working with my stuff, let's say five, six days a week, hands on piercing, and then, you know, by the end of the day, you know, my brain is just done, so like, I don't wanna take away from, you know, the other things too. So having that balance between, you know, actually piercing being a business owner and actually having a life outside of that in general too, is very healthy and very important.

Jim: It's so true. So, I got our time's coming to an end here, but you know, before I ask you one last question, let the Remote Start Nation know where to find you, where to find your tattoo studio, I mean your studio. I've recommended to so many people, because I truly believe that you put out great work, I mean, I had my daughter's, you pierce my daughter's ears, like, I mean your family, your studio's family to me. Where can people find your studio? Let's start with that first.

Mike: So we're in Troy Michigan. So it's like a northern suburb of Detroit our website's ironcladtattoo.com. Our Instagram is ironclad_tattoo_co. Those are the best ways to do that, and if you're sending messages or anything to any of those, you're pretty much getting me directly too, so, I try to make myself as accessible as I can, and if it's not me answering it, it's my amazing front of house people that end up directing me the stuff that's for me specifically too. So, if anybody needs me for anything, I'm there, I'm in it.

Jim: Awesome. And I know they obviously can find you on social as you're always on social and showing how much fun you have and making people like me jealous.

Mike: Cause like with, as far as the balance between business and, you know, party and stuff too, like, I've thought about taking the, you know, my Instagram like more party and changing it and I was like, you know, like, you know, I still like to have a good time and I try and be a little more professional, I'm like, you know, it is what it is.

Jim: Dude, it's you, like, it's what we just talked about, like going out and being yourself, like it's you, Mike Moore party is like you love to go out and have a good time.

Mike: No sense of fighting.

Jim: Exactly, and you're still doing, like you said, you're routine, you're at 10 o'clock, you're at the shop, and I know you personally enough to know that no matter how much fun you have the night before, you're at the shop at 10 o'clock.

Mike: I've actually gotten a lot better too, because I pretty much called a school night too. So if I have to work the next day, I do not go out the night before anymore. And I've done that for maybe like four years, so, you know, but it's like, it's three nights a week, It's a, you know, Tuesday, Wednesdays, and Thursday nights are boring anyway, so I'm all right.

Jim: Well, awesome. Well, one last question. When you're working on your business, you're focused, you're getting things done, are you listening to music or are you, do you like it quiet?

Mike: Oh, we have music on nonstop and so I try to end up not vetoing a lot of other people's music, but usually, you know, some new metal, and some super old gangster rap is usually like the go-tos. You know, I have to try to keep it toned down cause they do have older clients and children and stuff too, so sometimes you gotta throw the next button when some Juicy J shows up or something like that but you know, I always try to make sure that the music fits the demographic, the people that's in there but, you know, you can't go wrong with some old school. Old school rap.

Jim: So when you're, when you're sitting down with headphones on and it's just you and you're trying to focus, what are you listening to?

Mike: I usually just listen to like super, super doomy, stoner metal, just because it's like super, it's kind of relaxing, but it's heavy at the same time, yeah. I mean, I'm right. I mean, I'm wearing a weedeater t-shirt right now, so , but then, you know, throwing out some just super, just old classic, like, any kind of music, I'm pretty good with anything, whatever sets the vibe, you know, sometimes if it's like a songs that are in like, some like movie soundtrack from forever ago, like, I can actually just like picture that whole scene in the movie in my head when the song's going on and then that makes me happy too. So I'm pretty easy.

Jim: I love it, I love it, yeah. I'm a total mood type of music person. I'll listen to anything, yeah, it's always, it's different like if I'm really trying to focus versus just going through the motions of getting things done but, yeah, music plays such a key role in my daily routine, I love it, yeah, important.

Mike: Definitely.

Jim: Well, Mike, I, I know we gotta wrap things up here so you can get in the shot before 10 o'clock. So I really wanted to thank you and Remote Satrt Nation, I hope you learned as much as I did today, could put some of what Mike shared with us today to work for you. From the bottom of my heart, Mike, thank you so much for being part of this episode today.

Mike: Love you buddy, thank you for having me.

Jim: It was awesome, man, and I look forward to next time I'm in town to going out and partying and networking and meeting some more people.

Mike: Yeah, we've got a lot of networking to catch up on.

Jim: There you go. I love it.

Well Remote Start Nation. Thank you all for joining me on this journey as I help you to start your business, grow your brand, and create your desired lifestyle.

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