Imagine a life where being an entrepreneur is not just a title, but an all-consuming journey. Imagine a life studded with the audacious roles of a lawyer, an author, and a trailblazer in machine learning, digital marketing, and business development. This is not some high-stakes fantasy, but the reality of Joseph Plazo. This serial entrepreneur, despite his humble beginnings and personal tragedies, has transformed these obstacles into stepping stones to extraordinary business growth.
Plazo’s entrepreneurial spirit is not confined to one enterprise. He’s left a distinctive mark on a host of start-ups, from Exceed Global to Empowered Development, Sumosam, Midasoft LLC, United Travel Group, and Plazo Sullivan Roche. He also took the reins of brand and marketing departments of powerhouse companies like Convergys, goFluent, TTEC, and ISW.
But his path has not been devoid of rough patches. Many of his start-ups crumbled, yet Plazo’s undying entrepreneurial spirit remained unbroken. He transformed these failures into fuel for success and used them as learning experiences to inspire others to embrace entrepreneurship.
Plazo’s entrepreneurial journey can be traced back to his teenage years. Trading small tutoring sessions for a fee and flipping jewelry bought in Quiapo to sell at a profit, his earliest ventures served as a crucible, instilling in him a key entrepreneurial truth – “profits are better than wages.”
During the global pandemic, when his income streams nearly dried up, Plazo showed the audacity of hope. Alongside friends passionate about machine learning and capital markets, he built a successful automated trading system. Their Telegram Channel, providing invaluable market insights, skyrocketed to 150,000 followers in just two years.
Driving Plazo’s entrepreneurial journey is not solely the prospect of profits or customer satisfaction, but the sheer thrill of growth. The very act of setting ambitious goals, working tirelessly to achieve them, and then raising the bar even higher fuels his determination.
In one word, Plazo describes his life as an entrepreneur as “Exciting.” The continuous learning, the joy of growing a company, and the evolution of his role amidst challenges make his journey exhilarating.
His motivations for embarking on this entrepreneurial expedition were threefold: the desire to be his own boss, the freedom to steer a company’s success, and the challenge of expanding an enterprise without any limitations. These factors continue to push him forward each day.
Plazo offers a three-fold mantra to budding entrepreneurs: comprehensive market research, unrelenting hard work, and a deep understanding of every aspect of the business. And a word of caution: always be ready to spend more than you initially budgeted.
Growing a business is not without its trials. Plazo acknowledges that finding suitable partners, managing time constraints, and sourcing scalable technology have been his toughest challenges. His solution? A ruthless focus on priorities and a relentless trimming of activities that do not contribute to success.
As a leader, Plazo places a premium on respect and honesty. His motto, “Never send troops to fight a battle you wouldn’t fight yourself,” encapsulates his commitment to leading from the front, irrespective of the nature of the task.
Regarding the global outlook for small businesses in 2023, Plazo paints a grim picture of an impending recession, triggered by post-pandemic inflation and crumbling financial structures. However, he also perceives a glimmer of hope: a forced evolution of business strategy where artificial intelligence is harnessed to innovate and penetrate new markets. In the world of Joseph Plazo, adversity is not a roadblock but a launchpad to innovation and resilience.
