Today's Guest

Stephen Bienko is an American coach, athlete, and entrepreneur. Stephen played a vital role in making College Hunks Hauling Junk and Moving what it is today as the former largest franchise owner. Stephen is also the founder of 42 Growth Strategies, a social media management company for emerging brands and personalities. Stephen shared his story with us and provided insight into why he believes sports play a critical role in shaping young kids for success in life and business.

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Episode Summary

My venture into franchising with College HUNKS Hauling Junk began in a bit of an odd way. I was watching a reality TV show and the founders were on the show. When I saw them the show a lightbulb went off related to another conversation I had with a Starbucks barista. The barista was a college graduate but had chosen to work at Starbucks because she liked the lifestyle better than her field of study. I picked up the phone and called College HUNKS and one of the founders answered, after some discussion, I joined as a franchise owner because I saw a massive opportunity to provide people with jobs that didn’t require them to sit behind a desk and made an impact in people's lives. 

After exiting College HUNKS I got involved in Fownders, which was founded by Gerard Adams because the mission resonated with me. Fownders is a start-up accelerator focused on building an entrepreneurial ecosystem for the disadvantaged in urban markets. When you develop a product, often the most successful products solve a need or pain point. When you work with people from disadvantaged backgrounds they often have vast experience with both tangible needs and pain points. So we launched in New Jersey where Gerard and I lived to make an impact in our local community and beyond. Each quarter we would bring in a cohort of 12 companies to establish a presence and hopefully expand operations after the program. 

Social media has been an industry I’ve kept my eye on for years and when I finally saw my mother using social media I knew it had reached the impact level needed for small businesses to leverage. However, being a small business owner myself for years, I realized social media marketing was not the best use of the business owner's time. Rather, they should be focused on their customers and the product or service they offered to solve a problem. We launched 42 Growth Strategies to help small businesses reach their desired audience while they maintain their focus on the customer. 

Sports have always been a part of my life and if I could advise the parents out there. Sports is one of the greatest ways to teach the necessary disciplines that lead to success in business and life. When your kids are involved in the right programs they help form the building blocks for many of life’s most important lessons. Sports can teach you how to work with others, the value of hard work, and how to deal with failure. I failed all the time in sports and when you have great coaches they are always pushing you to become the best version of yourself. Even if your child doesn’t excel to the level of earning scholarships, sports still opens the door to other opportunities. 

Resources Shared

• 42 Growth Strategies
• College HUNKS Hauling Junk & Moving
• Eat The Frog Fitness
• Thryv Connect Conference
  

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