Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Palomba.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Michael. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I grew up in NY, and my father worked for General Motors. My junior year of HS he was transferred to Kansas City, so the family packed up and moved west. I went to the University of Kansas, and after graduation, I got a job doing outside sales, selling office supplies business-to-business. I worked into a management spot and got the opportunity to open up a sales office in Knoxville, TN, working with BellSouth. I spent two mos in ATL training, then 2.5 years in Knoxville, a year back in ATL, three more years in Kansas City, three years in South Florida, and have now been back “home” in Atlanta since January 1, 2015, but now with two young kids and a beautiful Southern wife.
This year (2019) I’ve also gotten into the Health Coaching business and the pro-wrestling business. I lost 45 lbs at the beginning of the year and have been super excited to help others improve their health and lifestyles. I started managing wrestlers as a personality for Atlanta Wrestling Entertainment in September, and that has contributed to a wild couple of months. Tons of fun.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
If it was easy it wouldn’t be worth it. I started in business as a 22-year-old who was living in his parent’s basement paying them $200/month so I could eat out of their refrigerator. The only thing I had to my name was a 1996 Geo Tracker and $200 in credit card debt from graduation night at KU. Hardly the portrait of a successful business person… Over time I’ve had to learn sales, training, organization, finance, coaching, public speaking… and how to grocery shop and pay bills on time.
As my leadership responsibilities have grown and I’ve opened businesses in a dozen different markets, the challenges have taken different forms. Creating systems that are duplicable and scalable, coaching from afar, and maintaining relationships all over the country require another level of experience that I was incapable of in my 20s.
So are there struggles? Of course. There are supposed to be. But I’m a firm believer that everything works out in the end, and if it’s not working out, it just means it’s not the end.
Please tell us about 3MP Atlanta.
My company, 3MP Atlanta, does outside sales for AT&T and my partner is responsible for launching an outside sales program with Amazon as the client. So outside sales is what we do, but what we really DO is provide opportunity for people like a 22-year-old Mike Palomba to start in an entry-level role and learn all the lessons I’ve learned over the years and build careers for themselves. Since I’ve been back in Atlanta (Jan 2015) we’ve opened 8 locations around the country and the people running them are all people who started at the bottom and have earned the opportunity.
What I’m most proud of is what sets us apart from other companies. It is our people. We have a culture that is unlike any I’ve ever seen, and it is also quite different from the culture you see in other companies that are in the exact same industry. We hire, train, and provide opportunity for growth to great people. No BS. But, you’ve got to be and upbeat, energetic, ambitious, social person who is willing to work hard and has a genuine concern for your future to play our game. When you put a bunch of people who are wired that way in the same room, it creates an unbeatable team and a magical atmosphere.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would have been a bit more patient with the development of others, and a bit less patient with my personal development. When I was younger, I was quick to write people off if they didn’t “get it” and I never thought it could be because I was a terrible teacher.
When it comes to my own development, I was always of the mindset, “I’ll figure it out. I’ve got it. I don’t want to be needy…” In hindsight, I needed to take more initiative and operate with more intensity and less complacency when it came to my growth.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1320 Ellsworth Industrial Blvd NW
Suite A1600
Atlanta, GA 30318 - Website: 3mpatlanta.com
- Phone: 9546460153
- Email: hr@3mpatlanta.com
- Instagram: @3mpatlanta
- Facebook: facebook.com/3mpatlanta/
- Twitter: @3mpAtlanta
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