Sales, Smarts & Service with Fred Koury
In the final episode of the Up2 Podcast: Season 2, host Adam Kaufman talks Sales, Smarts & Service with Ohio native, Fred Koury. Fred, who serves as the President and CEO of Smart Business Network (SBN), speaks on the impact of faith and mentorship on his personal and professional success.
As a businessman, Fred Koury’s best practices revolve around faith and relationships, remembering to consistently invest in talent and people. As a Christian, Fred recognizes that mentoring and being mentored by others creates a “cycle of giving”. With these values at the forefront, Fred has elevated himself as a CEO, and SBN as a company.
“It's about giving back. I feel like what I have to give back is what people have sewn into me. I'm willing to share with somebody else. It's a cycle of giving.”
Adam and Fred also speak about Fred’s upbringing and childhood. Prior to founding SBN in 1989, Fred Koury was born and raised in Lorain, Ohio. Since he was 12 years old, Fred Koury has embodied an entrepreneurial spirit and valued creativity and innovation when shaping a new product or service. He largely credits this drive to fear of failure.
“My drive has always come from fear of failure and survival. When you're in that mentality that you can't fail... that failing is not an option... and that you have to succeed at all costs and that you're in that survival mode mentality, it has you always looking ahead.”
With the survival mode mentality in mind, Fred Koury speaks about taking graduate classes at Ohio State while also working part-time with his brother-in-law, selling fish. At the early age of 22, Fred discovered his gift as a salesman and quit school to support the seafood business full-time. Four years later, he decided he was ready for his next challenge and took a leap of faith into the publishing industry.
“I'm a timing person. I always like to wait for the right timing, but in this particular case there wasn't a good time. I had to take a step of faith. I decided that this was the time to do it.”
Fred Koury’s natural drive and ambition has helped him grow SBN into a leading multimedia and content marketing business that provides print and digital marketing services to a national client base. His wide network has enabled him to launch and host the Smart Business Dealmakers Institute, providing mergers & acquisitions (M&A) education and networking for middle market business owners. To learn more about Fred, click here and listen to his full episode on the Up2 podcast or tune in wherever you listen to podcasts.
Click here to read the full episode transcript.