In this 6‑question, 7‑minute interview, Professor Pete Alexander talks with Rob Kosberg, founder of Bestseller Publishing, a company that helps coaches, consultants, and experts write, publish, and market bestselling books while securing media appearances. Rob shares the joy of launching multiple books weekly and emphasizes that the most critical chapter for any company is “What Business Are You Actually In?” – a reminder that acquiring customers is the core of every business. He introduces his "3 E's" framework (Excellence, Enjoyment, Earning) as a visual tool for aligning personal strengths with profitable work, urging leaders to focus on the intersection of the three circles. Rob also recommends fellow BSP client Dr. James Stockson, a chiropractor specializing in thoracic outlet syndrome, as a compelling podcast guest. The conversation shifts to personal anecdotes, recounting Rob's early jobs—from a paper route and planting orange trees to working at the busiest McDonald’s near Disney World, highlighting lessons about hustle, responsibility, and early financial independence. The episode closes with a call‑to‑action: listeners can obtain a free copy of Rob's book (paying only shipping) at publishpromoteprofit.com.
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This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast, where business leaders share their insights. It is 6 questions in 7 minutes because successful business leaders are busy and rarely have more time to spare. So let's get to it. Question number 1: In a few sentences, please tell me who you are and what you do.
Uh, Rob Kosberg. I'm the founder of Bestseller Publishing. We help coaches, consultants, experts to write a book, publish that book, make it a bestseller through our marketing, and also get them on TV, radio, and media so they can grow their brands and authority.
Well, Rob, it's an absolute pleasure to have you on the show. And as a customer of BSP with my book here, I have to say you guys do a fabulous job. Thank you.
You bet.
Question number 2: What is something that makes you smile and/or laugh about working in your industry?
You know, I'd say the biggest smile, the laughs, you know, come and go, but the biggest smile is, you know, we launch 2 or 3 books a week for our clients and it is always thrilling for them and the thrill never dies out for us either. Just, you know, we got 2 going on right now. They're so fired up and we're thrilled by it also.
And I remember my, my experience as well. It was a lot of fun and a lot of work, but it was very gratifying. So I, I can appreciate the passion that you have, uh, for helping others. So thank you for that.
Thank you, my friend.
Question number 3: I have a fictitious book with all the answers for business. What chapter would you think most companies should read?
I would say they should read the chapter that, um, that the title is, um, What Business Are You Actually In? And that chapter is a chapter on the fact that you're not really only in the business of doing the thing that you do, but you're also in the business of acquiring customers. And if you can't wrap your mind around the need to acquire customers and that, that is your most important part of your business, then you will never actually have a business delivering your magic to the world.
That is so insightful. And yet it's so true because if you don't have customers, you don't have revenue, you can't grow. It all fits into place. And I love how you say that, the magic to the world. So that's a great way to kind of put a quote at the end of that. Nice. Great. Question number 4, other than the generic work harder, have a great attitude, and care for customers, what advice or insight would you give to other business leaders?
You know, I do this thing that I call the 3 E's, and I seems like lately I've been talking about it a lot, but even if you're in a business that you love or a business that you're successful in, like I am with BSP, or if you are like starting and trying to figure out what you want to do with your life, this really works. And basically, the 3 E's are 3 circles that are connected and you're looking for the middle, which encompasses all 3. And the 3 E's are, what are you excellent at? What do you truly enjoy? That's circle number 2. And then circle number 3 is, of those, what can you really earn money doing? And if you find the magic in the middle of those 3 circles, then you'll never work a day in your life and you really make a difference. Like we like to say, make an income and an impact.
I love that. And the visual is so simple yet so powerful that anybody can really visualize it and say, yeah, I get it. I have to have all 3 in order to be successful and actually happy, I would assume. Am I right?
Yeah, you are. In fact, and it's, I do it right now. And you may think, well, why do you do it right now? Are you trying to get out of your business? No, because when you have your own business, you very easily can get off on tangents where you're doing things that maybe I'm not the most excellent at. Maybe I don't even really enjoy them and they're not earning me money. And so, you know, I, even within my own business, I have to, you know, bring myself back to center by, by doing that. So it, it helps, uh, whatever point you're at in, in life.
I really like that. And, and it's kind of like if you have something like that on, let's say, the wall of your office or on your desk or something like that, it's also a constant reminder of your, of your North Star whenever things are starting to get a little bit off track, I, I would imagine.
Yep, 100%. And, and, uh, And, you know, it relieves stress. It helps you to focus on, you know, the 20% that really produces the 80%.
Absolutely. Great, great insight. Question number 5: What other business leader like yourself would you like to acknowledge and invite to be on my podcast?
You know, I have a podcast as well, and I just interviewed another BSP client that I was thinking about, Dr. James Stockson. Uh, he is like a celebrity chiropractor, um, and in— and very specifically, uh, his book is on thoracic outlet syndrome, and, uh, which is kind of a very narrow topic, which of course we love, um, because you can really own that, that, that expertise. And he travels all over the world helping people with thoracic outlet syndrome. And if you don't know what it is, then be thankful. If you do know what it is, then it means that you're probably suffering or you know people that are suffering And he— you have to, yeah, you have to interview him. And for those that, uh, that know what that is or have loved ones that suffer with it, his book is gold.
It sounds like a really interesting person to interview. Thank you for— thank you for that referral. And our final question, question number 6: please tell me about your first job.
So I've been working for a long time, uh, so I, I'll actually tell you about my third, if it's okay. Sure. My first, I had a paper route at 9, and I did that for a number of years. At 14, which was interesting, for 2 days, I planted orange trees in the middle of the Florida sun in sugar sand. The first stop was the prison, and we picked up prisoners in the back of the truck. And one of the prisoners was my direct supervisor. When my family found out about that, I had to leave that job. So I won't even count that, although that was brutal. But right after that, I lied about my age and I got a job at McDonald's. And so I'm one of the, I think they say 1 out of every 7 people in the country have worked at McDonald's at one time or another. And I worked at McDonald's for a couple of years and man, it was a tough job. I worked at the busiest McDonald's in the world. Which was the McDonald's right outside of Disney World in Orlando, Florida. And this was, we opened it, well, I was 15. So that was a long time ago. That was 41 years ago when that McDonald's opened. And, you know, what an experience, learning to work with people and, you know, and learning to work with just the busyness that comes from being at a place where there were just crowds constantly, lines constantly. So it was cool.
Great story there. And I assume that your supervisor at McDonald's wasn't one of those prisoners?
Not that I'm aware of. Maybe he lied also about his background. I don't know. But in those days, you could lie about your age and get in. Like you just tell people— because you had to be 16 to work at McDonald's at that time. And I was 15. So—
You bet. You and I are the same age, so I remember that exactly too. And it, it's like I was— I had a couple jobs too that it was— I was not old enough for, but I still did them. It helped that I had, uh, an early, uh, 5 o'clock shadow that came out like Fred Flintstone when I was 13.
Yeah, well, I was very well paid. I mean, we were at the top of the pay scale and I was making $3.15 an hour, and that was above minimum wage at the time. And, uh, you know, for a 15-year-old and I owned 3 cars by the time I was 16 years old. So I had gas to pay and, you know, I had to pay for my vehicle and stuff. So, you know, I love my cars.
And I remember that hourly too. And the same thing, I was working to support my car.
That was freedom. That was freedom in those days.
It really was. It really was. Great stories. And thank you for bringing me back to memory lane. So, Rob, thanks so much for being on the show. How could people find you?
Probably best would be if they want to learn about, about what we do, they can get a free copy of my book. We ship it. We just ask for them to pay for shipping. That's at publishpromoteprofit.com. Publishpromoteprofit.com.
Perfect. This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast. Get hundreds of amazing business insights from previous guest episodes on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for listening.
