About Steve Harrison
The fact you clicked through to this page tells me you’re curious to know a little more about me. I’m honored!
First, please watch the brief video below about who I am and why I love doing what I do. Then you can scroll down for my answers to some of the most common questions people ask me.
What do you enjoy most about the work you do?
I enjoy writing, speaking, consulting, learning, and leading my team as we train people to share their message with as many people as possible.
The thing I love most is I get to use my creativity to help an extraordinary group of people change other peoples’ lives. I am delighted when I receive emails and phone calls from authors, experts and entrepreneurs thanking me for helping them achieve an important milestone. It might be landing their first national media appearance, finishing their manuscript or making their book a bestseller.
My mission is to help you achieve yours!
I get a real thrill when people tell me that I’ve helped them make their dream come true. And then, when I realize that I’m helping them help thousands – maybe millions of people – well… it’s all pretty mind-blowing to think about.
What kind of work did you do before you got into this?
I grew up in Westchester County, New York, just 17 miles north of Manhattan. One of my very first jobs was working as a freelance writer for the Gannett Newspaper chain. I reported on local high school sports and absolutely loved it. It was there I learned the basics of good journalism, including how to write in AP style as well as the five basics of any good story: who, what, where, when, and why.
The summer before college, I worked for a legal publication, then off I went to be an English Major at Davidson College outside of Charlotte, North Carolina.
During the summers, I worked for a very successful publishing company before graduating in 1987, ready to take on the world.
How did you enter the field of helping authors, experts and entrepreneurs promote themselves and their messages?
When I graduated from college, I was madly in love with a girl I’d met there. She happened to live in the Philadelphia area. My brother Bill had graduated from Haverford College and was living in a little two-bedroom apartment. He was launching a magazine designed to let radio and TV producers know about authors and experts they could interview. I figured I’d help him out for a few months while I dated my girlfriend, to figure out whether or not we had a future together.
You know what? Turns out there was a future in both! Laura became my wife. We've been married for more than 30 years. And Bill and I have been working together ever since.
Back in those days, we had no money and no staff. We literally launched our business off the kitchen table! If we didn’t bring in sales, we didn’t eat. But we had great fun too.
What are you proudest of in your work?
It’s been really gratifying to help unknown authors become massively famous. When Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen contacted us, their credit cards were maxed out, but they were committed to investing in their future and in doing as many interviews as possible. Today, almost everyone has heard of their Chicken Soup for the Soul book series, which has sold over 500 million copies.
When Robert Kiyosaki’s wife called my office, she had 3,000 copies of Rich Dad Poor Dad sitting in her garage. They had self-published the book and wasted a lot of money with a PR firm who got them almost nothing. But as a result of our efforts, Robert was booked on radio talk shows around the country – exposure that led to Rich Dad Poor Dad becoming a New York Times bestseller.
After 30 Million Books Sold, Hear What One of Steve's Most Successful Clients Says
“Without Steve Harrison and his team, Rich Dad Poor Dad never would have become the #1 personal finance book of all time."
Robert Kiyosaki
Author, Rich Dad Poor Dad
The fact that many bestselling authors and successful experts give me a lot of credit for helping them become well-known feels great, but I also learned a lot from them. Very early on I noticed the authors and experts who got the most publicity and made the most money approached the whole “author/expert game” differently than the rest.
What do you think separates the bestselling authors and most successful entrepreneurs from everyone else?
Well, obviously, you need to have a compelling message or book. But the fact is that just gets you on the starting line so you can enter the race.
Bestselling authors and top experts/speakers have learned to feel comfortable promoting themselves month after month, year after year. They’re open to outside-the-box ideas and set up their business so they have other income streams outside of their book (products, programs, speaking, seminars, and consulting). So when someone hears them on the radio, they can generate more revenue than simply $12 for a book. They might get $1,000+ for a seminar … $3,000 for a speech … $10,000+ for consulting … etc.
I also noticed the most successful authors and experts are committed to learning how to market themselves, whereas the unsuccessful ones feel marketing themselves is somehow beneath them or distasteful to them.
Since 2001, I've been offering seminars, coaching programs and virtual trainings to help people build a successful career around their information and expertise. And I love it!
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?
I really enjoy playing tennis. My father took me to the U.S. Open when I was a kid. I saw most of the greats play: Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg, Chris Evert, and John McEnroe. Although I didn’t play much in high school, I took it up again about 20 years ago. I've even achieved one of my bucket list goals of actually winning a tennis tournament. I’m between a 4.0 and 4.5 player, if that means anything to you.
Every other Tuesday I run a small men’s group for my church. We’ve been meeting for more than 20 years! Can you believe that? It’s been a wonderful experience to be part of that kind of fellowship.
I also love sitting with Laura and chatting over a good cup of coffee on a Sunday morning or reading the New York Times even though I can get it on my mobile device (I like to actually feel the paper anyway). And I love singing in the shower when no one else is home.
And every Sunday, Laura and I love watching the Philadelphia Eagles, as long as we can convince ourselves they actually have a chance to win! We were a happy household when the Birds won their first Super Bowl in 2018, I can tell you!
What are your pet peeves?
Dishonesty, even in small things.
Politicians who want to grandstand but don’t want to reach across the aisle to solve real problems.
People who complain about their life or a situation, but don’t take responsibility for their part in the problem or potential solution.
When I’m in a restaurant, I can’t stand it when waiters try to give you the worst table in the house. I’m usually super-friendly and talkative to them, but I don’t like it when they just interrupt my conversation with someone and blurt out the specials. Can’t they wait five seconds for a pause in the conversation?
People who are intolerant – they’re often the ones who talk so much about tolerance.
I also hate taking out the trash. It’s such an interruption to have to remember it. Can’t someone invent some sort of robot-timed garbage can that goes out there automatically? But I love making my wife happy… so I do it without complaint (please don’t tell her I’m complaining here).
Tell us about your family… feel free to brag a little.
I married my best friend. Laura and I are really lucky to have found each other. Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, once said one of the questions he’d ask before picking a wife was, “Is she smart enough to be able to figure out how to get me out of a Turkish prison?” Well, I can confidently say that Laura could. She’s very smart. She could be running companies if she wanted to, but instead, she’s committed herself to run the Harrison household, 24/7. She does it with lot of love and laughter. She and I love going for walks together, eating out, traveling, and yelling at the TV during Philadelphia Eagles games (see above).
What’s it like to work with your brother?
It has been one of the great blessings of my life. Although I tend to be the “front man” for our business, without him, there simply would not be a business. I tend to be “Mr. Outside” and he is “Mr. Inside.” Bill is a brilliant strategist, voracious learner, and a person of high integrity and quiet generosity. Neither one of us has much of a temper, so we get along quite well. And there’s a wealth of trust there.
We’ve always put our relationship as brothers ahead of the business. Another reason we work so well together is we respect each other’s talents and insights. We’re also mutually committed to serving our customers. When we have a disagreement, we’re usually able to talk it out passionately and honestly without the other one feeling personally attacked.
What are some things about you that hardly anyone else knows?
When I was growing up, I wanted to be a pro football player. I was super serious about it. I played for the #7 ranked Pop Warner Football Team in the nation. But alas, the other boys grew much bigger, and by high school, I decided to run cross country and track instead. I became a league champion runner, but always wished I could have been bigger and stronger to play big-time college or pro football.
One of my earliest jobs was digging graves in a cemetery.
I set the jump rope record in my high school when I was in 9th grade. I can’t remember the exact number, but it was 516 or something like that.
Before entering college, I saw an ad in Runner's World. It was a photo of the Paris Marathon. I promised myself I would go to France during my junior year and run the marathon under three hours. I did: 2 hours and 44 minutes.
I have begun a collection of autographed tennis memorabilia. I have a ball signed by Jimmy Connors and a shoe autographed by former #1-ranked Jennifer Capriati.
Sometimes when I’m speaking in public about something I’m passionate about (my kids, my clients, etc.), I start to tear up. My staff gets a little embarrassed. People tell me they appreciate my authenticity, but the truth is, I myself get a little embarrassed when my emotions get the best of me.
I love Shakespeare and Derek Jacobi is my favorite actor of all time. Watch his Hamlet and prepare to be amazed. I actually met him in person.
I have one leg longer than the other. If you ever meet me in person, you’ll notice that my right shoe has an extra half-inch added to the sole. No one seems to notice or mention it – except my wife, who calls me “Gimpy.”
I’m a HUGE fan of Christina Aguilera, Air Supply, and Barry Manilow. If you think that’s weird, then you, my friend, need to stop being such as musical snob! Seriously, I love a good voice and a good melody, even if it’s just a “silly love song.”
I enjoy reading Puritan poetry and listening to Led Zeppelin (but NEVER at the same time).
When I first saw the musical Les Misérables, I told Laura at intermission, “Not only is this the best thing I’ve ever seen, it is the best thing I ever will see.” More than 30 years later, that statement has proven true. It took me a while, but I’ve also become a big Steven Sondheim fan.
My staff often gets stressed out because they say I wait until the last minute to do things. They’re right. But it’s hard to change.
What are some little things you're working on improving about yourself?
See the last comment about how I sometimes drive my staff nuts.
Saying “no” more often.
I’m trying to slow down and actually talk more to my neighbors, rather than being in such a rush to go here and go there.
Drink more water, eat more vegetables, and get up earlier.
What are some of your favorite places in the world (other than the Philly area)?
Santa Barbara, CA
New York City
Mohonk Mountain House Retreat in Upstate New York
Jesuit Spiritual Center in Wernersville, PA
Ocean City, NJ
Wrightsville Beach, NC
Asheville, NC
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Valencia, Spain
Florence, Italy
Paris and London, of course
