Meet Derek McMonagle of The DMac Method: Elite Discipline Coaching

Today we’d like to introduce you to Derek McMonagle.

Hi Derek, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
This is always my favorite part. So, let me take you back to 2017. I was a junior marketing major at Waynesburg University at the time and didn’t necessarily know what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I knew I liked business and I liked sports, so I committed the next 6-7 months to go all-in on making that happen.

I was blessed to get my start in the sports industry with my hometown team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, right before I became a senior in college (I was also running my own motivational clothing company at the time.) After my internship, I had countless interviews with sports teams throughout the country, and before I knew it, May of 2018 rolls around, I am now graduating from school and had accepted a position as a Sales Consultant with the Phoenix Suns!

So, now we get into the fun stuff. It is now June of 2018, I just drove 39 hours across the country to live out a dream working for an NBA team, and everything is great! Fast forward nine months and everything changed for me. I went from the motivational and disciplined guy in the office, waking up at 3:30 am and sending loud, motivational videos to all my coworkers, to the guy that shows up 5 mins before he has to and brought zero energy to the office. This was all because of a leadership change, and it is where I learned a very valuable lesson in corporate America. I had to work for strong leaders, and if I didn’t have them in place, I would soon find myself looking for a new job.

The leadership team at the Suns changed, I was in a dark mental place, and I had to get out. So, after connecting with an old classmate and a few interviews later, I accepted a position as an Account Executive back in Pittsburgh, PA and here I go again, traveling across the country once more. After another 30+ hours on the road, I find myself back in Pittsburgh, PA. New job, new office, new leaders, and a new outlook on my career!

Without boring you too much about how I sold CRM solutions for a living, seven months quickly fly by at the new job, and life happens to me again. My best friend from high school enters the NBA Draft in June of 2019, and to give you a little backstory, he and I always talked about living together when we both made it to the NBA. This is where things get interesting.

“With the 11th pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves select Cameron Johnson.” (With trade rights to the Phoenix Suns. Yea, the Phoenix Suns, the team I just left.)

So, as I hear this take place, I’m sort of in disbelief. My phone is blowing up with every friend/co-worker from Phoenix asking me if I’m coming back to Phoenix. I still didn’t really know how to process everything. Here I am, just moved back to Pittsburgh from Phoenix and working for the Suns, to now working for a tech consulting firm, and my best friend from school gets drafted by the team I just left. This can’t be real life. All I knew was, “We have to live out this dream, right? I have to move back to Phoenix.”

So, after a lot of prayers and tough conversations, and a lot of faith in God, I go into work on a Monday morning, think heavily about the decision I’m about to make, and I put in my two weeks (Which was really just one day), and two days later, and another 30+ hour road trip, I’m back in Phoenix, AZ, once again!

It is now September 2019, and I am jobless and kind of lost. I am living on my friend’s couch in his studio apartment with really no career direction until an idea hits me. I want to go all-in on becoming a sports agent and represent basketball players overseas! (I was first introduced to this idea at 16 by an agent at a career fair.)

At the time, the idea seemed great, but I didn’t realize then that the idea stemmed from very selfish reasons of mine and from a lot of greed as well. After putting a business plan together, getting my passport, and networking with a lot of other agents, I was ready to rock! I was waiting to hear back from FIBA regarding my certification, and then during this entire process, you guessed it, I got another job. I was cold emailed by a startup company in New York and start working for them as a sales executive for their Airbnb property management company; very fun job, until life surprised the entire world…

COVID 19 entered in March of 2020 and the start-up company shut down, and FIBA notified me that they are shutting down applications for the time being and they will reach back out to me when they start back up. (At this time, I was absolutely crushed because I lost my financial stability, had to file for unemployment, and had what I thought was going to be my dream career washed away in front of me. At the time, I didn’t realize how big of a blessing this was and how much God was truly working in my life.) Also, FIBA never got back to me…

So, my life shut down, and so did my roommates. NBA season was over and we decided to drive back to Pittsburgh and spend some time with our family’s during this time. We drive 31 straight hours and are now back in Pittsburgh for the summer. I’m back home and lost. I was staying up late, playing video games, eating junk food, and had absolutely zero purposes in life and no drive or direction until I remembered this one statement in July 2020. Remember how I told you I was the loud and motivational guy back in the office with the Phoenix Suns? I remembered a co-worker of mine told me, “You know the videos you send daily? And all the advice you seem to give to everyone when they need it most? Someone would really pay you for this one day.”

Little did they know at the time how much that statement would mean to me and the rest of my life. So, after little to no luck trying to find a new job, I took that statement and I ran with it. I put together a business plan for a company that would be built on faith and my core values of honesty, transparency, punctuality, and ownership and registered The DMac Method: Elite Discipline Coaching LLC as an official business and became a coach/consultant that strived to help young business professionals and entrepreneurs build discipline in their daily lives and holds them accountable to their goals.

This was my purpose. This is what God put me on this Earth to do and I had to make it happen. I knew two things could happen. 1. I would either fail after three months and run out of cash and be back looking for a 9-5 job. 2. I knew that I would find my true purpose and fulfillment in life through this business and help others unlock their true potential and create a value-filled company.

I am happy to say that as of July 2021, our company is celebrating our one-year anniversary, and within the past year, we have helped 50+ business professionals and entrepreneurs in more than ten different organizations from five different countries obtain discipline and accountability in their lives. I wouldn’t be anywhere near where I’m at to this day if it wasn’t for my faith in Christ and the plan he set out for me to create this company and to help as many people as possible. I have had such a strong support system which includes my mom, dad, and my closest friends support my vision for this company and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for The DMac Method!

So, that’s a little bit about me and my story! I am super grateful to share my story with you all and I hope through this story that you understand that anything is possible. With a lot of hard work and undeniable faith in God, you can move mountains and you can serve the world with the gifts He blessed you with!

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Definitely the opposite of a smooth road! I think anyone that wants to get into entrepreneurship and take an idea and turn it into a business that helps others expects everything but a smooth road. I had tough conversations with my parents about why I wanted to start this company and go down this path and it was a really tough time for me. Over a period of 3-4 months, my parents just thought I was throwing away my college education and should just accept a safe paying job in my field and go from there.

They just didn’t want me to fail, and I get that, but as an entrepreneur, all I wanted to do was fail and get uncomfortable because I knew that is where the most growth came from. After they saw small bouts of success and positive client testimonials, they went all in and have supported me day in and day out. I’ve also dealt with a lot of financial hardship and questioning where the next dollar was coming from, but it’s all part of the start-up process.

Lastly, I dealt with a lot of ups and downs within my faith as well. There are a lot of fun days as an entrepreneur, but even more dark days and a lot of doubt about the future of your business, but I think how you navigate the murky waters and come out on the other side is what makes a true resilient entrepreneur.

We’ve been impressed with The DMac Method: Elite Discipline Coaching, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The DMac Method: Elite Discipline Coaching LLC is a full-service coaching and consulting platform that helps business professionals and entrepreneurs build long-lasting discipline in their daily routine, as well as helps hold them accountable towards accomplishing their goals.

We specialize in helping individuals, as well as small corporations, build discipline within their teams around topics such as: Time Management, Productivity, Culture, Prioritization of Systems/Processes, Measuring/Tracking Performance, Sales Accountability and much more!

We are most proud of our client success stories. We don’t just talk the talk. We walk the walk and let our work do the talking. We don’t believe in overnight success, but we do believe in deliberate and decisive actions day in and day out to help you create and unlock the best version of yourself.

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The coaching industry specifically is in an interesting place right now. There is really no barrier to entry and anyone can become a coach/consultant, which is good and bad. I have heard a lot of horror stories from my clients working with life coaches that absolutely just scammed them with a $1,000 course or just blatantly lied to them about what they offer, and it breaks my heart to hear that.

When I entered this world, I wanted to do two main things. Build a faith-driven business on solid core values and not charge an arm and a leg for my services. Granted, I want to value myself and my team appropriately, but that doesn’t mean creating a $30,000 coaching course that delivers $100 worth of value.

Over the next 5-10 years, I see more restrictions potentially being put in place for coaches to become licensed or receive proper certification before being able to accept clients into their program. I also predict a huge surge in growth due to the new Work from Home culture and a lot of business professionals and entrepreneurs looking to take advantage of their personal development and go all-in on their growth.

Pricing:

• Accountability Partner Program: $250/month
• Discipline Your Life Program: $1,500/month

Contact Info:

• Email: derek@thedmacmethod.com
• Website: www.thedmacmethod.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedmacmethod/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedmacmethod
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-dmac-method-elite-discipline-coaching-phoenix