How to Standout As a Digital Agency in Small Town America | 4Ds

Podcast Summary

• Discovering Passion and Alignment through Self-Awareness: Self-awareness and finding passion in one's work can lead to personal growth and success. Derek and Jeremy, inspired by GaryVee, pivoted in their careers to align with their passions and achieve fulfillment.

  The power of self-awareness and finding passion in one's work can lead to personal growth and success. Derek, a guest on the GaryVee Audio Experience, shared his story of being an orthopedic spine surgeon who felt unfulfilled in his career due to societal pressures. He discovered Gary Vaynerchuk's content and learned the importance of self-awareness, which ultimately led him to pivot out of clinical medicine and join Bulleit Health, a company he is now passionate about. Similarly, Jeremy Kirby, the founder and CEO of Dugout Creative, also expressed his gratitude for Gary's impact on his life and career. Both Derek and Jeremy found inspiration and motivation in Gary's content, which helped them align with their passions and pursue their goals. Overall, the episode highlights the importance of self-awareness, finding passion, and aligning with a vision to achieve success.

• Pivoting and expanding in uncertain times: Stay curious and experimental in business. Pivot when necessary and expand into new industries to adapt and thrive.

  Adaptability and diversification are key to business success. The interviewee shared how they started out in the youth baseball industry, but had to pivot during COVID-19 and became a merchandise company overnight due to viral moments. They then expanded into the gaming industry and are now creating merchandise and building a community around it. The interviewee also shared how they pivoted from a digital agency to business coaching, and how they've been inspired by personal experiences to start their own businesses. Through it all, they've remained curious and experimental, monetizing through various means such as merchandise sales, tournament fees, advertising, and sponsorships. Their passion for baseball and helping others succeed has driven them to build communities and see people thrive in various areas of life.

• Transformative experiences leading to personal growth and meaningful messages: Loss and trauma can inspire personal growth and the creation of meaningful messages, leading to the development of impactful brands.

  Loss and trauma can be transformative experiences that inspire personal growth and the creation of meaningful messages. Derek, who lost his mother and his career in quick succession, used his experiences to write a book about his sister Brianna, who instilled in him the powerful quote "choose your attitude, create your life." This quote became the foundation of his brand, "You're welcome, Matt," which aims to help people navigate life's struggles and find personal growth. The power of podcasts was also a transformative experience for Eric and Josh, the founders of Podmax, who used this medium to build their own personal brands and help others do the same. Through their virtual events, they connect podcast hosts with guests and provide opportunities for personal growth and development. The stories of Derek, Sarish, Gary, Eric, and Josh illustrate how loss, trauma, and personal growth can lead to the creation of meaningful messages and brands.

• Exploring Monetization Strategies for Orthobullets.com: To maximize business potential, Orthobullets.com should consider various monetization strategies beyond subscriptions and SaaS model, such as converting page views into sales or increasing subscription prices.

  While having good intentions and building a meaningful community is crucial for business success, it's essential to monetize the platform effectively to continue growing and expanding its impact. Derek's Orthobullets.com is a prime example of a business that has built a large following based on good intentions but has yet to fully monetize it. Although they have a significant presence in the market with half a million surgeons and a strong reputation, they are only generating revenue through subscriptions and a SaaS business model. The speaker suggests that Derek could explore other monetization strategies, such as converting page views into sales or increasing the price for doctors' subscriptions. By not fully capitalizing on the potential revenue, Derek's business may not be reaching its full potential, and potential buyers might see it as underperforming. Ultimately, it's important for businesses to find the right balance between maintaining their mission and maximizing their financial potential.

• Missing Out on B2C Revenue: Shift focus from page views to affiliate business for higher conversions and revenue from individual users

  While the founder's initial vision was to create a B2B2C business model for their product, they may be missing out on a significant revenue stream by neglecting the B2C aspect. With half of their revenue coming from individual users, it's essential to allocate more energy towards monetizing this segment. The challenge lies in changing the mindset towards B2C revenue and viewing it as valuable, rather than demonizing it. The speaker suggests that with the right approach, such as affiliate marketing and fundraising, the business could potentially explode and convert a larger percentage of their traffic into paying customers. The key is to shift the focus from being a page view business to an affiliate business, which can lead to higher conversions and greater revenue.

• Building a Strong Brand for Affiliate Business: Invest in a talented CTO, focus on top-line growth, and remember a brand is shaped by feelings and perceptions. Leverage other brands, focus on strengths, and build organically for long-term success.

  Building a successful affiliate business requires a clear brand identity and a strong focus on top-line growth, while also ensuring financial sustainability. This means investing in a talented CTO and having sufficient capital to make the math work. However, it's essential to remember that a brand is not just about cohesive messaging or marketing strategies; it's ultimately shaped by the feelings and perceptions people have towards your business. To build a strong brand, consider leveraging other brands and focusing on what you enjoy, what you're capable of, and what has the most margin in selling. Additionally, don't neglect the importance of building a brand organically, rather than relying solely on bottom-line profit or social media ads. Remember, Facebook glitches or other external factors can impact your sales, making it crucial to invest time and energy into brand-building for long-term success.

• Authentic content and community engagement on TikTok: Consistently create authentic content, engage with creators and communities, invest in unique brand identity, and allocate budget for brand-building efforts.

  Building a brand organically on TikTok requires consistent effort, with an emphasis on creating authentic content without hard selling. Engage with creators and communities, use Facebook groups as a secret weapon, and invest in building a unique brand identity through merchandise or mascots. In the world of NFTs, be cautious when selling packages tied to independent contractors, ensuring clear communication with audiences about potential changes. Ultimately, always spend a portion of your budget on brand-building efforts, even during lean times. As the speaker's experience demonstrates, the journey to building a successful brand can be unpredictable, but with persistence and creativity, anything is possible.

• Considering revenue generation in business: Successful businesses have clear strategies for making money. Bringing in a business partner or team could help.

  Focusing solely on the vision and growth of a brand can lead to feeling like every step forward is a step back due to financial constraints. It's essential to consider how and where to generate revenue in a business context. The speaker's example of wanting to make money through a brand, but not having a clear plan, makes them vulnerable. Successful businesses like Nike, Amazon, and even philanthropic ventures like those of Phil Knight and Jeff Bezos, have clear strategies for making money. Bringing in a business partner or team to focus on revenue generation could be a potential solution.

• Finding a Partner to Complement Creative Director's Strengths: To build and grow a brand and business, a creative director needs a partner who complements their strengths and handles operational aspects, allowing focus on unique talents. Building a team and delegating tasks are essential for growth, and having clear goals and values guides decision making.

  While the creative director may be the inspiration and essence of a business, they might not have the operational skills necessary to build and grow the brand and business. It's crucial to find a partner who complements their strengths and can handle the operational aspects. This partnership will ensure the success of the business while allowing the creative director to focus on their unique talents. Additionally, building a team and delegating tasks is essential for growth, and it's important to surround oneself with trustworthy individuals. Finally, having a clear understanding of one's goals and values is crucial when making business decisions, and seeking advice from trusted mentors or advisors can be invaluable.

• Stay true to your brand and find a learning style that works best for you: Believe in your business or podcast, brand it broadly, interview diverse guests, and stay passionate and true to yourself.

  When it comes to starting a podcast or running a business, it's important to believe in what you're doing and stay true to your brand. Joe shared his experience of becoming a business coach after helping others, but emphasized the importance of finding a learning style that works best for you. He also advised against getting a business coach if you don't truly believe in their advice or if they're only in it for the money. When it comes to starting a podcast, Joe suggested branding it broadly to give yourself flexibility and avoid being pigeonholed. He also encouraged interviewing a wide variety of people to keep the content interesting. Ultimately, it's essential to be passionate about what you're doing and to stay true to yourself.

• Personalized audits and communication for small digital agencies: Offer personalized audits, communicate consistently, and price appropriately to attract clients and stand out in a crowded market.

  Providing value to potential clients through personalized audits and consistent communication can help a small digital agency stand out in a crowded market. Gary Vaynerchuk suggested auditing businesses' social media platforms and providing feedback in the form of a 10-12 minute audio recording. This approach could lead to a high volume of clients, as many businesses may be impressed by the detailed analysis and personalized advice. Pricing should be gradually increased until reaching a point where potential clients start saying no, indicating the optimal retainer fee. This strategy, as Gary shared, is how he built VaynerMedia. Additionally, offering a range of pricing options can help cater to various budgets and increase the chances of securing new clients.

• Providing value without asking for something upfront: Focus on providing value first, then explore monetization opportunities as they arise for a sustainable business model

  Providing value without asking for something upfront can lead to significant opportunities for monetization later on. Gary Vaynerchuk shared his experience of building successful businesses and giving away business advice for free, but recognizing the potential to monetize through a subscription-based business model. The podcast industry presents a similar opportunity, where providing valuable content and services can lead to the creation of a thought leadership platform and the monetization of various products and services. The key is to focus on providing value first and foremost, and then exploring opportunities for monetization as they arise. This approach can lead to a more sustainable and profitable business model in the long run.

• Patience and value are key to building a strong brand: Shift from transactional to relational approach, focus on increasing supply of desirable content, and offer valuable training to build a successful brand.

  Building brand awareness requires patience and providing value to your audience. Josh and I have been struggling with increasing brand awareness for our team, feeling impatient after two years of efforts. However, we may have been too hasty and should have given ourselves more time to build a strong brand. Our current approach involves selling virtual event tickets for an expensive price, but the quality of the podcasts associated with it may not be meeting the market's expectations. To improve, we need to focus on increasing the supply of desirable podcasts and providing more value to our guests beyond just being on a show. By overestimating our inventory and offering valuable training, we can build a stronger brand and ultimately sell more tickets. In essence, we must shift our mindset from a transactional to a relational approach to build a successful brand.

• Build relationships and provide value: Focus on relationships and value to build a successful business, be patient and consistent, and continually improve podcast quality to grow audience.

  Focusing on building relationships and providing value from the start, rather than being transactional, is key to building a successful business and brand. Patience is important, but it's also crucial to ensure that the quality of the supply, or the product or service being offered, is up to par. The ROI of podcasts can be significant, as evidenced by successful examples like Joe Rogan, but it's important to remember that success doesn't come overnight and requires consistent effort and overdelivery. In this scenario, it was suggested that improving the quality of the podcasts could lead to greater success and patience from the audience. Additionally, reaching out to other podcasts and cultivating relationships can also help in growing and expanding the business.

• Starting a media business unexpectedly led to success for Gary Vaynerchuk: Passionately focusing on a subject matter and having intuition can lead to expertise and opportunities.

  Separating your media and business can lead to unexpected success. Gary Vaynerchuk shared his personal experience of starting Wine Library TV, which he initially thought would be a transactional business like QVC for wine on YouTube. However, something unexpected happened when he decided to become "America's wine guy" instead, leading to a quick manifestation of success. He also emphasized the importance of intuition and being passionate about a subject matter, which can lead to becoming an expert and unlocking opportunities. Additionally, Gary expressed his appreciation for listeners who leave reviews and give context to potential listeners about the value of the podcast.

• Exploring personal passions and inspiring others: Following your passions can lead to personal growth and inspiration for others. Consider starting a project to share your interests and potentially connect with like-minded individuals.

  Following your passions and creating your own projects can lead to personal growth and inspiration for others. Gary expressed his gratitude for the message encouraging individuals to pursue their dreams and shared his plans to start a podcast and YouTube channel focusing on basketball, football, and Dragon Ball Supercards. By leaving a review, listeners may even have the opportunity to be recognized and featured in future episodes. Overall, the conversation emphasizes the importance of staying true to yourself and sharing your interests with the world.