Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Ayman Hbeichi, Managing Director of AH Media, located in Toronto, ON, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

AH Media is a digital media agency designed to scale businesses. Our core focus is producing media & influencer campaigns for travel & hospitality (food, drink+hotel) brands. The clients who come to us usually want to develop highly impactful marketing & mass brand awareness campaigns to very targeted audiences, which we have built over the years through our owned media outlets and influencer partnerships.

Tell us about yourself

I've been in the digital marketing industry since 2003. I've always been very entrepreneurial and realized at a very young age that I wanted to run my own business. Back then, the internet was booming, and businesses had a hard time navigating the online landscape. We saw a huge need and quickly figured out that the web was not going anywhere as flocks of people started turning to online marketing and social media platforms. Businesses struggled to keep up with digital media and needed help understanding it all.

What motivates me the most is the endless opportunity to work with people and businesses from all walks of life. It is exciting to help brands achieve their business goals. My passion has always been hotels & hospitality, so we naturally started to focus on helping these specific types of businesses scale, with the ultimate goal of building our own hotel properties around the world. Every year things evolve and innovate so exceedingly in this industry, challenging our team to continuously figure out the latest trends in how consumers consume content and make their buying decisions.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Truthfully, I don't really look at it this way or pay attention to my "biggest accomplishments." Rather, a series of small, micro accomplishments that always led me to the next thing in my journey. Some were bigger than others, while all had "different degrees of moving the needle" for me. A lot of lessons were learned - from varying partnerships (good and bad), hiring & managing people, to investing in the right (or wrong) business tools. There were a lot of ups and a lot more downs, but ultimately you have to trust that one thing will lead to the next, and as long as you don't give up, stay true to yourself, and are true to your vision, you will get there. So, I would say the accomplishments compounded over time to lead me to this very place. I am continuously excited for the next chapter and the infinite possibilities that are always around the corner. As cliché as it sounds, I'm just happy and blessed that I get to wake up every morning and be true to myself while continuing to build, create and collaborate in a business that I created.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

To me, one of the hardest things is managing and leading people. What's even harder is finding the right people and having them buy into your vision in the first place. Ultimately, every decision comes down to you at the top. You quickly learn the strict accountability that comes with being the last line of defence. Your team looks up to you to steer them in the right direction, and any decision you make can affect their lives, so you pray that it's the "right" one. I remember the pressure we'd face in the early days, not knowing if certain deals would come in to cover the bills. It was extremely stressful - I thought about giving up many, many times - especially when you're responsible for making sure the lights stay on and everyone gets paid. In hindsight, I'm glad I went through it to learn the hard way because it thickened my skin as an entrepreneur and taught me how to operate under extreme pressure. But at the time, It was the hardest thing for me to get through those days while keeping a smile on my face.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

My number one tip if you are starting a business is to look for a high-demand market first (i.e., a starving crowd). Most people do it backward by doing something they're passionate about, not knowing if anyone else would even care about "their thing." Instead, start by looking at the market and seeing what's missing, what you can do better, or what problems you can solve. It can be something that's missing in the marketplace, or it exists already, but you know how to do it much better, faster, cheaper, etc. So I highly recommend you look for problems you can solve and things that are lacking first - preferably something you have some knowledge, experience, or baseline skills around. Once you have a business you think is viable, then you'll want to focus on prioritizing, developing, and stacking your skills.

Generally, your priorities when starting should be:

  1. Sell - simply getting people to give you money for what you have. Find one avatar, one offer, and one channel that you can repeatedly do to get predictable sales.
  2. Improve Product/Service - make sure your product is freaking amazing. Talk to your existing clients/customers and ask them how it can be better. Focus on providing a world-class experience for everyone who purchases from you. Make your product or service so good they just HAVE to tell their friends & colleagues about it.
  3. Improve Operational Processes - tighten up all your fulfillment processes, and determine where you can make improvements, efficiencies, systems, etc., in order to lower "operational drag," fulfillment timelines, costs to fulfill, etc.
  4. Market & Scale - This is simply "getting attention." Get clear on who your target audience is and look at how they consume information to make buying decisions. Then create content and market on those very channels. Ensure that you are truly solving a problem or need they have in your messaging. Be very specific about who your avatar is and how you want to speak to them. Ensure that you are producing content that fits the marketing/social platform. This is a process that you get better at the more you test and the more you understand your end user's behavior. Social media has allowed us to be able to do this at scale, with small and large budgets alike. You just have to put in the work here. Some of my favorite marketing methods to use are Social Media Marketing (TikTok, IG, YouTube, Linkedin, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook), PR (digital & traditional), Influencer Marketing, Sponsorships and Events (webinars, seminars, workshops, dinners, galas, festivals, etc.).

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://ahmedia.co/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ahbeichi/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aymanhbeichi/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AymanHbeichi
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahbeichi/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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