Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in training and education but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Jeff Sauer, Founder of Digital Mantis, Inc., located in Arlington, VA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We are an online education company that provides digital marketing courses and Google Analytics training to marketers, freelancers, and agencies.
Tell us about yourself
I am a full-time educator. Since 2015, I've launched several successful online training programs while helping over 50,000 students master PPC Marketing, Data Analytics, and Agency Business Development. My mission is to make learning digital marketing easy and fun for you!
Do you have daily rituals for work / wellness / fitness / mindfulness?
My daily ritual is to wake up (or be woken up by my four-year-old), have coffee, and listen to podcasts while thinking about my day/week ahead. I then work out 30-45 minutes of strength training and take my son to school. From there, it’s all about maximizing my productivity for the day. I meet with my assistant to set priorities and delegate tasks. I do meetings with my team and try to get all meetings done in the morning. I have a healthy lunch from Mighty Meals, and then in the afternoon, I do deep work, do big projects, or do teaching classes. I try to end the day by cleaning up emails and delegating tasks I missed so I can start the next day fresh.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
As a Google Analytics Certified Partner, I helped manage thousands of Google Analytics accounts and provide insights to organizations of all sizes. I was a partner in a 5x Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Business award-winning Marketing Agency in St. Paul, MN, until we were acquired in 2021.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Change being constant is one of the toughest things to accept as a business owner. The reason many businesses fail is that they don't adapt to the changing markets and landscape fast enough. I would say it's one of the hardest things for a business owner, even those who found initial success. The temptation is to stick with what works, but in reality, what works today may not work next year, and so on. So we have to constantly test, iterate, and evolve.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Validate your business idea by researching the market and especially your competitors. Talk to people about your idea, but not your family or friends. You want to get unbiased insights.
- Once an idea is validated, test the offer and continue iterating until you land on one that resonates with your potential customers the most.
- Once you have an offer that works, collect the data to see who is buying, who isn't, who engages with your content and how often. That data will inform you on how to improve your offer, pricing, and delivery in a changing business landscape.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.datadrivenu.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/school/datadrivenu/
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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