Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in marketing but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Josh Shankowsky, Marketing Director of Snap SEO, located in Edmonton, AB, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Our business, Snap SEO, specializes in providing search engine optimization services to small and medium-sized businesses. Our services include keyword research, on-page optimization, content creation, link building, and technical SEO.
We work with established companies to improve their visibility in search engine results pages, increase website traffic, and drive more leads and sales. Our goal is to help our clients achieve sustainable, long-term growth through effective SEO strategies. We believe that with the right approach and execution, businesses of any size can compete and succeed online.
Tell us about yourself
I started developing websites in high school (2005) with some friends. I would play around in class, making websites, and the teachers were so impressed that they got me a couple of clients. It was great making websites in class (and getting paid). Still, getting traffic to the website was a new problem my friends and I faced. So, we started looking into ways to drive traffic to websites. We found search engine optimization or SEO, and I've been hooked on it since.
What motivates me is that each day is something new, and learning the ins and outs of businesses makes me tick. To do SEO properly, I must catch on quickly to what the client offers, be it a product or service. So, it's always exciting to always be learning and growing.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Perhaps one of the biggest accomplishments is the ability to automate and scale a business. Being able to work with a client on a couple of blog posts a month and then all of a sudden getting an order of 100 posts that need to be completed in a month takes some work and optimizing the business behind the scenes that many people seem to be unable to do. Doing all this while maintaining a high level of customer support is crucial and not an easy accomplishment.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
For me, it's not being able to turn off. I always have ideas running through my head to grow and make things better.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Getting your product out there ASAP is important. Many business owners will want to perfect a product or service without field testing the service. You can often get important information from field testing and getting a product out to market. As well, users may use your product differently than you intended.
- Automate and outsource. Find ways to automate your business, be it with technology or people. This will free up your time to do what you do best - build and create your business at a high level. As you do this, trust your employees and hire people smarter than you.
- Market your product. You can have the best product out there, but marketing is necessary for it to be found.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://snapseo.ca/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/snapseo/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/snap.seo/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/snapseo
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shankowsky/
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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