It Took 5 Years for Our Business to Truly be Successful!

So many times I see entrepreneurs give up before they even get started. I see the same problem here on Steemit as great writers quit after only a few articles. The culture of rewards before effort is a plague among society today.

5 years ago we began the journey of building our social media marketing company. For the first year we did not even have a website. Instead of a website we used social media to attract clients. We worked 12- 14 hour days building our brand. It took a ton of faith on my wife's behalf.

During the first year we landed a few small accounts but mainly survived because my friend Peter Spina of Goldseek.com needed help with his social media and he paid us very well. My personal brand was well known in the Gold and Silver investing community so it made sense that my first big client truly as an independent agency was Goldseek.

During the next few years our company revenue doubled each year. This was a great feeling because we knew we were on the right track. Like any entrepreneur we became distracted by other opportunities. We began VIP Panama Tours in early 2015. Since it matched our brand objectives we thought it was a great idea to launch a tour company. We were wrong, it turned into a huge distraction that took our attention off of the marketing end game we had planned. So in 2016 we decided to no longer pursue the tourism industry.

Look it is Bruce Lee Fighting a Squirrel.

Distractions are the biggest obstacle to an entrepreneur. We are wired to see opportunities all around us. Sometimes my wife thinks I am crazy. We rarely do anything that does not involve business in some fashion. It seems every time we go out to eat with friends or meet for beers, it is always business related. Once you become an entrepreneur it truly becomes a lifestyle. The idea of going out just for fun seems illogical.

Entrepreneurs are Obsessed in the Chase.

When I meet people I like to gauge people by their level of obsession. We also tend not to work with people who don't meet or exceed our level of energy. We must guard our energy. One wrong person in your sphere of influence and it can set you back months, years or kill your business. Seek out friends, peers and business relationships that support your dreams. Anything less and you short change yourself.

2016 The Year Our Business Exploded.

This year has been absolutely amazing for our business. In January we rebranded our business to $200 Social. For the first four years we operated under the radar and did not work hard to find clients. We made our goals for 2016 ridiculous but you know what? We are going to exceed our goals.

What we did that made a difference. In 2016 we decided to focus on our strengths and forget about the things that were not helping us build our company. We also decided to come out of the shadows and let our personal brands shine. For so long our focus was just on our clients brands while we forgot to build our own. The biggest impact has been joining forces with Ira Miller of Deginner and Jeff Berwick of The Dollar Vigilante. Both have helped open many doors for us in the Crypto Currency and Anarchist worlds.

Now we are off to laBITconf in Buenos Aires and then to SteemFest in Amsterdam. Like I mentioned before relationships are very important to success. When we decided to make connections our brand exploded onto the scene.

So I implore you to set crazy goals for your business in 2017. We have learned over five year that it is much easier to build your business on the backs of great relationships rather than trying to do it on our own.

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