Q 1. Kindly give our readers an introduction to your business. Please include what your business is all about, in which city you are located and if you have offices in multiple locations/ cities. We focus on Search Engine Optimization so our clients get maximum exposure online and increase quality traffic to their website from Google searches.
Kindly give us a brief description about yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements).
Ans: I have a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Arizona and worked as a programmer during the summers. After graduation, I worked as a power plant engineer; then went into sales in the power and controls industries. I started a real estate investment company in Atlanta, Georgia, buying and selling distressed properties when I began to learn about the internet and SEO. When the real estate bubble burst, I began to focus more on selling products online. At the time, ebooks were really becoming popular. My online ebook sales really began to increase, and my CPA began asking me about it. I realized then that there was a huge market helping local businesses get found online, so I started SEO Guru Atlanta.
What inspired you to (start a new business venture) or (to make significant changes in an existing business)? How did the idea for your business come about? (please see above)
Q 2. What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
Ans: The first thing you try may not work. Something that works for someone else may not work for you. You need to find out what works for your personality and skill set.
Q 3. What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: The number one skill I think an entrepreneur needs is selling. Selling is a learned skill, and just about anyone can learn how to sell. You don’t have to be a natural born salesman. It doesn’t matter what personality type or temperament you have; you can learn to be a great salesman.
Q 4. To what do you most attribute your success?
Ans: Persistence and determination are the keys to my success…and “to do” lists which keep me on task and moving the ball down the field.
Q 5. How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
Ans: My most successful form of marketing has been SEO, but that’s to be expected since we’re an SEO agency! I love having local clients close to home that I can meet with face to face. We also do outbound email marketing and work with clients across the country. With tools like share.me and GoToMeeting, we can have productive meetings with clients anywhere in the world.
Q 6. Where did your organizations funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
Ans: I decided to grow my business organically. Some call it “boot strapping”, but I grew as my business grew so I’ve been self-funded from the beginning.
Q 7. What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
Ans: The best way to achieve long-term success is to start with the end in mind. If you’re going to build your business so you call sell it someday, generate retirement income, or just be the best at what you love; having that vision in the beginning helps keep you focused.
Q 8. Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
Ans: I think harrys.com has a great business model. The offer is very straight forward and the buying experience from my mobile device was perfect. They’ve done a great job in making a clean, simple website with a great user experience.
Q 9. How important have good employees been to your success?
Ans: When Google started all the algorithm updates, SEO got much more complex. Without my team to execute the huge amount of complex tasks we do each month for our clients, I would be limited to only a few clients. But with great employees, we are able to help many more local and national business grow with a better online presence.
Q 10. What motivates you?
Ans: I am motivated by two things: Family and a sense of purpose. My family is the biggest part of my life, so providing for them keeps me very motivated. Making other peoples lives better by helping to provide great products or services offered by my clients is also highly motivating. When I succeed my clients succeed and vice versa.
Q 11. What are your ideals?
Ans: Treat people as I want to be treated, deal with them honestly and deliver what I promise (I really try very hard to deliver much more than promised!).
Q 12. How do you generate new ideas?
Ans: I have a fantastic business coach that is super creative. Having an outside presence to help generate ideas has been one of the best decisions I have made in my business.
Q 13. How do you build a successful customer base?
Ans: We build a successful customer base by planning our work and working our plan. I know it may sound a bit cliché, but it really works. We use a fantastic project management platform that really helps us stay organized so we can execute all the tasks required for our clients each month.
Q 14. What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Ans: Creativity and independence.
Q 15. What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Ans: Landing a big client is always very satisfying. Almost all of my clients have worked with another agency in the past, so to gain their trust and then deliver results is a great feeling.
Q 16. What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
Ans: Entrepreneurs have to believe in themselves. That’s the biggest difference in my opinion.
Q 17. What kind of culture exists in your organization? How did you establish this tone and why did you institute this particular type of culture?
Ans: We are very focused and pay attention to detail, but we also like to have fun and joke around a bit.
Q 19. In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.
Ans: Exciting!
Company Detail :
Company : SEO Guru Atlanta, LLC
Contact : Jeff Tormey
Address : 2425 Pebble Creek Ln
City/Town : Cumming
State : GA
Zip Code : 30041
Tel No : 678-520-9925
E-mail : jeff@seoguruatlanta.com
Office Timings : Monday to Friday : 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
