Q. 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.
Ans: Design Extensions is all about helping businesses grow. Digital marketing strategies and creative graphic design helps our clients stand out in a crowded marketplace. From our office in St. Augustine, FL, we serve local clients in Jacksonville, FL as well as others all across the country.
Q. 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: Design Extensions started while I was a student at Nease High School in St. Augustine, Florida. I had been playing with websites since the age of 12, but at 17, that hobby became real work. That year, we made a grand total of $5,000. Needless to say, we’ve grown a bit since then. Since 1999, we have grown year over year, every single year. We’ve done this by helping others grow their business.
Q.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?
Ans: As a kid, I remember reading an article about a new technology that was coming soon: “the world wide web”. It sounded pretty amazing, but I had no idea it would be the story of the next two decades for me.
Q. What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
Ans: 1. Planning is great but at some point you have to “do”. WIthout execution, ideas stay ideas. 2. Have patience. Don’t expect an overnight success. Business is a long game. 3. Always try to put yourself out of business. Meaning that if you are always thinking about how to be better than you were, you never have to worry about your competition.
Q. How many hours do you work a day on average?
Ans: 10-12
Q. To what do you most attribute your success?
Ans: My support team. Most importantly my family and the great group of employees we have.
Q. How do you go about marketing your business?
Ans: What has been your most successful form of marketing? We use a wide variety of marketing channels. From word of mouth from our awesome clients, digital marketing techniques, creative video campaigns, and even a podcast.
Q. 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: It started with a small loan from a relative. Since then we have always been able to raise any money needed from within Design Extensions without the need for external investors.
Q. What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
Ans: You can have all of the drive in the world, but you still need gas. Always find ways to fuel your ambition.
Q. Where you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
Ans: Design Extensions has been on a steady growth path for the past 20 years and I see no change in that moving forward. We’ll be slightly larger, but still delivering excellent service to our clients.
Q. Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
Ans: Tesla and SpaceX. Elon Musk has truly created companies from personal dreams of changing the world.