Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Gregory Yankelovich, Co-Founder of Demo Wizard In Store Marketing, located in Emeryville, CA, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Demo Wizard is a web-based platform for the management of in-store samplings and other forms of word-of-mouth marketing for retailers and CPG brands.

Our customers are brick-and-mortar retailers, CPG manufacturers (particularly startups), and companies involved in demos of their products in retail.

Tell us about yourself

My wife (and co-founder), who owned an in-store demo company, could not grow her business using Excel, Word, etc. She asked me to help her find a software tool to allow her to scale. After a few weeks of searches and software demonstrations, we realized that there was no specialized tool for managing in-store promotions properly. We decided to develop one. The versions for CPG Brand Builders and Retailers were developed later as the need for an integrated scheduling and coordination platform to connect people and processes became apparent.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Learning from digital marketing and applying the lessons to lo-tech/no-tech business of retail store sampling.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

The loneliness that comes with a lack of resources. I have to become a jack of all trades, some of which are easier to master than others.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Learn very specifically your buyer "persona," and test your idea with a few before you start.
  2. Too many people are very guarded about their ideas of business. Nobody is going to steal your idea. There are a lot of ideas but very few implementors.
  3. "Every brilliant idea quickly degenerates into a lot of hard work" - Me :)

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

It would be great to network, collaborate, and partner with other small business owners.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.demo-wizard.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/realdemwiz
Twitter: https://twitter.com/piplzchoice
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregoryyankelovich/

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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