Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in digital marketing but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Ryan Levin, President - Business Development of Digital Lion Inc., located in Calgary & Toronto, Alberta & Ontario, Canada.

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

Founded in 2007, Digital Lion is an innovative digital marketing agency with extensive experience in e-commerce, web development, graphic design, search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click marketing (Google Ads, Facebook/Instagram Ads, LinkedIn Ads), and more. From concept and strategy to design, execution, and delivery, our team blends elements of the art and science of online marketing to achieve outcomes whose results speak for themselves. We love the opportunity to work with clients as they grow, too—and we've supported many small businesses on their journey to success. Designing logos, defining branding, building websites, and marketing it all to a broad audience: are all a part of what we do best. We serve clients globally, with our west coast Canadian headquarters being in Calgary, AB, and our East coast headquarters being in Toronto, ON.

Tell us about yourself

I grew up with a computer that was extremely out of date, even at the time. When I was 12, my family got our first "real" computer (one that could even connect to the internet!). I was in love! Within a short period of time, I was designing and programming websites and software and never looked back.

As I got older, I realized that I loved helping people achieve success in their businesses through doing what I was doing even more than the design and programming itself. Offering digital marketing services became a natural extension of that philosophy, and Digital Lion was born. When you believe what you are doing is for a higher purpose, in my case, to help people find success in their lives, it becomes easy to stay motivated each day and adds meaning to your life.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

In 2012, we decided to put our overarching philosophy down into an expressly written document outlining the foundation of our brand. We dubbed our philosophy Designing a Better World®—and made it a commitment to continue doing what we were already doing: being environmentally friendly, contributing 10% of profits to carefully chosen charities, and helping people live better lives through achieving success in their businesses. We keep these foundational values as our focus and use them as a guideline for our decision-making. Most things in life are transitory, but the impact you make is lasting, and that is why I consider this our biggest accomplishment as a company.

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

People say you'll have no boss, but you'll actually have many bosses. People say you'll have more freedom, but you'll have longer hours and more responsibilities. You'll face ups and downs, failures and successes, good days and bad. If you want to make it, you have to keep getting up, dusting yourself off, and staying motivated.

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

  1. Call us! Just kidding (no, I'm not). Surround yourself with the right people, both personally and professionally. It's tough enough when you're not fighting the world. You need people who will support you, people from which to seek advice, people to bounce ideas off, mentors, and partners. You also need people who can help you achieve success through collaborating with them (like us 😊).
  2. Good enough is often better than perfect. Whether that comes to the time to start your business, the exact wording in your brochure or website, or anything else, it's better to have something "good enough" working for you than something "perfect" that may never get there. Most things can always be improved as you go.
  3. Make sure you know WHY you're doing what you're doing, and consider whether that reason is strong enough to support you through the ups and downs. Oftentimes, "for the money" is not. Know that you'll face hardships and failures and that you will need to be able to get back up again.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.thedigitallion.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedigitallion
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thedigitallion
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/digital-lion-inc/

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.

Turn your craft into recurring revenue with Subkit. Start your subscription offering in minutes and supercharge it with growth levers. Get early access here.