Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in digital marketing but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Stephan Roussan, Founder, President & Creative Director of ICVM Group, located in Mattituck, NY, USA.

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

ICVM Group provides brand strategy, web design, digital marketing, and marketing support services to a diverse array of prominent national and international firms and organizations. Our core focus is on professional services industries, most notably in legal, finance, consulting, and other expertise-driven fields.

Tell us about yourself

I first became interested in the web while I was working as a journalist and freelance magazine writer, and photographer. The promise of the internet as an internet storytelling medium, without the traditional restrictions of print, was really compelling to me. I quit my day job, locked myself in a room and learned HTML and Photoshop, skipped grad school... and here we are 27 years later. It's been an incredible ride. Being in so early, we had the opportunity to ride the leading edge of the web and be incredibly influential in our niche -- defining approaches and concepts that became industry-wide best practices. As an agency, we always punched well above our weight class and won accounts normally reserved for agencies many times our size. The motivation to keep driving forward comes from a lot of different sources. First and foremost, it's just a really rewarding space to work in. I love the multidisciplinary nature of it. Every project requires blending brand strategy and industry-specific business acumen with creativity, technology, and behavioral science. We have built an incredible client base and really enjoy those relationships. We become invested in our client's success and really care about the people we're working with. It makes us strive that much harder to deliver for them, and in turn, they root for us and refer others our way.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

From the ownership side, I'd say my biggest accomplishment has been successfully creating a sustainable business that is resilient in any economy. Whether it was the dot-com crash, the great recession, or COVID, we just kept working. No pay cuts, no layoffs, no trimming of benefits. There was always enough work to just keep trucking through. It is incredibly satisfying for me that my team doesn't have to worry about job security. They are amazing and work really hard, and they really deserve that peace of mind.

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

The hardest thing is that there are so many really hard things! Truly, that's it. The sheer number of really challenging things you have to be on top of all the time. There's no cruise control in a business like this. From sudden shifts in technology to new competitors to sourcing talent, to managing the financial side, to business development, to managing relationships, to HR stuff, to whatever tomorrow may bring, and so much more. It's relentless, and you have to be wired in a certain way if you're going to survive and thrive.

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

  1. Make sure that whatever the "it" is at the core of your business is something you are passionate about. If you don't love what the business actually does, you probably won't have the inspiration to survive what running it is going to throw at you.
  2. This will sound a little bit counter to #1, but make sure that your passion for what you're doing doesn't blind you from looking at the business as a business. I've been guilty of this one myself. The agency always did fine, and I made a good living, but the truth is that I was always so into the work that I didn't monetize the business nearly as well as I could have. Get your head into the numbers and make sure you're not just running in place.
  3. Be honest with yourself about your own capacity, mental health, and ability to cope with stress and anxiety. Owning a business is an amazing, terrifying, rewarding, brutal, inspiring, pressure-packed, and impossible thing. You will be tested in every way that a person can be tested. Statistics say that you are more likely to fail than succeed. Are you good with all that? Will you be ok -- and at peace, without regrets -- no matter what it's going to put you through and no matter the outcome? If the answer is "no" or "I don't know," then you shouldn't do it. No judgment. just don't. But if the answer is "yes," then you owe it to yourself to give it a go, or you'll always be left to wonder.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.icvmgroup.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/icvmgroup
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/icvmgroup/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ICVMGroup
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/icvm-group/

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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