Let’s Upgrade the Face of Your Brand

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in advertising services but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Andy Crestodina, Co-Founder of Orbit Media Studios, located in Chicago, IL, USA.

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

Orbit is a web design and website optimization company. We build websites and then optimize them for more traffic and higher conversion rates. We do this work for mid-market businesses across all industries. But B2B lead generation websites are some of our more common projects. We have 50+ full-time team members, and we've been doing this for 20+ years. There are companies with more experience, but not many. Ask us anything about SEO, website visitor psychology, or Analytics, and our expertise will be instantly obvious.

Tell us about yourself

It was 1999, and I was bored. I had a good job with great money, but it wasn't motivating anymore. I wanted to do something at the intersection of art and science. I wanted to do work that was both creative and technical. I wanted to build things. So I co-founded Orbit Media with a close friend and never looked back. My role has become more specific over time. I no longer do design or project management work. I spent a lot of time doing digital marketing. I'm perfectly suited for it because I love to teach, to write, and to record videos. Our content marketing drives 100% of our growth. We're a company with $7M in revenue and $0 spent on ads. All of our leads come from referrals or organic traffic sources. It's the blog, but also the book, the webinars, the annual conference, the LinkedIn newsletter, and the YouTube channel. We're known for sharing detailed best practices for all things related to content marketing, SEO, Analytics, and web development.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Keeping the team together for 20 years through three recessions without a single layoff. I'm proud of that. I'm also proud of the results we're driving for clients. It's wonderful to see clients grow directly as a result of our work. Marketing is a sport, and Analytics is the scoreboard.

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

The business owner/executive needs to show excellent self-control. No complaining or venting. No anger or sadness. Any negative emotional reactions will hurt the motivation of the team and business results. No matter how tough it is, the owner adds no value by being negative. Even if this means you feel alone, you have to endure. Don't react. Stay calm, focused, and positive.

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

Focus on sales. As long as you have a pipeline of revenue coming in, you can solve all the other problems.
Give your team authority to take action. Let them succeed or fail, learn, and move on. They'll appreciate the autonomy, and eventually, they'll start innovating. Plus, you don't have time to solve everyone's problems.
Don't be afraid to set prices high. The work you do should all be high-value and directly connected to ROI. So charge good money for it, enough to let you stay focused on outcomes.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.orbitmedia.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/crestodina
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andycrestodina/

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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