Check out the Interview:
1. Who is James Reynolds?
I’m a former art-college dropout turned agency owner, living and doing business in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. My business is called Veravo which consist of two agencies; SEO Sherpa and Click Jam. We serve over 50 customers mostly in the Middle East market area.
Aside from running the agencies, I am also the host of the Traffic Jam Podcast, a top ranked media and marketing podcast on iTunes. I’m fanatical about all things search, social and content on the web. I’m a contributor to several leading publications such as Entrepreneur Magazine and Gulf Business and I mentor startup companies in my free time.
2. What was it like for you when you first ventured into online marketing business?
My first steps into online marketing were really tough. I started my agency when things turned sour in the photography business I had been working 10-years for. In the space of three-months I went from having a ‘safe and secure’ directorship with a healthy six figure per year income, to pretty much nothing. I didn’t get paid for nearly 4 months and because of that I accrued a large amount of credit card debt.
The first few months were hard but the difficulties spurred me on. I learned to find clients quickly and some early success gave me the trajectory I needed to escape from debt and build a strong business.
3. How did you come up with the idea of starting online marketing agency?
I attended an online marketing conference in late 2009 whilst still working with the photography company. I remember listening to the speakers as they explained how they made money online and being impressed by the lifestyle these businesses allowed. Several of those speakers had million-dollar plus businesses and they were no smarter than me.
The seed was planted then that an online business was what I wanted. When things came to an end with my job I had already decided to go online, but it was my mentor who suggested starting an online marketing agency. He believed my marketing know-how and experience managing large teams would be a good-fit for this business model.
4. What are some of the challenges you encountered starting your own business?
Scalability was an issue we faced early on. However, by productizing the entire business we conquered the problem. As a result of this strategy, we now only sell packaged services, and our standard operating procedures ensure consistency. This also means we are able to service more customers using fewer resources.
5. How will Veravo help start up businesses and websites in general in terms of traffic generation?
Veravo.com is a website full of videos and podcasts with free traffic tips and training that will help you build a thriving and profitable audience for your website. Training on the site covers topics such as search engine optimization and pay-per-click marketing. It is also home to the Traffic Jam podcast, a weekly show that brings on guests with expertise in all areas of online marketing. I’ve hosted shows with Rand Fishkin, Perry Marshall, Jonathan Mizel, Jay Baer and Joe Pulizzi amongst others.
There is also an option at veravo.com to get your website analyzed. The free reports we provide will grade your site on everything from usability to traffic and comes with action steps to make your website better.
6. Briefly please tell us about your two search engine marketing agencies SEO Sherpa and Click Jam?
Both provide search engine marketing services. SEO Sherpa is a search engine optimization company and delivers only organic search services. Click Jam on the other hand is focused on paid search as well as performance media services. At Click Jam we manage paid campaigns on Google and occasionally Facebook, YouTube and a few other select networks.
The two businesses work independently of each other allowing us to support other agencies without conflicting relationships they may have in place.
The agencies have been in the market for 2 and 3 years respectively and are well established in the UAE.
7. What would you say is your greatest achievement since you started doing marketing?
There are several achievements I am proud of…
Firstly, building two 7 figure per year businesses. The first being the photography company which I helped grow from 2 people to over 50 staff and multiple millions of dollars per year in revenue, and the second being my agencies. Marketing has been the main driver of growth in both businesses.
Secondly, I’ve had many client success stories but one that stands out is a property developer. We took over their website and within 12 months increased their organic search traffic 467%. That meant an increase from 15,000 to 70,000 visits from organic search per month and a 5X growth in leads. The company sells luxury apartments so needless to say our work had a huge positive impact on profits.
8. As an achiever where do you see James Reynolds in 5 years time?
Right now I’m very focused on personal effectiveness and productivity. Five years out from now I’m aiming to be working less but making more, much more.
To connect with James Reynolds please visit his blog, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn page.
Thanks, James!
