Building a business is easy only if you are passionate about it.
Ali Salman is a online marketing strategist who works with professional firms, practices and INC 5000 companies. Ali Salman now heads Rapid Boost Marketing where in last years they went from $0 to over 2 mill in revenue.
Where did the idea for Rapid Boost Marketing come from?
In 2013 I was working at The Brick, Canada’s biggest furniture retailer in marketing department. My brother came to me with the infographic showing me how digital media industry will grow by 2020. That was convincing enough to start a digital marketing business. We started a 2 people company and grew to over 49 people today.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
I wake up super early at 5 or most by 5:30 am. I work out and listen to podcasts till 7. I usually start work by 7:30 or or 8 max. I usually work until 6:30 pm or 7 pm. I meditate before going to bed which helps me stay focused.
How do you bring ideas to life?
Actually do them. I believe in taking massive action. Without actually going and doing it there is no way you can bring ideas to life. As someone said: An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.
What’s one trend that really excites you?
Technology and internet. It has changed the way we communicate, shop, socialize etc. It will be very exciting to see how technology transforms our world in next 5, 10 and 15 years.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
I wake up super early. Most days I am up at 5 am.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Drop out of college and start my business.
Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on?
Building a business is easy only if you are passionate about it.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
I read industry news, updates, thought leaders everyday for 10 to 15 minutes. This way I stay on top of what is happening and changing in my industry.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business? Please explain how.
Solid inbound lead generation strategy. It took us from under 6 figures to over 7 figures. Have a solid online marketing strategy to grow.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
When we started our first year at Rapid Boost Marketing we just did over 150k. Once we knew we had a sales problem, we focused on serving very specific industry clients. Once we narrowed down our services to specific industries we saw a huge increase in our sales and revenue. In Fact in 2016 we crossed 2 mill.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Start a mobile app where people can just book massages online. Massage is one of the highest use services and it will still following very traditional model. Rather app will be like Uber and also bring massage therapists to people’s home, work etc.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
Recently I got a membership of Audible with 2 months free it almost came to 100 per year and it was the best investment i made in 2016
What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
Teamwork PM (Project management tool). It helps us stay organized and also all the communication is within the platform and the app which our whole team uses.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
What is your favorite quote?
Stay focused on the legacy not the currency
Connect:
Ali Salman on Twitter: @canadianlmpro
Ali Salman on LinkedIn:
Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.