Ismail A. Sirdah

Ismail A. Sirdah is a business owner and entrepreneur residing in Duluth, GA. Ismail launched his career in 1998 as the owner of several Mexican restaurants in the Metro Atlanta area.

Through his work as a restaurant owner, Ismail Sirdah became astute at branding and marketing his restaurants through social media. He began to build a large database of clients and started to recognize what a large following he was building. Other restaurants took notice of his success and started calling him for advice for promoting their own businesses.

After years of noticing the rapid growth of the Latino-Hispanic community in Georgia, Ismail Sirdah decided to innovate with the first event promotion company for the Hispanic community, Lulu Promotions. Over time, Lulu Promotions expanded from event promotion to include music and entertainment ticket sales and to become the number one promotions company in Georgia within the Spanish and Latino markets.

Ismail A. Sirdah is proud of Lulu Promotions & Music and its ability to thrive given the current pandemic.

Where did the idea for Lulu Promotions & Music come from?

The idea of Lulu Promotions & Music came directly from me in the early 2000s. It had to do with the need to have a promotion company for Latinos, since Atlanta at the time did not have any company that promotes events for the Hispanic community. Latino populations in Georgia grew huge between 1995 and 2005 and that’s another reason why I felt motivated to start Lulu Promotions & Music.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

As an entrepreneur and business owner, I deal with a lot of different tasks on any given day. There is always creativeness going around, planning the next event, doing team meetings, receiving calls, and launching new marketing strategies. Definitely scheduling and starting my day early are two keys that make my days more productive.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I don’t overthink ideas too much. I write the ideas down and have a small meeting with my team to evaluate what they think. If I think it’s suitable, because I really know the audience, I just act and start working to bring the idea to life.

What’s one trend that excites you?

Social media is a great way to connect with others. It helps companies like us connect with audiences. It’s especially helpful for us to promote the upcoming events of Lulu Promotions & Music.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

Focusing on the most important tasks and prioritizing activities is something that I have worked at very hard over the years as well as maintaining relationships and communication with my team.

What advice would you give your younger self?

I would tell myself to take time to evaluate risks better without making a decision right away.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

I believe that marketing and technology will dominate the world. In a lot of ways, they already have. I also believe that managing a business is a lot like managing your life and is actually easier than a lot of people think.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

Always take the time to learn new skills.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

Social media marketing and digital positioning have really helped grow Lulu Promotions & Music. It has helped with events exposure and to sell more tickets online.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

At the beginning, I underestimated how many people were needed to help plan an event. I didn’t have enough assistance for one event because of incorrect targeting. I learned from that mistake and now I always ensure that I have a constant follow up with the team.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

A business idea that I could give away would be starting up a one-stop online shop for event promoters.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

I recently purchased social media ads. They help me observe the return on investment faster than just a physical common advertisement.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

Monday.com helps me keep my schedule in order while taking care of my team’s deliverables and timeline. I also have a point of sale system in place for events to manage sales in place.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

“Thinking, Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman. It’s a great book to explain how our brain acts and how it influences our behavior and decisions.

What is your favorite quote?

“If you care about being thought credible and intelligent, do not use complex language where simpler language will do.”

― Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow

Key Learnings:

• Using a daily schedule and starting the day early will help you stay productive.
• Social media helps us connect with others and is a valuable tool for marketing.
• Marketing and technology will dominate the world.
• Always take the time to learn new skills.