Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in advertising services but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Jason Hennessey, CEO of Hennessey Digital, located in Valencia, CA, USA.

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

Hennessey Digital is a full-service digital marketing agency best known for understanding the Google algorithm, which revolutionizes the standard agency business. Our internal culture of innovation and growth allows us to create efficiencies, develop technical solutions to challenges, and create opportunities that break the mold. We help our clients rank in keyword search results in some of the most competitive markets, like law firms.

Tell us about yourself

Like everyone in digital marketing, I accidentally fell into it in 2001. As an entrepreneur, there was a need to market my business, which caused me to search for a solution. Identifying that solution then grew my interest in the subject of SEO, which then ignited my passion for digital marketing, which eventually led me to start a business. Staying competitive keeps me motivated each day. I'm able to look at Google and see who's winning and losing each day based on the search engine results page. I also want to keep my business thriving because it provides opportunities for my employees and enables them to provide for their families.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment as a business owner was being acknowledged and rewarded for business growth in 2019 by being ranked #290 by the Inc. 500. It was so encouraging to work so hard and be ranked among the fastest-growing privately held companies in the US. We have continued our growth since then and have been fortunate enough to be named by the Inc. 5000 for the past 3 years.

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

Most people start a business to provide a solution to a problem they've identified. That's the easy part. One of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner is scaling the business to support sustained growth. If I was just working on one website to get it to rank on the first page of a Google search, then that's easy. But as I add more clients, I have more sites to work on, and with that growth, I need to hire staff to support the growth. Setting up systems and operating procedures to ensure continuity in processes, then training the staff is important in achieving continued success for all of our clients.

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

First, find something that you love to do because you don't want to just buy yourself a job by starting a company only to then be miserable. Second, you need to be comfortable with failing forward. You're going to make a lot of mistakes starting, running, and growing your business, and that's ok. But make sure you appreciate your failures, learn from the mistakes, and create solutions to ensure those mistakes don't happen again. Third, make sure you live a balanced life. As you're growing a business, it's very easy to continue getting pulled back into the business to enable it to succeed. But remember, the more time you spend on the business, the less time you're spending with your family and on your health. Finding that balance to make sure you're not married to your business, carrying the stress and pressure home with you, and neglecting yourself is important for the success of your business in the long run.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://hennessey.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jasonhennesseyfb/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasonhennessey/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jasonhennessey
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jhennessey/

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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