Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Manick Bhan, founder, and CEO of LinkGraph, located in New York City, NY, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
LinkGraph is a marketing solutions provider specializing in SEO services like link building, technical SEO, and white-label deliverables. We offer 50+ SEO products to help enterprise brands and agencies achieve their growth and revenue goals. LinkGraph has a competitive edge with our premium SEO software, SearchAtlas, and we offer customers enterprise SEO tools alongside our managed campaigns. We have seen record growth in the past five years and are looking to expand our global operations.
Tell us about yourself
Before LinkGraph, I was the founder and CEO of Rukkus, an online ticketing app that was acquired by StubHub in 2018. SEO was a huge part of our success there, and after Rukkus was acquired, I founded LinkGraph with the goal of sharing my data-driven approach to SEO with other enterprise brands. I'm also a computer programmer and the creator of SearchAtlas, an enterprise SEO software platform that helps digital marketers do SEO at scale. At LinkGraph, we are pairing services with software to create a full-service solution for digital marketers. SEO is my greatest passion and my life's work.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I'm proud of the many awards LinkGraph has earned over the past few years, including making the Inc. 5000's fastest-growing companies list, earning Best Startup Agency at the U.S. Search Awards, and being nominated as the Best Place to Work by our employees. Overall though, what I'm most proud of is how we've built LinkGraph to be a socially-conscious company. We donate a percentage of our revenues to nonprofit organizations that are focused on improving conditions for animals, the environment, and our communities. That spirit of kindness is also reflected in our workplace culture. The faster we grow, the better we can do. This makes LinkGraph a place that employees want to be.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Growth doesn't always come in the ways or at the pace you expect. It can be hard to be flexible and adaptable as a business owner, as we can sometimes convince ourselves that our products and services are what our target audience exactly wants but that they just don't know it yet! This can be particularly true for products that require some type of education. It's important to listen to what your customers are telling you right now and think critically about how your products can improve or better meet your target audience's needs. Listen, iterate, and keep going.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
First of all, find the right team. You need the best people at your business if you want your business to be at its best, so always be on the lookout for great talent.
Second, invest in SEO! It is arguably the most affordable area of digital marketing with the greatest ROI, and that investment will benefit all other areas of your digital marketing strategy as your business grows.
Third, make time for yourself. Business owners are always at risk of burnout, so make sure to rest when you need to. It's okay to take a vacation – if you follow my first tip, your team will keep things moving whenever you're away. Always keep pushing, but just make sure to take care of yourself too.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://linkgraph.io/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/linkgraph.io/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/linkgraph.io/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/madmanick/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manick-bhan/
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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