Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in advertising and marketing but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Dennis Pang, founder and managing director of Popcorn, located in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Popcorn is a digital marketing and PR agency based in Vancouver and Toronto, Canada. We work with businesses of all sizes, from local small businesses to multinational corporations and just about everything in between. We have a lot of experience working with CPG, e-commerce, retail, hospitality, and technology companies. As each client is uniquely different, we offer customized strategic marketing plans that often involve multiple channels, from search to social media to emails and from mainstream media to online influencers.
Tell us about yourself
I started my first internet marketing company in 2009, after being laid off from my job during the 2008 recession. But for nearly ten years up until then, I had been in the industry working in various roles for several local companies, including web designing, managing web content, and search and social media marketing. Although I did go to school for web design, the rest of my knowledge in internet marketing was self-taught through experimentation.
Around 2010, I also became a social media influencer on Twitter (these were pre-Instagram days, although I'm also an influencer there), mostly sharing content around marketing, food, and hockey. As a big foodie, a few restaurants reached out to me to inquire about how they could build up a social media following. That is really what inspired me to start Popcorn in 2011, which got its start as a social media agency specifically for the food and hospitality industry. Our first few clients were:
- A Korean food truck.
- A fine-dining French restaurant.
- A tea house.
- A local pizza shop.
After a few years doing that, we had also layered on several other marketing and PR services and shifted our focus to other complementary and related industries, such as hotels, wineries, and food brands.
We've just celebrated our 10th anniversary this year, and we've had the privilege to work with some of the biggest and most recognizable local and global brands. What motivates me to do what I do is that I am in a field that is evolving and changing so quickly, so we have to continually innovate in order to continue to drive value for our clients. I really enjoy learning about our clients' businesses and working with them long-term to achieve success online.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Recently our company was awarded the certification for excellence in workplace culture. We’re a people-first company, invested in the continuous growth and development of the people that make a choice to dedicate their time and energy to our organization. It’s a tremendous honour and one we don’t take lightly, especially because this certification wasn’t top-down but rather bottom-up. The team at the Canadian Workplace Culture Index surveyed our employees, and their responses led to this certification. The voices of our team, their perspective, and their experiences at Popcorn are what makes this award really worth it.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
One of the hardest things that come with being a business owner is probably just getting started. It can be overwhelming doing everything for the first time, making mistakes along the way, picking yourself up when you fail, learning to adapt in an ever-evolving and rapidly changing industry, and doing all of these things while trying to operate and grow your business.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Get really clear on your product positioning and value proposition, and really understand who your core customer is.
- Don't take a singular channel approach with your marketing. Understand how different channels work at various stages of your customer journey, from awareness to consideration to purchase to loyalty. Whatever you're selling, figure out how to move your audience from one stage of the customer journey to the next.
- Seek a mentor who has relevant or industry experience, and be a mentor yourself to give back to the business community. I believe that no matter what you do, how successful you are, or how long you've been doing it, there's always an opportunity to learn from others or use your experiences to help others.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.gopopcorn.ca/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dennis.pang
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dennispang/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dennispang
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennispang/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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