Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Baljot Saral, Creative Director of Web Sharx, located in Toronto, ON, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Web Sharx is a boutique digital agency that focuses on three main areas: custom website development, branding / graphic design, and digital marketing services. We transform businesses from offline to online, increasing exposure and building an online presence with digital tools.
Tell us about yourself
I've always been interested in entrepreneurship at a young age. I used to fix our computers at home, reformat / clean viruses, the odd job at that, haha. Given my interest in technology at the age of 15, my Uncle challenged me by asking me to build a website for his TV repair business. I took a crack at it by trying to learn tutorials on Google and ended up using "Blogger," which was around at the time and has since been deprecated. The website I built wasn't great, but I definitely re-did the website as I grew older and gained the right knowledge and experience. It all started from there, I would visit clients at meetings in which I wasn't able to drive to at a young age, and I started to get inspired by how many passions came through technology, but also bridging it with client and customer relationship management. Having the ability to connect with clients about their unique businesses and experiences, continues to motivate me to work with businesses every day.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Our company is a B2B business, and I have the absolute pleasure to work with a larger team. This was my biggest accomplishment, from being able to start with building brands and websites on my own, to hiring and managing employees to work collaboratively, delivering the best solution possible with our core competencies. In addition, this year, we launched a new commercial to motivate and inspire other business owners to "Take a Bite Off The Web with Web Sharx," which can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5V577srMMA8.
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 that every day is not the same. As a result, the ability to be flexible is largely important to manage projects daily effectively. In addition, change is inevitable, and we're in a constant state of change in business with continually evolving technologies and consumer behaviour. It's important we hold ourselves accountable to offer and deliver the best solutions possible for our customers around the world. We owe this to our clients!
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Avoid perfection. One of the biggest hurdles to starting for some business owners is how to perfect your brand and showcase it perfectly online. I've seen how many times business owners have just held up their launch just to perfect how their Instagram is or a certain portion of their email signature or website. This applies especially in a creative field; I always tell my clients that a website can never be fully completed. It's a continuous work in progress, just because there's always something that can be updated :)
- Accountability. Hold yourself accountable when you're working on your business. Some business owners may have a second job, while others may take the risk and start solely on their business without financial security. Nonetheless, it's important to hold yourself accountable when working on your business to see how many hours you're actually committing on a daily and weekly basis. My brother showed me this Time Tracking app which is easy to install and quite cost-effective: https://www.timedoctor.com/. You can coach yourself and other team members to recognize what's working well in terms of projects efficiency, and when you may need to step in when necessary.
- Don't be afraid to ask for help. Working on your own can become stressful at times. These are the growing pains that come with entrepreneurship. Don't be afraid to delegate responsibilities to part-time contractors or even seek help by adding team members to invest in the long-term growth of the business. Although it may be costly at first, the growth trajectory in the long term will pay off. Being a business owner, you must have oversight of the overall strategy of the business to help successfully carry out tactics with team members to take your business to the next level.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Don't be afraid to take the big leap. Although it may seem scary, it's not when you've started with a bit of a plan! My Father always tells me, "people don't plan to fail; sometimes they just fail to plan." Set yourself up for success: it's a marathon, not a sprint.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.websharx.ca/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/websharx
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/websharx/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/websharx
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/web-sharx/
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.
Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.