Meet Jay Sterling — The Upwork Connoisseur Leading The Digital Marketing Industry
From being inspired watching television at 14 year’s old to drop shipping various items on the internet at age 17. The story of Jay Sterling is a inspirational one to say the least.
I recently had the chance to interview Jay and speak about his journey with his multiple successful business ventures; this is what we spoke about.
How did you first get into entrepreneurship?
“My journey started with watching programmes on TV at first, whether it was flipping small items or property. The idea of creating value was fascinating to me, even at 14 years old.
From there it evolved to selling creams and small things online at 17, and then drop shipping garden items, and private labelling items from China for Ecommerce.
Ultimately, I realised I didn’t really like all the rules on the platforms I was selling on and wanted to create my own brand. I realised real value was in having a brand as you could eventually sell your brand.”
How was your social media marketing agency born? Did you have any prior experience building a business or is your digital marketing agency the first business you’ve ever founded?
“It was when I had some negative experiences dealing with online platforms like eBay and Amazon that I realised I wanted more control. I wanted to create my own brand with Shopify and run ads to it. But I knew nothing about ads, and I had some friends starting marketing agencies around that time.
I decided that it was time to start an agency I could learn from other successful business owners, learn from others’ money (whilst doing a good job of course), and get to grip with ads so I could later build my own brand.
Since then, I haven’t looked back, and I’ve learned so much. Even the little things one takes for granted, such as customer services and managing people are so crucial.”
What advice would you give to the younger entrepreneurs who are reading this looking to start their own digital marketing agency?
“Focus on a method that offers you warm leads. For quite a while I had a lot of difficulty, as I was playing a luck-based game. I was trying to convince people who weren’t necessarily interested in my services, and so they weren’t willing to pay the right prices. I had tons of messages being left on read…with no reply.
Start by trying to close people who need your services first. Focus on people who understand how online marketing can help them, and what effect it can have.
This has led me to use Upwork.com and have clients retainers that are thousands more than the average agency owner.”
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
“I don’t spend a lot of time on my agency at the moment. I expect that to continue — I’ll have most of the business on autopilot, grow my team, and client base and continue to outsource.
I want to get to hundreds of thousands of dollars a month with the agency, whilst building a multi-million-dollar ecommerce brand that has a lasting effect.
I also wish to continue helping people achieve financial literacy, success and have a 360-degree change in their lives.”
Interested in learning more about Jay and how he can help you scale your business revenue via Facebook & Instagram Ads? Follow him below!