This weeks interviewee is Matt Tomkin, founder, and MD of Tao Digital Marketing, a digital marketing consultancy based in Bolton, Manchester. Working with SME’s to help build a better online presence.

1. Biggest mistake of your career & how you fixed it?

I like to think I’m a pretty level headed individual, but after several successful years building a small tech company I made the mistake of thinking I knew everything there was to know about business.

I sold my shares in a steady, solid and reliable business I’d built with a business partner over the years and decided I could take on the world of Sportswear manufacturing. Big mistake. I learned some serious lessons.

The main lesson of this story being, complete in-depth research on the market you intend to enter. We never really had the money to compete and should have spotted this before we even started.

2. A lightbulb moment

I guess my lightbulb moment was realising my own worth and value. I think most people start out thinking they need to be ‘competitive’ to succeed and win business.

The day I realised what I was worth, was a game changer. No longer do I compete on price, but am now 100% confident that I am worth every penny and only move from this if It is very much worth it for me and the agency to do so.

3. Tip for tomorrow

Process and procedures first! I’ve now built one successful business and one that has failed. The deciding factor, as I believe it to be, is that the second failed due to being too busy to create the processes and procedures needed for growth.

Without these in place a company can only grow so far, it’s much easier to have these working as you grow rather than trying to retro-fit them into the business when it has grown.

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