Starting your own digital marketing firm is a huge undertaking, and one that takes experience, talent, and willpower. This episode, we flip the table by having our host and founder of Fujisan Marketing, Preston Parshall, in the hot seat to answer questions about his career, founding a digital marketing agency, and the challenges that he had to overcome to grow.
Learn more about Fujisan Marketing here or email your questions/comments to contact@fujisanmarketing.com.
Full episode transcript:
Preston Welcome to the Digital Marketer’s Guide Podcast, where we break down digital marketing topics into bite-sized episodes that can help your marketing program and you a little better. I’m Preston Parshall, the founder and CEO of Fujisan Marketing. Today, we’re going to flip it around a little bit. Kyle is going to be asking me questions about founding an agency, specifically a digital marketing agency.
Kyle Yeah. Are you ready to be on the other side of the table, Preston?
Preston Absolutely not. Let’s get started. Let’s do it. Well, let’s just get started with,
Kyle How did you get involved in the digital marketing field in the first place?
Preston Sure. So my career when I started out was always in marketing and advertising. My first job out of college was at the Seattle Times, typing up classified ads and then eventually moving to the display department, working on UW Medicine print ads. From there, I went to a company called DG Systems, or Fast Channel Network, and at the time we did something very innovative. Traditional agencies would create TV and radio commercials, and then they’d have to get them to all of these TV and radio stations across the US, or maybe regionally. The old way that they did it was the dub-and-ship method, which was highly expensive, right? And so I got out of college, and it was the dot-com era, and we created a company that delivered these commercials over the Internet, which was revolutionary. I got hired to talk to the radio and TV stations all across the US about signing up with our platform. Eventually, I ended up getting on the sales team, working with direct advertisers and advertising agencies all across the US to get these delivered. My next job involved streaming media for websites and embedding streaming media platforms from those websites. Then I decided maybe I didn’t want to be in high-tech sales, so I took a job teaching English in Japan and was in the mountains of Nagano for a year. Yeah, it was kind of crazy. I came back, realized I hated teaching children, and then replied to an ad in a newspaper that said Google ad sales. I got hired at a digital marketing agency called Point It. At the time, there were only three or four agencies in town. This was in 2008, and I was there for six years. We went from seven people to 30 to 40 people. We were rocking and rolling and were at the cutting edge of the digital marketing field. So that’s how I got into it.
Kyle And then along the way, when did you found Fujisan Marketing?
Preston Yeah. So I had been there about six years and foolishly thought I could do it better. But also, I think I was ready to be my own boss. We had a great owner who eventually sold the business. His name was John Lisbon, and he and I worked together to navigate my non-competes and how comfortable he was with certain things since I had been their lead business development person for a long time. We came to some conclusions, and then I was off and running.
Kyle That’s awesome. What are the biggest hurdles you faced when launching your own company?
Preston So many I can’t even begin to mention all of them. I think mentally there are hurdles, right? There’s self-doubt and impostor syndrome. Initially, I was really worried. I wasn’t worried about delivering the work; I had done that with the team behind me. I could do that as long as I had some people to help out. My initial challenge was managing, so I read about 30 books on business management because I felt I needed to shore up some things. That was an initial hurdle. But those early years were extremely fun. You’re excited, you have your business license, you’re trying to come up with a name and a URL, and then you realize you have all this time on your hands but no clients or money. The first hurdle was getting some clients on board. After that happened, it just kind of ran away with itself.
Kyle What things helped you overcome the hurdles you faced?
Preston Yeah. So here’s my biggest recommendation: go find good friends, good mentors, good books, the library, everything you can to get yourself educated. It takes a village to start a business and keep it going. I had some great mentors. My buddy Doug Orwiler, who runs all the merchandising for the Seahawks and Sounders, had great advice on management, running a team, and core values. Also, a former boss who hired me at Point It, Eric Layland, has been a resource and a friend to bounce ideas off for years. Then there’s Josh Dirks, who’s still in the mix, running an agency himself, and bouncing ideas and scenarios. I’ve always learned best from listening to the failures of others, which is sadistic and terrible, but invaluable in helping me avoid mistakes and save money. Lastly, get yourself into an accelerator. I joined the EOS accelerator, which required $250,000 in revenue. They provided amazing resources, learning days, best practices, and accountability groups. Without all of these things, I don’t think I or Fujisan would be here today.
Kyle You mentioned that you avoided some mistakes that others made. What is one of your biggest early mistakes when you started the company?
Preston Not hiring someone soon enough. I waited almost two years to hire someone because I was worried about cash flow. Those first couple of employees, if they’re fired up and into your cause, can greatly accelerate the growth of your business.
Kyle What about some of the key digital marketing lessons you learned during the early stages of the company?
Preston It was so exciting when we first started because I was in pure learning mode. We could take a lot more risks. At the time, I was the account manager and the one out there, so it was really exciting learning all the different channels at a deeper level and how to mix them together. When you’re the head account manager running the entire team for a larger client, you become much more of a strategist. Taking in those ideas and building media plans were invaluable to me early on. Sometimes I crave that hands-on experience and wish I could do a little more of it now.
Kyle What advice do you have for someone looking to start their own agency?
Preston First, get really tight on what you believe in—core values. You’re going to have to make tough decisions, and you need to know what your organization is about to fall back on those values. Build your tribe, whether it’s your immediate family, mentors, or other business owners who can help you out and understand what you’re going through. They’re going to understand cash flow, managing people, and the bottom line in ways others won’t. Also, get really good at hiring. Your job will become much easier if you hire the best and the brightest and let them do their thing.
Kyle Awesome. Well, thanks for the insight.
Preston Thank you, Kyle, for being on the other side of the microphone. Thanks for listening to the Digital Marketer’s Guide podcast. Be sure to subscribe to stay up to date when a new episode is released. If you have any feedback or topics you’d like to see covered, email us at contact@fusionmarketing.com or learn more about us at Fujisanmarketing.com. See you next time.
