Business
Build Your Own Future – Interview With Ram Media Group Founder Nehemiah Burney-Porter
Jobs are difficult to come by for millennials, so it’s no surprise that many create jobs for themselves as entrepreneurs. Launching a company is not as easy as it sounds and requires tons of hard work, but the rewards are incomparable. With more and more people aspiring to become entrepreneurs instead of working a 9-5, there may be some questions that are overlooked in the process. To give a clear look into the life of an entrepreneur, we connected with Nehemiah Burney-Porter, Founder of Ram Media Group. He runs a digital marketing agency that specializes in maximizing marketing ROI and measuring content effectiveness. Nehemiah recognized value and demand in digital marketing early on, giving him a head start in the industry. He was able to give insight into building a business and what you have to do in order to differentiate yourself from your competitors.
What are some surprises that have risen after the start of your own business?
Honestly, the biggest surprise for me was the amount of legal and tax paperwork that was needed to make the company legitimate. Everything from insurance, corporate quarterly tax reporting and the legal aspects of registering for an LLC. Not to mention figuring out how to pay myself and separate the two incomes. You go from working your job from 9 to 5 and then going home, to having to be an accountant, HR manager and salesperson in your non-working hours.
Another surprise was realizing how fluid I needed to be in my product offerings. I went into business thinking I would just sell my Google Analytics and Adobe Analytics reporting expertise like I did when I was consulting for other companies. But I quickly realized that if I wanted to continue relationships with these clients that I would have to be their go to for any new supplemental tools they were looking at getting into. Essentially, I was already a SME (Subject Matter Expert) at the reporting sides of Google and Adobe but most of these companies need an data strategy SME who is tool agnostic. In less than a year, I had to learn the pros and cons and how to implement at an enterprise level close to 20 different tools all ranging from cloud based data lakes to machine learning implementations.
What are some risks that you have had to take when starting your own business?
The biggest risk that I take over and over again is putting my name or brand on the line to prove my value as an expert. In my industry, people aren’t paying you to get work done, but instead they’re essentially paying you to know more than them on a specific subject. Because of this I find myself going toe-to-toe with very intelligent and powerful people within these companies. And if I’m wrong about something, that’s it. There’s no training or conference they will send me to to get smart on a subject. That contract would be cancelled and they’ll get someone else in there.
I also picked up and moved my life when I signed my first major client because they were 2 hours away and I needed to give them a lot of face time. Its unnerving putting everything on the line with no real safety net. Knowing if it doesn’t work out I would have to move again, or downgrade my life a bit to make ends meet. But honestly that became sort of a driving force for me. Knowing how easily I can lose everything makes me work even harder to stay ahead in this industry.
Have you had to ever make an irrational decision to safeguard your business?
Yes. Before when my biggest client wasn’t enough to go full time with, I got wind that one of my smaller clients were thinking about switching providers so they could get more face time or whatever. Work was good and they were happy with results, but there’s something about southern culture that they want to see you every once in awhile. Anyway, they were meeting with a local agency the next day out in Houston (or so I thought). I bought a last minute plane ticket and popped into their offices to take him to lunch. Come to find out, once I landed I get an email telling me he was working out of the florida offices. So I bought another ticket and that lunch became dinner. Well $1300 and many hours later I was able to keep that $400 a month client. The worst part was a couple of months later I had to let that client go to make time for a bigger one. I don’t know if it all was worth it.
How do you enter an industry and make a lasting impression?
To put it simply, do good work. I was lucky enough to be doing the same exact work for a number of different companies before I branched out on my own. I was already getting recruiting calls on a regular basis and I changed those to sales leads. The Philadelphia data analytics industry is a pretty small tight knit community. So by doing well at a number of different companies, word spreads. The problem is Nehemiah Burney-Porter is already a proven data analyst and business strategist with a strong resume. But Ram Media Group isn’t. That’s the part I haven’t figured out yet. How to take the name that I built for myself in this industry and get my company name to outshine that.
Why do you think business owners fail more frequently?
In my experience, people don’t market themselves well enough to stay afloat. You can have a great product but at the end of the day you need people to buy into whatever you’re selling. It’s not easy and at times you can start to take rejection personally. But once you find your niche or specific target demographic it becomes easier. Or you may have to be open to change the product somewhat to give it an edge. At first I thought I knew my target (smaller ecommerce companies just starting to get into online sales). And I was missing left and right. But then I kept signing large services based companies. The work changed significantly and the pressure of perfection was significantly higher and not exactly what I wanted. But I adjusted and kept working. Learning from failure is a big necessity when trying to go out on your own. A “no” isn’t an “I don’t need this product.” It’s an “I don’t need your version of this product.” Your job as an owner is to figure out and produce what version sells.
Owning a business is not easy, what recommendations would you make to an aspiring business owner?
The biggest mistake you can make when starting out is trying to make something that everyone thinks is great. Find the people you want to sell to and listen to them. A lot of people that have nothing to do with your offerings may try to give you advice, but from a business standpoint they’re not important. Take failure as a learning experience and the biggest thing is don’t give up. There is A LOT you will have to learn along the way that may not have anything to do with your main product but everything to do with running a business. Lastly, you don’t have to be ahead of all the competition, just ahead of your clients’ needs.
Elon Musk is the one guy you can turn to for the craziest ideas. But is his proposed transit loop in Fort Lauderdale really happening?
Boring Company, the brainchild of Elon Musk, provides low-cost transportation, fast-to-dig, freight, and utility tunnels. To date, the company has only dug three tunnels, one of which is the Los Angeles test tunnel. The other two are the underground 0.8-mile Las Vegas Convention Center tunnels.
Now, Boring Company is looking into building another transit loop connecting Fort Lauderdale’s downtown to its beach. Passengers will be brought from point A to B in standard Teslas. Although Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said it’s an “innovative and unprecedented” way of alleviating street-level traffic, many people are still skeptical about Musk’s proposed transit loop.
It appears that this transit loop project called the “Las Ollas Loop” is just one out of the many proposed tunnels by Musk. The Boring Company had announced projects such as the Chicago loop system and the DC-to-Baltimore tunnel. However, both have seemingly been cancelled, with the latter eliminated from the company’s website.
This makes everyone wonder: Is the proposed transit loop hot air?
Transit loop drew flak
Although the Boring Company and Fort Lauderdale are in the works of materializing the said plan, engineers, experts, and people concerned are still dubious of the tunnel due to Florida rising sea levels. In addition, many people fear that due to the city’s location, the “Loop” might cause flood risks.
Climate change might have a huge impact on the fulfillment of the transit loop. Some say if it indeed pushes through, then engineers would have to find a way to use technology and features that fight the impact of climate change. This would have to involve extensive investigation from an engineering and structural perspective.
Another concern is Florida’s limestones, which make it hard to optimize tunnelling machines due to the natural holes. Moreover, the city dons many underground aquifers, which experts claim need to be protected as well. However, the Boring Company is open to studying the geological aspect on which path to dig that leads to the beach. It can avoid risks and drastic environmental impact.
But one of the valid concerns from transportation planners is why Fort Lauderdale would settle for standard Teslas? With that, they’ll need to drive hundreds of passengers from downtown to the beach when a bus or train can accommodate more.
Mayor Dean Transalis stays positive
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Transalis is nothing but excited about Musk’s proposed transit loop. Aside from solving traffic in the most congested streets in the city, this project will also relieve parking stress at Fort Lauderdale’s beaches.
The city of Fort Lauderdale is now seeing an expected $30-million budget for this transit loop. This is despite the Boring Company’s promise of faster construction times and lower costs. However, this promise received criticism from tunnel industry experts and engineers. They say the company doesn’t have new technology for building tunnels.
Talks from Fort Lauderdale Vice Mayor and Governor are now looking into opening the transit loop by the end of 2022.
Regardless of the skepticism from transportation and tunnel experts, the Boring Company remains optimistic about the project. They said a ride in standard Teslas that brings people from downtown Fort Lauderdale to the beach would cost each person $5 to $8. This is in comparison to a similar route with Uber, which will cost $10 per person.
But Mayor Dean Transalis hasn’t yet closed the deal on the Boring Company’s proposal. Instead, he offered other tunnel-digging companies to submit better and more innovative tunnelling methods within 45 days.
Many people have been trying to stay at home amid the coronavirus disease pandemic and grocery delivery services have come to save the day. But if you want to take it up a notch and also save chopping and meal prep time, meal delivery services will be more your jam.
Here are the best meal delivery services to check out the next time you want a convenient home-cooked meal.
1. Freshly
First on our list of best meal delivery services is Freshly. This platform offers single-serve fully-prepared meals. That means you won’t have to saute, boil, or anything else that would require more than three minutes to do. The plan costs $11.49 per meal for four meals per week but if you order 12 meals per week, the price goes down to $8.49 per meal.
2. Dinnerly
If you want to feel like a cooking whiz, Dinnerly is one of the best meal delivery services to try. Instead of delivering cooked meals, the platform offers meal kits with all the ingredients you need. The best part is, they offer it for as low as $4.69 per person. Their products cost a lot less than other providers because they use digital recipe cards and spend less on marketing.
3. Sunbasket
If you can’t decide between fully-cooked meals or meal kits, Sunbasket can give you both. They have fresh and ready meals that you can buy and heat up. Or if you want to flex your muscles in the kitchen, you can also try their meal kits. Their dinners start at $8.99 per serving.
4. EveryPlate
EveryPlate is a good choice for those who want to practice their cooking skills without tiring themselves out too much. The meals only take six steps to make and are ready within 30 minutes.
5. Gobble
If you can only handle 15 minutes of cooking, then check out Gobble. Their chefs do all the tedious work, from peeling and chopping to marinating. So you’ll spend less time preparing and more time enjoying your meal.
6. Hello Fresh
Hello Fresh says it’s “America’s Most Popular Meal Kit” and it’s surely worth checking out. Each of their boxes contains pre-portioned farm-fresh ingredients and easy-to-follow recipes with nutritional info. The kit also fits perfectly in the fridge so you can order it in advance.
7. Blue Apron
If you’re the type of foodie who likes to keep things exciting, this service is for you. Blue Apron keeps dinner interesting by offering a wide variety of meals – from healthy options to premium plates. The service costs $9.99 per serving for two recipes per week (each one serving two people).
8. Purple Carrot
Who says meat-eaters have all the fun? Purple Carrot offers plant-based meals that are good for you and good for the planet. Best of all, their menu options are anything but boring – you’ll get all the flavors and nutrition you need sans the guilt.
9. Green Chef
Green Chef is another favorite for foodies trying to eat clean and stay lean. They offer three menu categories – balanced meal, plat-powered, and keto + paleo. That means you won’t have to go astray from your diet to enjoy delicious meals.
10. Home Chef
Last but not least on our best meal delivery services list is Home Chef. This platform offers weekly meal kits starting at $6.99 per serving. Whether you’re cutting down on carbs, calories, or animal byproducts, they have the plan for you. You can also upgrade, double up, or swap items according to your preferences.
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