Savvy Entrepreneur welcomed Brian Loebig, of Loebig Ink LLC., to be featured as our very first Savvy Entrepreneur Spotlight. During the one hour session, Brian shared not only his love for music but how he managed to grow his business to the thriving company it is today.
Loebig Ink, LLC is a small business consulting firm fueled by coffee, creativity, and music to provide SEO, web design and social media solutions to its clients. Many of the small businesses Brian’s team works with include finance and law firms, musicians and clubs.
Passions Can Turn Into Profit
Brian grew up in a musical family and remembers falling in love with the banjo by watching the television show Hee-Haw. He was motivated to continue with his music after winning first prize for his banjo performance in a school talent show. Brian joined a Bluegrass band and has been playing music ever since.
Prior to 2010, Brian’s whole career was devoted to working with non-profit organizations. In fact, his first job out of college was working for a non-profit business. He is a trained Alcohol & Drug counselor, and eventually obtained a job as the Chief Operating Officer for the Lutheran Family Services in Virginia. When the financial crisis hit the country, Brian was laid off and decided it was time to pursue other interests.
Brian always had an interest in web design, something he dabbled in a side job. He decided to put his full attention into this interest and created a business plan and website to see if he could make a success out of it. Within his first year, Brian was able to make $30K, which he then doubled in his second year.
The Importance of Networking and Referrals
After moving to the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia) area with his family, Brian joined a business networking group called BNI (www.BNI.com). In Brian’s words…”It was the best thing that ever happened in his career”. BNI is a group based on providing professional referrals, and growing business relationships both locally and abroad. With chapters around the world, members are able to find groups of like-minded individuals in their own backyard.
Since joining BNI, Brian has seen a 50%-100% growth in his business every year. BNI is like “networking on steroids”, according to Brian. The weekly meetings make it even easier to network and find new people to collaborate with.
Brian has also seen his business grow from the days of him being a solo web designer, and taking every job he could find from Craigslist and referrals to now running a company with a team of twelve contractors. He is now making four times what he made as a Chief Operating Officer.
When asked about his philosophy on niches, Brian had a surprising response. For his business, Brian chose not to niche down, and instead enjoys working with a variety of small businesses. While it may not be ideal for every company, Brian sees his decision as one of the key contributors to his business’s success.
Watch the complete spotlight here:
