Finding the American Dream: Andrew Weitsman
Sixthirtyone interviews entrepreneurs, visionaries, and the leaders of tomorrow
Keaton Stratton
Issue date: 1/20/10 Section: Opinion
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My main service is written marketing - press releases, advertising copy (for print, online and broadcast media), newsletters, mass emails, body copy for web pages and so on. I also create ad campaigns, mostly utilizing social media and interactive elements. I also offer writing in the form of editing, article creation, ebook development and ghostwriting.
When did you start your first business? Your current projects?
My first business was doing full-on advertising campaigns while I was a sophomore at TU. I was interested in the different aspects of advertising, so I jumped headfirst into the business, taking on my friends' small businesses as clients. Currently, I make creative marketing and sales documents for a growing Internet Marketing firm. Additionally, I started a blog last year, which will soon expand to have a store with ebooks and (hopefully) published works. A book that I did some ghostwriting on will be out this February, and I am editing a novel that will tentatively be out in 2012, assuming that the world doesn't end.
How many employees do you currently have?
I am my only employee, though I have made use of virtual assistants and teams of up to a dozen people. In my freelance work, I have been in groups as small as four and as large as twenty. I'm not looking to expand my business, though I have no problems integrating myself into a larger company.
What is the mission of your enterprise?
My mission is to learn as much as I can about marketing, branding and advertising with as many different clients as possible. And also to make money.
What sort of struggles and challenges have you faced along the way?
I originally wanted only to use the freelancing as a means to an end - the end being getting work at a larger advertising agency. Unfortunately, the current options for doing so given the economic climate are somewhat limited. So adjusting from a part-time endeavor to a full-time career took a bit of time. Also, freelancing is not always the most financially stable environment in which to be. As a result, I take on multiple projects, which cause me to become more organized personally to take on the task of several different pursuits at the same time.
What would you say is a key lesson you learned about business - i.e., what's more important: sales, finance or operations?
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