Oyekunle Damola is a digital marketing consultant known for helping business owners achieve results for their online marketing campaigns. He is the founder of Dptrax, an inbound marketing agency helping clients generate more traffic, leads, and sales online.

Recently, we had a virtual interview with Damola. In our conversation, Damola shared how he grew his agency and his advice for writers and digital marketers just starting out. 

How did you start your freelance service?

I started about six years ago when a friend told me he made about N100,000 building websites. At that time, I was a student and financially dependent on my folks. I decided to learn website design to earn a good income, but I ended up focusing on digital marketing because it brings in more recurring revenue than website design.

What’s your typical work routine?

I spend my mornings doing creative tasks like content creation and paid ads. After putting in a couple of solid hours without distraction, I check and reply to emails and social media messages. It is so important not to check email or social media before I put in work.

By afternoon, I work on other tasks like website design and sales funnel setups as those are technical, and I can do them in my sleep.

What techniques did you use to grow your business and increase your income? And how did you figure out your ideal clients?

I relied on inbound marketing and referrals to grow my business to where it is today. 

One thing that played a significant role in my growth was the amount of effort I put into my early clients’ businesses. I was always able to get results, so I got lots of referrals from them.

Concerning finding my ideal client, I see the process of getting a client as an interview process that works both ways. The client wants to know if I am the best fit, and I want to know if the client is the best fit.

I get on a discovery call with the prospective client, ask a couple of questions to determine where the client is and where they want to go. During these sessions, it’s easy to see if the client is a good fit. 

What has been the most challenging part of growing your business, and how do you manage it?

Overwhelm. I manage it by outsourcing tasks to give myself more mental space. 

How do you avoid burnout? 

1) By making sure I don’t bite off more than I can chew. Often, people take on jobs and get overwhelmed, and the truth is, if they didn’t take on too much, they wouldn’t have been overwhelmed in the first place. I always put a cap on the number of clients I take at a time.

2) I tune out social media and rest. Often, people don’t realize that scrolling through social media feeds is not the same as resting. Take time off your phone. Read a novel. Watch a movie. Go swimming. Anything that does not have to do with electronics.

What’s the one piece of advice you wish someone had given you at the start of your career?

Honestly? None, but if I was going to give someone one piece of advice, it would be a single word: START.