The Business of Meetings 24: Growing Your Business Through Challenges with Erik Huberman
We’re delighted to welcome a successful rock star entrepreneur as our guest for today’s podcast! Erik Huberman is the founder and CEO of Hawke Media. He is joining us today to talk about how he managed to achieve the fantastic success that he has had in his business, and to tell us how his business keeps on growing, even during the global pandemic. He will also be offering some advice for all of us in the meetings and events industry.
About Hawke Media
Erik started Hawke Media in 2014, and over the last six years, the company has been experiencing phenomenal growth. Hawke media currently has around 165 employees, and it continues to grow at an exponential rate.
Erik’s bio
Erik Huberman is a serial entrepreneur and a sought-after thought leader in the world of digital marketing, entrepreneurship, sales, and business. Before starting Hawke Media, Erik founded, grew, and sold Swag of the Month, and he grew the sales of Ellie.com to a million dollars in just four months.
Erik has received many honors and awards, including Forbes “30 Under 30”, Inc Magazine’s “Top 25 Marketing Influencers”, and Influencive’s “Top Influencive Influencers of 2017”. Erik is a regular contributor to major media publications like Forbes, Entrepreneur, and Business Insider.
Erik comes from an entrepreneurial family
Erik has an entrepreneurial dad and an entrepreneurial grandfather, so the idea of running a business came very naturally to him, and he took it for granted that he would build his own business at some point. He was always eager to learn new things, so he made sure he took on jobs and roles in companies so that he could learn everything from top to bottom.
Erik’s journey
Erik graduated in 2008, and he started working in the real estate industry one week before the entire banking industry collapsed. That year, he earned a total of $350. Although it was frustrating for him, he learned a lot from the experience, and he began looking for some other options, and working on some different projects.
Launching online companies
Erik started an online music company that took him two years to build. After that, he hired a CEO to take it over. At the same time, he created and sold two different e-commerce companies.
Advising and consulting
At the time, he was one of the only people to create and sell successful businesses in the online space. Erik always enjoyed the process of talking to customers and peers, so after selling his last e-commerce company, he began advising and consulting for several businesses, both large and small.
Difficulties with marketing
While working for several different companies, Erik noticed that they were all having the same problem when it was time to execute on marketing. The tough ecosystem left companies with only two choices. They could hire an in-house team, or they could hire an agency. Neither option was always ideal.
A solution
Hating the whole marketing ecosystem, Erik decided to hire a small SWAT team, just to solve the immediate problem for his clients. The team he hired consisted of people that he knew through his network, and they all had specific expertise.
The birth and growth of Erik’s company
Erik’s solution was both cost-effective and flexible. This team formed the core of what is now known as Hawke Media.
Hawke Media has offices in LA, New York, and Boston, and they are currently working on expanding and opening offices in Chicago, Miami, and Atlanta.
Adapting to the current ecosystem
Although we are living in a very challenging time right now, entrepreneurs will always have to deal with challenges. If you already have a business, adapting to the current ecosystem is generally easier than waiting on the whole ecosystem to change for the better.
Erik’s advice
If you are struggling with your business in these difficult times, Erik advises you to look at this as just another business challenge, rather than seeing it as a failure. Erik also points out that your ability to deal with the current problems in your business is an indicator of future business success.
Links and resources:
Connect with Eric:
On LinkedIn
On Facebook
On Instagram
On Website