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Josh Ryans Background Story
Josh grew up in a small town, isolated in the middle of nowhere in New Zealand in a place called Golden Bay with a population of around 2,000 people. Even though his family wasn’t wealthy, they were very supportive and always encouraged Josh to go after his dreams. Growing up he played a lot of sports and started his first business at 9-years-old because he wanted a pair of expensive football boots and to travel across the world to watch Leo Messi play live for FC barcelona in Spain. Neither Josh nor his parents had the money to fund this trip, but his parents took this opportunity to teach him a valuable lesson. They told him that he could have anything he wanted in life as long as he found a way to make it happen.
Those words are what led to his first business where he had a coca cola vending machine. Prior to that he traded pokemon cards and sold fruit at the gate when he was 6 years old. By the time he was 13 he discovered the power of wifi and social media. Like a lot of people in the online space, he tried many different things online over the next three years, but nothing seemed to stick for more than a week.
Just before he turned 16 Josh started the Instagram page @millionaire.dream posting motivational quotes, cool cars, houses, etc that would inspire both himself and others. After hustling all day every day he was able to build this page to 100k in 12 months, and now 440k after just three years.
After this success he decided to settle on launching an Agency at the end of 2017. Now he has clients that include top entrepreneurs like Russell Brunson and Preston Smiles.
I got the chance to interview Josh about how he got started with his marketing agency. Here’s what he had so say.
Hey Josh! Can you tell us about your agency and how it got started?
Josh Ryan: At first I grew my Instagram page and then along the way I did a bunch of things to try and make money online including affiliate marketing, ecommerce, influencer marketing, email marketing, and consulting etc. At the start of this year I decided to link up my huge network of influencer friends that I have met over the years to help grow entrepreneurs social pages who have a good message. I decided to dedicate at least a year to this and see what the results would be instead of switching up things like I used to.
What are two things you wish someone told you when you first started?
- Network More: Networking is so powerful, it’s very hard to do so from New Zealand but with the online word, it makes it easier. However, if you live in the US, Europe or anywhere with lots of meetups and events you should go!
- Keep better records: I got ripped off many times along the way due to not using contracts, or not keeping good records of negotiations. You don’t always need a contract for stuff on social media, however having proof of offer and acceptance is great if the try to screw you over by asking paypal for refunds (please consult a lawyer for legal advice)
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person you are grateful towards who helped you get to where you are and what lessons did you learn from them?
Josh Ryan: There are so many people but I would have to start with my parents who have always encouraged me and taught me the importance of working for what I want and giving me the competitive determined spirit.
Secondly, I would have to say a local mentor of mine who has giving me advice on investing. One thing he taught me was to not put my money somewhere I don’t have any control of it.
There have been a lot of entrepreneurs and influencers who have helped me with small pieces of advice. One in particular has been Jason Stone @millionaire_mentor who was the person who from day one, showed me the business of Instagram. About two weeks after I started my Instagram I messaged him and asked for a shoutout and since then he’s helped me along the way with his methods for growing accounts.
How has building a personal brand helped grow your business exponentially?
Josh Ryan: I’ve spent a lot of time working on building my business and I’ve just started putting in more effort to building my personal brand. I’ve been able to build my reputation on the niche of Instagram marketing. I purposely only took on clients who are successful entrepreneurs, building their personal brands on Instagram. By choosing this very specific clienttell I have become well known name in the community which has helped me pick up many clients through referrals. However in 2019 I will be building out my following on @thejoshryan to help generate more clients. For both my agency and as a great way to leave an impact and help more people. I’ve also started a podcast which will begin in January where personal branding comes in big time.
Here’s where you can connect with Josh
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejoshryan/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCumWpJufFEP_M7l8lsuMKTw
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/officialjoshryan/
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