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Grabbing Marketing By The Foxtail: Interview With Founder Michael Templeman

foxtailmarketing.com

Ah, how good it must feel when the first $250 million dollar company contracts your services. After all, the big dollars up for grabs in online marketing means that businesses have many options to choose from – from uber expensive agencies to DIY and low-cost automated solutions. So, what seals the deal?

 

For Michael Templeman, CEO and Founder of Foxtail Marketing, success means not taking any shortcuts. His experienced team listened to their clients’ needs and built a full service marketing firm to answer them. Foxtail Marketing now offers a range of social media, paid advertising, search engine optimization, conversion optimization, and web design solutions to implement robust campaigns.

 

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Like many scrappy bootstrapping outfits, they’ve held meetings to discuss digital marketing strategy in some rather inspired “offices” along the way. Templeman tells us more about content marketing done right and doing what you love:

 

What’s your company about? What do you do? Who are your customers?

We offer a full-spectrum online marketing product to our enterprise level clients. We also work with partners to fulfill their SEO needs.

 

What’s the greatest thing about your company/website? Why is it better than the competition?

We don’t try to game the system. We work within the system and create amazing marketing campaigns that withstand algorithm updates and any other changes that come down the pike.

 

How’d you come up with the name for your company?

We love the branding of Foxtail Marketing. It is lively yet familiar.

 

What was your first computer? How old were you when you first got on the world wide web?

I remember working with the DOS prompt on a computer back in 1987. I first discovered the web back in 1992.

 

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CEO & Founder, Michael Templeman

 

What time do you usually start work each day? How many hours a day do you usually work?

I start every day with some stretching and yoga. I then work for the next 12 hours and end the day with my laptop, tying up loose ends.

 

When’s the last time you went on vacation and where did you go?

I went to NYC with my wife this past year and caught a bunch of broadway shows.

 

When do your best ideas come to you? In bed in the morning? During dinner? On your third beer?

In the shower. It’s my place of relaxation and meditation. I get so much inspiration in the shower.

 

How many people did you start the company with and how many people work for you now?

3 people started, now at 5 and growing quickly.

 

A lot of people have big ideas. What gave you the confidence to actually go after yours?

We noticed that clients were clamoring for quality content and products. We knew we could provide that. So, we stopped working for someone else and set out on our own.

 

 

marketing putz

 

 

Remember the early days of starting up? Describe the struggles you went through.

We had our first business meetings in Starbucks and took conference calls in our cars over the Bluetooth speakers.

 

How do you handle frustration? What has been your biggest professional frustration?

Working out. I love to go to the gym and sweat until I can’t remember what I was stressed about. I find that people who take shortcuts and look to get something over on someone else are my biggest pet peeves.

 

What’s your office environment like? Do you listen to music? Watch movies? Play video games?

We have a very laid back office. We don’t have a dress code, but still expect people to dress for success. Music is playing on everyone’s computer.

 

How do you picture your company in 5 years?

In 5 years we expect to be the major player in the custom content creation market. We’re the best at it, and people are figuring it out.

 

Who or what inspires YOU? Role models? Quotes? Running? Video games? Snack food?

I love reading. I feel like I’m crawling into someone’s head when I read their thoughts and their words. Nothing gets me motivated quite like reading.

 

How’d you fund this venture? VC? Self-funding? Crowdfunded?

Shoe Strings and Pipe Dreams. We used a little bit of cash that we had saved up. But we quickly generated revenue and were self-funded from the start.

 

Got any great bootstrapping tips for the lean startups out there?

Don’t believe that money is a critical piece of a startup. The most important part of a startup is the founders and your product. If those two things are phenomenal, you can get by with very little cash.

 

What other advice do you have for other entrepreneurs struggling to get started?

There is never a great time to start a business. Something will always manage to get in the way. If you’re waiting for the right time, you’ll never make your move. Decide on a plan of action and execute it.

 

What would you do if you had a year off and $500,000 to spend (on something other than work)?

I would travel the world. I would get on a round-the-world cruise ship and hit every port I could, and dance every night with my wife.

 

Do you consider yourself a successful entrepreneur? If not, what’ll make you feel successful?

I consider myself a successful entrepreneur. Not because of my business success, but because of my life successes. I have a loving family, a happy outlook on life, and I love what I do. I could be a penniless pauper and I would still feel successful.

 

Top 5 websites you couldn’t live without?

  1. moz.com
  2. venturebeat.com
  3. forbes.com
  4. entrepreneur.com
  5. killerstartups.com

 

Top 5 mobile apps you’re in love with and why?

  1. Note Everything – never let something slip through the cracks
  2. Audible – listen to books while working out
  3. IMDB – answer all the “who’s that and what was he in?” questions about actors
  4. Opentable – never wait in line at a restaurant
  5. AccuWeather – sunny, snowy? I love to know in advance

 

What is your music streaming player of choice, and what are you listening to right now?

Pandora. I’ve got my stations set to Power Rock and Classical.

 

Three people (other than you) we should follow on Twitter and why?

  1. Richard Branson – a stud of an entrepreneur and a good guy to boot
  2. Jim Gaffigan – always funny
  3. Moz – stay on top of SEO changes

 

Where else should our readers find you online?

 

Photo Credits

Foxtail Marketing

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