It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you, one of my best friends and mentor within the WSI network, Peter Jasniewski from Markham, Ontario.
Peter and I met over 12 years ago and we started to collaborate with some projects early on. Between us, we have perfected a competitor analysis report that offers great value to our clients. In addition to a great working relationship, we have also holidayed together around the world.
Let’s learn more about this veteran digital marketing consultant:
Tell me a little about yourself, and where you are located?
I am located in Markham, Ontario just north of downtown Toronto.
Why did you want to become an Internet consultant?
After many years in the corporate world, I have turned my passion for the Internet into a full-time career and business. I have combined years of my corporate experience, my technical knowledge and understanding of complex business processes with my natural ability to create marketing and sales solutions. The Internet Marketing Consulting route was an obvious vehicle to combine all my skills and build a meaningful operation.
What jobs or business were you involved in before you started your WSI business?
I had been working for mid-size firms in Europe and North America (Copam Electronics, PERLE Systems, corporate giants like NCR), which are all companies from various IT sectors that are focused on creating tangible solutions for their end-clients. I had held increasingly responsible Sales / Marketing / IT Solutions management positions. I also had an opportunity to manage teams, especially during my tenure with PERLE Systems in Markham.
Tell us a little bit more about who helped influence you into starting your own business?
I always wanted to be in business for myself. My corporate careers were a great testing field and training to become what I was destined to do, which is running my own Consulting and Marketing Agency business. I had few people influencing me at the time, but probably Tony Robbins had the biggest impact on my decisions. Another influencing factor was my inability to being told what to do.
How long have you been with WSI?
Since 1999 – next year I will be celebrating 20 years in business
Describe your typical work week?
Our focus is on working with our clients on their ongoing marketing strategies and tactics, leading to tangible ROI for our clients. This constant effort determines my work week. Being in charge of my in-house team and a lineup of dedicated vendors means that my focus is mainly on the bottom line of my operation, while my staff runs with the tactical fulfillment. My senior Project Manager likes to say: “Peter draws it on a napkin and my job is to figure our how to deliver it”.
Running a small Marketing Agency brings lots of challenges every day, starting from HR issues, through management of client relationships, monitoring campaigns progress, developing new strategies, monitoring and measuring results, ongoing client discussions about performance and ROI improvements, creative sessions with staff and clients, ongoing education, presentations, seminars, business development, communications, profit and loss discussions, etc, etc.
What highlights have you had since being with WSI?
We have consistently won external WMA Awards year after year, which is a point of pride. I was also admitted to the prestigious WSI Top Gun circle of top performers. I have delivered over 1,500 projects and have won the trust and loyalty of many clients, some of whom have been with us for over 15 uninterrupted years. My favourite personal highlight has been the experience of being able to create jobs for Canadians and watch them grow and build solid careers. I take special pride in allowing the families of my employees enjoy a steady and secure income, while personally growing with the company.
What are some of the biggest obstacles that you have faced in running your business and how have you mastered them?
The biggest obstacle has been in the commoditization of some of our traditional core services. A good example of what I mean is web design and development, which is one of our traditional strong pillars. The multitude of vendors and solutions available created the impression that building a website is a very simple process, something that anybody could do, when the reality is really quite the opposite. The ever-changing and accelerating technological race makes web development more and more complex each year. My solution to this problem was having a clear focus on more complex web solutions and custom projects, where the value of our experience and skills were unquestionable.
Do you have any skills or talents that most people don't know about?
I think my biggest hidden talent is my ability to stay focused and motivated despite all odds. It is very hard for people to get me out of balance or out of control. My other hidden talent is my unshaken persistence, which allows me to perform in the long-haul races - and our business is definitely a long-haul race!
What do you think are the best skills that you bring to your business?
I would say the combination of my technical skills with my sales and marketing aptitude. The ability to see solutions quickly, even when other people still struggle with understanding the problem.
Persistence, persistence, persistence!
What goal do you have for yourself that you want to accomplish in the next year?
I want to grow my recurring revenue by 25% and increase my profitability by 15%. Also, I'm working on the implementation of the EOS in preparation for de-Peter’izing of my business.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
My business will be running without my day-to-day involvement. I have a self-directed and motivated staff and all the appropriate business processes in place. The business operating system is designed to self-correct and to motivate for best performance.
This allows me to focus on my family, health and well-being and the passion of helping others, in business and in life. I plan to mentor and educate others.
I plan to have enough time and resources to spend 2-3 months per year on my own yacht, sailing the Great Lakes and the Caribbean.
What advice would you give a new WSI Internet Consultant?
Always remember why you did it in the first place. Never stop being hungry. Be curious. Be genuine. Be empathetic. Enjoy helping others. Cut out all the noise - be laser-focused on what matters.
What is your personal motto?
You are not too old and it’s not too late!
If we went to happy hour, what would you order?
Rum and coke, maybe a shot of tequila or a Painkiller (BVI’s national drink! – see: https://www.islands.com/painkiller-drink-recipe)
If you could be anywhere other than here talking to me - right this minute, where would you be?
On the plane going somewhere I haven’t been yet…. LOL!
