"Being able to be strong mentally will make all the difference."
Aaron Zimmerman Tweet
Meet Aaron Zimmerman, owner of Unique Society DC – an event marketing company that concentrates mostly on night life and special events in the DC area.
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We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Aaron Zimmerman: Hello, Everyone calls me AJ and I’m currently the owner of Unique Society DC which is an Event marketing company that concentrates on mostly nightlife and special events in the dc area, we currently have about 5 weekly events that are thriving and we will continue to add more events, especially our once a month special events that we have been planning for 2023.
I’m also the owner of Sneakermat, a shoe restoration & retail store and we currently have 2 locations; our main focus is the restoration of premium shoes from their current state to a better one, we’ve had some challenging projects and worked a few miracles when it comes to restoration, and we are currently the #1 shoe restoration company in the area.
2020 and 2021 threw a lot of curve balls into business on a global scale. Based on the experience gleaned in the past couple years, how can businesses thrive in 2022? What lessons have you learned?
Aaron Zimmerman: Yes, those were challenging times, but I believe business can thrive by allowing yourself to adapt and change quickly. You’re able to test different approaches to business and find out what works best, It allows you to fail, pick yourself back up and keep going if necessary.
The lessons I’ve learned are that you always need to plan ahead for the future and you need a heavy social media presence these days because online marketing & networking has seen a major upside since 2020/2021
The pandemic seems to keep on disrupting the economy, what should businesses focus on in 2022? What advice would you share?
Aaron Zimmerman: Be ready to have an online presence. If your business is affected by that; focusing on targeted marketing through social media will keep you afloat and that’s what I learned during those tuff times.
How has the pandemic changed your industry and how have you adapted?
Aaron Zimmerman: The pandemic changed my industries a lot. I would say mostly by not being able to open locations due to the social distancing rules that were in place, we adapted by building our social media presence that kept customers informed on changes that we were making that would eventually allow us to do business while staying within the guidelines.
What advice do you wish you received when the pandemic started and what do you intend on improving in 2022?
Aaron Zimmerman: Any advice on how to maintain and stay on float would have been good, but I don’t think anyone was prepared for what happened but those who found a way to adjust figured it out in due time. I’ll be improving on better networking skills and focusing on customer feedback and making sure we are improving in any areas we need to be better in.
Online business surged higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for 2022?
Aaron Zimmerman: I expect that we will still be doing the same type of meetings now that we know they work just as well as normal meetings and save time in most cases.
How many hours a day do you spend in front of a screen?
Aaron Zimmerman: I would say right now that things are back to normal about 5-6 hours.
The majority of executives use stories to persuade and communicate in the workplace. Can you share with our readers examples of how you implement that in your business to communicate effectively with your team?
Aaron Zimmerman: Yes, I’ve been in my industries for 10+ years, so I’ve seen the good and the bad. When it comes to communicating with my team, I can safely guide them past most errors that a person starting out would make because I’ve made all those mistakes already. As a leader, I want my team to avoid those downfalls, so using examples and stories to communicate is something I often find myself doing.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as the real challenge right now?
Aaron Zimmerman: I would say the challenges is that when you start something that does well theirs always going to be someone or a group that comes behind you with the same business plan, so you have to always stay ahead of the competition and always focus on the next best thing, continue to elevate and set yourself apart, so you are always in the game.
In 2022, what are you most interested in learning about? Crypto, NFTs, online marketing, or any other skill sets? Please share your motivations.
Aaron Zimmerman: Mostly online marketing, as my industries will rely on that to continue to be successful and reach out to customers to build a bigger brand.
A record 4.4 million Americans left their jobs in September in 2021, accelerating a trend that has become known as the Great Resignation. 47% of people plan to leave their job during 2022. Most are leaving because of their boss or their company culture. 82% of people feel unheard, undervalued and misunderstood in the workplace. Do you think leaders see the data and think “that’s not me – I’m not that boss they don’t want to work for? What changes do you think need to happen?
Aaron Zimmerman: I do believe people think that way but I’ve always been known to be a different type of employer when it comes to that, I believe in giving people the best opportunity so they can feel comfortable and be successful; you definitely need to hear what your employees are saying because they may have important feedback on how you can be better as a team and it just overall makes for a stronger team when everyone feels like they belong and have an important role to play.
On a lighter note, if you had the ability to pick any business superpower, what would it be and how would you put it into practice?
Aaron Zimmerman: I would say having mental toughness, there will be failures, setbacks, delays, and confusion. Being able to be strong mentally will make all the difference. Mentally tough individuals can not only withstand the bad times, but they understand how to capitalize on the good times.
What does “success” in 2022 mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision.
Aaron Zimmerman: Success to me is seeing individuals on my team turn into their own bosses and become the best version of themselves possible, as a leader, I like to think they look up to me for guidance and I want to be able to show them through hard work and dedication all goals can be achieved and I always got their back.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Aaron Zimmerman for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Aaron Zimmerman or his company, you can do it through his – Instagram
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