"Great things take time so don't rush it."
Amit Raj is the Founder of The Links Guy – a bespoke link-building company that works with a global clientele, building high-quality links using ethical and sustainable white hat techniques.
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Table of Contents
Thank you for joining us today. Please introduce yourself to our readers. They want to know you, some of the background story to bring some context to your interview.
Amit Raj: I’m a marketer, entrepreneur & link building specialist owner based in the United Kingdom. From a young age, I had a hand in helping my immediate family with their business ventures, before attending university and qualifying as a GPHC-registered pharmacist.
You are a successful entrepreneur, so we’d like your viewpoint, do you believe entrepreneurs are born or made? Explain.
Amit Raj: I believe they can be both. The way I started was very fortuitous. I dabbled in the internet marketing industry as a copywriter, funnel builder, etc, and was a regular on an old forum called “WarriorForum”. I came across someone based in Leeds who ran a very successful SEO agency. We got talking, had a few calls, and over time he showed me the ropes as I’d never done anything related to SEO before. I helped him out for free, in exchange for learning. In that, I figured out I was pretty good at outreach and building links.
If you were asked to describe yourself as an entrepreneur in a few words, what would you say?
Amit Raj: Transparent – sometimes too much so – personal, patient, and efficient. I know the value of hard work.
Tell us about what your company does and how did it change over the years?
Amit Raj: I specialize in doing link building and digital PR as there is a huge demand for it.
I offer one service – Freelance SEO Consulting – white hat link building services in their purest form. This service is designed for small to medium-sized businesses who need more traffic to their site,
Thank you for all that. Now for the main focus of this interview. With close to 11.000 new businesses registered daily in the US, what must an entrepreneur assume when starting a business?
Amit Raj: You need to assume that you’ll be spending a great deal of time and energy getting your idea off the ground, learning as you go, making mistakes along the way but it will be the most rewarding experience of your life.
Did you make any wrong assumptions before starting a business that you ended up paying dearly for?
Amit Raj: No, I was lucky that I had good mentors and friends in a similar niche that could advise me and help me to negotiate the hurdles along the way. Not to say that I didn’t make any mistakes but nothing dramatic!
If you could go back in time to when you first started your business, what advice would you give yourself and why? Explain
Amit Raj: I would tell myself it isn’t a sprint it’s a marathon! In the beginning, I ate, woke, and slept link building, to the extent that I put it all first risking burnout.
Nowadays, with hindsight, I have realized that great things take time so don’t rush it.
What is the worst advice you received regarding running a business and what lesson would you like others to learn from your experience?
Amit Raj: I remember being led to believe that metrics were the Gods of SEO. We do need to use third-party metric tools, sure but I believe there is an over-reliance on tools like these. And you shouldn’t make the mistake of basing an entire campaign on any one metric in this way. Following one metric blindly in this way can only lead you into trouble further down the line. No collection of technical analysis tools are going to make the assessment for you efficient enough. You will need to use the human eye at some point – it’s a fact!
In your opinion, how has COVID-19 changed what entrepreneurs should assume before starting a business? What hasn’t changed?
Amit Raj: COVID-19 has created a great deal of disruption, but change can be a good thing. I have helped businesses during this period that have been able to pivot their enterprise into e-commerce very successfully. I am a firm believer that whatever situations arise in life we have a choice, I don’t see the glass half full, I see it REFILLABLE! What hasn’t changed is the amount of effort you must be willing to put in to reach your goals.
What is a common myth about entrepreneurship that aspiring entrepreneurs and would-be business owners believe in? What advice would you give them?
Amit Raj: You have addressed one myth already in your questions that entrepreneurs are ‘born that way. But one other myth is that launching your own company will result in wealth, Although some businesses are immediately successful, more often than not, it takes more time to get there.
What traits, qualities, and assumptions do you believe are most important to have before starting a business?
Amit Raj: I think you have to be eager to learn but humble enough to listen. Someone that is highly motivated but possesses an easy-going attitude will go a long way. You need to have a strong work ethic and a deep passion for your products or services.
How can aspiring leaders prepare themselves for the future challenges of entrepreneurship? Are there any books, websites, or even movies to learn from?
Amit Raj: TED talks always are my go-to when I need a pick me up! So many inspirational stories you cannot fail but be encouraged.
The book ‘Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know’ by Adam M. Grant is a masterpiece. This book is all about one of my favorite subjects, intellectual humility. The author challenges us to become okay with not knowing, being wrong, and rethinking our conventional wisdom.
You have shared quite a bit of your wisdom and our readers thank you for your generosity but would also love to know: If you could choose any job other than being an entrepreneur, what would it be?
Amit Raj: Yikes, that is a hard one, maybe a successful travel blogger! The world is huge, appealing, and wonderous if only I had the time to travel.
Thank you so much for your time, I believe I speak for all of our readers when I say that this has been incredibly insightful. We do have one more question: If you could add anyone to Mount Rushmore, but not a politician, who would it be; why?
Amit Raj: No one. As it stands the four people on Mt. Rushmore describe this: Washington — the founding of the USA; Jefferson — the expansion of the nation; Lincoln — the reunification of the nation; and T. Roosevelt — the conservation of the nation.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Amit Raj 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 Amit Raj or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin
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