"Success isn't achieved when you hit that "end goal", It's achieved by going through the motion of working every day."
Daniel Booter is the CEO and founder of D.B. Marketing Group, a marketing company that helps celebrity clients and companies develop and execute their marketing strategies. The company focuses on many aspects of marketing such as social media, photo, film, graphics, email marketing, branding, & crisis management.
Along with all the exclusive work Daniel has done with The NBA, Capital Hill & more he can be honorably credited for his contributions to the United Nations, coordinating the marketing for large scale globally recognized events. Daniel also uses his knowledge in marketing towards assisting non-profit organizations that help underprivileged children in different countries. In addition to being a CEO, Daniel has been a public speaker & mentor for many youths as he believes in using his marketing knowledge to inspire young entrepreneurs.
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Table of Contents
Let’s start with a brief introduction first. Introduce yourself to our readers.
Daniel Booter: I am Daniel Booter. I started my marketing company at University & continued with it because of my love for marketing. I’ve been fortunate enough to help celebrity clients and companies develop and execute their marketing strategies. My company focuses on many aspects of marketing such as social media, photo, film, graphics, email marketing, branding, & crisis management. I focus on not only being a successful business owner but one that gives back to the community & those who need help in it.
Our audience is interested to know about how you got started in the first place. Did you always want to become a CEO or was it something you were led to? Our readers would love to know your story!
Daniel Booter: When I was young, I wasn’t even sure what I wanted to be. I always toyed around thinking I would become a scientist or a doctor, but I always kept the door open for new ideas to come in. When I went to High School I started to realize I had a knack for business, creating small side hustles that would make me money. I always looked at it as a game & I never wanted to lose. During the same time in High School, I also became very interested in art, and through that, I became artistic learning how to draw, paint, I write poetry. One of the skills I picked up along the creative pursuit was cutting my hair. It was something that took skill, patience, & dedication to be good at. My other classmates saw the skill level I had & I started to cut their hair as well. This led me to make a Facebook page, a website, and promotions that had entire sports teams over my house at one time to get their hair cuts.
Going into my first year of university, I asked myself the question,” What should you major in?” I wasn’t sure at first, but the answer was right in front of me. Throughout all the years of building my creative profile, I realized that what shined through all of it was my marketing. Not only was it creative, but my creative process resonated with others, hence attracting them positively to my targets. I also told myself another very important thing. Be your boss. If I want to be creative and do what I want in life then I need to have that leverage. So I did. I created my business D.B. Marketing Group and brought all my skills together including my love for social media, photography, and videography. I was led into my CEO position through a very natural process. Although that was the case, It was always something I wanted. Even if I didn’t consciously realize it.
“Selfmade” is a myth. We all received help, no doubt you love to show appreciation to those who supported you when the going got tough, who has been your most important professional inspiration?
Daniel Booter: I saw my mom running her business for 19 years. That lifestyle inspired me and showed me what I wanted to do in life. When I was younger, I had a few business pursuits and my mom always supported me with them. That support made it easy when find my path and brought me down to becoming an entrepreneur. The character Rocky, from the movie, also inspired me, he had a great story. Rocky came from nothing, he didn’t think he could win, many people doubted him, but he made it to the top and stayed humble. I always remember him when I go through tough times in business; to keep my eye on my goal and to never give up.
How did your journey lead you to become a CEO? What difficulties did you face along the way and what did you learn from them?
Daniel Booter: Becoming a CEO was a natural progression for me. From starting small businesses in High School to realizing the full potential I could reach becoming one. I could never see myself working for someone else doing something that simply didn’t matter. If I ever feel like I’m wasting my time, or quite literally creating someone else’s success in a workplace, it would eat me alive. When I was 15 I had a job sweeping the floors at a local shop & on the second day, cleaning the floors with a mop, going back and forth I realized that I never wanted to do this again & I was going to be my boss. I told my manager that day that I quit.
Those are the types of feelings you have when you’re fixated on your own goals. & when trying to achieve them; the setbacks you have can be immense. They can make you feel like you should have never become a CEO or started a company & that maybe this simply wasn’t for you. Those are the moments that will define you. If you quit then this life as a CEO was never for you. Nothing ever goes “right” as a CEO, there are always problems to solve & solutions to be made.
It’s your responsibility to find those answers, and not give up. When I was first creating my company I didn’t have any mentorship. I had to figure everything out on my own. Even when I did try to reach out for help from teachers in High School I seemed to get dull responses & nothing like I was looking for. I learned being resourceful in my pursuits was everything. I had to find a way, somehow, to get the answers I was looking for. If the answers were out there I had to find them. But that’s something I had to learn the hard way.
Tell us about your company. What does your business do and what are your responsibilities as a CEO?
Daniel Booter: My company is D.B. Marketing Group. We are a company that specializes in branding, Social media marketing, press, photo, video production, online marketing campaigns, web development, and crisis management. We work with celebrities & companies helping them with these services & our goal is to provide our clients with perfectly tailored services to fulfill their business needs. I am CEO am responsible for overlooking any current projects going on & finding & interviewing new prospective clients.
Along with that, I am also responsible for making sure that all of our current client’s needs are being fully taken care of. This means making sure that the full process of our marketing work structure is secure & all of our departments are harmoniously working together to create a seem-less experience for the client. Organization & a proactive responsibility to the job is key for success in what I do. As I’ve seen and tested, it’s not for everybody.
What does CEO stand for? Beyond the dictionary definition, how would you define it?
Daniel Booter: I would define CEO as being the brain of the operation. They need to be able to create an ever-changing orchestra of euphonious sounds that change the mood of the room with every stroke they play. The CEO directs the vision of the company and creates the guideline for the future. The CEO is the person that defines the vision of the company. The most important person there. Their direction is really what matters because they are the ones composing the symphony. Everything they do needs to be done with precision. Because everything they do creates waves within the business.
When you first became a CEO, how was it different from what you expected? What surprised you?
Daniel Booter: When I first became CEO, I saw that there was much to learn & I was surprised that when I thought I learned it all, I didn’t know anything yet. I was always learning, adapting, & trying to get better every day. It was a challenge but going through those trials & learning is what makes a great CEO. I didn’t realize when I became a CEO how hard it would be to navigate an entire company.
I had to make sure everyone was happy, the clients and employees. I also had to make sure that I had a plan to make my vision come to life, & that not everybody will perform at the level you want them to. But it’s on me to try to help them get to the next level & motivate success for them. That was the very thing that surprised me too. Not everybody will push the same way I would, and that can take some getting used to when you’re working in a company together because you’re all pieces of the puzzle. You’re all one team.
There are many schools of thought as to what a CEO’s core roles and responsibilities are. Based on your experience, what are the main things a CEO should focus on? Explain and please share examples or stories to illustrate your vision.
Daniel Booter: A CEO should focus on Organizational Structure. Everything should revolve around that. A strategy of this caliber is needed to have a successful business & a clear path to a better company for tomorrow. Motivating through the organizational structure can prove most useful as the company begins to grow & successful paths are created for employees.
The companies success means every individual’s success in the company. That cannot be attained without an executed organizational structure. The first time I was introduced to a government project; I realized how important the organizational structure of the company was. Everything needed to be calculated to the perfect degree because, without that, the imbalance could create instability for the entire company & mission.
When the structure was created I needed to make sure that everything fell perfectly in line. Through the success of the structure, the company was able to grow because of the placemarks set. My job was to make sure that we didn’t stray from that structure & with that the success of the mission was there.
Share with us one of the most difficult decisions you had to make for your company that benefited your employees or customers. What made this decision so difficult and what were the positive impacts?
Daniel Booter: One of the most difficult decisions I had to make for my company that benefited my employees was to pay them more. It was very difficult because it was a decision of whether to create more equity in the business for future growth, or invest in my employees for their growth & possibly bring the company along. I had faith in my employees however & that investment in them was worth it. Productivity went up & a sense of purpose was created, if not solidified that they matter. That was a very powerful & motivational message.
How would you define success? Does it mean generating a certain amount of wealth, gaining a certain level of popularity, or helping a certain number of people?
Daniel Booter: You need to realize, that success isn’t achieved when you hit that “end goal” It’s achieved by going through the motion of working every day. If you woke up & your goal was achieved, would you even look at it as that big of a deal? I think you wouldn’t. Because the hard-tasking journey that you need to get to that point of success is real success. That end goal you meet is just a trophy for the work you’ve already put in. So you need to rewire your brain and realize that working hard every day to achieve that goal you’re truly after is the “success” you’re looking for, & as long as you continue, you’re successful every day. Now you just need to get the trophy too.
Some leadership skills are innate while others can be learned. What leadership skills do you possess innately and what skills have you cultivated over the years as a CEO?
Daniel Booter: A leadership skill I possess innately would be my ability to sympathize, however at the same time being able to stay clear headed & not let my emotions get to me when they don’t matter as much. That helps me in many situations especially when the goal I am working on is task-oriented. Something I needed to cultivate over the years as a CEO is a skill of being able to learn & I realized that no matter how old you are, you can absolutely learn if you really want to. I decided not to shut my mind off to learning new things & I think that can take me far as a CEO.
How did your role as a CEO help your business overcome challenges caused by the pandemic? Explain with practical examples.
Daniel Booter: My role as a CEO helped my business overcome a great challenge in the business. Many of our clients were going out of business & we also were close to a meltdown mode. But during that time I knew I had to be sharp and on my feet & I know that adaption is everything, so we analyzed companies that would be benefitting in the new changing market. We then repositioned the company to focus on other companies that would be prosperous. This transition took us about a month, but because of that, we were able to keep the business running & still see profitable profit margins.
Do you have any advice for aspiring CEOs and future leaders? What advice would you give a CEO that is just starting on their journey?
Daniel Booter: I would advise an aspiring CEO to enjoy the process. You need to appreciate everything that happens: the failures, the emotions, and the negative moments because you need them to appreciate things. Understand that it is that appreciation that makes you a success. Without that, you won’t be able to grow and appreciate what you do. Don’t rely on other people to make things happen, if you have a goal and a mission, then you have to act. That is the only way you will get to where you want to be. Anyone can try to become successful, but there is a significant difference between people who just try and people who succeed. The successful ones take matters into their own hands and don’t give up. It may take longer than you want, but you have to stay hopeful & motivated.
Thank you for sharing some of your knowledge with our readers! They would also like to know, what is one skill that you’ve always wanted to acquire but never really could?
Daniel Booter: I’ve always wanted to learn Italian or Spanish fluently. I have tried and taken classes in High School but never really excelled. I think my next option is to move to Italy for a few years and figure out the language in & out.
Before we finish things off, we have one final question for you. If you wrote a book about your life today, what would the title be?
Daniel Booter: ‘Through the fire.’
I think that would be the perfect title. I’ve been through some things in my life that people would never want to be a part of. But they were things I had to take care of & things that I couldn’t escape. I needed to go through the fire to escape, there was no going around it. So it is metaphorical however quite literally as well. When I was in the 3rd grade, my house caught on fire; Myself, my sisters, and my mom lost everything. My mom had to rebuild her entire life with nothing but a High School degree & three kids. She did it successfully & because of that, I am who I am today. Through The Fire. That would be it.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Daniel Booter 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 Daniel Booter or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
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