"I focus on making both my presence and my presentation stand out to be noticed so that people will not only remember who I am, but they'll talk about me to others."
Gabe is a software developer who has built systems for Panasonic, Sony and the DEA. One of his projects was showcased by Bill Gates at a national tech conference in Washington DC. He is now known as the “godfather of the digital business card.”. His company builds innovative custom digital business cards like no other on the market. These digital cards populate his clients’ sales funnels. Get them noticed and elevate their digital profiles. Text GABE to 21000 to get his information.
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Table of Contents
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.
Gabe O’Neill: My name is Gabe O’Neill and I am the founder of Digital Accelerant and also known as the godfather of the digital business card. Digital Accelerant is a digital marketing company whose focus is to grow other people’s businesses.
In my career as a software developer, I’ve built systems for other companies like Panasonic, Sony, the DEA and Computer Associates. These systems have been used both locally and internationally. In 2015 we moved from Maryland to Georgia in the Atlanta area and I started my company as an independent contractor to do software development work.
While I was networking in a new environment, I knew I needed a way to expedite the process of getting to know people. I decided to build them free digital business cards. That would get them to see my work ethic, my talent, my skills, and they would learn very quickly that I do what I say I’m going to do. This effort blossomed into something so unexpected and valuable that in September of 2019 I decided to change my focus to work strictly on selling and improving my product.
Currently, we build custom digital business cards for small businesses to elevate their digital profile, make them more memorable, and get them more qualified leads. We are very proud that we stand out among all other platforms as we provide more value in many different ways.
2020 and 2021 threw a lot of curveballs into business on a global scale. Based on the experience gleaned in the past couple of years, how can businesses thrive in 2022? What lessons have you learned?
Gabe O’Neill: Relationship marketing has been the key to my success. Networking has changed significantly since the pandemic, and in my opinion, it is a major upgrade from the way I used to do things. Being able to network with amazing successful entrepreneurs from around the country without wasting time in traffic has been a godsend for me. Everyone I network with is thriving and my business has increased significantly as a result.
I would guess that the most significant thing I learned during this pandemic is that successful entrepreneurs are the ones who lose that “Why me?” way of thinking. My business was just starting to really take off and then the pandemic hit. What are the chances of a global pandemic coming down on us, something I have never seen in my lifetime, right at the same time I am trying to grow my own business for the first time?
My business was shut down immediately as it depended on me going out and networking to sell my product. But at that very moment, I came across a quote that literally drove me to pivot: “You cannot control the direction of the wind, but you can adjust your sails.” That statement motivated me to change my thinking. I became involved with virtual networking meetings and now my product is sold all over the country.
The pandemic seems to keep on disrupting the economy, what should businesses focus on in 2022? What advice would you share?
Gabe O’Neill: One might think at the answer to this might be to focus on selling, but the successful people I have met focus on providing benefits for others whether they are paid or not. That will open many more doors for them. More and more I’ve seen the fruitful networking culture change from “What can I get out of you?” to “What can I provide you?”. This ends up being a much more fulfilling practice and returns much stronger results.
How has the pandemic changed your industry and how have you adapted?
Gabe O’Neill: What I do is very different but since the pandemic has opened the doors for virtual networking, my product has flourished. It’s very difficult to get your information across and some of these virtual meetings as everybody is throwing their Wikipedia in the chat box. My information is readily available to anyone in the US by people texting a simple keyword to a short code. (In my case it is GABE to 21000). People don’t even have to write it down and it’s a much more memorable way of disseminating your information.
My focus has been to take advantage of this by attending several networking meetings per day in locations across the country. I focus on making both my presence and my presentation stand out to be noticed so that people will not only remember who I am, but they’ll talk about me to others. This has resulted in my product being used by many people in many different states.
What advice do you wish you received when the pandemic started and what do you intend on improving in 2022?
Gabe O’Neill: One thing that took me a while to adjust is the ability to be swimming in the correct pool. There are many varieties of networking platforms available to us especially since the pandemic has arrived. Sometimes the tendency is to stick with the same platform even if it’s not working that great, thinking that you’re going to make it work. None of us wants to be a quitter.
It wasn’t until I was introduced to a new, different kind of community that I realized that I had been swimming in the wrong pool for quite some time. My product belongs in a room with successful entrepreneurs who are forward thinkers and who are action takers and I’m very thankful that I found such a community to be involved with.
As far as improvement is concerned part of my being has always focused on improvement. One thought that has stuck with me since early on is the second you think you have become a success is that very instant where you start to decline. I’ve never thought of myself as a complete success.
Many of the things I’ve done as I look back have been successful but I’m still not there yet and I never will reach that plateau, but I will always strive for it. To answer the question specifically, in 2022 I plan on implementing procedures and policies to improve my company’s status as it heads to eventual acquisition.
Online business surged higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for 2022?
Gabe O’Neill: I believe that all of this type of activity will continue to grow. I have seen networking platforms get created right when the pandemic started. I’ve seen other platforms that were in-person go virtual and every time I turn around there’s another networking platform to test out.
People say that there’s nothing like an in-person meeting which I won’t argue with but the technology has improved so well to make it easy for so many people to get together in a national environment I feel that I made friends with people that have never seen in person before. This is allowed me to attend more meetings to be more productive and to get more business and I don’t expect that to change.
The truth is I could have returned to the in-person meetings I used to rely on, and I do truly miss many of those people, but the virtual setting is just too productive for me to miss any of it.
How many hours a day do you spend in front of a screen?
Gabe O’Neill: Quite a bit. Since all of my meetings are virtual and when they are not happening I am building the custom cards, handling the digital marketing, etc. I would say 10-12 hours a day would be a normal day.
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?
Gabe O’Neill: Well I wouldn’t say I have a real team right now although I’m working towards that. But the stories that I relate are the ROI stories of my clients one of them told me they got a 200% ROI in their first hour, another one a 1200% ROI in his first three days and one gentleman came to me and said in his first year of using our product he earned $200,000 which he attributed a lot of that to the use of the digital card.
I love it when I hear these stories from my clients because my number one goal in my career has been to provide value to others and it is clear that we are doing that right now.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as the real challenge right now?
Gabe O’Neill: If you watch the news you might be convinced that the planet is on the brink of total destruction coming from one source or another. I honestly think that that is a true challenge but since that is out of my control I honestly don’t pay much attention to it.
Challenges come to you sometimes unexpectedly but again, knowing that they are going to come and knowing that you have successfully negotiated them before, or navigated around them or through them, that is the strength you need to know that no matter what happens in your business you will be able to handle it.
In 2022, what are you most interested in learning about? Crypto, NFTs, online marketing, or any other skill sets? Please share your motivations.
Gabe O’Neill: I’m always interested in learning. Honestly Crypto and NFTs are not on my radar right now but ways to make my business successful are. Luckily I am often surrounded by many people who are smarter than me who can help me achieve that goal.
Anything I’ve ever done whether it be a sport that I have competed in or a business or person I’ve worked with, I have always drifted towards those who were better than me at the skill or knew more than me in that part of the business. I’ve humbled myself many times over with this practice but the results have been far greater had I not exposed myself to those experiences.
A record 4.4 million Americans left their jobs in September 2021, accelerating a trend that has become known as the Great Resignation. 47% of people plan to leave their job in 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?
Gabe O’Neill: Some of the results of what’s going on might be a bit scary to some but I will say that I have met many people who have made that transition. I was. I was speaking to a lady yesterday who was laid off at the beginning of the pandemic. She said that she could have easily gotten another job but she wanted to use this opportunity to become an entrepreneur. She’s a young lady who is now much happier and I believe will be much more successful in her lifetime had the pandemic not happened to her.
In my personal case, I stuck with a corporate position for more than 16 years with many stock options many promises and in the end, I was let go as my boss told me that they couldn’t pay me anymore. That was pretty rough to go through but I will say that now I’m experiencing the time of my life in this venture that I have taken on. I now wish I had this opportunity sooner.
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?
Gabe O’Neill: My business superpower? I’d love to be able to reach hundreds of communities without effort just to let them know how I can provide value to them.
What does “success” in 2022 mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision.
Gabe O’Neill: Success to me is being healthy, having my wife and daughter be healthy and happy, having my dog be healthy (and of course happy) and continuing to grow my business and those of others, and being of real value to others.
Being part of the growth of other people’s businesses has been such a rewarding experience that I would love it if everybody else could have the ability to experience it.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Gabe O’Neill 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 Gabe O’Neill or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
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