"I would define a CEO as a leader who inspires, de-hassles, and empowers his or her team to be better."
Joshua Uebergang is the founder and director of Digital Darts; one of Australia’s leading Shopify optimization agencies that scientifically increases the profits of Shopify stores worldwide through digital marketing since 2015. Digital Darts is a Shopify Partner, Shopify Expert Marketer, Google Premier Partner specialized in search and shopping advertising, and Meta Business Partner.
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Table of Contents
Let’s start with a brief introduction first. Introduce yourself to our readers.
Joshua Uebergang: If you were to meet me in person for the first time, you probably wouldn’t say it’s my charming looks that makes me blatantly stand out from the crowd. It would be my towering height of 6’9”. And yes, I did once play basketball and was actually very good at it.
But it’s not my height that’s the most exceptional thing about me. It’s my wife and two children. Family comes first and then work. My spare time fills up fast with calisthenics workouts, expanding my permaculture garden, and playing with my children.
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!
Joshua Uebergang: The journey to get to this point where our agency grows multi-million dollar Shopify stores everyday was not a linear one and at times, far from glamorous. An entrepreneur by night, I entered the online marketing space in university setting up affiliate websites and generating income through crazy niches from the confines of my parents’ basement.
Having spent two years working in other agencies, I saw a huge gap in digital marketing that not only delivered stellar results for clients, but exceeded expectations, time and time again. This led me to pursue freelancing. I never wanted to manage others. When a Shopify client came onboard, they stayed for years which put me at full capacity. I also wanted freedom to have weeks away from the computer. So couple those two together, I then hired others. I now oversee a team of 10 experts.
“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?
Joshua Uebergang: Marketing experts and agency owners who teach. Dan Kennedy, John Carlton, Ed Leeke, Andrew Foxwell, Verne Harnish are some examples of intelligent, giving people.
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?
Joshua Uebergang: Being the CEO of my own marketing agency evolved rather organically. When I started out, I didn’t envision hiring and managing other employees. I thought I would create just enough work to sustain myself and maybe outsource some of the work contractually. Time and experience showed me a different path, leading me into the agency model where I am now responsible for a small and remote team dotted all over Australia and even the USA. When demand for my services started to outpace what I could sustainably manage on my own, I learned that I would actually be able to help my clients better and help more businesses by broadening my services and bringing on other experts to help out.
Tell us about your company. What does your business do and what are your responsibilities as a CEO?
Joshua Uebergang: Digital Darts® is a Shopify optimization agency that scientifically increases the profits of Shopify stores Worldwide through digital marketing. We are a certified Shopify Premier Partner (top 3% of Google Partners in Australia) and Shopify Expert Marketer.
We build profits for Shopify stores through SEO, Email Marketing, Google, Facebook and Instagram Ads. Total store growth of 300% is common within a year.
As CEO, I oversee the behind-the-scenes and management of the business. I support the team by ensuring they have everything they need to do their job effectively, efficiently and with a smile on their faces.
What does CEO stand for? Beyond the dictionary definition, how would you define it?
Joshua Uebergang: I would define a CEO as a leader who inspires, de-hassles, and empowers his or her team to be better.
When you first became a CEO, how was it different from what you expected? What surprised you?
Joshua Uebergang: It’s been more rewarding than I could have imagined. I’m helping to support not only my employees, but positively impacting many lives through the businesses we help. This is a responsibility I don’t take lightly.
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.
Joshua Uebergang: Recruit talent, set a vision for the team, hold people accountable, and empower team members to excel in their rule.
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?
Joshua Uebergang: Firing a client. Sacrificed short-term profit for long-term trust that I support my team. Clients are not always right.
The best managers are not focused on motivating, but on not demotivating team members. My job is to prevent hassles that block the performance of my team. The traditional “top-down pyramid” business structure has the CEO at the top, managers in the middle, and the staff at the bottom. People normally have a “direct report” to management. Staff below are responsive to management above. We flip that model. Turning the pyramid upside-down so I respond to team members.
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?
Joshua Uebergang: Success to me isn’t defined by a number. It’s a feeling based around helping people and feeling fulfilled at the end of a day’s work, not depleted and empty. In my line of work, it’s created from seeing first hand how we’re helping to change people’s lives by supporting them with their livelihoods. These businesses are made up of mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, everyday folk like you and me.
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?
Joshua Uebergang: I’ve had to work a lot on my communication skills over the years but I’m a good listener and often let other people do a lot of the talking which has its advantages. It takes time for me to process information so when I respond, it’s thoughtful and because I’ve taken the time to really understand the problem, I can usually address it promptly. I also believe in my empathy as being one of my best traits as a CEO and it’s one I encourage others to learn and cultivate.
How did your role as a CEO help your business overcome challenges caused by the pandemic? Explain with practical examples.
Joshua Uebergang: My role changed in no way. We were already remote and in Ecommerce. Those two criteria meant we grew due to macro trends.
Do you have any advice for aspiring CEOs and future leaders? What advice would you give a CEO that is just starting out on their journey?
Joshua Uebergang: Be open to making mistakes and assume you’re going to be wrong many times. Ego isn’t necessarily the enemy, but sometimes you need to quieten it down so you can spot your weaknesses and bring people on who can help you with that.
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?
Joshua Uebergang: Sumi-e painting. It’s a beautiful form of Japanese ink painting. I’m not saying I can’t acquire it, but I haven’t had the discipline to practice.
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?
Joshua Uebergang: Defeating Giants
Jerome Knyszewski, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Joshua Uebergang 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 Joshua Uebergang or his company, you can do it through his – Facebook
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