IAM910- Founder Helps Develop and Execute Marketing Strategies

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, photos, film, graphics, branding, & crisis management. All the exclusive work done by Daniel with The NBA, Capital Hill, and Jeff Hamilton as well as his contribution to the United Nations with the coordination of the marketing work for their globally recognized large-scale events, are highly praised. In addition to serving as CEO, Daniel also uses his knowledge in marketing to assist non-profit organizations that help underprivileged children in different countries because he believes he can use his marketing knowledge to inspire young entrepreneurs & people across the world.

• CEO Hack: Consistent learning
• CEO Nugget: Working consistently every day
• CEO Defined: Having freedom, being adaptable, and staying the course

Website: https://www.dbmgnyc.com/

Instagram: www.instagram.com/danielbooter
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@danielbooter

Full Interview:

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Transcription

 

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00:09 – Intro

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

00:37 – Gresham Harkless

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Daniel Booter of DB Marketing Group. Daniel, it's awesome to have you on the show.

00:46 – Daniel Booter

Oh, thank you so much, man, for having me. I appreciate it.

00:49 – Gresham Harkless

No problem. Super excited to have you on and you know your previous contributor to our site. So what I wanted to do is just read a little bit more about Daniel so you can hear about all the awesome things he's doing. Daniel is the CEO and founder of DB 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, branding, and crisis management.

All of the exclusive work done by Daniel with the NBA, Capitol Hill, and Jeff Hamilton, as well as his contributions to the United Nations with the coordination of the marketing work for their globally recognized large-scale events, are highly praised. In addition to serving as CEO, Daniel also uses his knowledge in marketing to assist nonprofit organizations that help underprivileged children in different countries because he believes he can use his marketing knowledge to inspire young entrepreneurs and people across the world. Daniel, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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01:42 -Daniel Booter

Yes.

01:43 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Well, let's do it then. So to kind of kick everything off, I wanted to rewind the clock a little bit, and hear a little bit more about how you got started. Could you take us through what I call your CEO story? We'll let you get started with your business.

01:53 – Daniel Booter

Sure, yeah. You know, I was always very entrepreneurial since I was a kid. And it was crazy, even as a youngster, I would even buy toys from the store and sell them in school to my friends. And so I always had that. And then when I went to high school, I started a business there and that was my first exposure. And my first year at university, that's when I started my marketing company after I realized that you know I was good at marketing and you know using photography and videography and using that to create ads and thinking of like smart ways to capture people and have people attracted to you to the brand that you were trying to push.

So after I kind of realized that I was like, okay, you know what, maybe I should go into marketing. And so in that first year of university, I started the company. And at the same time, that's what I majored in university as well. Because I was like, you know, this is perfect, perfect outlet. So I switched my major from psychology to marketing. Because of that.

02:59 – Gresham Harkless

Nice. Is it so funny? I almost feel like there's a huge overlap because like you talked about being able to kind of showcase their brand but I feel like and I don't know if you would say the same thing that marketing at its heart is has a lot to do with the psychology piece.

03:11 -Daniel Booter

You know you're so right 100% and like I just that's why I love psychology too because psychology is so you kind of have to figure out what people are about and you have to know people, you know, you can't, you get marketing unless you know people. So once you really know what people want, then you're able to appease them with marketing. And, you know, in marketing, I remember one of my, one of my classes, one of my first classes I took in marketing, I asked the professor after class, I was like, what, what is the key to marketing? You know, what is it? What is it? You know, what, what, what can you do that you can always, you know, grab it? And he's just like, you know, that's the thing. There is no key. You have to figure it out. And that's what makes somebody great at marketing, that they're able to be creative and figure out solutions to all these marketing problems that you get. So I put that in and I ran

04:03 – Gresham Harkless

with it. That's awesome. It's so funny you say that because like we talked about, psychology and marketing, also marketing and business as a whole. And somebody asked me recently, what skill I think is the most important for people to be successful. And I was like, I think that figure-out ability, whatever that word might be is 1 of the huge things because you have to just kind of try things and see what works and continue to kind of double down on those things.

04:27 – Daniel Booter

Yeah, a hundred percent. And you have to, But that's the thing I love that creativity side of things. So that's, you know, with that photography, videography stuff. I was always just very creative, you know, I used to also do art when I was younger too. I still do a double in a two but now I started doing like videography photography stuff. But that creativity was so I love it so much. And I always had it. And going into marketing, that was like perfect for me, because I was able to still do that. You know so I was able to find the happiness in there, but also have this business mindset that I always had and pursue that even further too. So it was like a perfect mix of the 2 for me. And I was lucky to catch that early. And I was like, okay, you know, this is what I like. This is what I'm good at. This is what I should do.

05:15 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. Get that opportunity to double down on that. And I love that word that you said, art, you know, cause being able to kind of showcase the brands that the clients you work with and be able to showcase that in a very artful way with using so different, so many different modalities is huge. So, I know I touched on it when I read your bio, and you did as well too. Could you take us through a little bit more on how you serve the clients that you work with and what that process looks like?

05:38  – Daniel Booter

Yeah, so with my clients, I started with not a lot of services and I would focus on like just a few things, but then now I've expanded to doing many different things with clients, including branding, social media websites, and even crisis management. So there are a lot of different avenues that the company offers to help the clients out. And, you know, this doesn't come down to anything from companies that are just starting up to companies that are well established, like as Jeff Hamilton, that just means like a little revamping and, you know, relaunching or, or something, anything like that. And that'll take care of all that.

So the thing is like over time, I've learned so much because I've had my company for 10-plus years or so. So throughout that time, I'm always learning. And so when I learn something and I become confident in it, I'll add it to the services as well. So 1 of the things that I've learned in the past, like 34 years, is all as a press. So learning about the press and how things work. So I was able to add that service for my clients. So then I can connect them with people to get press out for them.

06:54 – Gresham Harkless

Nice. No, I love that. And it kind of sounds like, as you were saying with Jeff Hamilton and being able to work with different clients, it sounds like because you have such a wide range of expertise, it becomes more of a conversation seeing what they are, where they want to go. And then you have all these tools in your toolbox, so to speak, to be able to kind of help them to reach that.

07:15 – Daniel Booter

Yeah, exactly. And one of the first things that I ask my clients is, what is your goal? Like, what is your goal? Because I can take your money and, and I could do all these cool things and you know, do all this stuff. But if it's not going to get you to your goal, there's no point. Like, you can make yourself look cool all you want, but if your goal is to get sales and I'm just making you look cool, then I mean, what's the point? All right, so like that goal orientation is everything for what I do. You know, I wanna make sure that I'm giving the clients what they're actually looking for. And sometimes they don't realize what they're looking for. So having that conversation for them is like, really powerful. And they could take that and even expand their business more just because of that. So it's a really big thing to focus on when I'm doing work.

08:03 – Gresham Harkless

Absolutely. It reminds me of this Henry, Henry Ford quote, which said, people, if I gave people what they asked for, they would ask for, I would have given them a faster horse rather than a car. And I think once you understand that you can, you know, have your expertise and understand exactly what's going on in the industry, but at the same time have those conversations and to convert that into whatever it is that they really need and are looking forward to reaching those goals. That's when you reach an entirely different level. And so would you consider that to be what I call your secret sauce, the thing you feel kind of sets you apart and makes you unique? Is it that ability to be able to hear, understand, and be able to kind of provide those solutions that people need?

08:42 – Daniel Booter

I wouldn't, I wouldn't, you know, I really wouldn't. I think I'd say my secret sauce is being able to find connections and business opportunities before they're aligned by anybody. So For instance, the bigger, the more consistent thing that I do is finding connections in places that you wouldn't think. So one of the key things I do is to keep a very open mind. So what happens is when I talk to somebody, no matter who they are, I'll give them respect. And I'll come with them at a very genuine level. And, you know, I'll treat everybody the same. And so I take that, and I'll give you an example to kind of bring you to the secret sauce.

So one time I met somebody at Whole Foods. I was working there, helping them with the launch of one of their stores. And I, you know, I've seen him around whatever, I had a few conversations. Turns out that this guy who's working on Whole Foods, his brother is one of the producers of Game of Thrones. So one of the biggest TV shows that has come out recently, his brother is a producer. And so just, that's just one example, right? But like this, I've been going through, like, you know, I've been meeting people like this or directly meeting people, indirectly meeting people. So it's like doing things like that. And I was able to make such great amazing connections with people that, you know, I feel like that sets me apart more than anything because I'm able to see those before it even happens.

So obviously for that situation, I didn't see it happening but you know Keeping that open mind and setting yourself up for that success, that's how I was able to get there. Otherwise, how would I have done that? That wouldn't have happened. And meeting other people like that, that never would have happened to create those connections and use those connections to put my foot into the door and help somebody else. And that's how I got all these opportunities to work at Capitol Hill and working with the NBA, working with Jeff Hamilton, all these different clients. That's how it happened. It wouldn't have happened any other way. So I would say that that's probably my secret as well.

11:02 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. And it's something I don't think a lot of people do. So I appreciate you for doing that. And so I wanted to switch gears a little bit. And I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an Apple book or a habit that you have. But what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

11:18 – Daniel Booter

I would say I realize I always have to learn. So on, on TikTok, for instance, I work with TikTok as well. So with TikTok, I started it in 2017 after hearing about it in 2015 with Musically and when I transferred over TikTok. So I learned about it then, and I had one friend, only one who was on it from Brazil.

And I saw that they were on it, and I saw that they're getting a lot of views and this is that and I was like okay you know it must be like something that they're doing over there whatever I don't know much about it but being in my field I was like okay you know I'll figure this out I'll see what it's about so then in 2017 that's when I opened my account. I studied it I think for about 6 months before I posted anything. And, and me studying it I wasn't doing anything crazy I wasn't like you know how you traditional studying of like oh yeah you're reading the book and you're reading the guidelines and this is that and how to use it now there and there was no book right there was nothing to learn from. What I just did was I watched the videos.

So I'm literally just watching the videos, scrolling through the videos, seeing what's happening, seeing what's going on. And because of that, I was able to pick up so much to the point where the first video that I dropped, I got, I think I got 800,000 views for the first video, like nothing, I didn't do anything. And I got 6,000 followers from it and I got 800,000 views just because I was like keeping my eyes open. So I would say like for anybody who's in business or even not, if you are just keeping your eyes open and studying things as you go, which is really easy to do, honestly, it's very easy. You're just being cautious of what you're looking at. And so like you're scrolling through Instagram and you see there's a new feature. What is that feature about? So like Reels drop, IGTV drop, Stories drop. What are those about? What are they?

How can you use it or how like even if it's a new tool that you could use for fun, even if you're not in business, like, what is it about that you could use and have fun with? So, like doing that, I feel like you can learn so much and accumulate so much over time is just, it's my mind-blowing, honestly, where I've taken a step back and I'm like, dang, like how did I even learn that in the first place? Then I realized it's like, I've just been learning this over time. So that's how I've, how I figured these things out. So I feel like that's like a really big CEO hack that I can tell you. Like I've learned so much because of that.

13:51 – Gresham Harkless

I wanted to ask you now for what I call a CEO nugget. So this could be a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. It might be something you would tell a client or if you have to do a time machine, you might tell your younger business self.

14:02 – Daniel Booter

I would say you should really get into the zone of working consistently and just make sure that you do it every single day.

14:11 – Gresham Harkless

Absolutely. And so I want to ask you now my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different quote-unquote CEOs on the show. So Daniel, what does being a CEO mean to you?

14:21 – Daniel Booter

To me, being a CEO, I feels like it's having freedom and it's, but at the same token, it's not easy. It's not something that anybody can do. Not everybody has what it takes to become a CEO, which is not bad. It's not a bad thing. It's not like, oh yeah, you're less of a person. It's just, you know, 1 person has a CEO mentality and somebody else might not. And so you need to know. And for me, like, having that, you need to, you need to be able to put yourself accountable and make sure that you're learning and make sure that you can be adaptable. Like, it's all about change and making sure you can stay the course, and going the distance is a lot of the job.

15:09 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Well, Daniel, truly appreciate that definition. I appreciate your time even more. What I wanted to do was pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional you can let our readers and listeners know and of course how best they can get a hold of you and find out about all the awesome things you're working on.

15:22 – Daniel Booter

Of course yeah I mean if you guys need any advice or any help with business not just marketing but any type of business starting one up and sustaining one, I'm always here to help. I love helping the community and making sure that people are on the right path. So, if you ever need anything, just contact me and message me on Instagram. I'm on all these social media platforms. So, you know, definitely reach out and you can catch me on Instagram and I'm on TikTok too, YouTube. I mainly use Instagram though. So if you guys ever need to reach out then you can reach out to me there.

15:59 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. And to make it even easier, we will have the links and information in the show notes as well too, so that everybody can click through and follow up with you. But Daniel truly appreciates all the work you do. Appreciate your time, of course, today, and I hope you have a great rest of the day.

16:11 – Outro

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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