IAM1127- Founder Provides Digital Momentum to Small Local Businesses

Momentum Founder, Mac Frederick, is a college-athlete turned entrepreneur. He's currently serving as Founder & CEO of Momentum Digital, which he started with his co-founder in August of 2015 after leaving Google. Over the last 5 years, Mac was able to scale the agency to over 20 people and has worked with hundreds of small businesses. His entire mission is to provide digital momentum to small local businesses that need it the most.

Mac also owns Phone Repair, Philly, now the #1 Electronics Repair company in Philadelphia. He uses that business to showcase his digital skills around SEO, Local SEO, and other various Marketing Services. He started this company in 2015 with $1000 and grew it to now 4 locations and 6000% in 24 months.

• CEO Hack: Getting to the next level by putting in more resources
• CEO Nugget: (i) Enjoy the journey (ii) Align your purpose with your skillset
• CEO Defined: Being a leader

Website: https://www.macfrederick.com/
https://www.needmomentum.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/macfrederickceo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/macfrederick/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/macfrederick/

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Transcription

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00:25 – 00:51 Intro:

Are you ready to hear business stories and learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and level up your business from awesome CEOs, entrepreneurs, and founders without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresh values your time and is ready to share with you the valuable info you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO podcast.

00:52 – 01:00 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 Mac Frederick of Momentum Digital. Mac, it's great to have you on the show.

01:01 – 01:03 Mac Frederick:

Thank you, man. Glad to be here, Gresham.

01:03 – 01:26 Gresham Harkless:

Super excited to have you on as well. And before we jump into the interview, I want to read more about Max. So you hear about all the awesome things that he's doing. And Mac is the Momentum founder and is a college athlete turned entrepreneur. He's currently serving as founder and CEO of Momentum Digital, which he started with his co-founder in August of 2015 after leaving Google. And over the last 5 years, Mac was able to scale the agency to over 20 people and has worked with hundreds of small businesses.

His entire mission is to provide digital momentum to small local businesses that need it the most. Mac also owns Phone Repair, Philly, Now the number 1 electronics repair company in Philadelphia. He uses that business to showcase his digital skills around SEO, local SEO, and other various marketing services. And he started this company in 2015 with a thousand dollars and grew it. So now it has 4 locations, 6, 000% in 24 months. Matt, great to have you on the show. Are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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01:50 – 01:56 Mac Frederick:

Let's do it. Awesome, well, let's make it happen then.

01:56 – 02:01 Gresham Harkless:

So to kick everything off, I wanted to rewind the clock. Hear a little bit more on how you got started, what I call your CEO story.

02:02 – 02:35 Mac Frederick:

Yeah, so it's funny in like the bio and introduction, you know, I wrote that a little bit ago, maybe a year or 2 ago, back when I was still embracing my full true story. I'm from small humble beginnings my dad's a small business owner, my mom's a teacher, I went to Penn State, got involved with entrepreneurship and sort of gave up the athletics life. And more so focused on business and sort of networked my way to getting the job at Google. You got a reference and recruited there and went to work with a small business ads team as a consultant for Google Ads.

And I used to say that I left Google to start my agency. The real story is I started my agency on the side when I was working for Google with the clients who I was working with at Google, which was a big conflict of interest, I got fired pretty much on the spot when they found out that I was doing that. Because they were so focused on spending money on Google ads and I was helping them with organic SEO and web design, social media, and things like that.

And that forced me to go all in getting fired at the time was like the worst thing that's ever happened to me, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. And that was 6 years ago. I didn't know what to do other than go all in on, you know, starting my agency and building another company that I had already started with phone and electronics repair. So that's what happened 6 years ago, went all in on these 2 companies and moved to Philadelphia, started fresh, and put both feet in.

03:39 – 03:57 Gresham Harkless:

Yeah, absolutely. And some of these times during less than ideal times, that's when it has to happen where you kind of have to just go all in. And at least you knew from running on the side that you knew that there was a market for that, you knew that you could take it and build it. It sounds like rolling up your sleeves and going more all in it, all in with it.

03:57 – 04:26 Mac Frederick:

Yeah. It's 1 of those things where it's like, I think as a business owner and entrepreneur, you gotta find a way to make money as quickly as possible. Like everybody's focused on raising money and investors and capital and all this, but it's like, what's your product or service that you're selling and can you sell it? Can you build a sustainable business? Do people want what product or service that you have to sell? And are you doing a good job at selling that product or service? If you haven't proved that you can make actual money with it, then why is somebody else going to invest in you? Why will somebody else partner up with you? Why would somebody hire you? Those are the questions you need to work through.

And I think what gave me some confidence and comfort was the fact that my 1 business was already running and profitable with the phone repair thing. I have done that twice now. I started 1 in college and I took a pay cut whenever I sold that company, just a small business sale acquisition to go work for Google. I took a pay cut to go work for Google where I was working 40 hours a week and I was like, oh, this is easy, 40 hours a week, this is nothing. So I started another phone repair company on the side 20, 30 hours a week.

And that just got busy to the point where I had to start hiring people and started getting trouble at my day job like taking calls and emails for my customers. And once I got to a point where that business was running kind of smoothly without me being in the weeds with it, then I got bored again. And I was like, all right, let's start something else. I started consulting on the side of these small businesses with digital marketing and already had a group concept because I had people paying me money to provide a service for them. And so I think that gave me sort of a mental safety net in being able to start both those companies.

05:43 – 06:06 Gresham Harkless:

Yeah, absolutely. And I think so many times when people, you know, think about starting companies, they think that you have to go from 0 to 60, 0 to 100, whatever it might be. But I think if you're able to test it out, get that proof of concept, as you said so well, you sometimes don't realize you can make that leap because you have that information. You do know that you have clients and customers.

And I think so many times people think that that's the only way to start a business is just go from 0 to a hundred and quit your job and do everything and just get started. But a lot of times some of the most successful people can test it out and then lean more into that.

06:15 – 06:49 Mac Frederick:

Exactly. Just all the mental stress and anxiety of starting your own business can be overbearing and so impactful in the decisions you make, both good and bad. And so by knowing that you can build something sustainable enough to pay the bills, instead of having to chase big loans or debt or investor capital just to build something. Yeah, I think that just sets the foundation of you being able to start a business and have money coming in without being so stressed and overwhelmed and trying to think about like, what am I gonna do? How am I gonna pay my bills next month? Then like, where am I gonna live? What am I gonna eat type of thing?

06:56 – 07:11 Gresham Harkless:

Yeah, absolutely. It's hard enough running a business as is on top of adding all those additional things. And so I know you touched on a little bit. I wanted to see if there's anything additional you want to tell us a little bit more about Momentum Digital and of course, your phone repair company, and let us know how you serve and work with the clients you have.

07:11 – 07:41 Mac Frederick:

Yeah, for the marketing agency, I mean, we've been at it for 6 years now. We've had peaks and valleys, ups and downs. I started it with a more technical business partner. He was my technical co-founder. And when we first started, I would bring in the new business and he would build websites and do some coding and this and that. But something very important for anybody listening is, that person who is your co-founder or your business partner, they say don't hire a partner with a friend.

I believe that to a degree, but I think you should partner with somebody that, first off, you can trust and who is willing to invest everything mentally, physically, emotionally, and financially because they believe in it as much as you. And that first business partner did not work out for me and that hurt our friendship because we went in as friends and didn't know exactly what we were getting into. But I guess moreover into Momentum Digital and who we are and what we do, we're just a small business digital marketing boutique.

We've worked with businesses ranging from $100, 000 in annual revenue up to $100 million in annual revenue. So we do focus on that small business market and our services primarily are focused around all things Google as a Google partner, Google ads, SEO, and local SEO, but then we also do some web design and Facebook ads as well. Nice. And then in terms of the other business, it's a 7 figure annual business. We have 4 retail locations. I started it literally with $1, 000 out of a coworking space and just kept reinvesting any sort of profits.

As a small business owner with someone who hasn't taken on debt or raised capital, it's not easy, but I think in the end, it's so much more rewarding and you learn a lot more and you don't get told what to do, which is sort of good and bad. But at the same time, I've always been able to control my destiny And I'm the type of entrepreneur where, you know, others probably haven't experienced as much as me in this realm. I learned mostly through failure, which can be bad, but I think you learn it more wholeheartedly that way, like through taxes and partnerships and operating agreements and hiring and firing and training and onboarding and you know marketing and sales acquisition all these different things. I just learn it on the go and learn it through failure.

And I think that's how a lot of entrepreneurs learn. And I'd recommend if you're like people listening who are looking to start a business or grow their agency like actually write down and put on paper why you're starting it. Like, what's the purpose? Like, don't focus just on the money. Like, to me, it sounds really weird. I don't care about the money. The money is just a nice cherry on top. I care more about like flexibility convenience and lifestyle and working with who I want and what I want.

10:15 – 10:32 Gresham Harkless:

Do you feel like that might be what I like to call your secret sauce, which is kind of the thing that sets you apart and makes you unique? Is it that ability to be able to make those decisions and act and learn from those decisions for yourself, also it sounds like helping our clients and potentially learning from others as well.

10:33 – 11:04 Mac Frederick:

Entrepreneurship to me is just a way of life. There's no alternative for me. I'm unemployable as I like to say. A lot of entrepreneurs like us can't have a job. I had the best job in the world and couldn't even keep it. I was itching to work for myself. And I've been self-employed for 6 years. I've been an entrepreneur for 10 years. And if I have any secrets, I would say is just sheer determination. I'm a Libra and Libras aren't great at making decisions, but when it comes to business, like you have to, you can't just be like, oh, like what do I do here? And just like weigh it back and forth and take your time. Like sometimes you need to make impact decisions.

11:13 – 11:33 Gresham Harkless:

You might've already brought this up, which is what I call the CEO hack, which is kind of like an Apple book or habit that you have, but it's something that makes you more effective and efficient. Was it that people piece and being able to increase your emotional intelligence or your EQ to be able to, I guess, make sure that you do have a viable and successful business, especially related to human capital?

11:34 – 12:11 Mac Frederick:

For me, I think the secret to my success is only within the last like I had a lot of success starting, but like I've got 2 concurrent businesses. For the majority of my business life, I didn't have a business partner, any managing partner, or anybody to help me run the company. So imagine not everybody can build, start, manage, and run 2 businesses concurrently, nor do I think I can. And I think I learned the hard way that I can't because you'll get to a certain point where you plateau and you can only get to that next level by having additional resources.

Typically, it's financial or human capital. And I didn't want to take on any debt. I didn't want to take any loans or investors or any sort of capital like that. And so, plus I got to the point where I just like, I kept hitting hurdle after hurdle. And about a year and a half ago, I brought Olin, I promoted the best person at each company to an operating partner. I gave him some skin in the game, some equity and profit sharing.

12:42 – 12:59 Gresham Harkless:

I love that. And would you consider that to be like a kind of like that word I call it a nugget, a CEO nugget was a word of wisdom or piece of advice. I usually say something if you hopped into a time machine, you might tell your younger business self that your CEO nugget is to to embrace and enjoy and lean into that long game.

13:00 – 13:28 Mac Frederick:

I think you just got to enjoy the journey. Like right now I'm at the beach. Like I just left the beach. I was jet skiing earlier. I'm with my friends, you know, I'm just having a good time. Like I think if people are working 7 days a week to become like millionaires, it's like, then what? Like you made 45, you made a couple million by 45 years old, like you didn't enjoy your 20s and 30s. Like I'm about enjoying life, working hard, making some money, meeting amazing people, traveling, but everybody wants different things. So I think just align your purpose with your skillset and build a lifestyle around what you're good at and how you can help other people.

13:39 – 13:50 Gresham Harkless:

Absolutely. Well, Mac, truly appreciate that. And I wanted to ask you now my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're all gonna have different quote-unquote CEOs on the show. So Mac, what does being a CEO mean to you?

13:50 – 13:56 Mac Frederick:

I guess what it means to be a CEO to me is, just to be a leader.  I'll give you the standard answer, like just to be a leader.

13:56 – 14:10 Gresham Harkless: 

Well, Mac truly appreciates that definition. And I appreciate your time even more. What I wanted to do is just pass you the mic so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional that 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 that you're working on.

14:11 – 14:45 Mac Frederick:

Yeah, I mean last bit of advice, you know everybody's like, I think the world of entrepreneurship is changing. The word entrepreneurship is changing. And everybody wants to be an entrepreneur these days, but I don't think everybody has really what it takes to be an entrepreneur. I think not everything with entrepreneurship can be taught. I think some people just have it versus don't have it. You can make yourself more of an entrepreneur and a better entrepreneur. But I think there needs to be more in terms of self-awareness and understanding yourself and where you fit into this thing called life.

To me, there's no other resort or option for me other than being my boss. And I wouldn't have it, I would rather make no money living in my parents' basement, being my boss, instead of like making a million dollars a year working in corporate. But what I'd like to say is self-awareness, understand yourself, and try to build a life around yourself and what you want to do, but also really at a young age, explore your opportunities like in your teens, different jobs, different careers, job shadowing, trying to figure out what it is you like to do, what it is you're good at and align the 2 and then create your purpose and just meet amazing people along the way and be the best version of yourself. We've all made tons of mistakes.

I make mistakes daily, but I just gotta learn from them and just try to be a good person, a better person every day. You can find me and follow me on Instagram at Mac Frederick, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Mac Frederick. The company's names are Momentum Digital and Phone Repair Affiliate. If you wanna look them up, feel free to do so. Hoping to drop a local SEO marketing course for small business owners and marketers for as cheap as I possibly can within the next couple of months. So stay tuned for that as well.

15:56 – 16:18 Gresham Harkless:

Awesome, awesome, awesome. Well, you have to let us know when that drops, but we will have the links and information and the show notes as well too, when that goes live. But appreciate you, Mac, for reminding us of how important that is to be able to stay true to self, to do that work internally, to figure out how and what you want to build and how you want your life to look and realize that we have the power within us to do that. So truly appreciate you for embodying that my friend. And I appreciate you of course, for taking some time out and I hope you have a great rest of the day.

16:21 – Outro