Andrew Hazen Interview

Prime Visibility – www.PrimeVisibility.com
Title: Founder & CEO
Industry: Internet Marketing
Type of company:  Full service Internet Marketing firm
Year founded: 1998
Location: Long Island, NY
Number of employees: 45

1.    What is the start-up story behind your business venture?

I didn’t grow up as a techie and didn’t even have a computer when I graduated from undergrad in 1995.  When I attended law school in 1996 I spent 3 hours a day in class, two hours a day reading for the next day’s class and then 15 hours on the internet….I was simply amazed at the wealth of information available online and the power of my reach via the world wide web.

Of all the classes I took in law school, there is one in particular that truly changed my life…it was entitled “The Law of Cyberspace.”  For this class instead of writing a paper I built a web page, which resulted in an out-of-state lawyer contacting me about performing legal research for them….if lawyers would pay me to do research how about all the lazy college students out there?   And with that, in 1997 I started LazyStudents.com…..I needed a way to market LazyStudents.com which is how I got into internet marketing and search engine optimization…..back in 1996/1997 before Google, I was teaching myself how to optimize web pages so I can appear on the top of search results in Yahoo, AltaVista and Excite (the big engines of those days).  After a few months of self-education (really trial and error), I was able to get LazyStudents.com to rank on the first page of search results…this translated into 2M unique visitors a month a new business for me (GRIN).

I quickly finished law school (in 2.5 years instead of 3) passed the bar and practiced law for 8 weeks….then I started Prime Visibility.

2.    What is your definition of success and has your company achieved it?

Success obviously means lots of things to lots of people….as it relates to Prime Visibility, I would define its success as being a nationally recognized leader in Internet Marketing as well as profitable.  I would say that Prime Visibility has achieved success as we have been featured and recognized as Internet marketing experts throughout the media including Fox Business, A&E Biography Channel, The LA Times, iMedia Connection, New York Newsday and many others….Prime Visibility has also made the BtoB Magazine list of Top SEM companies in the US for the past seven consecutive years.

On the profitability side, Prime Visibility has been profitable since its inception in 1998 and in 2007 & 2008, Prime Visibility made the Inc list of Fastest Growing companies in the US.

3.    To what do you attribute your company’s recent achievements?

I attribute passion and perseverance to Prime Visibility’s achievements.  Many Prime Visibility team members are extraordinarily passionate about the company and its future; moreover, delivering internet marketing services that exceed our clients’ expectations has been instrumental to our success.  It is not uncommon for our Account Managers and Dept Heads to communicate with clients (and each other) after “normal” business hours as well as the weekend….this perseverance exhibits that we do what it takes to deliver value to our clients.

4.    How important have good employees and team members been to your success?

Having great team members has been instrumental to our success; without them, we would not be where we are today.  I learned well over a decade ago that I cannot do everything by myself and MUST let go and delegate to others….

5.    What three pieces of advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs?

I would suggest that aspiring entrepreneurs surround themselves with “best of breed” talent; ALWAYS make sure that revenue exceeds expenses and don’t be afraid to admit what you don’t know.  I would also suggest that aspiring entrepreneurs become avid readers and read books that will help them succeed in life and in business.

6.    What have been some of your failures, and what have you learned from them?

I have painfully learned that I cannot do it all and spreading myself too thin is more damaging then I realized….something along the way WILL suffer.

7.    Describe/outline your typical day?

I have three boys (ages 7, 5 and 2) – as soon as my kids wake up around 5:30/6AM I am in the office within 30 – 45 minutes….with 45 people and over 150 clients, a lot of my day is spent in internal meetings or on client phone calls….my strengths are in marketing so I try to make the time to focus on the marketing efforts of our clients.  I put in a FULL day from 7 AM to easily 1AM….I get home around 7:30/8pm – have dinner with my wife and catch up on the day’s activities then go back to work once everyone in my house is sleeping (usually by 9:30pm).  I get a lot of work accomplished late at night when it is my “quiet time”.

8. Where did your organizations funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it?

To make a VERY long story short, I was practicing law before I founded Prime Visibility.  While I was prepared to start the business myself with no financing, the partners at the law firm talked me into partnering with them.  Essentially, for a minority interest in the company, the law firm more than doubled my salary and that was the start of Prime Visibility.  To be honest we really bootstrapped the company from its inception, it was just my salary that was guaranteed and enabled me to build a solid foundation.

9. What stops you from throwing in the towel and giving up during those frustrating days of running your business?

My passion and belief in the future of Internet marketing is what keeps me from throwing in the towel  There were MANY, MANY times when I was short on payroll by $20k+ and my stress levels were certainly being tested; however I persevered and made it work.  It’s easier said than done now that I look back at those times….and I certainly don’t miss them!

NOTE – I sold the company at the end of 2007 so while I am still the founder & CEO running the company; I have A LOT less stress with our investors involved….

10. Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?

Yes, believe in yourself and don’t give up!  It’s also OK to ask for help…..

11. Who has influenced you most and been your greatest inspiration?
12. What book has inspired you the most?

I have read 2 books which I wholeheartedly believe changed my mindset and my future:

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker and also The eMyth Revisited by Michael Gerber

13. How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?

Being that we are in internet marketing, we get lots of leads via the internet; however 85% of those leads cannot afford us (average client spends $8k a month with us)….the best marketing has been my appearances on A&E Biography Channel and Fox Business…we also get a tremendous amount of referrals, which says a lot about the service we deliver to clients.

14. In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.

Exhilarating

15. Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?

Google and Apple – their creativity and culture are extraordinary.  I always say to team members: “The moment you wake up in the morning and don’t look forward to coming into the office is when I have failed you”
I  admire the dedication and passion the team members of Google and Apple devote to their companies and their respective company missions and abilities to give back to society.

16. How do you achieve balance in your life? Or do you?

I try to achieve balance in my life by not sleeping…in all seriousness, before I sold my company I was in the office 6 days a week and a 24/7 owner; today I rarely go into the office on the weekends and make sure that I get home more often to see my family before they go to sleep.  Success means many things to many people; to me it is the ability to wake up each morning and chose on a day to day basis what you want to work on….

17. Where do you see yourself and your business in 5 years? 10 years?

In 5 business my business should be much larger in terms of revenues (at least 4X current level) and larger in terms of offerings as a digital marketing platform.  Our parent company, PV Media Group is looking for acquisitions on an ongoing business and we are making our portfolio of offerings much more attractive.

In ten years – wow….I’ll be 46 in ten years and my boys will be 17, 15 and 12…..I hope I am in good shape in ten years and financially secure…

18. What’s your exit strategy?

Keeping in mind that I sold my company one year ago (that was my exit there) and am still running it as the CEO, with a four year earn out, this is something I still contemplate…will keep you posted!

19. If we could introduce you to anyone, who would it be and why? (you never know who we know!)

I would love to meet some of the great direct marketers and authors that have inspired me such as T. Harv Eker, Michael Gerber or Jay Conrad Levinson.

Evan Carmichael

Matthew Toren

Matthew Toren is an Award Winning Author, Serial Entrepreneur, and Investor. He Co-Founded YoungEntrepreneur.com along with his brother Adam. Matthew is co-author of the newly released book:Small Business, Big Vision: “Lessons on How to Dominate Your Market from Self-Made Entrepreneurs Who Did it Right” and also co-author of Kidpreneurs.