Ep421: Dennis Yu – Dream Big, Start Small

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Quick take

BIO: Dennis Yu is the CEO of BlitzMetrics, a digital marketing company that partners with schools to train young adults.

STORY: Dennis had a very good idea for a program, and once he launched it, he got more customers than he anticipated. Unfortunately, he was not able to execute the program well, and so it failed.

LEARNING: Just because you’re good in one business doesn’t mean you will automatically be good in another. Have a system in place to help you execute your ideas.

“Never overestimate the level of preparation you need to anticipate when executing an idea.”

Dennis Yu

Guest profile

Dennis Yu is the CEO of BlitzMetrics, a digital marketing company that partners with schools to train young adults. He’s a former Yahoo search engine engineer who optimizes ads and analytics across search and social that he’s turned into training to create good jobs for aspiring digital marketers.

Worst investment ever

Dennis started a digital marketing agency and launched it at a conference. He got so many people who paid about $2,000 to come into the program. Dennis hired a CEO and a couple of VAs to run the program.

As luck would have it, the program attracted so many customers. Unfortunately, the program got destroyed by having too many customers. The team Dennis hired wasn’t able to execute the program, and eventually, he had to shut the thing down. Dennis had put in $100,000 into the program, and shutting it down was painful.

Lessons learned

• Just because you’ve been successful in another kind of business doesn’t mean you’re going to be successful in a different or even a similar one.
• Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
• Have a tight process and people who know how to operate in that process.

Andrew’s takeaways

• As you start your business, be sure to manage your risks.
• Ideas are one thing; execution is another. Have systems in place that will help you to execute your ideas.

Actionable advice

Start small, but still dream big.

No. 1 goal for the next 12 months

Dennis’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to launch 10 agencies. He has already launched three of them, and they’re going in the right direction.

Parting words

“By sharing your failures, people respect you more, and they’re more likely to hire you.”

Dennis Yu