Emmanuel Njomo is the founder of Levitate, a marketing agency that helps businesses achieve their marketing goals. Emmanuel has over a decade and a half of experience in the marketing industry and has worked for some of the biggest names in their respective fields, including but not limited to Comcast Business, Bank of America, Foster Web Marketing, Mindgrub, Level 5 Advertising, Orbital ATK, Global Wireless Solutions, Surefire Local, and MedschoolCoach.
Emmanuel is a graduate of Old Dominion University (ODU), where he earned his bachelor’s in Communications with a minor in Philosophy. When he’s not working on his next marketing campaign or helping businesses achieve their goals, Emmanuel enjoys spending time with his wife and two young children. A former collegiate and professional basketball player and avid gamer, Emmanuel can be found competing whether the stakes are low or high.
For more details, visit their website here.
Here we sit down with Emmanuel to know a bit more about her journey as an entrepreneur.
Q. Tell us a little more about your journey as an entrepreneur – how did you get started? What inspired you?
Emmanuel: I have been working as a marketer, strategist, and consultant since 2012. I’ve built, led, and supported some amazing teams throughout my career. I have led digital marketing campaigns from initial briefing to launch day and beyond, with direct responsibility for the day-to-day management of processes and workflows. I’ve overseen dot coms and curated digital experiences in the legal, medical, and home services SaaS space, as well as in automotive retail, telecom, and more.
Q. What’s one thing in your routine that you do consistently that has made a huge difference in your personal or business life?
Emmanuel: Change your mind with new information. As soon as you’re stuck in your ways “don’t look up” because the meteors are coming. Because you’re a dinosaur. A dinosaur that doesn’t know that they’re already dead.
Q. Who are your mentors and inspiration? And what knowledge or insight did they give to you that was valuable?
Emmanuel: Jaga from Thundercats. No seriously. Watching that cartoon as a kid (helped drown out my parent’s screaming in the background). He taught me so many life lessons those 30 minutes were like church, well a church that actually worked.
The main insight he gave me was that talent doesn’t matter. You need tools (the sword of omens), an elite specialized team (the rest of the Thundercats), and a mentor (Jaga himself) in order to get anything of true merit accomplished. He sacrifices himself in the first episode so that the main character, a child, can live.
He empowered everyone around him. What’s better than applying wisdom, empowering others, and overcoming challenges and obstacles? I can’t think of anything, can you?
Q. What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Emmanuel: Building the company that I spent way too long looking for.
Q. How do you market your business, and which tactics have been most successful?
Emmanuel: I market my business by helping my current clients so thoroughly that they do my marketing for me. For the most part, if an agency has to market themselves I would consider that a huge red flag– It could mean they have clients churning and they are hard-pressed to bring in fresh blood. What you should do when looking for an agency is check out its headcount growth on LinkedIn. If it’s been steadily climbing– and the main thing you see is the agency advertising are job openings (with salaries included specifically) then they are a safe bet.
Q. What have been your biggest failures or challenges?
Emmanuel: Prioritization. When you have a million ideas it’s hard to figure out which project to pursue. There is a constant tug of war between my reason and instinct. Figuring out the balance when tackling my day is definitely the last boss for me.
Q. How did this failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?
Emmanuel: I hate to be that quotey guy, but I’m awful, so I’ll do it anyway. Hemingway said, “The world breaks everyone, and afterward many are strong in the broken places.” Since my prioritization has always been a challenge I’ve turned it into my greatest strength. I go with what moves me. I schedule writing and brainstorming breaks. I schedule video game sessions in short bursts throughout my day, and I always, always prioritize myself first. I’ve found that when I’m happy and centered, doing the stuff I hate feels less like a ritual or chore and more like a small price to pay for my happiness. There is a certain feeling you get when your day isn’t ruled by consequences, well, it’s doubly that for goals.
Q. If someone was to create a TV show about you, what would it be about and what would it be called?
Emmanuel: It would be called “E” and it would be a modern-day Hanging with Mr. Cooper with some heavy anime influences. Every season would consist of the same 1-hour story told in a different Genre: Horror, Comedy, Drama, Anime superpower style, Action, or Sci-fi Thriller.
The Nine Pillars of Marketing Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know(Opens in a new browser tab)
To keep up to date with Emmanuel and his journey, connect with him on LinkedIn.