Entry-level: Benjamin Brown

Entry-level is a new series profiling those who are working their first media jobs out of college. Want to be featured? Send an e-mail to d.ceceliamartinez [at] gmail [dot] com with a photo and answers to the questions below.

Name: Benjamin Brown (@RedLeader656)

Location: Albany, NY

Gig: Founder and CEO, New Hand Media

Education: The College of Saint Rose, 2009

Length of job search: My job search lasted months. During school, I was working for Apple Inc. as a computer tech at one of their retail stores. It was a great job and I was paid well, but there was so much that I felt I was missing. So, making one of the most important decisions of my life, I decided to quit my job and relocate to Charlotte, NC. It was there that I got a taste of the real world and how bad the economy actually is. I spent eight to 10 hours a day sending out resumes and calling companies, never hearing a word back from any of them. This went on for about six months, until I finally ran out of money and had to come back to Albany. I was disappointed, but learned a lot about life and the job market, so for that I’m forever grateful.

Why he decided to start his own business: The difficulty of finding a job in established companies. There are a lot of marketing and ad agencies out there, but in an economy like this, most of them are looking to let people go rather than hire. After a huge amount of disappointment and frustration, I decided to start my own business. I knew what I wanted to do, and I knew that I could do it better than most people that I had come across in the same field. I found what I loved and now I’m making a career out of it.

What’s been the hardest part so far: Just making the leap forward to do it. You have to jump in head first and hope that you don’t smash your head on the rocks at the bottom. It’s sort of a leap of faith. All of your time, money and effort are focused on getting your name out there and generating buzz for your brand. It’s nothing short of petrifying, but you just have to believe that you’re going to make it, otherwise no one else will.

What attracted him to social media: Social media has changed the way that we live our lives. We now have the ability to converse and connect with consumers in a way that wasn’t possible five years ago. Right now there’s a mini ‘gold rush’ going on to see who can take advantage of these cutting edge technologies. The ability of something like Facebook to allow you to target very specific audiences is incredible. The other thing that amazes me is how platforms like Twitter have really given a lot of power back to consumers. Ten years ago, marketing and ad campaigns were generated in sort of a cookie cutter fashion, with no real feedback. Now people can talk about your brand on an exponential level, reaching far beyond their immediate circle of friends and family. This ultimately makes brands much more accountable for their actions and messages.

His dream client: Some sort of niche brand that I could help develop into a titan in the market. I would love to be able to bring some small brands into the marketplace in a big way.

Ultimate goal: To make sure that I love every minute of what I’m doing. When you hate your job and you’re miserable at work every day, what’s the point? I want to ultimately make a sustainable company that is able to develop interesting and impactful brand awareness. Of course I’d also like to make loads of money, but that’ll come later if I keep doing what I love.

Advice for job seekers out there: Find what you love and do it! Read every book that you can about starting a business, find online resources and apply that to something that you want to do for the rest of your life. It’s never been easier to get a small business going that’s made of nothing more than your voice talking about what you love. Now is the time to get into the game because like I said, social media has become the great equalizer. It’s going to allow you to get your message and content out there. If you’re passionate about what you’re doing then do it every day and go at it as hard as you can. At the end of the day you’re going to be happier with yourself.

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More and more people are become entrepreneurs because of the lack of traditional employment options, and media can be a great product because there’s so little startup costs involved. There’s been more than a few media startups in this area, some who have found real success. However, as the current state of the media industry proves, just because you know media doesn’t mean you know business.

Have you considered the possibility of starting your own business, or are you content holding out for a full-time job, no matter how long it might take?

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