cavnessHR Resources

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The cavnessHR Podcast can be found at the following places or you can just type in cavnessHR on the respective app.

iTunes: https://cavnesshr.co/theca04861

Soundcloud: https://cavnesshr.co/thecaffd38

Stitcher: https://cavnesshr.co/thecaa5ea4

YouTube: https://cavnesshr.co/youtude774

Anchor: https://cavnesshr.co/thecae45a5

Google Play: https://cavnesshr.co/01e97

Pocket Casts: https://cavnesshr.co/pocke2fde9

Social Media links for Tej Below!!

Tej’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tej-yale-b7053319/
ThinkImpactFirst FB: https://www.facebook.com/ThinkImpact1/
ThinkImpact1st Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinkimpact1st/
ThinkImpact1st Twitter: @ThinkImpact1st

Tej’s Book Recommendations!!!

“How to Win at the Sport of Business: If I Can Do and You Can Do It” by Mark Cuban.
“The Lean Start Up” by Eric RIES

Jason: Hello and welcome to the cavnessHR podcast. I am your host Jason Cavness. Today's podcast is brought to you by Audible. Get free audio book download and 30 trial at www.audibletrial.com/cavnessHR Our guest today is Tej Yale. Tej are you ready to be great today.

Tej: Absolutely.

Jason: Tej is the CEO of ThinkImpact INC. A digital marketing company based out of Rochester Hills, Michigan. ThinkImpact specializes in marketing consulting, market research and media management. Tej was approached by local businesses needing help with their marketing and branding strategy.

Jason: Tej, you are doing a lot of things right now. I mean how are you maintaining doing all this and keeping everything in order.

Tej: Yeah so between AIM and ThinkImpact definitely keeping me on my toes. But you know I'm always one that likes to stay busy and pride myself on challenging myself and learning new skill sets.

Tej: I also work full time in different fields. I am constantly learning new trends within the engineering industry. Obviously coming from a marketing background. I also try to keep up with the engineering industry. Working with our clients and helping them increase their digital footprint online as well.

Jason: Now I find it interesting that their are Anonymous vehicles in Detroit. When people think about it Detroit isn't the first that comes up. They think of Google, Tesla and Uber. I find it very interesting that Detroit is actually trying to do this. Is Detroit right there with Tesla or are they far behind as far as the technology is concerned.

Tej: Now I think in terms of the technology we're slowly catching up. I think the University of Michigan launched the first antonymous people mover on campus in Ann Arbor. So students are getting a first hand experience using the autonomous technology firsthand.

Tej: But I think obviously with partnerships with Chrysler and Uber slowly trending in that field. I think there's a lot more to come and hopefully being that Detroit is an automotive hub. Hopefully, that technology comes to Detroit. But I think we're still catching up bit now.

Jason: Can you tell me about the process you went through as far as wanting to start your own business. How did it happen for you.

Tej: So I had been in the marketing industry for about three to four years. Working in different corporate jobs and internships. Working for government organizations and corporations. Local businesses found us actually in terms of local businesses needing help with their marketing and branding strategy.

Tej: So having that work experience combined with my MBA, that was the original genesis of how the company came into fruition. My father who also has his own company. I also wanted to experience that on my own. I think by doing that allowed me to realize the work involved in running a business.

Jason: Is there a certain size of business or industry that you like to focus on?

Jason: We focus on a wide array of industries. Currently we have clients in the engineering field, property management and other business within Michigan and out of Michigan as well. So we like to work with any client that wants to improve their digital footprint. Who may not have necessarily have expertise on their own. That's where we come in and help them run their marketing campaigns and help them increase their digital footprint on line.

Jason: Does most of your business come from word of mouth. Or do you actually have your own marketing plan to run the business.

Tej: Yeah some of that comes that comes from word of mouth. But we've also been using social media to leverage a lot of our client base particularly through Twitter and LinkedIn. Then obviously having a network there. They're able to see the type of work we do as we list it on our websites. They can see the kind of work that we do. That's really been how we've been getting clients through LinkedIn and through networking events as well. Plus local trade business trade events as well.

Jason: Now there's so many people out their that do what you do. So many companies, so many individuals. Why would a company come to you for their business versus someone else.

Tej: Because for us we like to work with local businesses and we're also cost conscious and cost effective to the clients that we work with. So from a pricing standpoint we talk with the client directly to make sure both parties are satisfied.

Jason: Why would they bring you on versus hiring their own internal hire. What are the pros and cons of doing both.

Tej: Again we're very transparent. You know we don't have any hidden fees or anything like that and we're very well versed within the marketing industry. Again having been in the industry for about three to four years I've certainly gained a lot of knowledge through different avenues. We have a small team of three interns that work with us on a contractual basis and they're also pretty well versed within the marketing industry as a whole. We also operate a hyper local level.

Jason: Can you talk a little bit of about how the tech and startup scene in Detroit is right now?
Tej: There are a lot of tech startup companies here. I actually just went to a conference last Friday in Ann Arbor. Where there were about 80 plus startup companies. Which was pretty cool to see in terms of them talking about their respective technologies and what they have to offer especially on a local level. I knew that Ann Arbor was a Tech hub. With all the coworking spaces like WeWork and Tech Town being centrally located in Detroit.

Jason: Next tell us about a time you were successful in the past. What you learned from this success and what we can learn from this success.

Tej: I'm proud to say it is actually the formation of ThinkImpact1ST. Starting a company obviously wasn't an easy decision. But I thought that with the skill sets that I gained through internships and work. That provided me with an advantage over some of my other competitors of other companies. I'm pretty young and just always trying to keep up with the trends and doing my research and challenging myself and having my parents support as well. Also when I look at a potential client I don't necessarily look at it from a monetary perspective. I look at it from the services that we provide how can we provide value. How can we support our local businesses we work with and trying to build a more genuine relationships and an honest and integrity based culture and work ethic. I often work pretty late because I'm very passionate about what I do and I genuinely like it. In terms of what others can learn. Be prepared to face reality in different phases of entrepreneurial journey and let that motivate you to go big with your company.

Jason: You bring up a point. When you start business you'll need lots and lots of support. There is no way you can do it by yourself. Follow up question. Talk about a time you failed? What you learned from this failure and what we can learn from this.

Tej: I always had a passion to pursue a career in sports management. I loved every facet of it, from operations to the marketing to building genuine relationships. I secured internships with local sports marketing firms entertainment firms. I even interned as a college intern for Oakland's University's athletic department. Hoping that that will lead me to my full time job in the sports management industry. Unfortunately, none of those internships led to full time job within the sports industry. But it did teach me a very important lesson very early on. That was to not have a tunnel mind and vision in terms of having a one track mindset and not to just invest everything and all of your eggs in one basket. It taught me to spread the same amount of energy same amount of passion. But within different industries on a much broader level and invest in those vested interests.

Jason: Next can you tell us about someone who has helped you and how they helped you?

Tej: My parents for sure. They have supported me along every step of my professional and personal endeavors. Part of me in high school was when I first knew that I wanted to pursue a career in marketing right after ninth grade after taking all my business classes. They helped me map out my career track from taking business related and marketing related classes. I wanted to go to Oakland University because I researched their business program and they happened to be located near three major auto companies. So looking at it from job prospects perspective. That's also why I picked Oakland university, it was local. I've created career opportunities there and this continued throughout my entire time at Oakland University while I got my Bachelor's and then eventually my MBA. Then supporting me once I started ThinkImpact1st. You know my dad having his own company. I was able to get business related tips from him from an entrepreneurial perspective. My mom working in a corporate setting. She was able to provide me with some great guidance as well and having that foundation really allowed me to thrive and have confidence in myself to launch my own company. They have been my biggest supporters in every endeavor I pursue and I am very thankful for that.

Jason: Tell us something that most people don't know about you. I mean of course family and close friends know this. But people that work with you day to day don't know this about you.

Tej: I have been a world traveler and have been fortunate enough to explore different cultures both from work and personal perspectives. From a work perspective. It was interesting to see the cultural and cultural aspects that typical businesses have and kind of compared to how we have our lifestyle here in the US. It was different. Most people don't know I have traveled the world and look forward to exploring more.

Jason: I wish everyone could travel to one country and Canada and Mexico doesn't count. Like Europe or Asia.

Jason: I understand you have a book to recommend for listeners.

Tej: I have a couple of different books. The first book is How to Win at the sport of business if he can do and I can do it by Mark Cuban. The book mainly talks about Mr. Cuban's entrepreneurial journey about how he started different companies along the way. Before eventually ending up as one of the shark tank costars. He also provides very good tips for young and aspiring entrepreneurs to kind grind it out work hard, don't give up. You know you're going to face tough roadblocks along the way but keep going. That's first book I recommend. The second book, I recommend is The Lean Start Up by Eric Reis. It talks about how different businesses in different countries manage and maintain a sustainable work environment within business. It also talks about two key concepts. One being the minimum viable product.

Jason: Can you share yours and your companies social media platforms so people can reach out to you.

Tej: So we are very active being a digital marketing company. We're pretty active on social media. We're on Twitter at ThinkImpactfirst. We are on Facebook. Facebook.com/thinkimpact1/ Instagram at Thinkimpactfirst. Then Tej Yale at LinkedIn. I look forward to connecting with you.

Jason: Where are you getting the most traffic from Instagram, Facebook, Twitter? Where is most of your traffic coming from right now.

Jason: Right now LinkedIn. Just because it allows us to showcase our talents to prospective clients. We've seen a lot of traction from that especially after interacting with different companies and their C-Suite and their marketing related personnel. We've also had some requests through Facebook as well.

Jason: So we are coming to the end of our talk. Can you provide any last minute advice or wisdom for our listeners?

Tej: Yes so for any young entrepreneurial individual it's not designed to be an easy journey. You're going to face a lot of tough road blocks along the way but just use that as motivation. Remember why you started the company and use that as motivation to get through those tough times. Work hard, stay determined, know your passion. Early in my entrepreneurial journey I have certainly experienced some good times and bad times. Through the bad times I just dusted myself off and started you know pursuing new clients again. That's part of the journey and be passionate more than anything. Make sure you enjoy what you do if you don't enjoy doing. If you don't enjoy what you are doing, it may or may not necessarily be the right career path.

Jason: Tej, thanks for your time today. I really appreciate it. I know you're busy person and I just thank you for doing this with me.

Tej: Thanks for having me. I really appreciate it and really appreciate being on your show and your podcast.

Jason: To our listeners thank you for your time as well and remember to be great every day.