Today we’d like to introduce you to Danny Star.
Danny, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
It started when I came to the States as part of work through our school. We came in to help to market large financial institutions. I came to become the lead marketer of some finance houses in the auto industry. They were extremely successful, but around the time of the 2008 downturn in the economy, many of those we worked with went out of business. I decided to work as an individual consultant for small businesses in the L.A. area, so I set up shop in a small office in Van Nuys along with two of my earlier colleagues. Those two are still with me and are part of what Website Depot has become.
In the initial years, I worked mainly on web services and SEO for a nice range of businesses in L.A. As digital marketing evolved, we began taking on more services, and as our client base grew, so did our workforce. We needed a more formal brand approach, which is why we started Website Depot. We began to establish new offices and new locations in recent years to better serve clients.
As of the COVID-19 outbreak, a majority of the workforce is working remotely, all the while staying in touch with clients.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It hasn’t always been a smooth road. Along with the initial growth that we had we had to take it upon ourselves to learn new skills or to identify those with specialties we needed to bring on board, so there was a lot of trial and error in that regard. I feel fortunate to say that we have a much better system in place equipped for the future, and because of that, our team and what they bring to the table has never been better.
The lockdowns and business closures associated with the COVID-19 outbreak were by far the most challenging of things we had to deal with. We were lucky not to have one member of our team fall ill because of this. But there was a lot of damage done in regards to our client base. Many brick and mortar businesses were forced to close or make significant cuts. This, of course, had an effect on us and our business. The nature of our work is all digital, however, so we’re in a position to persevere through this and we know that there are many other businesses seeking us out.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Website Depot story. Tell us more about the business.
Since our inception, we’ve been best known for Search Engine Optimization, Online Reputation Management, and Web Design. Those have been the core of our specialties, but we’ve really branched out as of late. Today we have a stellar group of online ad experts who run accounts on Google, Facebook, Bing, and other major ad networks. Many of them are certified in their specific platforms they specialize in.
We’ve also evolved our social media team and our digital video production team. Our team is as creative as ever, and the difference from the early years is that we have an ability to engage and build a following that is organic for our customers. Back in the day, we only used social media to generate SEO backlinks, but now we use it to get the word out in a way that connects with people.
Our digital video team has never been better. Usually, we would try out local talent and contract them with our clients, but right now, I think we have something special in the house. The amount of views and conversions we can achieve for both us and our customers who use this service are quite amazing, and I think that’s a testament to the level of quality and professionalism that this team delivers. Other than that, I stand by what we call ourselves, and that’s full service. We encourage people to share some out of the box ideas and then we’ll huddle up to see how we can get it done together.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I would always be good than lucky. That’s what I always say. If luck falls on your lap, you take it, but as a rule of thumb, it’s good not to rely on it. I’d say we’re lucky we weren’t hit any worse by this pandemic, and that our great team is healthy as can be. There are some instances that I might feel lucky a certain somebody called to be to launch a project, but I don’t think that would be accurate, I think they called us because they read up on us and determined we know what we’re doing and that we can be trusted.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://websitedepot.com/
- Phone: (888) 477-9540
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/websitedepothq/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Websitedepotinc/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/websitedepot?lang=en
- Other: https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy85NjllNzI4L3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz
Image Credit:
Property of Website Depot Inc.
Suggest a story: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
