Joshua Steimle is the co-founder and CEO of MWI, a full service digital marketing agency based in the US, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Other than that, he is also known as a serial entrepreneur, writer and speaker. He has written over 200 articles for Forbes, Entrepreneur, Time Magazine, Mashable and TechCrunch.

Josh has inspiring journey of entrepreneurship and would like to share them with you.

Hello Josh! Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I’m the founder of MWI, a digital marketing agency with offices in US, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Can you tell us about what you do?

Beside running MWI, I am also a writer and speaker. I’ve written more than 200 articles in the last 4 years and have written a book called ‘Chief Marketing Officers at Work’.

And now I’m very much focused on running the agency, while helping people become influencers.

How did you become and entrepreneur? What’s your story?

My first lesson in business came when I was four or five.  It was my father who gave me a 3-column financial ledger labeled with ‘Income’, ‘Out-go’ and ‘Balance’. Then, he gave me a job to move some bricks, paid me for the job done and taught me how to write every penny I earned.

And as a kid, I was amazed and latched into that. It felt awesome when I could buy stuffs from cash I earned myself.

But the most important basic of entrepreneurship I learnt from my father was: If I can provide work and value to people, they would give me money.

That’s the quick starter. If you’d like to read more about my entrepreneurial moment, you can go to: joshsteimle.com/about.

Running a business is like riding a roller coaster. Can you tell us what have been your ups and downs and how do you overcome those difficulties?

It is indeed. I struggled a lot when starting MWI. That could be one of the time when you realized, you need more than passions to run a business. I kept making mistakes. I couldn’t even catch up with every payroll and couldn’t afford to pay myself.

But, that was the most valuable business education I can learnt from. The key to a successful business is about patience and persistence.

Why did you choose Hong Kong, instead of expanding to US, Europe or Japan?

My wife and I moved to Hong Kong for personal reasons related to adopting a child from China. Opening an office there was a consequence of that, which has worked out well.

I can see MWI is growing fast. What is the uniqueness compared to other digital marketing agency?

Our “unfair advantage” is that we have offices in the US, Hong Kong, and China. For companies in China looking to work with a digital marketing agency with offices in HK and the US, I’m not aware of any other option. Of course we also do great work, but everyone says that 🙂

And other than being an entrepreneur, you are also an influencer. Can you tell us the story behind this?

In 2013, through a friend, I got the chance to write for Forbes, which led to opportunities to write for many other publications, a book deal, speaking engagements, and now I’ve launched Influencer Inc, a media, events, and coaching company that helps executives become influencers.

What is your view about the future of digital marketing, including social media and content strategy?

Hockey great Wayne Gretzky said he was successful because he skated to where the puck was going to be, rather than where it was at. The future of social media, or “The Ultimate Social Network,” has four characteristics:

  1. Everyone is on it
  2. Everything is shared on it
  3. Everything is shared instantly
  4. There is perfect communication

Social media will continue to move towards this ideal, because humans crave deep connection with other humans, and with all other humans.

Any inspiring words for the young and new entrepreneurs?

If you ever feel like you don’t know what you’re doing, that’s how everyone else feels, too.

That’s our inspiring moment talking to Joshua Steimle, one of 25 Marketing Influencers To Watch In 2017 according to Forbes. We hope this article can inspire you too.

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Comments to: Joshua Steimle Grew His Business with Patience and Now Turns People Into Influencers
  • June 4, 2017

    Wow! I like what he said towards the ned “If you ever feel like you don’t know what you’re doing, that’s how everyone else feels, too.” coz that’s how I feel too as a wannabe entrepreneur. For so many years I’ve attempted to open up my own business but personal things always got in the way. So at 39, I feel like I still don’t know what I’m doing despite my many experiences. At least now, I don’t feel so bad anymore. I know I will get there. Thanks for sharing this very inspiring post!

    Reply
  • June 2, 2017

    That’s an interesting insight to digital marketing! Fantastic interview!

    Reply
  • June 1, 2017

    I learned some great points from his interview. Having a deep connection with others seem to be a necessity if one wants to feel understood by at least someone. It`s may be true because so many people are on social media to feel connected.

    ❀ Grace ❀

    Reply
  • June 1, 2017

    I learned some great points from his interviews. Having a deep connection with others seem to be a necessity if one wants to feel understood by at least someone. It`s may be true because so many people are on social media to feel connected.

    ❀ Grace ❀

    Reply
  • May 30, 2017

    It’s nice that he learned business at a young age and grew up with an entrepreneurial instinct. I started a business on my own and I’m glad to get pointers here.

    Reply
  • May 30, 2017

    Entrepreneur are inspirational because most of them have humble beginnings and now reach more people because of patience and persistence. It’s great that their venture into digital marketing is a successful one. Many young companies close down after like a year.

    Reply
  • May 29, 2017

    His company is new to my ear. He seems to be an interesting person and would do good with his company because of his experience.

    He might want to consider expanding his company too in the Philippines. A lot of people need a job here.

    Thanks!

    Reply
  • May 29, 2017

    What is MWI? Sorry for my ignorance. I am about to be convinced that social is a “perfect communication”. I am undergoing such experiment if it does. – Gil Camporazo

    Reply
    • May 29, 2017

      You should be convinced, though I’m not saying it as “perfect”, but it is indeed “essential” for business. And about MWI, it’s Josh’s digital marketing agency.

      Reply

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