So you’re clueless about SEO? Senthilkumar Subramanian knows all the tips and tricks to boost your ranking on Google.
We love entrepreneurs and small business owners at Honeycombers, which is why we’ve created Launchpad, a comprehensive digital networking platform (with IRL benefits, too) that encourages connection, business support and community. It’s a privilege and pleasure to learn from so many talented and inspiring folks, so we’ve decided to share the love by interviewing some of the lovely Launchpad members. Looking for inspiration? Check out how Senthilkumar Subramanian, the founder of SEO With Senthil, gets it done like a boss.
Tell us the story behind your business.
In late 2014, my dad presented me with the most unusual and expensive advanced birthday gift: An SEO course he had paid over $3,000 for with a note saying, “Senthil, Realise Your Dream”.
At the end of the course, I was given a crazy challenge – to group into a team of six and start an online service-based business. Within three months of applying the SEO tactics to a local cleaning services website we built, we ranked on Google’s page one for one of our targeted search terms. We were getting enquiries and sales!
That was when the power of SEO first hit me. Since then, I’ve ranked hundreds of keywords on Google’s page one and SEO has generated over a million dollars in revenue across multiple businesses for me. Through SEO With Senthil, I want to help founders go from “clueless about SEO” to ranking on Google using strategic time and cost-saving tactics.
What are some milestones or achievements you’re most proud of?
One significant milestone I’ve achieved is getting over 300 downloads for my free SEO Starter Guide for business owners. Following the launch of my SEO course in August, I’m proud that I rebuilt my entire SEO course a second time and relaunched it in December so that I could maximise participant results. I made it more closely guided, actionable, and implementation-based – and I renamed my course to call it Strategic SEO Academy. The relaunch generated over $2,000 in sales even without me promoting it directly on my social media channels.
Share with us a setback that taught you a valuable lesson about running a business.
The first course I launched had nothing to do with SEO. It was for aspiring entrepreneurs to find a suitable and profitable idea and launch a business around it. I spent close to a month planning and recording the course only to lose the focus, energy, resilience and belief needed to successfully market it after it went live.
This resulted in wasted effort and time, and the course didn’t reach the people it could have helped. I learnt that passion alone isn’t enough to make a business successful. One needs to believe in themselves and the potential of their product, and be resilient enough to pull through an idea from start to finish – no matter what obstacles come their way.
Describe a typical day in your life and what you love most about it.
I wake up at about 5am or 6am to record bite-sized video segments to teach SEO to business owners. If I’m not recording videos, I’ll be preparing course materials, writing valuable SEO content for my email subscribers, planning out my sales strategy, coming up with social media content, consulting my customers for their SEO strategy, and more.
During the day, I take short breaks to connect and reflect on my life and business – and even do some yoga exercises. I also allocate family bonding time with my wife and son, and networking time with other entrepreneurs online. I like learning new marketing strategies to take my business to the next level. My favourite aspect about working on SEO With Senthil is hearing great feedback from the people who follow me – from my email subscribers and my students who benefited from the course!
What’s your favourite book, movie, or TV show that has influenced your entrepreneurial mindset?
My favourite book that inspired my entrepreneurial mindset is Rich Dad Poor Dad, which I first read as a teenager. It showed me that having an entrepreneurial mindset is key to escaping the rat race and creating the life of my dreams.
Any advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?
As someone who has ventured into many different businesses in the past nine years, my most valuable advice for aspiring entrepreneurs is to start a business around their passion, interests and strengths. Once you discover the intersection between these three elements and find a business you truly love, like I did with SEO With Senthil, make sure you give it your all. Often, it will take more time than you think to see the results you aim for. But be patient, focused and resilient. Seek advice when you need to, and with hard work and smart work, your results will come.
Top tip for maintaining a good work-life balance?
Always schedule time for taking breaks, exercising, and going out!
Favourite thing to do on weekends?
Heading to the nearby beach or park with my family.
Tell us one fun fact about yourself that not many people know.
I used to love playing chess as a young child but lost touch with my hobby when I started my entrepreneurship journey. I’m excited to teach my son chess as he grows up so that I can rekindle my long-lost hobby!
Get in touch with Senthilkumar Subramanian online.
Launchpad is a comprehensive digital networking platform (with IRL benefits, too) that encourages connection, business support and community. It is designed to make the entrepreneurial journey not only easier, and more successful, but also a whole lot more fun. We offer almost daily activities for members to connect, along with weekly masterclasses, member networking roulette, small-business mentoring and media profiles on Honeycombers. Check it out and join us!