In today's Entrepreneur Spotlight, we're thrilled to introduce Bryant Vander Weerd, the visionary behind Full Pour Media, an award-winning creative agency specializing in the food and beverage industry. With a knack for storytelling and a keen eye for marketing strategy, Bryant's journey from basement freelancer to brick-and-mortar business owner is both inspiring and impactful.
Hi, Bryant! Thanks for joining us today. Tell us about your business. Who do you serve, how do you serve them, and what's the impact that your business and work makes?
Full Pour Media is an award-winning creative agency focused specifically on the food and beverage industry. We partner with brands who want to boost their online presence and grow their customer base by providing marketing strategy and creative content that effectively tells their brand story.
Tell us about the moment you finally felt like you went from wantrepreneur to entrepreneur.
Moving into my first office space was a pretty big moment. Before that, I was working out of my basement or my bedroom and it was working okay-ish. Having that brick-and-mortar space where I could solely focus on work was huge. I spent like a month getting it ready... paint, shelves, furniture, the whole thing!
Describe the moment or period in your life/career that motivated you to make the entrepreneurial leap.
I wasn't laid off in 2020 but was sent home like the rest of the workforce. With a kid on the way (our first), I wanted to be more in control of my own destiny and income so I started getting a lot more serious about becoming a freelancer, reading books, and partnering with a business coach. In Summer 2021 a colleague of mine offered me two part-time contract gigs managing social media for local breweries in Colorado that would be enough to cover my expenses every month. It was like the clouds parted and showed me the way at the right time!
Describe a tool, service, or software that has been a game-changer for your business. How does it contribute to your success?
The time I've put in with my business coach, Mike Janda, has been the absolute best investment I've made by far. I'm a part of his coaching mentorship group now so I'm surrounded by people who are in the same boat as me, or who have "been there done that". It's so nice to have a community like that where I can reach out with any question and help others by sharing my own knowledge.
We know that success is very often a non-linear path. Tell us about a failure, pivot point, or lesson that changed your course or direction and helped to get you where you are today.
In September of 2023, I was let go from a retainer contract that made up all of my monthly income. For a handful of reasons, I hadn't done nearly any business development or sales during the entire year of 2023. So I was suddenly left without any recurring income! I had money in savings for just this reason so that helped to tide me over during the leaner months.
The lesson I learned was "always be selling". Even if things feel comfortable as far as income and client load go, always be looking for future opportunities.
What unconventional strategy did you employ that significantly impacted your business?
I'm not sure how unconventional this is, but it was definitely a mindset shift for me. I started out thinking I needed to go into every meeting with a "salesy" mindset. As I grow through the years I'm realizing it's quite the opposite... the more casual and approachable you can be upfront, the better. It's less about pushing the idea of what value Full Pour Media would bring as an agency, and more about making connections with people that can organically create conversations around how we can help them.
What’s something you wish you knew sooner that you’d give as advice for aspiring or newer entrepreneurs?
I work in the videography field a lot and I'm a part of a few industry groups on social media. I see so many freelancers out there asking things like "How much should I charge for XYZ video"... Do the calculations on the back end to find out how much you need to make per hour or per project in order to fit your target income goals for the year. Everyone's rates will be slightly different based on factors like cost of living, skill level, market rates, etc. and knowing your rate will only benefit you as it informs how you price your work. And sometimes you'll be at an advantage because you'll be able to bid a lower price while still being profitable!
Want to go deeper into Bryant's work? Visit these links:
- Full Pour Media's Website: www.fullpourmedia.com
- Instagram: @fullpourmedia
- Facebook: Full Pour Media
