Tell us what your business does?

Brave Media is a full-service digital marketing agency. We’re based in Dublin and have been trading for just over a year. We do everything from SEO to Content Marketing. We like to think that we’re pretty sound and easy to work with. Digital marketing is our passion so we bring that to every project we take on.

Where did the idea for your business come from?

Dave and I worked together in a company called Red Engine, me as an SEO and Dave in more general digital marketing—though it was still called inbound marketing back then! The company folded and Dave and I spotted a niche in the market: affordable, client-focussed digital marketing.

Have you always wanted to run your own business?

Yes! Who doesn’t want to be their own boss? There’s a freedom to it and a real buzz with making the big calls and growing something from an idea to an actual company.

What planning did you do before you started up?

Having come from a business background, we had a solid idea as to what was involved. We did research and got everything in order. Initially, we worked from home. We grew from strength-to-strength and soon we were looking into renting an office of our own! We’ve been in the GEC for about a year now and it’s been great.

Which entrepreneurs do you admire?

The usual crowd: the Zuckerbergs of the world as well as the likes of Niall Harbison and the Collinson brothers. They’re all self-made businesspeople who built a great company from the grass-roots up.

What challenges have you faced & how have you overcome them?

Investment has been an issue, especially as the market here in Ireland is so small. However, we’ve received grants that have been instrumental to us expanding and our continued growth.

How have you promoted your business?

Generally, we promote ourselves organically. As a digital marketing agency, organic traffic and lead generation is the base of what we do. The same applies to Brave Media itself. We’re pretty busy on Facebook and Twitter and our digital marketing blog has become our calling card. We actually recently scooped a Social Media Award for Best Blog of SME, and we hope to add a couple more awards in the future!

Are you optimistic about 2014?

We plan to keep building as we have been. Capacity is key to the amount of clients we can work with. Ideally, we’ll expand and be able to take on more staff and further offer more services at great prices to our clients.

What advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?

Sometimes it gets tough, so find something you love and channel your efforts into that. Don’t be afraid of a bit of hard work and when things go wrong, be prepared to meet the challenge head-on!