Q&A with Rony Mattar

Exclusive Trusted Magazine Q&A with Rony Mattar, Founder @AdWorks Bid

How could you describe your career path in few words?

My career path was full of challenges, ups and downs and several failures, but today, I can talk about this experience feeling proud of the steps I took by leaving my comfort zone and focusing on my final goal, having my own agency and helping other businesses solve their marketing challenges. I was under a 50,000$ debt due to bad decisions taken in my life. It took me 3 years to pay it in full and recover financially, then a strong economic crisis hit my country, and I lost 12 customers in a single day. I refused to give up, so I studied advanced analytics for months in order to be able to solve bigger problems and that’s the result. I have my own team today, still organizing some managerial tasks to stand on solid grounds, but we have several projects despite the economic crisis. Five of my clients today are working with my team because we solved problems that cost them thousands of dollars. I took a side job as a teacher at an amazing school just to be able to send a positive message to the young people in my country to never lose hope and by changing their mindset and bad habits they can do more than they think of themselves.

What was your most challenging experience and it has changed your mindset?

The biggest problem I faced was poor time management between my projects and my family, which caused me to deliver late and had a terrible impact on my internet reputation. That's when I started to lose faith in myself, and even though I was consuming a ton of information and learning something new every day, I continued comparing my own success to that of my friends' and coworkers', which was a grave mistake. Later, I came across videos on YouTube for two incredible coaches: Proctor Gallagher and Jim Rohn. I was astounded by what they taught. After learning how to shift my thinking and by asking myself the appropriate questions and writing down my goals, things started to change. This is why despite the terrible economic crisis, I attempted adjusting my thinking from blaming the situation to attempting to find solutions to develop my firm.

I’m still learning from both of them and I consider them my virtual mentors. On another hand, I got help from a dear friend Andre Abi Awad, the founder of Entreprenergy, provided me with a free office and internet access until I was able to secure a job at a digital marketing firm once more. He taught me how to prioritize work and manage my time, and I used that knowledge to begin assembling my team.   Based on your experience, what skills should an entrepreneur develop in 2023?

Based on my personal experience, every entrepreneur should develop 3 important skills:

1- Time Management: I’m really good at what I do, but the lack of time management almost cost me losing my reputation and career. I still have a lot to learn about it, but I surrounded myself with professional friends who are helping me along the way. Prioritizing tasks, delegating responsibilities, and staying focused on critical goals, that is the first and most important skill to develop. 2- Reading: Since I was a kid, I liked reading a lot, especially science magazines including Astronomy. When I became 20 years old, YouTube was not born yet, and the internet was expensive, so I taught myself Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, AutoCad and many other softwares by reading their very long documentation.

Later, I read several books that had an impact on my career like: Zero To One by Peter Thiel, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch, and Atomic Habits by James Clear. Jim Rohn says:”Show me your library, I tell you who you are”.

Entrepreneurs should always stay up-to-date on the latest trends and stay on continuous learning. 3- Networking: Networking is a critical skill for entrepreneurs to develop in 2023. It can help entrepreneurs to connect with potential customers, partners, investors, and mentors. Networking can also provide opportunities to learn from others, gain new insights, and build a supportive community.

Based on your recent experiences, if you had one piece of advice for an entrepreneur's success in the context of 2023, what would it be?

In 2023, you’re going to hear a lot of negative news related to economy, politics… that will affect businesses around the world. Don’t let anything distract you from your goal, just stay focused and do whatever it takes to reach that goal. Life is not fair and it will hit you with lots of negative events, keep your eyes on your goal and stay consistent, success doesn’t come overnight. I was a failure, no one believed I can become what I am today, except for my family who was always my net when I fall down. I built my agency in the worst time my country is going through. You are not a tree, maneuver and try asking questions the right way. Start from your goal, what can I do in my current situation to reach that goal. Write your challenges and work on each one of them, and do your best to find a mentor.