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Entrepreneur Spotlight
Dr. Benjamin Yarbrough – Digital Marketing Agency Owner 
- Favorite Tools & Services: High Level, Kimp, Jasper AI (why?)
- Where He Finds Talent: Carpe Diem UK
- You May Not Know: In addition to starting and operating his own marketing agency, Benjamin served in the Navy as a bomb squad team leader.
“I enjoy working with startups because we can start the entire marketing engine fresh, and older groups looking to rebrand because they are open to change and new ideas about how to connect.“
With experience as a bomb squad team leader, a Ph.D. in Communication from Liberty University, and teaching experience at multiple universities, Dr. Benjamin Yarbrough also has “owning a digital marketing agency” checked off on his list.
Dr. Benjamin Yarbrough’s company BDYC offers a wide variety of digital marketing solutions to small and medium-sized businesses across multiple industries to help expand and grow their online presence.
Dr. Ben has a particular passion for working with small start-ups and non-profits due to the unique position these types of businesses are in.
How Being a Bomb Technician Informs Running a Digital Marketing Agency
“Working in this high-stress environment has exposed me to and pushed me past my personal limit.“
Before he started his career in digital marketing, Yarbrough was disarming bombs.
“I have been working in the Navy Explosive Ordinance Disposal for the past 15 years. I have served in Guam, Japan, the Republic of the Philippines, San Diego, Virginia, Maryland, and Florida, and currently, run the training department for our explosive forensics unit. We go in before or after explosions and collect evidence from bombs, mines, missiles, and other explosives.”
As a bomb squad team leader, Yarbrough is no stranger to keeping a level head in stressful situations. An experience which, he says, has inspired him to push beyond his own limits and approach difficult tasks with confidence.
“Working in this high-stress environment has exposed me to and pushed me past my personal limit. I have learned a tremendous amount of information about communication, especially in an emergency situation, and now work to help teach others to do the job and live to tell about it. Additionally, I have been successful at many difficult tasks and enjoy a challenge.”
Connecting with Business Owners to Understand the Vision
“Most business owners I work with have at least one or more problems keeping them from scaling.“
Dr. Yarbrough’s approach to helping business owners realize their ideas begins with establishing a personal connection.
“I open up every call with a brief background of myself. I am a professor, a bomb technician, and a marketing agency owner. I want them to understand that I bring years of experience to the conversation and that every package I offer comes with unlimited consulting,” Yarbrough said.
Once the groundwork for connection is laid, Yarbrough continues to nurture that relationship by doing everything he can to understand the business owner's goals and any particular issues that may be preventing the business from reaching its true potential.
“Most business owners I work with have at least one or more problems keeping them from scaling. Sometimes it's a lack of information, other times it’s a lack of confidence. By discussing profit, goals, and obstacles, small business owners learn about themselves while we chat, and open up new opportunities for growth they may have not even known about.”
Yarbrough’s goal for each of his clients is simple; he wants them to succeed.
“My goal is to get clients to fully realize their vision and then guide my creative team as they bring it to life.”
Finding Talent: His Challenges and an Innovative Solution
“I have extensive experience working internationally and have found virtual assistants to be invaluable.“
Like any business owner, Yarbrough has faced his fair share of challenges in his industry.
“The biggest challenge was finding workers who could handle the wide variety of tasks necessary to deliver the level of service my clients expect,” Yarbrough said.
The solution that he has found works best? Virtual assistants.
“I have extensive experience working internationally and have found virtual assistants to be invaluable. The biggest lesson I have learned is that the cheapest solution is usually not the best solution and that when you work with the right people, you can create something bigger than yourself that really helps clients achieve their goals,” Yarbrough said.
Yarbrough has found that the best method of hiring virtual assistants is to use a service that does the vetting process for him.
“I like to use managed VA services. Screening candidates and navigating multiple systems can be very cumbersome, so partnering with an organization that can do it all saves me time, allowing me to earn more business.”
There are a few virtual assistants and services in particular that he notes as being essential to scaling his business.
“I have one virtual assistant that I work with directly who does explainer and whiteboard videos for me. I also work with a team lt-seo.com, who has built WordPress pages, managed SEO, run PPC ad campaigns, and do graphic design work for my business.”
Ben's Toolkit
Favorite All-In-One Agency Management Software
“Go High Level is an agency management SaaS that incorporates CRM, reputation management, email, text, and social media marketing, and websites. The platform helps me separate my clients and keep all their information in one place, and allows me to provide client access so if they want to manage their own marketing efforts, they can.”
Favorite Unlimited Graphic Design Service
“The team at Kimp are some of the best graphic designers I have worked with. They deliver, and they do it consistently and in incredibly high quality.”
Favorite Place to Find Virtual Assistants
“The team at Carpe Diem is amazing. I have been very impressed with their ability to deliver a wide variety of products and services. I am currently using them for email marketing, funnel/website development, graphic design, web design, social media management, and other services.”
Favorite Copywriting Service or Tool
“While I am in no way saying that this is the be all end, all of content writing or any other form of marketing written communication. It's a great place to start for me. One of the things that really helps me is to have essentially a rough draft to work on.”
Where to Find Him
You can reach out to Dr. Benjamin Yarbrough through these channels:
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