Leadership isn’t the synonym of management!
Meet Jeremy Ong, founder, and CEO at HUSTLR – where they write about their entrepreneurial journey and help people hustle better.
Through his business, he and his team help other businesses and people to level up their digital presence in our today’s online world. Equipped with many years of experience in this field, they have taken the burden to help ambitious people in building their businesses from scratch until they reach their ultimate goals through providing the most needed and important services.
Jeremy’s aspirations include empowering himself with a plethora of skills, meeting and working with the smartest people on the planet, challenging himself to find sustainable solutions in tackling problems, automating every single repetitive task, and ultimately helping the world achieve goodness, profitably.
Let’s learn a little about you and really get to experience what makes us tick – starting at our beginnings. Where did your story begin?
Jeremy Ong: My story started when I had started working for a new boss, he was just 27 years old. I was as young as him, and the ironic thing is that he was a millionaire at that young age!! So, I started asking myself; what I am doing here? why I am in this job? until I reach the question: ‘why not start my own business?!!’ I quit my job and dedicated all my time, money, and skills to build my own business; Hustlr.
I don’t deny that I have hesitations, struggles, and doubts during my journey. However, I have supportive friends and family members, they played a huge part in my success journey.
Was there somebody in your life that inspired you to take that specific journey with your business?
Jeremy Ong: Yes, a friend of mine, his name is Jake!
This man always pushes me to pursue my dream of starting my own business. While I was in difficulties and struggles in the beginning, he was there. In fact, I can’t remember any difficult situation I had faced unless he was on his back!
He shared with me the needed thoughts to start a business right and gave me many solutions for the early problems I had. Also, he introduced me to many successful talents who later were a huge part of the success of my company. In addition to all of that, he never stops encouraging me to keep on in my entrepreneurial journey.
What are the most common mistakes you see entrepreneurs make and what would you suggest they do?
Jeremy Ong: Overplanning:
Planning and task management are really crucial to be a successful entrepreneur, however, many of them overdo planning, and forget the more important thing which is: Just do it!
Too many plans or trying to apply many different ideas in multiple plans will definitely make the entrepreneur more hesitant and reluctant. The problem here, they won’t make a decision to start, they will stall for weeks without any progress. so, make an excellent plan and do it!
Resilience is critical in critical times like the ones we are going through now. How would you define resilience?
Jeremy Ong: For me, the ability to withstand and grow despite the different and/or difficult circumstances.
The life and business world is full of variations, illnesses, pandemics (COVID-19), environmental, political, economical changes. In order to survive, we have to be equipped with flexibility, the ability to adapt to changes, training, and upskilling the employees to adapt through adopting the new (needed) skills. For example, the remote working programs and channels, and remote working style during the pandemic.
In your opinion, what makes your company stand out from the competition?
Jeremy Ong: Our company believes in three unique things that we believe makes us stands out:
- We Really Know Our Stuff and our services!! – Our team of hustlers have been running our own 100% digital businesses since 2012. We continue to thrive even after the pandemic started.
- We Are Results Driven – No long-term commitments, our clients typically stay with us because they see results – not because they’re locked into a retainer.
- We Move Lightning Fast – Unlike big traditional agencies, we have a flat hierarchy. That means our workflows are agile and we are not bound by heavy processes.
What do you consider are your strengths when dealing with staff workers, colleagues, senior management, and customers?
Jeremy Ong: I consider “Communication” and good command of communication skills is one of the most important traits I have and need!
Through communication, I can give clear instructions, goals, and discussions so employees will be very comfortable while working. Also, good listening is also a related skill to communication and both skills are helpful in solving problems or misunderstandings that might arise within the environment.
Being a CEO of the company, do you think that your personal brand reflects your company’s values?
Jeremy Ong: Yes, In fact, we’ve worked very hard since day one to match our personal brand with our company’s values and our team’s principles. For example, we have a statement (Digital Marketing is MEASURABLE). So we believe and (we are) result’s driven. Also, we don’t usually need long-term commitments from clients. The commitment comes from the results they see and the pleasant outcomes they witness from the work.
How would you define “leadership”?
Jeremy Ong: For me, leadership isn’t the synonym of management! Management is about planning and monitoring people and making sure that everything goes according to the prepared plans. However, it isn’t just about that, it’s more about inspiring people at work, pushing them to follow their professional goals, and helping them in continuous upskilling and development.
What advice would you give to our younger readers that want to become entrepreneurs?
Jeremy Ong: Always be eager and able to learn:
Continuous learning from our and others’ failures and success is important for entrepreneurs. This saves much time and makes you more resilient to face business storms. Also, it would be great to read from time to time about successful people’s biography to add more knowledge.
What’s your favorite “life lesson” quote and how has it affected your life?
Jeremy Ong: My favorite in life is: “Attitude is a choice”
Everything you do represents you, it’s all about attitude. When you act nicely, you’re a nice person and vice versa. Also, it’s important to always represent yourself when taking action, never be “a reaction” to other people’s attitudes.
This interview was originally published on ValiantCEO.