experts

Andreas Dittes founded the online marketing agency KlickHelden, which specializes on Google Adwords optimization, search engine optimization and social media marketing. Prior to KlickHelden he co-founded telewebber, a company for interactive television. Andreas is an active member of the german startup scene and organizer of several event formats like barcamps and webmondays. Further information on his work and him can be found on his blogs and http://andreasdittes.com/.

What was the most interesting project you have implemented?

Thats a tough question since I’m really passionate with almost all of my projects. One of the most interesting and also longest projects I was working on is telewebber – a service to give broadcast television an interactive community-backchannel. But I’m also really excited about the new social media projects I’m working on.

What was the most difficult experience you have had with a customer?

Well I think it’s important to learn how to deal with every customer you have – especially if they are difficult. So I think it’s about trying to understand them to avoid problems. But like everyone else I’ve had some stressful customers aswell – stressful mainly because of an discussion overhead on relatively small projects.

What was the biggest challenge that you had to face?

I think the biggest challenge so far was to quit the 9to5 job and start my own business. It’s a huge step to do that and bureaucracy doesn’t really help here. Maybe thats why only few people are starting their own business as an entrepreneur or freelancer – it’s not as easy as switching a regular job.

Are there customers for whom you would not work?

There are certainly some industries I would not feel good working for. Though I think that especially with social media there is often an opportunity for a lot of companies to finally get some good karma. But still thats rather uncommon.

Who is the client of your dreams?

Luckily most of my clients are like that. I think this is mainly because they can trust me and therefore give me a lot of freedom to do what I think is best for them. So the client of my dreams tells me about what he wants and lets me decide whats the best way to achieve that. And the client of my dreams also pays in time…

Which qualifications characterize your dream team?

I think the team is key for the success as a company. So I would always try to get a team of enthusiastic people. If people love what they do, then work is fun and they give their best. My clients always notice that i am passionate about what I do – and they see that I’m the best for the job…

What was your best performance for free?

There are several projects I did to help others in an altruistic manner. Some of the most known include organizing several networking events like webmondays and barcamps in germany. Another project I did was building a platform that helped web 2.0 startups with their staffing. I’m really passionate about connecting people and helping them out and I see the positive backlash of that aswell.

How often have you changed your specialization?

I love to learn and explore new industries, but I only did a hard change in my specialization once when I changed from being a technology guy to an entrepreneur and marketing guy.

Can you imagine to take another job?

As said above, I love to dive into other industry sectors and niches as long as they are related to the internet.

What will you do in 10 years?

I can’t really tell what I will do 10 years from now, but I think I will still work in the Internet field. Maybe launching my 7th startup by then or so…

Jens Baltrusch has been working worldwide in areas of personal training, sport workshops, multi media production, online marketing and article writing. At the moment, Jens works as entrepreneur in Zurich, Switzerland. For further informations about Jens Baltrusch, klick here.

What was the most interesting project you have implemented?

I write books about fitness training and published my first book in the beginning of 2010. Partially with this material, and new ideas, I have cooperated with a German fitness magazine and several online magazines. For me it was exciting to see that I can do something good with my skills as a personal trainer and that I can reach many people with my ideas though different marketing channels.

What was the most difficult experience you have had with a customer?

I have sometimes difficult situations in training sessions with personal training clients, which are mostly about training content and service quality. Over the years as a trainer, you get the skills to handle that. I would not outline a specific situation, because they all seem to me similar. My customers demand great training sessions or high quality training products, and from critics I try to learn and grow.

What was the biggest challenge that you had to face?

When I came to Switzerland, first it was hard to get into the market. The sport and fitness market here is small, but I was eager to succeed because I wanted to stay here with my spouse for some years. My idea was and still is to build up a sport multi media company. First, of course, you have to gather money to be able to start a new business. So I started to do all kinds of jobs in the fitness area just to make a living. Meanwhile, I work for one of the finest spa resort hotels in Zurich/Switzerland as a personal trainer, and cooperate with several online magazines and a print magazine. It is the feeling of having achieved something, even though my goals are set much higher.

Looking back, I would say the challenge was to focus my goal and hold on to it even if I was doubtful sometimes. The hardest part with reaching a high goal, in my eyes, is getting through the hard time and keeping the fresh energy.

Now I now that it is possible to realize what I really want if I deeply believe in my dreams and work hard on myself to keep motivated and develop my skills further.