We were lucky to catch up with Cory Falter recently and have shared our conversation below.

Cory, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

Being a business owner isn’t for the faint at heart, but I find it much more rewarding than being employed by someone else. I have a unique perspective on this as I’ve been self-employed for most of my 30-year career, except for a couple of years as an Art Director at a marketing agency. Those few years were rough as I lost the inner passion that I once had while working for myself, despite the benefits of a perceived “secure” job.

When the recession in 2008 hit, I quickly understood how vulnerable I was when laysoffs and expenses were cut across the board. I didn’t like being in that situation as I no longer had ultimate control of my financial situation.
Being self-employed, I feel so much more in control during the ebbs and flows of the economy and could ultimately make changes to offset those challenges. My tenure at the agency didn’t last, and I ventured off to create my own business, Lure Agency.

After experiencing both circumstances, I firmly believe I could not have the same passion and fulfillment working for someone else. My dad once told me: “40 hours a week is a lot of time to be spending at work. Make sure it’s something you love”.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m a native San Diegan with a hankerin’ for faith, family, marketing, 80s new wave music, and dirt bikes. My obsession with doodling on peechie folders in school inspired me to pursue a career in Graphic Design, where I hold BA in Art from San Diego State University. I spent the first 15 years of my career on the soul side of the industry, focusing on brand strategy, creative execution, and design. The explosion of the internet brought me to the science side, focusing on web development, digital marketing, and social selling.

As the Principal at Lure Agency, a Hospitality B2B sales and marketing agency founded in 2012, I help identify, convert and retain revenue through demand generation and content marketing strategies. In addition, I’m an active Board Member of HSMAI San Diego, where I assist the association in helping increase awareness and membership growth.

This September will mark our 10th anniversary, a huge milestone, considering 80%+ agencies after their first year. Our average client retention rate of 3 years and solid testimonials can only mean we’re doing something right as we’re committed to providing overwhelming value through extreme transparency and accountability.

When I’m away from the chaos of the office, you can catch me hanging at the beach with his surfing twin daughters or at the motocross track with my dirt lovin’ buddies.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Social Media, and specifically Linkedin, has probably been one of the most impactful tools for helping build my agency. In fact, when Lure opened its doors, almost all of our client engagements were for social media. I was fortunate enough to dive into social media during the early phases of 2009 and begin to build my personal brand with limited success. It was only after I began to build authentic and meaningful relationships that I realized the true power of Linkedin. It’s the world’s largest networking event that never ends.

So much has changed since the early days, and Linkedin has transformed from a glorified job platform to a connected community where business professionals can connect and build relationships. In order to succeed on Linkedin, one must give selflessly, expecting nothing in return. And engage and contribute consistently with educational and entertaining content.

There’s so much opportunity for those who are patient, giving, and consistent.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Being niche-focused is the first step in helping a reputation. As they say, if you’re a jack-of-all-trades, you’re a master on none. I wanted to be known as an expert in a particular area, no matter how large the industry. So, I selected an industry I was passionate about, and it made learning and becoming an expert an enjoyable process.

For the past 30 years, I’ve focused on the hospitality industry by building relationships and authority through involvement and content creation. Content marketing is the only way to build credibility and trust within an industry through consistent blogs and videos. People will naturally want to follow you by producing and promoting quality content.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lureagency.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coryfalter/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coryfalter/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEsaxiZ4MGGq1Y2DHObnShw/videos