Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to James Fontana. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

James, appreciate you joining us today. So, let’s start with a hypothetical – what would you change about the educational system?

I don’t have children yet, but I have plenty of friends and family members that are my age or older with children. And the stories they tell me are a bit shocking. I tried to corroborate their stories with the internet and it seems to match up. The public school system is failing in this country. Children are consistently acting out without proper consequences. Teachers are less prepared to teach and to handle these children. The USA is not even in the Top 10 in the world in education. As a country that holds itself in such high regard, that is simply not good enough. The way they teach math nowadays is backwards, they are dumbing it WAY down. What has happened with the education in this country?

From a personal standpoint, I was blessed to have good teachers throughout my tenure in school. I went to public school in New York until 5th grade and then went into private school afterwards. The discipline they instilled in me in high school shaped who I am to this day. It is, to this day, one of the best decisions I ever made. There were real consequences to missing class, missing school, underperforming, acting out in class … it kept kids straight. And the ones that couldn’t adhere to the rules were kicked out. But it wasn’t militant. It was just disciplined. Big difference. I’ll never forget my French teacher, he would give us daily quizzes. Sounds crazy, right? Maybe. But I’ll you what — we learned French. 100% pass rate one or two years in his class. In Math, we actually got in the class and LEARNED the entire period. There were no breaks. Kids got involved, we were all challenged. That’s not what I hear nowadays in classrooms.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a native New Yorker who moved to Raleigh just before my 28th birthday in 2021. I worked from home for a corporate company called IBISWorld that specializes in industry research reports. I worked there for a little over 4 years when I was suddenly laid off and forced to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. After looking into numerous business opportunities, I landed upon this and am so happy I did.

I am in the business of adding value and providing solutions. I finds great reward in contributing to a company’s development, helping them from top to bottom grow their business and knowledge base. Through Visual Velocity Media, I am able to take my enthusiasm for sales and learning, and channel that into digital marketing — something I am passionate about.

I think the two main things local business owners want is someone who actually listens to them and someone that is a person of their word. Nobody wants to be feel fooled. You have to be authentic — and that’s exactly what I am. I try to relate to everyone I talk to, even if it is in the tiniest way. I want people to feel comfortable talking to me and feel confident in my abilities to say what I say I’m going to do.

I am most proud of developing such a solid networking group in a little over a year of doing business after knowing absolutely nobody in the business world in The Triangle. Visual Velocity is starting to get its name known in the community and we are starting to scale effectively and quickly because of it.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

As a salesperson, you have to be aggressive but also know when to throw in the towel. I hate to throw in the towel, so I’m going to do whatever I can do ensure I can get the sale in a timely fashion.

One example of resilience has been with one of my partners. They are hosting two of my indoor digital billboards but have a majority owner that is never available. He has been a roadblock. But I continued to go to their business and pitch them on our other digital marketing services. I have been consistent and patient while I close other deals. I could have easily given up as many months have passed and I’ve been given the runaround once. But I would not call the game. There was too much value, too much that we could deliver to them for me to give up.

Now, after being resilient, we have finally closed on a deal to be part of their digital marketing plan in Q4.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Honestly, BNI has been instrumental in scaling my business and developing such a strong network so quickly. I am lucky enough to be in a group of 20+ individuals that genuinely care about their businesses and simultaneously helping others. I have gotten business from my group and other groups, and am now hosting my first event with a fellow BNI colleague this week. I’ve been able to hold a ton of meetings with BNI members and am reaping the benefits as a result.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://visualvelocitymedia.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/visualvelocitymedia/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/visualvelocitymedia
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/100836039/admin/dashboard/