We were lucky to catch up with Jonathan Nieto recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jonathan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start on the operational side – do you spend more of your time/focus/energy on growing revenue or cutting costs?

It depends on the company’s priorities and needs. I subscribe to the idea that “sales solves everything” which is why marketing is a cost a business should rarely cut unless a product or service is not working. If you compromise on marketing your sales will suffer.

Businesses under $5 million should be spending at least 7 -8 % of gross revenue on marketing to grow the business at a sustainable rate. However, sometimes too much success can kill a business because as it grows margins begin to decrease with the rising cost of overhead. It’s always prudent to audit your business in order to cut unnecessary expenses and protect your bottom line as long as the quality is not compromised. “Never compromise on quality, otherwise, you become a commodity and then you die.”

As the CEO of my company, I spend most of my time developing, generating ideas, marketing, and creating strategic relationships. I also spend time measuring and monitoring the numbers to make sure we are on track to hit goals.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?

My name is Jonathan Nieto. I am a proud Miami native and I have been in love with the business since the 1st grade. I have been involved in several business ventures. To date, I have run 40 corporations. Five of those have been of my own. I have had many failures and successes in business but my passion for what I do and for serving others is what keeps me going.

I currently own a Marketing Company based in Miami, FL and we work with clients nationwide helping them grow their businesses. We have a great team and we are passionate about helping businesses thrive. It makes me proud to take business owners from where they are to where they want to go and be a part of that success. We always look for ways we can add value to businesses, entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs which is why we are pushing to create valuable free content that can help those that are looking to grow.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

I believe it starts with the alignment of vision and values. You need the right people in the right places doing work they enjoy doing. Communication is key between management and a team. Setting expectations, standards and ensuring the team is trained regularly are big contributing factors to maintaining productivity. Ultimately, businesses are run by people and built on relationships, therefore the management team must constantly develop relationships between employer and employee and be able to keep the team engaged and feel like they collectively contribute to the bigger picture.

Be quick to praise an employee for a job well done but quick to reprimand when they drop the ball. Its important to be empathetic towards others but never compromise on standards. Give people a reputation to live up to and you will find they will act consistently to maintain that identity. A great manager also has the ability to anticipate problems before they arise so systems end up becoming a manager’s best friend if they are designed to mitigate problems before they arise. ​and keep the team working efficiently.

Ensuring morale is high by creating a fun and pleasant work environment has always worked well for me. Competition can be a great way to incentivize production and increase morale. Small things like having a pizza party or buying the staff coffee induce reciprocity and make the team feel appreciated. If you can find a way to operate from a place of servant leadership you will find your team will do their best to not let you down and remain loyal.

Have you ever had to pivot?

In 2020 our business struggled due to the pandemic as many other businesses. Many of our clients went into panic mode or shut down and what was working for us at one point stopped. Income became inconsistent and we experienced the dreaded revenue rollercoaster. We eventually began doing research on our target market and found opportunities in software solutions for our clients and we changed our approach to a low-ticket subscription model. This pivot allowed us to grow the company by over 4000% by the end of 2021.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.reelmarketingstrategies.com
• Instagram: @jonathannieto_official
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reel-jonathan-nieto/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6VFHIm0GWb9k1IUneLb11A/playlists