We were lucky to catch up with Justin Kerbo recently and have shared our conversation below.

Justin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

Everyone told me how risky it is to start a business, how hard it would be, and how I wouldn’t have any security regarding income.

I did something nobody recommends, I quit my dead-end job in January 2022 without a single backup plan in hopes I could bring enough pressure on myself to break out of the mold. I had no plan and no income, but I didn’t want my life to be under the reigns of somebody else anymore.

This was right at the peak of when Crypto was doing well, so I picked up day trading to “get by” which worked out for a few months, but then the crash happened. I decided then, I need to spend my time building something that would help build my future, I needed to build a business.

I wrote on a sticky note and stuck it to my wall “I don’t need a 9-5”, and I looked at that every day while I setup goals for myself, absolutely no idea how I’m going to get clients.

It’s around March now, and money is really tight, mortgage is due, and my family is pissed. Luckily a family member booked me a massage which is when things started to change. My Masseuse told me how to set up a LLC, He told me to do it right when I got home, which I did. Devbo was now a registered business!

I noticed the Massage business had a sub-par website so obviously I tried pitching it to Masseuse, he was interested but certainly not ready to whip out his wallet. I didn’t have any more time, I needed to get some kind of momentum, or I’d end up behind a register in Costco. I decided to spend the time making a new website for the Massage Business even though he didn’t seem too interested. I figured, If I could just show him what he’s missing out on then he can’t refuse, and luckily I was right!

I sent over the website, told him the price and he was super impressed that I took the time to build it out, he loved the website and made the purchase that day. I helped out the right guy because after that, he started to refer his clients to me. I started to get 1-2 new clients per month and my work started to get noticed by other Agencies who offered me Freelance positions for DOUBLE than what I was paid at my old job.

When you’re a freelancer, it’s different from a 9-5. I call the shots – when I work, how much I work, and how much I’m paid. I knew it was possible, but I still couldn’t believe it.

It’s been 2 years since I started Devbo, I still have the sticky note on my wall, and I have every intention to keep growing beyond expectation.

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 was 24 without any idea what I was going to do as a career. I hopelessly asked my friend “what should I go to school for?” he replied with one word – “computers” and I signed up for what I thought to be a boring Web Development course at Pinellas Technical College. Turns out I was great at it, but I also really enjoyed it which is so important if you want to work harder than your competition.

I worked for a Marketing Agency for 2.5 years after school and sharpened my Digital Marketing skills creating 100’s of websites, email campaigns and landing pages for businesses of all industries.

My company, Devbo, offers and even broader set of services including search engine optimization, eCommerce stores, eLearning platforms, and of course web designs, logos, sales funnels, and email campaigns.

I’m most proud of helping IDEA – The world’s first scuba agency, I created a website and an online eLearning platform that hosts 1000’s of members for Instructors to quiz, manage and certify their students. At Devbo, we don’t have a one-size-fits-all method like most agencies. We cater our web products to your business, we provide you with what you need and leave out the things you don’t.

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

In the beginning, I became a “yes” man to try and build my business to new heights. I was saying “yes” to just about any request even if I had no idea how to do it.

This lead to MANY sleepless nights, major amounts of stress, and a shrunken ego. I was born a problem solver, so I never quit, I’d find the solution and at the end of the day, I’d be more resilient than before.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

Devbo was created for a project in College. I was told to create a logo and brand name for my hypothetical business. I created the logo and came up with the name that same day having no idea that It would manifest into the real thing. This was 2-3 years before Devbo was registered. When it finally came time for me to build a brand, I dug around through my drawer to find my 3-year-old hard drive from school, I scanned through the files, found a PNG of the logo and I ran with it.

The hilarious thing is, I never found the source file to my logo, I only ever found the PNG image, so if I ever want my logo on a billboard or any signage for that matter, I’ll need to recreate it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://devbo.digital/
• Instagram: @devbo.digital
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Devbodigital/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/devbodigital/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/devbo-clearwater-2