We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Luke Irvin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Luke below.
Alright, Luke thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?
Throughout my life, I have been inspired by people who run businesses that change peoples’ lives in fundamental ways. Whatever the industry may be, many of the companies I have worked for, or with, have dramatically advanced my personal growth.
My first job was a position at my now fiance’s family company. A legend of a man, my lady’s grandfather founded his business many years prior to our meeting. My day-to-day tasks at the job were nothing special and mostly monotonous. It wasn’t the work that changed my life, but the opportunity and the culture. Coming from a solid middle class family, it was at this job that I found out what kind of work ethic I needed to hit my personal goals. Working 8-hour days through my 16-year-old summer wasn’t the most enjoyable way to spend my time, but the cash fueled the beginnings of my first business. The opportunity to generate capital and see how a proper business runs stand as the foundation of the journey I am on. Looking back, I’m sure I would’ve found another job elsewhere, but not one with the culture of my first position. I recall hearing stories of my fiance’s grandfather helping employees cover a variety of personal expenses that would’ve otherwise turned catastrophic. It assured me in those moments that my vision of running a profitable business, which could do good by its employees and others, could be a reality. From those early days, I spent countless nights up till 3am learning various skills (most I still use) before waking up for school the next day.
As my life carried on, I constructed my skills into a digital marketing business and continued to focus on expanding the value I could provide. Along the way, I maintained the vision of creating a company that would generate major opportunities for people who worked with me, or those who I worked for. Throughout my journey, a variety of companies and individuals continued to propel my development as an individual and business owner. There is simply no way I can quantify the impact these people had on my life.
I hope my legacy becomes similar to that of my fiance’s grandfather and the many others that helped me become who I am today. I aspire to be remembered akin to those individuals who I have not yet encountered, but will inevitably thrust me closer to my aspirations. One of my central character pillars has, and will always be, to pay it forward. While my entrepreneurial journey is still in relative infancy (as I am only 25 years old), I look forward to taking advantage of and creating new opportunities as frequently as possible. Because to me, that is what life is all about.
Luke, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Since leaving college at ASU at 21, I have been running my digital marketing business. I started out providing websites, which grew to photography, then video and social media management. In the past few years I have been providing consulting on email marketing, video production & distribution, and more. I love the work I do because business is my fundamental passion and I get to work with so many different businesses. From shooting corporate headshots, to beer promo videos, my team helps get their business online and in front of new customers. We focus on messaging at every step, and optimize all of our services to squeeze every drop of value we can for our clientele.
About four years ago I started a second business with my cohort Eric Walters. Since the foundation of my newest company we have released The Arizona Beer Book, A Taste of AZ Magazine, and over 60 episodes of A Taste of AZ Podcast. Under the new umbrella we produce print and digital content that highlights the many members of Arizona food and beverage. We tell stories of legends like Mark Tarbell and newcomers like Que Chevere. Communicating our passion for community and helping those that comprise the AZ F&B scene is our daily objective. We have now printed over 13,000 copies of A Taste of AZ Magazine and our podcast has over 1,000 hours of listen time. Our advertisers are all local food and beverage businesses, which we pride ourselves on.
If you’re in need of photo, video, web dev, social media management, or advertising opportunities, please reach out to me.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Authenticity, consistency, and a value focused approach are the keys to growing my personal & business reputation.
While I was authoring & publishing The Arizona Beer Book with my partner Eric Walters, we had numerous people questioning whether printing a book really made sense. Many individuals would ask, “Isn’t print dead?” Of course, we didn’t agree. On a personal level, I was filling my shelves at home with hundreds of dollars of business & personal growth books. My significant other was constantly buying beautiful coffee table style art books (which aren’t cheap). I knew, based on intuition, which guided our market research, that our book was a solid project. After my team and I released the book, our assumptions were verified. Staying authentic to our vision created one of the largest and most successful projects I have worked on. But, that authenticity couldn’t simply begin to fade.
After The Arizona Beer Book was released, we had the task of selling thousands of copies. So, we got the book in as many places as we could, and still continue those efforts. We follow up with our distributions points several times a year, and create systems to maintain and track out momentum. Before long, we had multiple people who mentioned how they wish they had been a part of the project. When the reception of the Beer Book remained positive, we decided the team needed to expand to cover food and beverage beyond just beer. That vision led to A Taste of AZ Magazine’s creation, which has blown past 10,000 copies printed. Our consistency had shown advertisers, distributors, and consumers of our content that we were here to stay.
Throughout our growth, we were always trying to come up with ways to continue to add value to our supporters. We launched A Taste of AZ Podcast as a new outlet for local businesses to connect with our viewers. We increased our printing numbers & the number of articles in each issue of our magazine. Our team grew to provide more services to people who loved our work. The value we can now provide positions us in a completely different field then just a few years ago.
By ensuring myself and my businesses provide value in a consistent and authentic way has been central to growing my network. For anyone I can help grow, I try to do just that. Whenever someone can assist me in my journey, I try to leverage their skills while returning the favor. Now, I live a fulfilling and blessed life which I hope everyone gets to experience.
We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.
Several years ago, I was working with a business that was making empty promises about what my future looked like with them. They were putting a lot on the table, or so I thought. I waited and worked, hoping their word was keeped. Unfortunately, my youth 7 niavete was taken advantage of & I cut ties and moved on.
After I began working on my own, I identified certain areas where my skills were insufficient. Because of that, I knew I needed to find a new business partner. After perusing Instagram for a bit, I came across a local craft beer podcast called Tap That AZ. As a budding fan of craft beer, I loved the content & reached out to the host. He responded with an invitation to an upcoming beer event, and despite hesitation, I accepted.
When I arrived at the beer event, I found my new acquaintance prepping for the rush & setting up for podcast at the festival. People began coming to the booth as soon as the doors opened. While the host of the podcast was talking on the mic, there was noone to sell merch. I picked up his iPad and started slinging shirts. Throughout the day we intuitively communicated so he could chat with guests, and I could get merch into peoples hands. It ended up being both a fun and productive day.
Within a few months, me and the humble podcast host had come up with the idea for a coffee table style book all about Arizona beer. He had built the connections & reputation required for the roll out, and I had plenty of media production experience to make it happen. A little over a year later we had thousands of copies in our hands to go sell. Ever since, the project has helped me grow my business & help introduce more people to local craft beer.
After the positive reception of the book, we were inspired to expand our reach into greater food and beverage content. We launched a new podcast all about az food in mid-2020, then launched a print magazine in January 2021. Again, we were blessed with a tremendous amount of support & interest. People who loved the book jumped on board to propel the magazine & everything grew in conjunction.
Approximately four years after meeting Eric Walters, the hard working host of Tap That AZ Podcast, we share a successful business that has been consistently growing. Our partnership has amplified each others talents exponentially and we have become great friends as well. We know that we have each other’s backs, both in business and in personal life. Linking up with Eric was one of many major blessings given to me, and I am very thankful to continue to work with him.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.atasteofaz.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luke_wayne_irvin/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lukewayneirvin
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfW96fHIrq3cna-qpKxK3ZQ
- Other: Subscribe to A Taste of AZ’s email list and FREE magazine: https://atasteofaz.com/free-magazine-subscription/
Image Credits
Luke Wayne Irvin @luke_wayne_irvin