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

Patrick, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

Hi CanvasRebel team,
Thank you for the exciting opportunity to be part of your platform! It’s such an honor to share my entrepreneurial story and shine a spotlight on the vision behind Digital Bombers.
How did you come up with Digital Bombers?
I grew up in a family that valued hard work and entrepreneurship. My dad started his first company in his 30s and, at 76, is still self-employed. My mom traded corporate life for self-employment and consulting in her 50s. As for my brother… he’s never really had a “real job.”
My brother started a web development company when I was in high school, and I jumped in after graduating in 1997. Growing up, I had a knack for bad decisions when bored, so staying busy with work was a lifesaver. Honestly, I haven’t been bored since.
In 2011, I got a random LinkedIn message from a digital agency in Ohio. I thought they had the wrong guy—why would they want someone from Kentucky who failed college twice and worked with small, virtually unknown businesses? Turns out, they liked my experience.
I’d never been through a formal interview before, so I wondered how my work ethic would stack up. I was so nervous walking into the building that I almost had a panic attack. The interview lasted all day, and by the next week, I had the job of Senior Project Manager. My team included some of the best marketing talent in the country, with clients spending more in a month than my usual ones in a year.
About six months in, I noticed the creative team was frustrated. Their best ideas kept getting shot down—stuck in red tape or vetoed by risk-averse legal teams. I wanted to keep the team happy so they’d keep producing fantastic work, but it became clear that while big clients didn’t always appreciate it, small businesses would.
And just like that, Digital Bombers was born.
Digital Bombers started as a side hustle, giving the team a creative outlet where their expertise could shine. Our clients thrive, and my dream was coming to life: take care of my teams, help small business owners grow, and steer them away from common marketing mistakes (trust me, I’ve been there!).

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?

Sure, I’d be happy to introduce myself! My name’s Patrick Dotson, and I’m the founder of Digital Bombers. I guess you could say entrepreneurship runs in my blood.
My self-employment journey began at 12 when my dad brought home a Honda riding mower. I thought it was cool—until he said I’d be mowing our yard and all the neighbors’ yards for two blocks. That was my first hustle. Fast forward to high school—my brother started a web development company, and I jumped in to help out after graduating in 1997.
My career took a pivotal turn in 2011 when an unexpected LinkedIn message opened the door to a role as Senior Project Manager at a leading digital agency. There, I had the privilege of collaborating with some of the most brilliant minds in marketing while learning from brands whose monthly budgets far exceeded the annual spend of my previous clients.
It was a thrilling challenge that showed me the impact great strategy and execution can have, but I also saw the cracks in the system—big ideas getting buried under red tape and risk-averse decision-making. It left me wondering if these top-tier strategies could be brought to businesses that didn’t have Fortune 500 budgets. That question sparked the idea for Digital Bombers.
At Digital Bombers, we take those sophisticated big-brand strategies and package them in a way that’s scalable for small and medium-sized businesses. Our focus is simple but powerful—driving revenue growth. We’re not just about vague marketing metrics; we care about tangible results that matter to our clients. I like to think of us as a growth partner, helping clients not only market smarter but also streamline operations and scale sustainably.
On a personal note, what I’m most proud of is building something real—something impactful. Digital Bombers isn’t just a business; it’s a team of overachievers who are passionate about what they do. No one comes here to coast; we roll up our sleeves and tackle challenges head-on. It’s tough. It’s messy. But it’s also incredibly rewarding.
If there’s one thing I want people to know about Digital Bombers, it’s this—we’re all in. When you work with us, you get a dedicated partner who’s as invested in your growth as you are. We’ve been through the highs and the gut-wrenching lows of building something from scratch. Those experiences sharpened us, and they’re why we consistently deliver exceptional outcomes for our clients. It’s not about flashy promises for us—it’s about results, plain and simple. And trust me, we love exceeding expectations.
That’s the heart of who we are and what we do. If you’re ready to dominate your market, we’re ready to make it happen.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

By 2022, Digital Bombers had 14 team members across three locations worldwide, and my inner voice persistently asked why I wasn’t number 15. So what did I do? Abandoned the security of corporate salary and resigned. Why? Because the entrepreneur in me couldn’t settle for being just another number in a giant corporation.
The plan was simple: take a month to fully document Digital Bombers processes and onboarding materials. But business skyrocketed immediately, and those “to-dos” got pushed aside.
Then things got tough.
I hold myself to a ridiculously high standard when supporting the team and the company. But without proper systems in place, I was stuck in constant “react mode” for the first time in over a decade. I focused on billable work and neglected the internal needs of the business, feeling like I’d let my team down.
What’s crazy? Our team still delivered incredible results for clients. Even in the chaos, their commitment never wavered.
Let me tell you, one of the most challenging decisions I’ve ever made was scaling back our team and client roster to set us up for success and facing the reality that the best move for the business was to hit pause. Brutal. Delivering that news to the team? Even harder.
As someone who’s always driven, I channeled everything into getting us back on track. It felt like a “shoemaker’s kids are always barefoot” moment—focusing so much on others that we lost sight of our own needs. But we pushed through.
Now, we’re stronger than ever. We’ve got new offerings and a rebuilt sales pipeline, and we’re set up for success. Those tough times made us sharper—and we’re ready for whatever’s next.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

We’ve been fortunate to be able to rely on referrals for client acquisition and growth. Past and current clients are the main referring sources, along with partnering companies and our network of supporters. It’s been this way from the beginning, and we’ve yet to allocate any marketing/ad budget. We’re not the best at practicing what we preach, but organic search is the second largest source of new clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.digitalbombers.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/digitalbombers/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DigitalBombers/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/digitalbombers/