We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sam Kulikov. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sam below.

Sam, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

I think a lot of us want to find purpose in this world as we become adults. We see past the things that jaded us and see the things we desire to make better. Some of us can do that by way of hobbies, relationships, community outreach, and more. Others look to entrepreneurship as a means to enable change. I’ve been happy as many times as I’ve been sad as a business owner. The mental side of running your own company is a task that you alone will understand. The responsibility of growing your vision — only you decide what it can become. That freedom of choice (and of discipline) is what brings us closest to being who we were meant to be. When we reach the point where we are enabling the best version of ourselves to manifest, that is when we are truly happy. Right now, I’m still seeing where life and my business take me but in the end I know that whether I owned my own business or had a “regular job” that I would need to be brave in my pursuit of the uncomfortable truths that help me find success.

Sam, 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?

I come from a music/theatre background that instilled a creative edge in me from an early age. I was never much for organization but little did I know that when I put things to paper and took them serious I could channel that edge. During college I struggled to find the right career but spent time building campaigns working with non-profits. Out of college I launched a marketing agency in Kansas City by the name of Social Apex. I did this with a lot of help and a lot of learning. We were a sponge for information in the digital boom of Facebook Advertising and Instagram content circa 2017. This eagerness to learn drove us to find success and growth. We met new challenges and new people and grew as a company. After a few years of building our business we ended up creating a new brand in the Kansas City Pioneers – little did we know what it would later become. In just a few short years we had created an esports team that had won championships with a growing fan base and donning sponsorships from brands like QuikTrip, Price Chopper, DoorDash, and Logitech. What I’m most proud of is being able to be honest with myself and my team about what got us to this point and how far we still want to go. A lot of times it’s easier to take the road most traveled or play it safe. It’s nice to have had experienced a lot of wins and losses over the years to know when we need to make something better and when we have something truly brilliant on our hands.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy for growing your clientele is by continually improving on your product + learning how to delegate. Often times as founders we forget that what it takes to build a business isn’t the same as scaling a business. When we want to grow our clientele we have to identify which portions of our business we want to elevate. There is always some way to get better. When you learn how to advance your product you also inadvertently end up unlocking new solutions for your client. This leads to additional value = higher potential revenue. When you identify this value ladder in your business then you have to hire the right people to help you actualize that plan. You need people who can help you with things that need to be done in the present day and others to help you plan for the future. Growing your clientele, and your business, is always predicated on growing your offering to your customer and finding new ways to connect with them,

Any advice for managing a team?

Very few people will care as much about a company as the founders and owners do. However, it is not their obligation to do so. I choose to believe that as a founder it’s my responsibility to make sure that the people I work with are able to draw value from the work we do together. When they feel included in the success of the company you are able to foster the right morale as a group. That is why it is important to make sure that your team is educated on the mission and vision of the company. They also need to know how they contribute to that mission and vision. After all, they can go work anywhere, so you should give them a reason to want to work with you. (What you’ll find out is a lot of people just want to work at places they can have a high impact).

Contact Info:

• Website: www.socialapexmedia.com
• Instagram: samvkul
• Linkedin: Sam Kulikov
• Twitter: KCPKuli
• Youtube: Social Apex Media

Image Credits
Kansas City Pioneers, Social Apex