Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Lambert.
Hi Matt, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstory.
Despite founding and operating a successful digital marketing company, my initial career path was far from marketing—I come from a background in chemical research, holding degrees in Chemistry and Biochemistry/Molecular Biology. My entrepreneurial journey began unexpectedly three months post-graduation when the start-up biotech firm I was part of was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Initially disheartened, I reverted to a PCA role I held during college, working night shifts while I looked for another “big boy job.” With my student loan repayment grace period nearing its end, I was pressured to advance my career.
In Duluth, Minnesota, chemist positions are few and far between. Recognizing my immediate need for cash flow but a clear strategy to generate income beyond conventional employment that wasn’t in my field, I leveraged my research skills to self-educate. I immersed myself in finance and business literature and voraciously consumed business-related content on YouTube. This self-directed study led me to launch a traveling iPhone repair and flipping venture. Starting with minimal capital— earned from selling Pokemon cards found at garage sales—I quickly scaled the business to over $20,000 in sales within a few months. The profits from this endeavor enabled me to invest in my first duplex, living in one unit while rental income from the other covered the mortgage and then some. This success sparked my entrepreneurial spirit, propelling me further than I had imagined.
This experience made me realize that numerous factors, including legal structure, tax efficiency, digital marketing, and branding, influence business success. Inspired by the concept that those who provided the tools during the gold rush prospered more than the miners, I co-founded Building the Dream Duluth. My goal was to equip businesses with the necessary tools for success and to give back to the Twin Ports community, which had supported my initial venture. I continued working in chemistry for the first five years of Building the Dream Duluth. Still, by July 2023, our company’s growth and client base justified a complete transition into entrepreneurship. This journey taught me the invaluable lesson that failure is never due to a lack of resources but to a lack of resourcefulness. I used what I had and worked hard to improve my situation. It taught me that transitioning from a traditional career path to entrepreneurship is not only possible but can lead to fulfilling and unexpected opportunities.
Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As an entrepreneur, you are directly responsible for the success of your business, but you are directly accountable for its setbacks. Over the first 4-ish years of the business, my business partner, Alex, and I spent much time learning the hard lessons firsthand. Both of us were working full-time jobs on top of trying to grow this business. Because we were stretched so thin, we dropped the ball on several project timelines and delivered some work we weren’t proud of. Losing those couple projects stung, and we vowed never to let that happen again! We also had to navigate a gray area for Alex; his day job was selling digital advertising for a large corporation. And while the services we were offering didn’t overlap with the ones provided by his employer, there were a few times that he was accused of having a conflict of interest, even when he was diligent about not poaching his clients.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next, you can tell us more about your business.
Building the Dream Duluth’s business is based on the value-first concept. We educate and inspire the local community through interviews with local entrepreneurs and business professionals that we share on our social platforms and podcasts. Our content highlights the people behind the business or position by sharing their struggles, successes, and paths on their professional journey. We don’t want to be a faceless marketing agency; we want to be our clients’ partners in growth! To do that, we offer Website design and development, Search Engine Optimization, Social media management, Email Marketing, and business automation solutions.
We’d love to hear what you think about risk-taking.
Leaving my most recent job as a research chemist and government contractor for the US Environmental Protection Agency was one of the most significant risks I’ve ever taken! I had a comfortable, safe, and rewarding job in a field I had gone to college for, and I took the leap of faith into full-time entrepreneurship while providing for my wife and two kids; on paper, the risk didn’t seem like it could get any steeper. I am not necessarily risk-seeking, but I knew I needed to take advantage of the opportunity to see if I had what it takes to be a full-time entrepreneur. I had much to lose with a family and the lack of jobs in my area for my career. Still, I built that into my exit plan and worked to build my safety net through rental property investing and padding my savings to weather any foreseeable storm. While this was one of the best decisions I have ever made, other than marrying my wife and growing my family, there is a lot that could go wrong, and it’s essential to prepare for the worst-case scenario fully. Like Tim Ferriss says, “You can’t unhit the golf ball.”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://buildingthedreamduluth.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildingthedream_duluth/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BuildingtheDreamDuluth
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-lambert-duluth-mn/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCJ2eGELLMEnL6Rn0O1kC8Q
- Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/building-the-dream-duluth/
