Best Startup
Kimura Digital is a B2B SEO agency that aims to bring a human touch to the organic search process.
We believe in honesty, transparency, fairness, and continuous improvement with our clients and as a company.
Tell us about yourself?
I am originally from Chicago, but I have lived in London for the past 3 years.
I got into SEO by accident as I started off in the Ecommerce world, but I quickly realized I am more of people person than a product person. I saw tremendous results with SEO and I quickly fell into the rabbit hole, which is organic search.
I started to freelance to make extra money while traveling around South America in 2017. At the time, working remotely and digital nomadism was hardly talked about, so I’ve been working and traveling for a while.
I also enjoyed helping clients become passionate and understand the advantages of SEO as I once did.
Fast forward to 2023 and Kimura Digital services clients from around the world including US, Canada, UK, France, and South Africa.
If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
It will all come together, trust the process.
Working for yourself has many pros, but also some cons as well. One of those cons is that work can be inconsistent at times. I’ve learned to market my business, prepare for busy periods, and have the confidence that business can be cyclical.
If you trust in yourself and your service, everything will work out.
What problem does your business solve?
The simple answer is that Kimura Digital solves organic search issues for clients.
The more complex answer is that Kimura Digital increases company revenues, helps my client market their products or services, and provides a more sound experience for their users.
Businesses can rest assured they have a partner that wants their business to succeed as much as they do.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
I train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (Currently, a purple belt, hopefully a black belt in the next few years) and one of my favorite submissions is the Kimura.
The Kimura is a highly versatile and effective submission. Similar to the Kimura, SEO is also highly versatile and effective. Hence why I decided to name the agency after this submission.
I noticed that B2B companies especially lacked creative problem solving when it came to organic search and I decided to niche down to solve this problem.
What is your magic sauce?
Honestly, I wouldn’t say Kimura is world class in SEO, but we are world class at customer service and solving SEO problems for our clients.
What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?
The plan for the next 5 years is to grow Kimura and continue to serve Fortune 500 B2B companies. I eventually would like to sell Kimura Digital.
I also would like to get into flipping websites. We talk about flipping houses, but flipping websites? That’s not such a thing… I eventually would like to create a proven SEO system for every sort of website and create an investment fund to buy bigger and bigger websites.
Personally, I am in the process of moving to Spain for a better quality of life and of course, obtain my black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?
2021 was a hard year for me personally. I had moved to London to do my Master’s and I was still running the company. I didn’t know many people in London, either. It was the first time in my life I had battled depression. Mental health is not talked about enough as all business owners only show the positive sides and try to hide their battles.
Therapy helped me not only confront personal issues, but made me be a better business owner and more empathetic towards the issues of my clients.
Within my business, creating a solid pipeline of clients was an issue, but persistence has helped me tremendously. I’ve heard “No” more times in a week than most people will hear in a lifetime. I have invested heavily in marketing and creating content… The fruit of my labor has recently paid off.
How do people get involved/buy into your vision?
Kimura would love to hear from all B2B businesses. We offer a free 30 minute consultation to all businesses. Please get in touch at grant@kimura.digital or book a Calendly slot (https://calendly.com/kimura-digital/free-30-mins-consultation?month=2023-10)
