Dennis Yu

All entrepreneurs are struggling.

Of course, they put on the outward show– maybe even more so in the affiliate world. One tech CEO I know, who just raised $20MM, used to buy flat-screen TVs from Best Buy to put in his conference booth, then return them when the show was over.

He’d also fake expense receipts– charge the client business fares, but use miles to fly coach. They cooked their books, enough to pass an audit by Arthur Andersen and even raise a second round of funding this year.

I’m not advocating cheating. Just saying we all face tough decisions. Networking and keeping up appearances are hard.

You’re not the only one facing challenges– not enough cash to make payroll, internal squabbles that threaten to rip your company apart, losing your top customer, product not ready by the deadline, etc…

Plato said “Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”

And I’ve come to respect folks who have the drive to make something out of nothing.

I’ve failed so many times, it’s ridiculous. And those that mock you— it’s because they aren’t winning themselves. Insert your favorite story here about a role model who failed repeatedly before making it.

Your friends and loved ones, who mean well, will tell you that your ideas won’t work and that you should just give up.  Believe me– one fellow who we did a lot of work for (made him a lot of money, but we didn’t see a penny), went so far as to write a negative article about me. If you want to do something good in this world, a lot of people will try to stop you.

First class isn’t all that.

I’ve flown about a million miles in first class over the last 20 years. But I’ve also taken my fair share of Megabus and Greyhound.  You can go one-way from Portland to Seattle for $17 and enjoy wifi the whole way– same with NYC to Boston. I fly Southwest a lot. I’ve eaten my fair share of Mcdonalds and ramen noodles, too!

Airbnb.com saves you a ton on hotels– get a room in NYC for $40 a night, instead of $250. And maybe meet interesting folks in the process.  The founder of Airbnb.com himself left his house for a month to live exclusively via his service.

I’ve even stayed in a dog kennel with chicken wire for a ceiling that pretended to be a hotel.  Barely bigger than a toilet stall.

The book Founders at Work interviews now-successful tech companies to find out what their formative days were like. Many flew red eyes from the West to East Coast to keep the illusion they were everywhere.

I’ve gone from rich to completely broke and back again.

Are you making business decisions based on appearances or what’s practical?

Every entrepreneur I know works SUPER hard.

Not the same thing as being busy or not getting enough sleep. If you’re the one holding things up, that’s a lot of pressure from other folks who won’t understand or are to understand.

But when the public sees pictures of you on Facebook living it up, it’s easy to get the wrong impression. Certainly, there are those more interested in the glamor of being an entrepreneur than putting in the pound of flesh that it takes.

And it’s true that not all founders or solopreneurs are noble or necessarily work harder than the single mom who is trying to make ends meet.

But to those of us here who are putting it all on the line to make something big come to life, my hat is off to you.

Dennis Yu

Dennis Yu is co-author of the #1 best selling book on Amazon in social media, The Definitive Guide to TikTok Ads. He has spent a billion dollars on Facebook ads across his agencies and agencies he advises. Mr. Yu is the "million jobs" guy-- on a mission to create one million jobs via hands-on social media training, partnering with universities and professional organizations. You can find him quoted in major publications and on television such as CNN, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, NPR, and LA Times. Clients have included Nike, Red Bull, the Golden State Warriors, Ashley Furniture, Quiznos-- down to local service businesses like real estate agents and dentists. He's spoken at over 750 conferences in 20 countries, having flown over 6 million miles in the last 30 years to train up young adults and business owners. He speaks for free as long as the organization believes in the job-creation mission and covers business class travel. You can find him hiking tall mountains, eating chicken wings, and taking Kaqun oxygen baths-- likely in a city near you.
I'm a member of Blitzmetrics Academy and a friend of Dennis to boot. Not only is Dennis highly intelligent and full of great and creative ideas, he's also incredibly generous with both his knowledge and his time. Success couldn't come to a better guy. Thank you for all that you do for the world, Dennis! 🙏

Michael Pacheco

Marketer

Thanks 🙏 for being shining light in this industry. Love what your building for works overseas too network for jobs so innovative. Dennis helped me navigate having bad experiences with marketing agencies and doing dollar a day marketing which has helped my personal brand tremendously. Highly recommend.

Eric Skeldon

Founder at Kingdom Broker

Working with Dennis has been a delightful experience. After meeting him in 2015 I got to collaborate with him on countless occasions. His understanding for state-of-the-art marketing, his implementation, and his leadership put him into the top 0.01% of marketers and mentors.

Jan Koch

Ihr kompetenter Partner für innovative KI-Strategien.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Dennis for my podcast in 2021 and since then we have maintained a friendship that grows with each interaction. I have seen Dennis' devotion to his friends and clients firsthand, and our conversations often result in us talking about how we can provide more value to the people around us. He is someone whom I can ask questions on a technical level, and look to on a personal level. If you have any hesitancy about hiring him, get over yourself and do it!

Isaac Mashman

Help scaling personal brands.

Geez, where do I start recommending Dennis? First, he is an absolutely brilliant marketer who understands where marketing is today and where it's going tomorrow. He also has an incredible passion for the International Worker community. The lessons he has taught me from his almost 20 years of experience hiring International Workers have been immense. Most importantly though. Dennis Yu is someone who wants the absolute best for you and is willing to tell you the truth. Dennis sat with me at a point in my business where I was floundering but did not want to admit it. He asked some very straight forward questions to get me to admit my issues, highlighted the issues, and then helped me create a roadmap to success.

Atiba de Souza

International Keynote Speaker | Video Content Superman | Superconnector |

Dennis, which I had the pleasure of working with is one of the most giving, honest and tell you as it is person I ever know. The knowledge this man has is remarkable and he just gives it out freely. He is not pretentious and always entertain anyone big or small in the industry always willing to help. If you ever get a golden opportunity to work with him or mentored by him say YES!. You will notr regret Dennis, which I had the pleasure of working with is one of the most giving, honest and tell you as it is person I ever know. The knowledge this man has is remarkable and he just gives it out freely. He is not pretentious and always entertain anyone big or small in the industry always willing to help. If you ever get a golden opportunity to work with him or mentored by him say YES!. You will not regret

Nixon Lee

The PR Whisperer

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