Today we’d like to introduce you to Otis Glasgow.
Hi Otis, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My family and I first came to this country when I was about five years old. We had nothing but an apartment in Mid City, a minimum wage job, and faith that God would provide a way for us. When we arrived, we experienced financial stress we didn’t experience back in our home country of Guyana. My mom was working two jobs, and me getting into fights at school added to the stress of being a single mother raising two kids in a new country. The start of my entrepreneurship journey was a real life-changing one. We eventually started doing much better financially, but in 2018 my sister was admitted to the ICU. It turns out she had massive blood clots in her lungs following a surgery she received. It was really bad…I thought I was going to lose her. My uncle was talking to me while my sister was still in intensive care, and he told me that I am capable of giving my family the life they deserve. He told me the story of when he was finally able to retire his mom, my grandmother, from her minimum wage job. That lit a fire in me. He wanted me to go to school to make that happen, but I went the other route and decided I’ll own a business one day. I was working two fast-food jobs around that time while reading books on how the wealthy become wealthy. The book that opened my mind was Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.
After reading that, I planned out and executed my first business ideas, and they all failed. It took five failed planned and executed ideas for me to stumble on a way I could provide real value to small businesses and artists everywhere. I founded NxT LvL Advertising in March of 2020 because I noticed that brands needed to increase their presence online if they were going to survive beyond 2021. Everyone interacts with platforms like Snapchat, YouTube, Spotify, Google Search and sees many ads daily. But they don’t know how profitable they can be and that you don’t have to be a million-dollar business to use them. Approaching the anniversary of our creation, we have quite a resume. So far, we have done campaigns for dozens of artists, generated ad revenue for multiple businesses, and started working with one of the first pro-volleyball leagues in America. So safe to say this first year has been great.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been far from a smooth road, both personally and in business. I’ve experienced all of the struggles that come with being a young black male in America, living in a single-parent household barely making ends meet. In my business, it was difficult finding the right path. Like I said before, it took me five failed ideas to find the right one. I then had to figure out everything from getting clients to managing expenses and branding myself as a business. I turned to the internet for business help and stumbled upon a community called Earn Your Leisure University. That gave me the information I needed to find the solutions to these problems I had as a new business owner. I also have a great mentor, Forrest, that I can call. He runs a real estate agency, Forrest G Realty, so he has a lot to share about running a business. Thankfully, I am now capable of finding a solution to any problem that comes in the future.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
NxT LvL Advertising is a digital marketing agency that gives small businesses and small artists the same marketing tools that the big companies and labels use. We create custom ads for your brand and then put them in front of tens of thousands of targeted people monthly. Our clients can advertise their brands directly on platforms like Google search, YouTube, Snapchat, Twitter, TikTok, and more. Our detailed targeting allows you to show your ad only to people most likely to engage with it. So if you sell watches, we can target everyone typing in “watch” related search into Google’s search bar. You can target people based on their age, gender, location, and online behavior. That means if someone sees your ad, then they have a high chance of listening to your music or making a purchase from your website. This form of marketing generates a lot of data and information that we analyze and use to increase your ad performance. We have a focus on interacting with smaller brands and that is evident in our prices. Instead of paying thousands of dollars at another agency every month, we provide affordable plans for those looking to grow their brand. Whether you’re a music artist or a business owner, we’re here to help you grow.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I have to say that my faith is what has brought me this far. Even though the most trying situations, I kept faith that there would be a way out. I have to thank my mom for instilling that kind of faith in me at a young age. Growing up watching her do the impossible let me know that as long as you have faith and as long as you’re working for something bigger than yourself, you can make it happen. When I started, I had no idea where I would end up in a year, but I had the faith to give it my all and make it work. Now here I am.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.nxtlvladvertising.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/o_boat/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUxnVlOngBKrMvEMJ1I8JFg
