Meet Nick Fernandez | Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nick Fernandez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nick, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
A digital-first world can be daunting for start-ups and small business owners. Too often, smaller companies don’t have the knowledge to generate and maintain an online presence or lack the resources to afford in-house marketing or a full-service marketing agency.

I saw these struggles first-hand during the first COVID summer of 2020. So, I brainstormed and constructed a remote-business model specializing in graphics, website development, and social media management. After interviewing business owners and doing market research, I built pricing plans per each service.

Outside of a marketing internship I worked that summer, I found time to connect with new small businesses to launch websites and social media campaigns. By the fall of 2020, my portfolio contained a counseling center, a state house representative, retailers, and an Italian restaurant. This experience no longer felt like a hobby on the side but more like a passion-driven part-time job. The results were beyond rewarding and were solving challenges faced in this digital-first world. For the counseling center, it was driving current and new clients to a telehealth platform and promoting benefits of online counseling. For the state house rep, it was producing a website and social media reach to promote messages and issues pertaining to the candidate during a time when in-person meetings and speeches were less frequent. Or an Italian family-owned restaurant that’s never relied on online, pick-up orders, suddenly needing a online menu and ordering platform. These experiences reinforced my passion for building a cross-industry, affordable, full-service marketing agency.

Entering Berry College that fall to finish my last year, an opportunity landed in my lap. Berry announced its Entrepreneurship and Innovation minor, which I instantly weaved into my final semesters’ course schedule. The program connected me with experienced entrepreneurs, like-minded students, practical curriculum, projects relating to my business, and pitching my idea for funding. This was one of the best decisions I’ve made.

By the start of 2021, I learned how to form an LLC, conduct better market research, pitch, sell, build better pricing plans, and construct contracts, all while clientele steadily climbed. I began partnering with software companies that provided website design, graphics, and social media posting tools so that I could scale the business, reduce costs, and improve quality of services. Contracting employees was the next step, I began seeking specialized individuals in graphic design, SEO, and coding to further drive client success.

By the time I graduated in the spring of 2021, Upsway Marketing was officially an LLC and raised funding from two pitch competitions to assist with startup costs. Since then, the clientele has tripled and we’ve been awarded locally and nationally for up-and-coming marketing solutions. Proudly, Upsway Marketing has transitioned from a hobby to an official LLC driven to provide startups and small businesses with an affordable approach to tacking social media and online presence.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I founded Upsway Marketing to provide solutions that are not only affordable but are transparent and uncomplicated. While researching competitors, I noticed invoices without pricing explanations and a lack of opportunities to provide clients with education and autonomy. With our pricing, clients only pay for what they need, and we always charge less than we quote. We seek to eliminate any confusion and disappointment in the billing process. Also, a marketing agency will rarely teach clients how to take control of their social media or monitor/edit the backend of their website. Perhaps it’s rare because it deprives the agency of paid opportunities. I wanted to look past this because I saw an enriching experience that could be built between my agency, the client, and the client’s employees. So, we provide walkthroughs of the website backend and instruct the client on how to make day-to-day changes, whether it be editing text, blogs, events, eCommerce products, photos, videos, or anything else. Allowing small business owners to feel autonomous with their website and social media is essential to our business.

I believe I got Upsway Marketing to where it is now because of my supportive family, friends, work mentors, and the entrepreneurship program at Berry College. All of the said factors made the complicated process much more manageable. I felt supported mentally by family and friends and supported educationally by the college.

Since Upsway Marketing is a remote business, the most significant expenses were technology and some office equipment, fortunately, covered by funding raised in the two pitch competitions I competed in. The biggest challenge has been time management. I worked countless hours, combating sleep deprivation and sacrificing mental health. Although challenging, I’ve learned how to stop, shut off “work mode,” and focus on family, friends, and leisure. I think there’s a limit to the productivity and creativity I can produce in a single day, and sometimes it’s better to power off and start fresh later.

Another big challenge was deciding when I wanted to take Upsway Marketing as my entire focus. Since I was a graduating senior in the spring of 2021, I was faced with deciding how I wanted to balance an MBA program, a potential new work opportunity, and my current business. Ultimately, I decided to tackle all three and opted to keep Upsway Marketing as a part-time commitment (despite it requiring full-time hours). I’m glad I did this. I knew there was so much more I could learn by working full-time at another company and in the MBA program at American University (which I will graduate in 2023). From this new work experience and graduate schooling, I’ve seen other leadership styles and how various businesses operate successfully.

Making that decision to slow the expansion of my business was tough but the right move for me, personally. All my life, I learned about and admired the entrepreneurs who dropped everything after schooling to pursue their passion. Come to find out that all entrepreneurs are different, and their paths aren’t always clearly defined or immediate. I found comfort in taking my time with Upsway Marketing, ensuring it’s thoughtfully developed and ready for more scale in the near future.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would love to take my friend to Lake Russell in Elberton, Georgia. It’s the most serene boating experience with sandbars, shaded islands, clean water, and fishing opportunities. I’ve never been a fan of crowded areas or loud parties, so a peaceful time on the lake with a tiny Bluetooth speaker and takeout pizza and drinks would be ideal.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I was raised in a family that owns a small business. My dad took ownership of the company from my grandad. My grandparents, mom and dad, still work there today. Since I was little, my older brother and I would be assigned tasks around the office and do yard work. Eventually, we would graduate to more technical work in the office, learning the ins and outs of the products and services that the family business, Design Mart, provided. From these work experiences, I grew a greater appreciation for small businesses. Specifically the endless hours of effort spent inside and outside the office and the multitude of hats that most owners have to wear.

Website: https://www.upswaymarketing.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upsway.marketing/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/upsway-marketing/?viewAsMember=true

Twitter: https://twitter.com/UpswayMarketing

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UpswayMarketing/