This interview was published on the website of BNI
Dimitris Kontarakis met the BNI through the recommendation of a friend and colleague who is also a member. In a short period of time he implemented all the tools of BNI by growing e-steps, an internet marketing consultancy company by 30% per year through referrals. Utilizing the principles of effective networking he decided to help other business owners in their goals and so since May 2024 he has taken on a leadership role within BNI Greece, being Director Consultant of a business team.
He believes in collaboration, structured communication between a team, is a fan of pauses and “demands” from each day an hour of absolute calm.
The interview with Dimitris Kontarakis is unconventional, as he is himself.
What do you do with that one hour of absolute calm that you make sure each day has? What does that help you do?
A key part of my growth and of course the growth of my work is creating. You can’t be creative when you’re cramming every minute of your schedule. I consider 1 hour of total quiet time in the day as a productive process. That way the rest of the day I am more efficient and creative.
You are involved in digital marketing and personal consulting. What do you like most about this job?
I love the challenge of solving complex problems in both digital marketing and consulting to help businesses grow with practical solutions and a realistic plan. Digital marketing is an industry that combines technology and people, which is why I love it, both in the business side of it and in the fact that it pushes me to constantly learn new things.
When these human characteristics are organized into a system, then the projects perform their purpose and we are all happy: we are happy for the result of our work, and our clients are happy for the value of the time and money they invest.
What does it take to be a good digital marketer?
As in all jobs, success comes from a combination of skills and human characteristics. Technical knowledge, for example, if not combined with human traits is not properly applied. Digital marketing is ultimately, like all marketing, about how you listen to people’s needs, and what products or services you shape in a way that meets their needs. To be more specific though, the hard skills of this job are data analysis, techniques to improve the search engine ranking of websites, the famous S.E.O (search engine optimization), S.E.M. which is the creation and management of effective PPC campaigns and more.
But… does it make sense? The key in this business as in any business is the utilization of the tools, not the tools per se. And that’s the hard part.
So what soft skills do you use to cover it?
I will answer with simple but not simplistic concepts such as communication, teamwork, critical thinking, adaptability and problem-solving skills. The creation of an action plan with specific dates for implementation and of course critical control. When these human attributes are organized into a system, then projects perform their purpose and we are all happy: we are happy for the outcome of our work, and our clients are happy for the value of the time and money they invest.
Do you consider yourself an organizer?
He smiles: I consider myself “nerdy” with organization. I organize my schedule with to-do lists, calendars and project management tools. I also use time blocking techniques to focus on one task at a time. This is the only way to live a life in which you have time to think, envision and be creative for yourself and your clients.
Have you ever been an employee; how does the experience compare to the life of an entrepreneur?
I worked as a clerk in the past and it was quite a learning experience that developed me as a person and helped me get into entrepreneurship. The life of an entrepreneur offers me freedom, autonomy and the satisfaction of building something of my own.
What is it that makes it hardest for you to do what you do?
The biggest difficulty is my bad self and lack of purpose. Not having a plan in everything I do “kills” me. I want to bring order to chaos because I always like to have an outcome following an action that started with a beginning, middle and end.
Do you make mistakes? Did you? And if you did, how did you deal with them?
I used to let life decide for me and accept what it left on my doorstep. For a long time I was a follower. I was content with what people gave me, not only materially but spiritually. But that did not satisfy me. When I realized that, I did a lot of work on myself and I work every day, changing my attitude towards life. From the mistakes I have made I have learned the most important lessons.
I also use time blocking techniques to focus on one task at a time. It’s the only way to live a life in which you have time to think, envision and be creative for yourself and your clients.
If you were starting today, what would you do differently?
If I started today, I would probably make the same mistakes, I would be just as immature, because that’s the beauty of life, you always start fresh with momentum and mistakes. So if you don’t make your own mistakes, you don’t learn. There is no one who became wise from the experiences of others: our own experiences make us wise. Now that you ask me I’m thinking that maybe I would focus more on building my confidence and my outwardness.
Which is?
I mean, if I started today, I would work more on networking skills early on. Considering that extroversion skills are what we call “you either have it or you don’t” I didn’t dare to dive into networking earlier, so I lost valuable time of success.
Where do you see your industry going in the future?
My industry is rapidly evolving towards personalisation, automation and data utilisation. Artificial intelligence will play a key role in the future of digital marketing. The Contactee of the future may not be human, but it will think and feel the customer of the future as much as I do.
Does that scare you?
It only scares me what I don’t know, and at the same time it creates a nice challenge for me. We build our skills in an ever-changing environment, which is exactly why. Experience, knowledge and the pulse of the market open up new paths every day. On these roads I will move, without fear, only with the passion of creation!
You gave me a nice pass. So what are your plans for the next few years?
I really enjoy consulting, and in recent years I’ve seen very good results as a Pragmatic coaching specialist. I think I want to use this to benefit businesses that I value greatly, along with the valuable time I invest in writing: the “Lost Knowledge” trilogy a novel that will hit the bookshelves in October 2024 has already been published.