Vyral Employee Spotlight: John Schmidt

John M: John McMillan here, coming at you with another employee spotlight. Today we are with John Schmidt ,who works in the Vyral Agency program. John was one of the first people in that side of the business, and he works directly with one client, Lars Hedenborg. Why don't you tell us why you first joined Vyral Marketing.

John S: I first joined Vyral after moving back to Omaha. I went to school in Chicago and eventually moved back to Omaha to look for new work. My brother was living here, and working here, and he recommended I check it out. I came in for a casual interview and after that, just started working here.

John M: You'd probably heard a decent amount about Vyral through you brother, Dan. What was your first impression when you came into the office?

John S: Yeah, I had heard things from Dan about the day to day work and stuff, but back then, the office was completely different. We had about 12 employees, the office was pretty small, and we were all in one room together. Whenever someone needed something, you could just yell across the room instead of sending an email. It's definitely changed a lot since then.

John M: Why are you still here?

John S: Number one, the atmosphere. My brother still works here, management has pretty much stayed the same, which is a good sign, and a bunch of my friends have started working here as well. I feel like my voice is always heard here. IF there is something I want to try out or if I want to switch positions, I think all of that has kept things interesting for me.

John M: You graduated from Columbia School of Music in Chicago, and want you want to do is manage bands, which is what you're doing right now in Omaha. How does working at Vyral kind of fit together with that?

John S: It's nice because I do have a unique position where I can work from my laptop or form home a lot. My schedule is pretty flexible in the sense that I can get things done on the weekends or the nights. If I have to be out of town, I can still do that and get my work done as well.

John M: What would you say you have learned since working at Vyral?

John S: Specifically with the company, your voice is heard here. We are always open to new ideas and trying new things. That’s pretty awesome. I also learned a ton of new marketing skills I didn't have before. Those are skills I can take and use anywhere I want to. They are important skills to have.

John M: Have you had any breakthroughs in your mindset while working here?

John S: One thing lately from working with clients over time and building up trust is that they value your opinion. At first, I thought it was about just coming in and doing the work and getting it out there. But they actually value you being a fiduciary to them,  which is also true in the artist management things I'm doing. Sometimes it's hard to tell someone something doesn't look or sound right, but at the end of the day, they'll thank you for it. It's usually the right decision to make. Speaking up and being honest with the client, that's a huge thing.

John M: You've got other buddies in Omaha working for other businesses. What makes us different from other employers?

John S: A lot of my friends in Corporate America jobs do the work and go home, and they are fine with that. A lot of them are data entry or accounting jobs where they are just going through the motions, and kind of plateauing. I think there is a lot of opportunity to move beyond that in Vyral, whether it's having your voice heard, and heading up new parts of the business. I think that's probably the biggest difference.

John M: What should we be doing better as a company?

John S: One thing that's difficult is seeing a clear career path. It's something we talk about often, and the company is very transparent with financials and ways to grow the company, which is a positive. However, you, as an employee, have to have kind of a vision for yourself and your own career as well to make that work in the long term at Vyral. There are ways to move up the ladder, but at a certain point, you need to see a new business opportunity and possibly build out a new service for Vyral, which many people have done in the last few years and seen success from. I think we could improve in creating a more clear path for people too.

John M: Let's talk about the people. What do you enjoy the most about the people you work with here?

John S: I love the people. We all hang out outside of work for the most part. Mikaela has a graduation party that most of us are going to, JR has a play coming up that we are all going to see, and I know a bunch of people have showed up at the concerts I put on. No one is forced to do any of that stuff, but at the end of the day, we are truly friends. Having fun, social situations brings us together and reminds us we are all kind of here for the same thing.

John M: Do you have any memorable moments working here?

John S: Yeah, let's see. This is the second office building I've been in at Vyral. The last one, where we were all in one room, we had some trouble with a leaky roof. I remember one day in particular, Scott Hollingsworth was brand-new and we had just gotten a bunch of storms. There was some water build-up, and the tile ceiling just collapsed all over his desk. Everyone looked around and was like "Well, sorry you had to drive up from KC for this." Now Scott's out in San Diego and killing it, so it must not have been too haunting for him.

John M: So you pretty much just work with one client, Lars Hedenborg. Can you name a time where you have particularly wowed him, whether it was with service or otherwise.

John S: Usually, my work is the same on a week-to-week basis as far as building his newsletter, posting on Facebook and other social media sites, scheduling his Google Hangouts, etc. But going after really good success stories, that's always a plus. It shows other people that he's' a great coach. Something as simple as coming up with some killer headlines for his newsletter one week. 11,000 people get the newsletter and a lot of people sign up through that. It's mostly little things.

John M: What would you tell someone who is thinking about working here?

John S: I would tell them to keep an open mind, and never be afraid to ask for help or ask questions. You'' find the answer here and if we don't have it, then Frank or John will give you the tools where you can find the answer. Right now, I'm taking some online classes that Frank paid for to take my marketing education even further.  Keep an open mind, don't be afraid to ask for help, and create a career vision for yourself. If you do see yourself at Vyral in the future, you can build something out really cool here.

John M: What are some personality traits of someone who should not work here?

John S: I guess the opposite of that. Maybe you’re a close-minded person (which I don't know if someone would readily admit about themselves) or if you don't like people very much. If you don't have many aspirations in life, maybe Vyral is not for you. A lot of us are entrepreneurs outside of work and have a lot of outside aspirations. I think that's one thing that keeps everyone motivated.

John M: That's all I've got, thanks John.

John S: Thank you, John.