We had the good fortune of connecting with Ross van der Wal and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Ross, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I had always been doing creative work as a side hustle when working full-time jobs. It was the kind of work that I looked forward to doing when I got home from work and was much more rewarding to deliver a project that I personally created and helped my clients build their business as I built mine. Working for big companies never provided the same sense of satisfaction and I always felt that I was putting so much energy into achieving the goals of the corporation I was working for, when I could be putting that same energy into achieving my own goals. I figured, if I out the same amount of time and work into achieving my goals, the sky if the limit.
Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
What set’s RoVan Media apart from others is that we really are a one-stop-shop for your needs and provide a wide variety of services from Web Development, Video Production, Photography, Graphic Design, Marketing, and Social Media Services. And you will always have the full attention of the team and me, the CEO. We really care about each project and put our best foot forward, not only in the creative process, but in the relationship building process. We are not here to do one off jobs and move onto the next. Our goal is to build a long term relationship with all of our clients. We are very proud to work with business’ at any stage of the their lifespan and making a significant impact on their business.
It has never been easy, but always been rewarding.
Things are constantly evolving challenges are constantly arising. I think the hardest thing is to run the business side of things, but also be hands on with the creative aspect. I’ve learned that it takes a collective effort to delegate certain aspects of running the business to other people, utilizing the resources around you and recognizing that, as the owner, I can not have my hands on every aspect of the business. You have to relinquish control of certain things and trust that the people you delegate the work to will succeed.
We’d love to the world to recognize RoVan Media’s brand story as the authentic, passionate, creative agency we are. Pulling life experiences as a corporate account executive and side-hustle cinematographer and photographer, to create a buttoned up, yet free flowing and creative services.
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?
If I were to have friends visit me in Los Angeles, We’d start out by going mountain biking in he Santa Monica Mountains or a hike in Malibu Creek Park, brunch at Urth Cafe then hit Venice beach, play some paddle on the courts, watch some street basketball, grab drink at the Venice Beach Bar, head over to Din Tai Fung, Taiwanese restaurant in Century City, then go out to Kiss Kiss Bang Bang in Korea Town or Bar hop in Venice Beach. Some other great spots to hang out are The Resident in the Arts District, Paper Tiger in Korea Town, Dukes in Malibu, Ocean Park Waterfront
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There have been many people that have encouraged and supported me along the way. Client’s, friends, family members. But I think if I could name one person who has been an influence is Kyle Merwin, Co-Founder of Born & Bred Agency.
Website: https://www.rovanmedia.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rovan_media/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ross-van-der-wal-04b870b1/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rovan_media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RoVanMedia
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMthEi8VP6n7mxMA7HViQGQ
Image Credits
image credits: Ross van der Wal of RoVan Media