We had the good fortune of connecting with Jacob Tegtman and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Jacob, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I started Third Loft Marketing actually out of necessity. At the time, I was working sales for a company who wasn’t able to pay the commissions they owed to me. By that point, I’d been doing small marketing-related tasks for friends who owned local businesses, so it gave me sort of a “soft launch.” I knew the company I worked for would eventually catch up on paying me, and I wasn’t ready to totally leave working for them, so I went all-in on starting my own business while they caught up on what they owed. Then, for a while I continued working for them part-time until Third Loft Marketing became large enough to fully support me. Once it did, the company I worked for became one of my best long-term clients, and we haven’t looked back ever since.
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?
Finding a niche in business really is where lifestyle can first be achieved. Having something that you’re “known” for generates more word-of-mouth referrals, which means you can spend less time on your business, and often have it run more profitably. As a startup marketing agency, it took a few years for us to find our niche. Now, Third Loft Marketing still functions as a full-serving agency, but we specialize in SEO. People still come to us for other services, but those are more or less “extras” for us.
Overall, I’d say that owning a business is primarily a cross-section of choosing to make something successful, and having some unique talent or skill in your space that others aren’t already filling. Oftentimes, I think people are more talented and skilled than they give themselves credit. In my experience, the limiting factor for people in business or other life endeavors is usually the decision to make things happen, and the belief that they do in fact have something special that’s worth sharing, to fuel them through tough times.
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?
We’ve had friends visit us in Western CO (I moved to Grand Junction about 9-years ago), and the outdoors is definitely the main attraction. Grand Junction as a city is growing, but you have to visit the Lunch Loop trails, check out the mountain biking in Fruita, and maybe even make a day trip out to Moab, UT to see the Arches.
Otherwise, some of my favorite in-town spots are Copeka Coffee because of their great drinks and eclectic atmosphere. Board Fox Games is a fun, family-owned gaming store on Main Street where you can drop in for tabletop gaming nights or other events. Talon Winery in Palisade is my personal go-to winery, and speaking of, there’s also “The Winery” restaurant off Main Street, which has some of the best food you can find anywhere – a little more on the fine dining side, but oh so worth it.
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many people and resources that have helped me grow Third Loft Marketing along the way. It’s actually difficult to pinpoint, but I would have to give a huge shoutout to my friend and mentor Tyler Milyard, who is a serial entrepreneur. Tyler has provided a great deal of help to me over the years, lessons, and someone whom I could talk to and ask questions. Whenever I catch up with Tyler he and his family are always doing something new, which by itself stretches me and encourages to always keep finding the next fun thing to enjoy in life.
Website: https://www.thirdloft.com/
Other: If people are interested, I also have a side project tabletop gaming website: https://www.eternityttrpg.com/
And a fun new, interactive FB where tabletop RPG encounters can be found: https://www.facebook.com/groups/970727451401905