Meet Justin Grubb | Director of Growth & Client Strategy

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

Hi Justin, how does your business help the community?
There are a ton of bad actors in this industry. My team and I hear the horror stories every day. We try to approach this industry with morals. Advice is never behind a paywall with us. Out of the hundreds of businesses I talked to and coached over the last year or so, a good portion of them I had worked with over a few months with free advice until they were big enough to warrant paying an expert to take over.

Our retention numbers speak to the truth of this. Everywhere else I have worked in the industry, especially the larger agencies, we were excited when a client lasted 9 to 12 months. Here, I have clients that predate my time with the company by a few years, even.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I lucked into this industry. I was a 19- or 20-year-old with the gift of gab who was in a band and stumbled into a sales position through a Facebook satellite office, which some friends had worked in an adjacent building. Honestly, I took the job so I could learn how to make better ads for my band and never thought this would be my career. If not music, I always thought I’d be a history teacher.

I got bored with the sales style there and wanted to do something that pushed me more creatively and stimulated my brain a little more than cold calling. It really came down to a handful of managers taking a chance on a kid that wore torn jeans and pop-punk screen tees to work. I thank God they did. Shortly after, I became a client partner and learned the ad-building process. Two things happened: I got hooked on the problem-solving and outside-the-box thinking it takes to do the job, and I learned my first daughter was on the way. I knew it was time to put music on the back burner and throw myself into something that could build a life for my little growing family.

Again, the stars aligned. I learned and learned more and just never stopped learning. Eventually, I left Facebook for a large agency downtown. They got me into the rest of the “digital footprint”—Google, SEO, website design, etc. There were layoffs there, and I bounced between large agencies until I landed at my first small startup agency, which I fell in love with for the different grind and rewarding feeling that comes with a small business. Even as a lower-rung employee, anything I did in my day-to-day helped my client and went toward building and growing the agency as well. It just seemed more impactful. That company changed ownership on NYE of 2019. I had worked up the chain and was a director during the switch, and three weeks later the new owner made a bunch of changes, and I was a free agent once again.

I put so much of my time and effort into that company that I decided I was going to take a month or so off work, take the family—which then included our youngest—to Disneyland, and just reconnect with the family more. Worst. Timing. Ever. During my vacation, the word coronavirus kept being mentioned. I didn’t think much of it, but I came back home to a full-blown pandemic, all of my job offers wiped off the table with the state shut down, and I was lost and worried.

I did DoorDash, Uber Eats—really anything to keep the lights on and the family fed while we waited it out. Fourteen days turned into a few months before we knew it, and that’s when I reached out to my dad, who had been in the auto industry for my entire life. I saw the parking lot of a local Buick store always full of customers, even in the height of the pandemic, and I said, “Hey, I was good at selling Facebook ads. I think I can sell Buicks for a year.” I was honest and upfront with them—selling cars isn’t what I want to do. I will give them one great year and do my best, but as soon as marketing opens up, I’m going back to that. They all understood it.

Then COVID just didn’t slow down. We lost my mother-in-law really unexpectedly, and during that time I missed a doctor’s appointment that I finally went to two months later to find out I had a tumor in my chest. One year with Buick turned into four. They were simply amazing at the time. I worked when I felt well enough to work and put on the smile. They kept me updated with deals I was working, even during treatment. The managers made sure I got the credit where I deserved it, etc. I was appreciative, and the people in that store had turned into close friends of mine, but I was unhappy with the work-life balance, and I wanted to go back into what I loved and what I was good at. That’s when a Facebook post led me to No Boundaries.

I was hired around Thanksgiving and went to work happy to be doing what I love again.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We would make the rounds. We would go to State Farm Stadium and have a great time despite the Cardinals’ best efforts to make us cry. We would be at Westgate till the end of the night, eating and drinking everywhere it has to offer.

The week would absolutely include a round of footgolf at Peoria Pines. Topgolf at one of the Valley’s locations.

We might go camping at Diamond Point to look for clear quartz with the kids. But a good majority of the time we’d be at Lake Pleasant wake surfing.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Being a family man, it takes a really strong partner at home. My wife is amazing and understands what we’re trying to build at No Boundaries. She’s the glue, and I’m not just talking about picking up additional duties around the house or with the kids when I’m buried in work, but being able to come to me honestly and tell me when it’s time to unplug and do something outside of work.

My team at work are all rockstars. The others on the leadership team approach every day with zero ego; it’s a refreshing way to go about stuff compared to some of my old companies. Everyone on the team, from owners to leadership to back-end support staff, has a seat at the table when it’s problem-solving time. It makes work that much more enjoyable having a group of people with a common goal.

Website: noboundaries.marketing

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nobomarketing/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/noboundariesmarketing

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nobomarketing

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

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/no-boundaries-marketing-group-surprise

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClzP1v9DhRWVoc7Pmt7YDSQ