Interview With Roman Alexander Wellington: Business Magnate

Roman Alexander Wellington is an American business magnate, entrepreneur, best-selling author, award-winning business & branding consultant, speaker, & producer.

Mr. Wellington was exposed to the business world from a very young age. With both sides of his family owning various corporations, he loved attending business meetings with his parents, observing & learning at every opportunity, and quickly became very comfortable in the corporate environment.

Influenced by the strong morals, ideals, and entrepreneurial spirit of his family, Mr. Wellington started his first business when he was only nine years old.

Over the next 20 years, Mr. Wellington went on to found nine additional companies, comprising dozens of brands in various industries, including Book & Media Publishing, Fashion, Digital Marketing & Public Relations, Business Education & Consulting, Travel, and more.

Mr. Wellington has written over 20 books on the topics of Entrepreneurship, Digital Marketing, and Advertising, Brand Building, Leadership.

He also authored the “Wellington’s 5-Minute Guides For Success” series and has stated he will be making an announcement in the coming weeks of an exciting new series, leaving fans and readers in excited anticipation.

Roman Alexander Wellington serves as the Chairman of Wellington Industries and is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Wellington Press, ElysianDigital, & ElysianMed.

Could you please tell our readers a brief background about yourself and how you started your businesses?

My background is in Digital Marketing and Public Relations, and I’m a second-generation Public Relations Specialist.

My mother was a PR specialist before me. It’s actually due to her, and her love and passion for the field and what it could do, that encouraged me to pursue a career in Public Relations as well.

As for my companies, I started my first business when I was nine-years-old, and have been going ever since.

My first company was a Digital Marketing and Public Relations Firm. Since then, I have launched two additional Digital Marketing and Public Relations firms, with ElysianDigital being a broader firm able to take on many different industries/verticals, and ElysianMed specializing in Healthcare exclusively.

I’ve also founded several non-marketing-related companies & brands over the years, in various industries, including my publishing house, Wellington Press.

Where did the idea for these companies come from, and how did you get started?

Well, the idea for my first Digital Marketing and Public Relations firm came from my wanting to start a business but being too “young” to be taken seriously in most industries.

However, at the time “digital marketing” was still so new, that suddenly my young age became a huge benefit. Instead of it being “well he’s just a kid, what does he know?” it became, “well let’s just let the kid handle it. He knows about all that weird computer stuff”.

That allowed me to enter the space, and once my clients saw my work ethic and ability to strategize their marketing campaigns, my age very quickly become a non-issue.

Since then, I founded my other companies and firms based on specific needs I saw in certain markets or markets where I knew I could significantly improve upon the products or services that were currently being offered.

Why do you think Public Relations is an important tool to implement in your businesses and the businesses of your clients?

I think Public Relations, when done correctly, is the single most important tool a business will ever utilize.

Public Relations is about far more than just “press releases”. Public Relations is the art of brand positioning through the use of storytelling, education, and creating genuine connections with a business/brand’s target audience.

You can have the largest ad budget in the world, but if your audience doesn’t know, like, and trust you … you’re not getting very far. That’s where Public Relations comes into play, and where its true power really shines.

One of my favorite quotes is by Bill Gates. He said, “If I was down to my last dollar, I’d spend it on PR.”

What are you currently doing to maintain/grow your businesses?

Well, that depends on the business. But overall, my main focus is on constantly improving our systems, technology, and client relations.

In the Digital Marketing and Public Relations industries especially, things are changing all the time, if not every day. In order to stay competitive, and also continuously provide best-in-class service for our clients, I make sure we are constantly improving in every way possible.

Another major thing I focus on is client education. I think 99% of problems most Digital Marketing and PR firms face with their clients, simply come from the clients not truly understanding why something is being done, and the firm’s not taking the time to make sure the client is educated properly.

I make sure when we bring on new clients, that everything is explained in detail to them, and they are given the opportunity to ask questions upfront. Not only does this show them we believe in complete transparency, but it also serves to establish a clear line of open communication and trust.

What are the three biggest challenges you have faced growing the business, and how did you overcome them?

1. The first challenge I faced was when I first started, and that was my incredibly young age. I overcame that by focusing on always over-delivering and clearly showing my work ethic.

2. The second biggest challenge I’d say would be trusting the wrong people. I’ve dealt with many incredible people, but I’ve also dealt with an equal amount of people who I should have never trusted.

That’s a challenge I don’t think one can ever truly “overcome”, but it is one that you can better prepare yourself against. Now I know to look at a person’s actions, and not their “words”. People will always promise the moon … but if they can’t deliver, and deliver on time, they’re out.

3. The final challenge would definitely be Covid. When the shutdowns first started many businesses panicked and stopped their marketing/PR campaigns, which was the exact opposite of what they should have been doing. Doing so caused them to miss out on incredible opportunities for growth and customer engagement.

In order to overcome this, we focused on educating our clients on why it was so critical to keep their brands active and in the minds of their clients. Additionally, many ad platforms were experiencing massive drop-offs, so ad costs plummeted.

The clients who listened to what we were saying and understood the opportunity that had been presented, were able to get absolutely incredible results for the same ad spend that a month or two earlier, would have yielded not even half of those results due to costs.

As an entrepreneur, what is it that motivates and drives you?

Legacy. If I broke every other motivating factor down, it would all come down to what Legacy I leave behind.

Growing up I was obsessed with the great entrepreneurs of the American Gilded Age, and their remarkable achievements and successes. However, that also made me acutely aware of my own mortality.

As humans, we have maybe 80-90 years of life if we’re lucky. The first 10-20 years are spent learning about ourselves and what we want to become, and the last 10-20 years are spent trying not to die.

So that only leaves around 50-60 years with which we actually have an opportunity to build our legacy.

My motivation is building a Legacy worth remembering, like the great entrepreneurs I grew up reading about. That way, 100 years from now, another 9-year-old kid who wants to start a business or do something great … but is being told they can’t do it, or that they will never succeed … will read about me and say, “No! You’re wrong. Roman Alexander Wellington did it, and if I work hard enough, so can I!”

What makes your consulting firms different or better than your competitors?

Ingenuity and Quality Over Quantity.

We are constantly focusing on not only improving systems already in place or commonly used in our industry, but on developing or inventing new methods, strategies, or technology of our own.

We are also very exclusive, and that’s by design. I’m a firm believer in growing and growing quickly … but not at the cost of the quality of work.

So, I decided early on to only allow my companies to grow (take on new clients) at a rate that would not impair the quality of our deliverables, or jeopardize our relationships and reputation with our clients.

No amount of money can buy back a ruined reputation or broken trust.

What is the toughest business decision you had to make in the last 12-months?

The toughest business decision over the last 12 months for me would probably be having to force myself to slow down. The economy was in shambles, staffing was a nightmare, and I was still trying to go full steam ahead. It was not sustainable, and it wasn’t healthy mentally or physically.

So, I finally admitted to myself that I needed to slow down, and I put several major projects on hold. I still plan on pursuing them again as soon as possible, but I’m being more realistic about what can and cannot be done under the current conditions, and putting my physical and mental health first.

What piece of advice do you wish someone had given you at the start of your career?

I wish someone had told me to take more time for myself and to enjoy my youth a little more. I was so focused on building the businesses, and how little time I actually had to do so, that I convinced myself that anything else was a “distraction”.

I definitely wish I had taken a little more time to spend with friends or do “young person” stuff. Now I’m at the place where I feel like I can travel or take time off to go to a music festival or something like that.

But the people I would want to do those things with are now mostly married, starting families, etc., and have already had all those experiences.

So, I would definitely say if you’re a young entrepreneur, work your ass off and make sacrifices … but remember to stop and make sure you are taking time for yourself here and there, to actually enjoy your life with the people you love.

What excites you most about your industry, and where do you see it heading in the near future?

Well, I consider my main “industry” to be Digital Marketing and Public Relations, and I’d have to say what excites me the most about it, is that it’s always changing.

There are never really any feelings of “stagnation” because nearly every day I wake up and something has changed, or some new technology has been developed.

So, I am always having to stay on my toes, and always get to learn or develop something new!

As to where I see it heading in the near future … ask me tomorrow 😉

If you could go back in time to when you were just getting started, what would you do differently?

If I could go back in time, I would definitely focus more on doing one thing at a time. I put myself under far more stress than I needed to, by trying to do too much, too quickly.

What is the one book that you would recommend to our readers to help in their entrepreneurial journey, and why?

Well, if the reader is a new entrepreneur, I would definitely suggest reading my “Wellington’s 5-Minute Guides To Success” series. I created that series for new entrepreneurs specifically.

The series is designed to help them get all the most critical information necessary to start their entrepreneurial journey while avoiding information overload.

For general books that I think every entrepreneur should read regardless of how far along the entrepreneurial journey they are, that would definitely be a tie between The Art of War by Sun Tzu, and The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Dr. Joseph Murphy.

The Art of War: If you’re an entrepreneur, don’t get confused … you are, and always will be, at war with your competitors. It’s no longer a war between armies, but one between companies. Your competition may not be coming for your head, but they are absolutely coming for your customers.

The principles taught in the Art of War are as relevant today as they were then, and can be applied to nearly every area of your business. If you want to stand any chance of succeeding … you need to understand how the game is played. Read it, re-read it, then read it again.

The Power of Your Subconscious Mind: The greatest battle, and the hardest struggle, that any entrepreneur will ever face … is their own mind. Being an entrepreneur can be incredibly difficult, and many face constant doubt and/or ridicule from the people closest to them.

As such, understanding your subconscious mind, how it really works, and why it is so critical to maintaining it, is something I cannot emphasize enough.

Dr. Joseph Murphy, in my opinion, provided through his book a resource that clearly and simply explains the most important principles of this. To me, it’s worth its weight in gold.

What has been your greatest achievement so far?

I’ve started a lot of companies, I’ve written over 20 books, and I’ve led a very interesting life … but my greatest achievement … is that I can still drink 12 shots of espresso a day, and somehow, I’m still not dead.

I’m not saying I’m immortal or anything, but I’m pretty sure I should have had a heart attack 3 shots ago. I’m not trying to boast here, but I’m fairly impressed with myself on this.

Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

In the next 5 years, I see myself continuing to grow the companies, maybe starting a few new ones, and focusing more heavily on Mergers and Acquisitions.

What advice would you give to a newbie Entrepreneur setting up their first business?

Get your ducks in order as quickly as possible, focus on your Public Relations strategy as early on as you can, and don’t ever look at how much your attorney or accountant costs.

Believe me, the best money you can ever spend as a business owner is on your attorney and your accountant. One protects you from things you don’t even know you need protecting from, and the other helps you to actually keep as much of your hard-earned money as possible.

If you’re an Entrepreneur in the US, our business system is incredible, and contrary to popular belief, it is actually geared towards helping you become as successful as possible.

However, it needs to be done correctly and you need someone with the proper financial education to guide you.

That doesn’t mean you should be looking for someone to help you “avoid” paying taxes. That’s idiotic, and absolutely will get you in trouble.

However, they can show you how to maximize your tax savings strategy to reduce your tax liability legally and ethically (yes, you still need to pay your taxes, but you may be paying way more than you actually need to).

A good accountant will also show you how to get the most out of reinvesting in your business and employees.

To Learn More About Roman Alexander Wellington, Readers Can Follow Him At:
Official Website: https://romanalexanderwellington.com
Official Social Media Accounts: