Barion McQueen is a serial entrepreneur and branding specialist with years of hands-on experience in helping aspiring startups pave their way to professional career success. He also serves as a real estate investor and business consultant who excels in the art of building positive brand identity with effective social media campaigns & digital marketing strategies. Barion is an avid seeker of knowledge and a zealous author/speaker who pens down his professional insights to direct aspiring young entrepreneurs.

He presently serves as the owner of The Brand Castle – A full-service digital marketing/branding agency specializing in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media Management, Web Design & Development, Pay-Per-Click, and Digital Content & Video Production. In his decorated entrepreneurial journey, he had formulated multiple tech-based startups & businesses.

He attended the University of Delaware for Civil Engineering and dropped out of college. He focused on his career in the construction industry where he as more than 13+ years before stepping into the world of digital marketing. Barion has acquired a great deal of acclamation & recognition for his work as a digital marketing expert. He shares an incredible passion for transitioning the hard work of aspiring entrepreneurs into proven success stories.

Website: www.barionmcqueen.com

Social Media

Instagram: www.instagram.com/barionmcqueen
Facebook: www.facebook.com/barionmcqueen
Twitter: www.twitter.com/barionmcqueen
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsMxxO3muLWVkEXI1VH5S6Q?view_as=subscriber

1.) What elements and/or characteristics made you say to yourself that you wanted to do entrepreneurship for a living? Who are your influences/heroes/role models?

I always had this idea that I didn’t want to work for anyone for the rest of my life. Since I was young I knew I always wanted to be my own boss and make my own decisions when it came to my future. Some of my influences and role models are people like Jay-Z, Diddy who understood the streets, but still had great business sense.

2.) If you could compare yourself to someone who is already established in your line of work, who would that be and why? If you don’t like to compare yourself, then what separates you from other everyone else who does what you do?

I think what separates me from all of the other people who do what I do is authenticity. I am not out here trying to fool people. I am not out here selling people dreams that they can be living the life they desire and own as many houses and boats that they want. Being an entrepreneur is hard work and it is not for everyone. This isn’t a get rich quick scheme.

3.) Everyone in life goes through adversity of some sort. Is there anything in your life that has any influence on the work that you do? What is the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure on your path to becoming an entrepreneur?

My goal was to always make my mom proud. I was raised by a single mother who made sure I had a roof over my head, clothes on my back and never went to bed hungry. That was her job to provide me with those things and she did. So anything outside of those scopes I had to figure out on my own. If I wanted the latest Jordans as a kid I had to figure out how to go get some money, whether cutting grass, fixing other kids bikes in the neighborhood I hustled hard. I think the most difficult thing going through entrepreneurship is the tough times when you feel like giving up, or when you feel no one believes in you, but you just have to stay focused and remember why you started in the first place.

4.) How do you prepare yourself to create? What is your process?

My creative process happens at different moments. It could happen in a dream in the middle of sleep and I will hop out of the bed and run to my home office to put things on paper. It could happen at a red light, stuck at a train, it doesn’t matter. I have launched several successful businesses and they have all came to me at the weirdest points.

5.) Unfortunately many industries are full of talented individuals who more or less become the “starving artist” and don’t get any recognition for their talent and/or hard work. What do you plan to do to make sure you stand out and get noticed?

I understand branding very well. So my transition from the music industry to business was a seamless transition.

6.) Would you rather work for a big corporation or would you rather stay independent? Why or why not? What makes one better than the other? Are you able to make a living with your art? If so, how were you able to attain a career doing what you love? If not, what do you do in order to fund your business? What advice would give to someone who’s interested in pursuing a career in the creative industry?

I would rather stay working for myself and continuing to build the right personnel around all of my businesses. I completely understand the concept of needing a team. So I will continue to grow and just need to make sure I am constantly putting people in position to help my companies grow and be as productive as possible.

7.) How do you think the internet and social media affected the creative industry and how artists are able to market themselves? Social media is obviously an extremely important element in today’s world, especially when it comes to business, branding, marketing, etc. With that being said, do you think an artist will be able to survive in today’s economy if they’re not social media savvy?

I do not think any artist, creative, business, corporation can survive in today’s climate without being social media savvy. My company The Brand Castle is open because we handle this type of branding, social media management for companies who cannot do it properly. So without the importance of social media I probably wouldn’t be in business.

8.) Typically, entrepreneurs who try to create products and/or services for mass consumption for the general public and make more money are seen as “sell-outs.” Do you see it that way and if so, what do you plan to do to make sure that what you offer stays true to your brand and make a good living at the same time without having to “sell out”?

I do not see it as selling out. If you are an entrepreneur your number one duty is to add value to the world. So if you have created a product it should be of value first. I’ve made great money creating a social media content calendar to help people who have issues about what to post on social media and wrote a book to help other business owners grow. I didn’t create those products for the money, I created them to help.

9.) Professionally, where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

Professionally I see myself continuing to grow and speaking around the world about entrepreneurship, positive mindset and personal development.