Today, I would like to share my epic journey with the world with 5 Chapters of My Life.
My Childhood (Chapter 1)
I was born in a Lower Middle-Class Family and did my schooling from a Gujarati medium school. I was born in Small Village in Gujarat called Danti (Dist. Navsari) and Brought in Mumbai. My Great Grandfather Mr. Gosai Patel came into Thane (Vitawa near Kalwa) with his cousins for Earnings 55 Years ago around 1965. He worked in Mukand Steel company as a Helper and With his earning he has Bought a House in Thane. I was Brought up in this Beautiful House, I still have a lot of childhood memories in this house. My Father (Mr. Dalpat Patel) Joined Mukand after Study but as a Machine Operator with High Grade. Recently, he retired after 40+ Years of Services in Mukand and I am quite proud of it. My Mother (Mrs. Champa Patel) and Father always wanted their children to Study well so they could live a good life and fulfill their dreams.
College / Job (Chapter 2)
My Childhood was just awesome! While I used to be a little shy, at the same time I was quite mischievous/naughty. After my Schooling, I have joined a Diploma in IT Engineering study at Thane College (Mod Tech Engineering). I still remember my mother selling all her jewellery for my admissions. I was good at my studies but I think engineering was not my cup of tea, and I realised this in my 1st year of college itself. However, I did not want to waste my parents Hard Earned money and their expectations for me. After 3 Years of Diploma, a lot of my Classmates and friends went Abroad (USA, UK, Dubai, Australia, Germany) for further studies but I decided to stay in India and not pursue academics further. Meanwhile, I joined Aptech Software Courses and started learning different Computer Languages. Slowly I was very interested in learning programming languages like C, C++, HTML, etc.
Aptech offered their students to ‘Learn and Earn things’, and thus I took a few company references and went there for Interviews. After 2-3 failures I got Job in Aptech Dadar Institute for Rs. 500 per Month as Data Entry at the Age of 19 Years. It was my first income and I still remember the day I got my first salary and I gave this money to my Mom and Dad. My father returned this money and told me to save this money in my savings bank account as I totally deserved it. He always taught us to earn and save as this will pave the path to my future success.
Digital Marketing Company (Chapter 3)
After working for a month or so, I came to know that there was no more work left for me in the company and that I need to move forward now. Again I started focusing on my Software Courses in Aptech and they gave me 1 more schedule for a Job Interview. I still remember the day of the interview. It was in Mahim (Mumbai) and the first time I traveled to Mahim alone. It took me 2 hours to reach my destination and My Boss interviewed me. He asked me a lot of questions mainly related to some Softwares which is used for Designing and SEO things. However, I was completely new for the SEO Industry and knew nothing much about it. So I muster up some courage and politely said NO to him. Well, I was quite sure that I have failed this interview badly and there is no chance I am going to land this job. But, to my surprise, My Boss offered me the job with a salary of Rs. 2,500 per Month. I accepted the offer, thanked him, and left (happy of course). I was very happy that I got this opportunity, even after a not-so-good performance. I got a full-time job and was very eager to learn everything about SEO and web designing. Well, to be honest, that was the first time I heard something about Google and SEO. Yes, you heard that right, Google! Till then, I was using Yahoo Mails / Rediff Mails only.
I happened to be the 2nd Employee of this company I worked for. On the 1st day, I was introduced to Mr. Nixan (The Man Who Taught me about SEO). Oh! What a day it was! Mr. Nixan was trying his best to teach me about SEO while I was trying hard to get a grasp of whatever he was saying. I was at my wit’s end and as frustrated as he was, teaching a novice like me, could not help but lose his temper in the end. The tormenting saga continued for another week when I decided to leave the job. At this point, the only thing that made me change my mind was my father’s word of wisdom. He told me, if I keep running away from problems, then I will never be able to achieve anything in life. So you have to give your 100% to every work you do and most importantly you have to enjoy your work. He cited his words with simple examples like his daily routine how he woke up at 5 AM every single day and went for his job without missing a single day. This proved his dedication and love for his work. He also told me that he is not pressurizing me at this Age (19 Years) but I would anyway need to understand these things later in your life. So, sooner, that better!
His words changed me a lot and I also got my focus and drive that made me work harder every day. And then, as they say, the rest is history. Mr. Nixan taught me each and everything on SEO like Backlinks, HTML Errors, W3C, Tags, and much more. Slowly and steadily we became good friends and I started enjoying my work. A few years later the Company shifted to Santacruz, and now I had to travel 2.30 h ours to and fro every day to get to work. So I was travelling 5 hours a day to work. Nonetheless, I made some very good friends while I was working for this company and we are still in touch.
Google Updates (Chapter 4)
Let me tell you how we were implementing SEO in 2004, At that time we just needed to Focus on 2 Things – Title Tags, Description Tags, and Keywords Tags (Most Important Tags). I know that Google does not count these things anymore these days, but in 2004 Google preferred these tags most and 2nd most important things are Link Exchange. Once you have done this, you would have to wait for 1-2 months to update rankings or crawling on your pages. During those days Google used to Visit your website and it would find your link in Other Top Sites. It is NOT like these days when you can crawl your website anytime.
Let me tell you one interesting thing, 1 day I came to the office and I found Nixan was in tension so I asked him What Happened and he said Google has updated the Algorithm. This was quite a new update for me, and thus I asked him more about it. He explained it very well. He told me that Google keeps changing his algorithms to give accurate results to users and roll out new updates so Webmaster/Company can not use Black Hat SEO techniques. Today if any updates are coming only 10%-30% of websites get affected. During those times, Google results would affect 90% almost and we would start getting Calls/Emails from our clients about what’s going on.
Working in Digital Marketing, we tend to worry about the survival span of this industry. Some of the experts also said that the SEO industry will be gone within a few years and Google Ads will take over since a lot of companies had started using Google Ads slowly by that time. At that point in time, we were really worried about the existence of the SEO industry and what may happen if it really disappeared. But, to everyone’s content, it proved to be just rumours. The fact remains that Google is the No.1 and most prominent search engine on the web with more and more users finding their way to this engine for all kinds of information, businesses, etc. Putting all rumours and worries to rest, we were assured that as long as we keep using White Hat SEO techniques and enjoy what we were doing, we will flourish.
GBIM (Chapter 5)
After a brief stint at the company, I quit and planned to start something of my own. It was definitely not an easy thing to start our own business but I was hugely supported in my endeavour by my brother who had been running Network Engineering Institute in Mulund East at that time since 2005. Initially, I started freelancing and got a good client and friend from Punjab. He helped me with a lot of outsourced projects as well as a good number of clients. I was already in the business and also working for Big Brands with him. Eventually, we started our Proprietor Firm GB Internet Marketing and we got our 1st Client Hem Incense with my brother’s (Mr. Nirlep Patel) help, and sooner than ever, we got his rankings on the 1st SERP.
After a few years in 2010, we registered our firm as GBIM Technologies Pvt Ltd. and started working with big corporates and brands. We rented a spacious office space in Mulund West. After 5 years in our rented office, it was time for us to move forward and get our own office space. So we bought our own spacious one in Mahape, Navi Mumbai.
Today we have 2 offices in Navi Mumbai, with an employee strength of 70+. At the age of 35 Years, I am still learning NEW things and love discussing them with my clients. Now I have the expertise and experience to help grow their business to the Next Level using the latest Digital Marketing techniques. We are quite proud to have clients who are still doing business with us for 8-10 years now. A clear picture and perfect digital solution have proved its worth all these years.
Today I am happily married to Ankita Patel and we also have been blessed with a sweet little daughter Dhani Patel. So, if you find this story of a lower-middle-class boy turned a self-made entrepreneur interesting then like and share it.
If you are looking for Digital Marketing Consultations or want to work with me Email me at me@dharmesh.tech.
