Lifestyle

How SocialMusker Became an Entrepreneur from an Employee and Succeeded Running a Content Marketing Company, MUSKLY

Published

4 years ago

03/31/2021

Kossi Adzo

Nazrul Islam (SocialMusker), founder of MUSKLY tells us about SaaS content marketing.

First of all, how are you and your family doing in these COVID-19 times?

Nazrul Islam (SocialMusker): Alhamdulillah for everything that I have and with my family around and we’re still fine during these COVID-19 times. Thanks for asking! Hope you are also well! I always considered my team members as part of my family and this is exactly how we’re growing like a family – Slowly but passionately!

It’s true that everywhere around the world people are panicked and anxious for our upcoming days, but you know, as a human being, hope makes you alive during such difficult times!

Tell us about you, your career, and how you founded MUSKLY?

Nazrul Islam (SocialMusker): I am known as SocialMusker (A Man Who Loves you) on the web. I am a business graduate from AUST (BBA & MBA in MIS); born in the beautiful country of Bangladesh that has the world’s largest sea beach named Cox’s Bazar.

Though I was born in a rural village of Noakhali (Chittagong Division of Bangladesh), after 2 years of my birth, my family moved to the capital city of Bangladesh, Dhaka. From then to now, I’ve grown up and finished my under-graduate in BBA (MIS) and post-graduation degree in MBA (MIS) from Ahsanullah University of Science & Technology (AUST). In 2011, my life changed as a practicing Muslim and till now I’m trying strongly to hold on to it till my death.

Well, my career life is quite a story and a bit longer! Sit tight, please!

It was 2012! I started a job in a local Software Company as a Business Development Executive though I was a business graduate having zero tech/software knowledge. Well, life wasn’t as easy as I’d imagined. I failed to sell my company’s POS software to the end customers. This is why I got punished by my BOSS with verbal abuse and had become frustrated! I tried many times but somehow failed since I wasn’t passionate about it. The horrible offline selling!

Fortunately, I’d noticed and discovered a MAN inside that office who’d done his work and performed well sitting over the desk by playing with his creativity and personality instead of visiting people offline like me!

OMG! that man was selling awesomely where I’d failed miserably! I looked up to him, tried to follow the way he worked and finally, I started learning in my free time! That was what, we’re calling Internet marketing today! This was just the beginning transformation of the traditional Marketing industry into digital.

Seriously, this was something I always desired for! Less talking attitude but selling creativity using digital tools and spreading it through the INTERNET to the world! However, after seeing my passions, that MAN requested my CEO to give me a chance to work with Internet Marketing, and I got the chance at the very end of 2012!

After years of hard work, stressing for days and nights (actually for others); with lots of personal secrets failed projects (like NoakhaliBD.com, SocialMusk.com, Apptertainer.com, Appteresting.com, etc.) between my job responsibilities. Over time I helped many companies and various projects like- Syntech Solution Ltd, IPvision Canada Inc, BDLive24.com, NRBtelecom, TechNewsBlog, TheTechNews, ringID, AppsReviews, IPTV, SmartDataSoft, PrestaSian during my job periods and had the chance to work with lots of good people!

But finally in December of 2018 fortunately (at the time this was very unfortunate!) I’d lost my job from an unexpected situation and decided not to join any company again! Suddenly I’d seen a quote from @CalebMaddix (A famous 18-year-old Kid Entrepreneur) like this-

“If you start that business, you may fail. If you don’t start that business, you are guaranteed to fail”

Maybe this quote was written for me, I was inspired a lot from that 18 years KID! I wasn’t saving money or any backlinks to take the risk for MUSKLY; I just started from my TAWAKKUL (trusting in ALLAH’s plan) with my passion for content marketing by leaving the 9 to 5 life!

This was how I’d quit my job and just launched MUSKLY publicly in January of 2019. I became the Founder, CEO, and passionate ContentPreneur here at MUSKLY, a Dhaka-based Content Marketing & PR Company offering Content Creation & Marketing services, for the #SaaS BRANDS, Products, Publishers, and other companies around the world. You can learn MUSKLY’s full story from this link. You may also read how I faced my first content marketing interview with a Haaga-Helia University (Finland) student! You can also read it to get some information to learn more about Content Marketing!

How does MUSKLY innovate?

Nazrul Islam (SocialMusker): We’re super excited to make MUSKLY a SMART business model! Well, let’s elaborate-

S= means a business that uses ‘SOCIAL MEDIA’ to grab attention for its audiences, and we’re using it!
M= means a business that is ‘MARKETING’ oriented who always promotes their brand, products, or services like us! We only create content for our marketing!
A= means a business that is ‘AUTOMATED’ (you can also call it #SaaS) having recurring revenue-based clients! Right now we’re working hard to make MUSKLY an automated and brandable content provider platform!
R= means a business that has ‘REMOTE’ team members around the world and Alhamdulillah we already have it! And we’d executed our remote work before the COVID-19 pandemic!
T= Means a business that uses ‘TECHNOLOGY’ over its operation! We’re on it and ready to use next-generation technologies!

Thus MUSKLY creates content that spreads!

How does the coronavirus pandemic affect your business finances?

Nazrul Islam (SocialMusker): The future is uncertain for all and COVID-19 has dramatically introduced us to this reality! We continue to seen lots of businesses shutting down through this pandemic. Alhamdulillah, we aren’t affected like others! So, we are trying to be as helpful as possible. We are donating SADAQAH continuously from our religious aspects! As the creator ‘ALLAH’ says in the QURAN: Sadaqah should be from one’s legitimate possessions and property. According to Qur’an 2:274, Those who spend their wealth in charity day and night, secretly and openly—their reward is with their Lord, and there will be no fear for them, nor will they grieve.

SADAQAH increases wealth, forgiveness increases honor. Like the Hadith below- Abu Huraira (R: A) reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace, and blessings be upon him, said, “Charity does not decrease wealth, no one forgives another but that Allah increases his honor, and no one humbles himself for the sake of Allah but that Allah raises his status.” (Hadith Source: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2588)

Did you have to make difficult choices, and what are the lessons learned?

Nazrul Islam (SocialMusker): We had just started and everything is kinda new to me to run a marketing agency perfectly and smoothly! Time makes people mature, which means we’re still in an entrepreneurship learning stage and working hard to see the goodness! Do you know what I have realized as a marketing startup agency founder? You’ve to start today if you have skills without overthinking about the future! And one more thing that I shouldn’t skip from you all, which is- Take the risk and digest the difficult times you’ve!

I feel inspired by all the Entrepreneurs around the world that are taking the risk for their economic contribution by sacrificing sleep! (as after my dive into MUSKLY; I didn’t sleep for the first 3 months and realized how hard entrepreneurs actually work!)

I am pretty happy to have made the right decision of launching MUSKLY. Right now, we are seeing a growth in our focusing area and revenue as well, Alhamdulillah! Indeed, creating a brand will give you returns in the long run, and for MUSKLY, we are happy to say that recently we got listed as “Top Content & Publishing Media Outlets and Platforms Headquartered in Bangladesh (2021)” by #BOOVE (An Online Book Magazine).

How did your customer relationship management evolve? Do you use any specific tools to be efficient?

Nazrul Islam (SocialMusker): Since we are operating remotely, most of our projects are maintained through communication with our clients! Currently, we’re using HubSpot CRM but have a plan for using ZOHO CRM soon! Out there we’re fans of Gmail, Google Drive, Google Sheets to assign remote work for our writers! SLACK for managing teams worldwide! Also using CANVA and GRAMMARLY pro for creating amazing content for our clients worldwide. These are some very special tools for us! You know right now like others we’re using ZOOM for remote meetings!

Your final thoughts?

Nazrul Islam (SocialMusker): Whoever you work for, if you invest in yourself by skills today, someday you’ll be ready to pay for it! After a while, I found this feeling from my career life, “if you value your time, you’ll get some reasons to smile in return”. So, don’t waste time! Be a brand yourself or build a brand that you’re working for!