eil Patel has been a constant in digital marketing and e-commerce space for a long time now — sharing advice to the world on what it takes to achieve online success. He’s an authority in the science of reaching people on the Internet, with his own blog getting more than 2.3 million unique visitors every month.

But while most people see only the success, Neil likes to emphasize the process of getting there. It takes time, resources, and consistency to get there, and Neil is a big proponent of putting all of those elements together.

His knowledge of where your efforts should go can greatly help with what seems like a tedious grind for most people. Let’s explore what startup founders can learn from Neil Patel.

1. Start with ‘Why’

When you start a brand of any kind, you must first define its purpose for existing in the long term. Most businesses only see what’s in front of them and not beyond the horizon, so they first go with a product while neglecting the brand.

There’s nothing wrong with that, but if you’re looking to build a business that will sustain itself in the long term, you can’t just focus on a product indefinitely. Trendy products come and go, but brands can exist as long as they can be marketed.

Therefore, you should determine the vision for your brand. That can then make clear who your customers are and what kind of products you’re going to sell. As times change, you can decide on how to shift directions as long as you have a clear definition of what your brand is about.

A brand’s mission and vision start at the top and go all the way down to the very bottom. They guide everyone in the brand with what they’re working towards, which can bleed into the meaning the customers see from your brand.

2. Dedicate 15 minutes a day

As Bruce Lee once said, “Long-term consistency beats short-term intensity.”

Neil’s YouTube channel is just over three years old right now. It can be said that he got on the YouTube bandwagon fairly late, but he still garnered a significant audience and still gets tons of views. He makes informative videos on digital marketing, and his channel has reached over 500 videos uploaded.

He shoots 15 hours worth of video content each month. That means if you divide that between 30 days each month, he spends 15 minutes a day on his YouTube content. To be fair, those videos do have to be edited, and it can take 60–90 minutes to edit each video.

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