Meet David Lederman

Interview with
CanvasRebel

We were lucky to catch up with David
Lederman recently and have shared our
conversation below.

David , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later?


Having started my first business at the age of 18, I would say start a business doing something you love as soon as you can. That doesn’t mean the first one is going to hit. My first business was NOT a success. Oh no, it took another 10 years before i was living off my own business. I started about 12 different businesses while i worked at an e-commerce shampoo company before one became successful. I started GEMS BUSINESS SOLUTIONS, my marketing agency, in 2019 after having helped other businesses become a success. I feel I could have taken a bigger jump sooner but i found that the experience i gained working in different industries and trying to open different businesses allowed me to have a very broad understand of how businesses work, in a general view, and finding all the overlapping key points that make a difference for success in business, no matter the industry you are on. If i could coach my younger self, i would have experimented more and learned as much as i could about people, systems and budgeting. “The sooner you start, the sooner you will know what doesn’t work. That’s how you find what works.” David Lederman

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My professional journey has been a mix of challenges, growth, and rewarding milestones. After seven years as the Director of Operations for an online shampoo brand, I faced a tough situation with my family’s restaurant, which was losing about $15,000 a month. I stepped in, worked side by side with my dad, and together we turned things around within six months. We sold the restaurant in 2019, and I’m happy to say it’s still thriving today.

That experience fueled my passion for business and led me to start my own marketing and web development agency, Gems Business Solutions, in 2019. What began as a small operation has grown into a full-service digital agency with over 20 team members. But for me, it’s never just been about marketing—I’m dedicated to helping businesses optimize and grow holistically.

What sets me apart is my commitment to truly understanding each client’s unique challenges and goals. I don’t believe in cookie-cutter solutions; every business deserves strategies tailored to its specific needs. Transparency and education are also key to my approach. I want my clients to feel empowered and confident in the process, knowing not just what we’re doing but why.

I’m always striving to grow personally and professionally, and that constant pursuit of improvement reflects in everything I do. It’s why my agency has earned a reputation for solving even the most complex problems—we’re like the class partner who always guarantees an A!

Most of all, I’m proud of the incredible team I’ve built and the supportive community around me. They’re the reason I love what I do every single day.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?


A good lesson I had to unlearn is to stop doing the work and letting the team do it. Starting the agency, i had the mindset that everything had to pass through my hands to ensure it was perfect. but that is not scalable. As i grew the team numbers, I stopped being able to micro manage everything and ensure quality. That is where systems, training and finding the right people was key. Learning to let go and unlearn the skills of doing the work and focus on managing people who do was a big mind shift.


Have you ever had to pivot?


During Covid, in the start of 2020, I had scaled my agency to 6 clients, but most of them were in the restaurant industry. Due to the forced closures in some locations, i lost half my clients in a matter of weeks. Having to pivot quickly, We started focusing on offering all services to all business types choosing to understand the clients business inside and out to build long term partnerships instead of short term marketing campaigns. It was a big pivot to go from offering social media marketing to restaurants to going full service. but it paid off. I focused on picking the right clients, and making sure i could actually help them grow in the long term instead of just selling a service with a high churn rate

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Contact Info:
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/therealdavidlederman
• Other: https://Ugc-database.com
• Interview:
CanvasRebel Magazine

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