Very few people end up doing the job they dreamed of as a child—not everyone can be a rockstar or actor or professional tennis player. But a different path, maybe with a few stumbles, can still lead to greatness. Take Trevor Emerson for example, CEO and Founder of Nashville digital marketing agency LSM, he dreamed of being a drummer.

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Growing up in the Bellevue area of Nashville, Tennessee, Emerson thought of being a professional drummer. From idealizing the life of the iconic Tommy Lee to teaching drum lessons as a first job—music and rockstardom was the goal.

This wasn’t a short lived dream either, while in high school at Hume-Fogg Academic High School, located on Broadway in downtown Nashville, he continued to play and pursue drumming. 

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“I wanted to be Tommy Lee…I wanted to be a musician, like a rockstar. That was all I cared about.”

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Playing hooky on Friday afternoons by playing with the bands at a bar down the street wasn’t necessarily the usual high school experience. For Trevor Emerson though, this brought him the opportunity to have fun and do what he loved.

Born to Run

Once at Belmont University with a music scholarship, though, music morphed into something less fulfilling. Being a rockstar was no longer the goal, but he didn’t have a clear direction to strive toward either. 

Emerson ended up switching to a Political Science and History major with law school crossing his mind as a future possibility. 

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“I like history and understanding the way the world works, and history helps you know that. Political science helps you understand more in depth.”

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However, in his own words, he has “never been a rule follower,” so law school—and a more explicit path—didn’t play out. 

After graduating from Belmont in December 2003, he jetted off to Seville, Spain with his brother and their friend—testing his Spanish and his independence. 

Living there for 18-months, Emerson was able to put things on hold and find a new perspective. Yet returning to the states after that time abroad still left him wondering what was next. 

Learning to Fly

Once back in good ole Music City, Trevor Emerson had to decide what he wanted. Luckily, a friend in graduate school for business at Vanderbilt needed help on a project. Together, they created the plan for Local Search Masters, an advertising company solely focused on internet ads—a stretch for the time, considering most companies were staying focused on newspaper, radio, and television ads. Internet ads had barely been broached and no one was an expert yet, meaning most local companies didn’t consider trying it out at the time. The internet was still on a fast learning curve, Google was a mere eight years old at the start of LSM, and no one knew how much it’d grow and change the advertising industry.

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The business pitch for LSM was done for a panel of venture capitalists at the Vanderbilt school, with the funding opportunity being offered to the winning pitch. Trevor led the presentation, something he considers one of his strengths, and things started to change.

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“That kind of gave me, and I guess us together, the confidence that we were onto something. Like, this could be a real thing,” Emerson said when speaking about the aftermath of the proposal presentation.

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Then, it happened. 

The venture capitalists offered LSM funding for partial ownership—Trevor and his partner said no. They didn’t want to be told how to run the company they came up with. Instead, they decided to go out on their own, choosing to self-start their business.

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“I didn’t feel prepared at all. I had no interest in business or marketing, I didn’t know anything about it,” said Emerson. 

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Prior to starting Local Search Masters and diving into the entrepreneurial world, Trevor Emerson hadn’t considered entering the marketing or business realm. However, his lack of experience didn’t hold him back from figuring out what he wanted and going for it. In 2006, Local Search Masters LLC was officially created and looking for clients.

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The first couple of years were rough—finding and losing clients, moving in with girlfriends so rent was cheaper, and eventually after a revamp in 2008, becoming the sole owner.

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“We went through a lot of heartache… from 2006 to 2008 we had a lot of just pain that we had to go through because we didn’t know what we were doing.”

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Amidst the change and struggle of being young business owners, they decided to make a change. First, Trevor and his partner started dressing the part. 

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“We started showing up together at 9 A.M. in a suit and tie, both of us, every single day. We started talking to our customers about their business and not about digital marketing. And those were the two big keys… If I could’ve started them right at the start, it could have saved us a lot of pain.”

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Not long after this, they began growing—but this time, Trevor was the one in charge. 

Here Comes the Boom

After 2008, LSM found its groove. The company focused on working with franchises, enabling employees to use their specialized knowledge for specific industries across multiple clients. 

Revenue, clients, and employees grew over the next ten years, with Emerson finding his footing and keeping a strong hold on his valued principles. He acquired AdLava, a Las Vegas digital marketing agency, to expand creative services at LSM. 

The growth of LSM was not instantaneous at its inception in 2006, but after years of growing professional relationships and finding the right people, it began to thrive. 

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Emerson is not only trying to grow the business, but also the people who help keep LSM breaking their own ceilings—the employees. 

He takes personal interest in each person’s goals and how he and LSM can help them achieve those goals. As a business owner, he wants to thrive, but he wants his employees to as well. From offering unlimited PTO to having lunch together once a month, he shows his authentic self to the people who work for him. 

He asked every employee to start writing goal emails at the end of the week, including what they’re proud of, something big for the following week, and what they’re doing as professional development.

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“I try to take the approach of, I do care about you. However, much more important than me caring about you is you caring about you. I’m gonna fuel your self-interest because that’s what’s going to help you.”

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Trevor Emerson cares about growth in others, because he knows it’s his own growth that led him to where he is now. 

Roll With It

After a few ups and downs, Emerson found authenticity and grit to be determining factors of his success. Rolling with the punches, keeping it personal, and working tirelessly. 

Now, he’s been married for a decade, is a father to two daughters, a business owner, a former beach volleyball player—the list goes on and on. So, what’s next for him? The same it’s always been: being himself and improving day after day, in business and in life.