Life & Work with Madison Nirenstein

Today we’d like to introduce you to Madison Nirenstein. 

Hi Madison, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
In 2019 I graduated from the University of Michigan with a dual degree in Neuroscience and Political Science. While seemingly unrelated, I had a passion for social media and had every intention to move down to LA to work for my brother who runs one of the most popular automotive YouTube channels on the site. A few months before graduating, I received a message on LinkedIn from a Google recruiter asking if I was interested in an account strategist position working with businesses to optimize their Google Ads. I genuinely thought the message was fake – who gets reached out to by Google?!? I left it for a few weeks because I already had my post-college plans and frankly, was pretty excited about the “influencer” space. I’m not sure what prompted me to return to the message…maybe my senses? I’m glad I did. With low expectations, I told myself the only way I wouldn’t move to LA was if I received an offer from Google. Four plus rounds of interviews later and I was offered the position. I decided to give it a try because in the worst-case scenario I could pivot and pursue my original path. 

I worked for Google for a year and 7 months, learning the Google Ads platform inside and out. The training was phenomenal, and I felt like I was learning something new every day. Not only that, the people I got to work with were some of the brightest individuals I have come across. I worked with hundreds of businesses that ranged from small mom & pop shops to billion-dollar enterprises whose names you’d know. This gave me exceptional perspective and experience in what goes into a successful digital marketing strategy. 

I think many of us can relate to corporate burnout and trying to discover what truly brings us joy on a daily basis. While working with a multitude of businesses was fascinating, I never felt I had the opportunity to dive deeper and learn about their entire marketing strategy; what were they doing organically to supplement paid ads, what other platforms were they running alongside Google and how did the ROI compare, was their social media presence comprehensive, and how optimized was their website? The number one complaint I heard from businesses was that they felt digital marketing agencies had their own agenda and weren’t willing to take the time to understand their business model inside and out. I sought to change that. 

Towards the end of my time at Google, I soaked in as much information as possible, teaching myself various tracking implementations, understanding every campaign type, and meeting with different team members who had valuable insights into running successful campaigns. On the side, I taught myself Facebook Ads – a much simpler platform once you understand the complexities of Google. I already had quite the experience with social media, boasting hundreds of thousands of followers on some of the major platforms (Instagram, TikTok). During my time at Google, it was clear website development was important in conversion rates (sales, leads, etc.), so I honed in on my website development skills, teaching myself Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress. 

January 2021, I took the leap of faith and left my cushy job at Google to launch my own company, Limitless Marketing Management. The main goals I set out to achieve were the following: find joy in what I do on a daily basis, learn & grow in my field, and try to make at least what I was making monetarily at Google. During year 2 of running Limitless, I quadrupled my earnings at Google, LOVE what I do on a daily basis, and can say honestly that this was the best decision I could have made for both my career and happiness. 

While Limitless specializes in paid ads consulting (Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn) as that’s where my expertise began, we also offer website design/development, SEO services, social media consulting and management, and overall digital marketing strategy consulting. My favorite compliment from clients has to be the acknowledgement that Limitless feels like a part of their teams and brings a sense of clarity and transparency that tends to be lacking in the field. Similarly to the companies I worked with at Google, Limitless works with a variety of different clients, ranging from small businesses to multi-billion-dollar enterprises. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I’d say the greatest obstacle I’ve had to overcome is being comfortable with the unknown. Because I was working at Google at the time that I decided to start Limitless, I couldn’t secure any Google paid ads clients before leaving. This is a Google policy. Prior to quitting, I had one website client and one main social media client which was hardly enough to feel secure in my business. The support and words of encouragement from my friends and family was integral in my ability to come to peace with the fact I would have to hit the ground running day one with zero paid ads clients. I put faith in my abilities, my drive, and the gap in the market I knew I could fill. From there, the networking began and to this day has been my main source of business. I’ve always loved staying connected with people and find that there’s usually someone who knows someone that is looking for exactly what you’re offering. 

While in college, working at Google and running Limitless, I was also a competitive equestrian. My horses were in Texas, and I would travel once a month to competitions all over the US. Balancing National and World competitions with running a business has been one of the most challenging, time-consuming, and rewarding experiences of my life. A big portion of Limitless’ original client base is from the equestrian world, horse related or not. At around 1.5 years of running Limitless, I realized I couldn’t keep up with its growth while continuing to compete at the level I was at. I made the hard decision to sell two of my competition horses but have one at home to love and enjoy at a more manageable pace. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
One of my favorite questions to ask people is what they majored in. You find time and time again that a majority of people, specialties aside, end up choosing career paths completely different than what they studied. When I was in college, I had no idea what I wanted my career path to look like, and changed my major probably 4 different times. I went into school thinking I wanted to go into politics and quickly changed my mind. I then thought maybe law was the right path for me. I ended up getting an internship at a software company in Dallas entering my junior year of college, opening my eyes to the world of tech and sales. This is ultimately what led me to the position I took at Google and eventually to start my own business. So, when I tell people I studied Neuroscience and Political Science, they often laugh at the lack of relation. I will say, however, understanding the complexities of human behavior is an exceptionally helpful skill when it comes to any form of marketing. 

What are your plans for the future?
I am a big believer in being open to any and all opportunities that come your way. That being said, for the first few years, I’ve allowed Limitless to shape itself in terms of our major offerings and client base. As we continue to grow, I am cognizant of the need to hire great talent with expertise in website development, social media management, and paid ads management. My goals for the future are to expand Limitless and create an even stronger team with specialized groups. This is another means of ensuring we stay connected to our core values: truly understanding each client and their business needs and having the expertise to provide value. I have no set timeline for how quickly I’d like the company to grow and expand, but it seems to be outpacing my expectations! 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.limitlessmarketingmanagement.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/limitlessmarketingm/

Image Credits
Gina Mae Photo
Danielle Long