By: Zach Miller

Success is not achieved overnight, the way social media flaunts it. Entrepreneurial stories like that of TJ Avazona’s remind us that greatness is built, not gifted. 

TJ Avazona is the founder of Avazona Ltd, a global PR and marketing agency with thousands of clients. He is also a best-selling author. TJ has gone from clicking fake ads on a cracked Nokia phone to leading his branding powerhouse.

However, what he has achieved today was not easy. In fact, it was the opposite of that. He faced years of hardship, including failed blogs, products, and channels, before he got his first big break. 

TJ learned many lessons on his entrepreneurial journey. They have played a huge role in his position as a reputable voice in branding today. TJ’s story shows how he stayed on track, did not quit, and worked with purpose.

In this interview, TJ Avazona talks about his humble start, the failures he faced, and the changes in his mindset. He also talks about the moments that played a major role in his vision as an entrepreneur today.

Interviewer: TJ, you used to be a broke teenager. Today, you are the CEO of Avazona Ltd, a global PR and marketing agency. Let’s start at the very beginning. Who was that boy sitting on the curb with a cracked phone?

TJ Avazona: That boy was curious, desperate, and a little naïve. I remember it very clearly. It was a cold night, and cars were rushing past. Their headlights were flashing like they were mocking me. I was holding this broken Nokia phone, and my friend ran up saying, “Dude, you can get paid for clicking ads online.”

Finally, I thought this was it. I started clicking on CAPTCHA and thinking of earning money. However, that was a scam. 

However, that moment started something within me. The start of what if. I didn’t realize it then, but I had just become addicted to possibility.

Interviewer: And that “what if” spirit seems to have followed you everywhere, through blogs, YouTube channels, e-commerce, and even Fiverr gigs. What kept you going despite so many setbacks?

TJ Avazona: Honestly, I think failure became my teacher. When I started a health blog, I got more than 100,000 visits. But it only made a few dollars. My holiday-themed sites also flopped. I ran over a dozen YouTube channels that all got shut down. I sold designs for $10 on Fiverr. I jumped into Shopify with 25+ different products that mostly flopped.

Every time something failed, I would ask myself: why? And every “why” became a lesson. My health blog taught me that traffic without a strategy means nothing. YouTube taught me consistency and copyright laws. Shopify taught me about customer psychology. 

Every mistake I made taught me and informed my understanding. 

I saw a guy online bragging about $500K in hoodie sales. One day, scrolling Facebook, I saw that the hoodie guy was selling a course. I invested half my savings. I was literally his second student. I stayed glued to his videos as my life depended on it. He taught me everything, from product research and setting up stores to running ads and boosting conversions.

Interviewer: There’s a moment in your story that many people would have seen as the end, losing your Facebook ad account after investing $50,000. How did you recover from that blow?

TJ Avazona: That was brutal. I had finally built momentum by following the hoodie guy’s every step. I was scaling stores to $130K in sales, working nonstop, and then Facebook suspended my ad account overnight. I tried everything. New profiles, new cards, new accounts, nothing worked.

Then I remembered my late mother’s account. It was still active. At first, there was hesitation. But I used it for another (last?) campaign. I trusted my instincts and found a product that felt right.

For forty hours, I didn’t sleep. I set everything up. In month one, I made $1,200. Then $5K, then $12K, $25K, $45K. It just kept growing. 

That was the first time I felt like I was being rewarded for my efforts. 

Interviewer: And then came COVID.

TJ Avazona: Exactly. My shipments were stuck at the port for months. People started demanding refunds, the reviews crashed, and that business collapsed. 

That is when I realized: Success that depends on one platform, one supplier, or one system is fragile.

So, I started again. I had a lot of knowledge about marketing, ads, and funnels. So, I used it to help others. 

I joined a Singapore agency during the pandemic and ran campaigns. These campaigns made their clients hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

This set me off. I realized I wasn’t just building a business, but I was helping others build theirs. That’s when Avazona Ltd was born.

Interviewer: Avazona Ltd has now worked with over a thousand brands and personalities, from startups to global names like Tyga, Winden Bank, and Margaritaville at Sea. What makes your approach different?

TJ Avazona:  I believe in strategic storytelling. Most agencies focus on exposure; I focus on credibility. Visibility gets attention, but credibility builds long-lasting businesses. We’ve helped tech brands go from being unknown to global recognition. We have repositioned coaches as authorities in their industries. We have also revitalized products people had given up on.

We are distinct because we have empathy and precision. 

The way I see it, campaigns are not ads but trust builders. Every press mention, every strategy, every post is a brick in the legacy when building someone’s narrative.

Interviewer: Your story speaks of what you teach others. You emphasize failing fast, learning faster, and trusting your instincts. Can you tell us about the lessons that guided you?

TJ Avazona:  Absolutely.

1. Mistakes are teachers. Failures often teach what you can’t learn from success.

2. Mentorship is important. That hoodie guy’s course, my mentor, changed everything. Since I  learned from someone who’s already failed, I saved years of trial and error.

3. Fail early, fail often. My early failures toughened me for bigger risks later.

4. Stack your skills. I taught myself design, advertising, and Shopify, all free. Each skill opened new opportunities.

5. Trust your gut. My biggest wins came from intuition backed by relentless action.

Interviewer: You’ve now published books, built a million-dollar agency, and helped thousands of others grow. What drives you today?

TJ Avazona:  Purpose. I am familiar with the feeling of chasing a dream… even when you’ve got nothing. I had a stubborn heart. That’s why I wrote my latest book. It’s about 15 individuals who found their way after failure. Their stories show how achieving success is not easy. 

Readers can relate to these stories. Hopefully, they will know that they are not behind… that they are just in process. 

I have fallen so many times and gotten up. You can too. 

Interviewer: If you could go back and speak to that teenage boy sitting on the curb, what would you tell him?

TJ Avazona:  I’d tell him, “Keep tapping.” Not on the fake ads, but on the possibilities. Every small step is part of the success journey. One day, you’ll realize the scams didn’t make you rich, but getting up again and again did. 

Interviewer: Beautifully said. TJ, thank you for sharing your story, not just of success, but of relentless belief in becoming more.

TJ Avazona:  Thank you. One thing I know for sure is that failing isn’t leading to nowhere. Failures are chapters… they lead the story of success.

Summary

Photo Courtesy: TJ Avazona

TJ Avazona’s journey reflects relentless transformation. It is also a guide for anyone who has ever failed and thought it was the end. TJ went from using a cracked phone on a roadside to the global stage. He shows that every failure can become momentum if you refuse to quit.

According to him, entrepreneurs should: learn fast, keep asking questions, believe in their own instincts, and construct with determination. Each failure leads to a foundation. Each risk becomes a stepping stone. 

Today, TJ’s life work, through Avazona Ltd and his book, proves that resilience, learning, and purpose can turn even the smallest spark of ambition into an empire.