As we celebrate 15 years in this hard-hitting ad agency business, I’ve come to appreciate the year-to-year challenge to maintain resiliency. Sure, COVID-19 really put us through the ringer, but when I thought about it, every year has presented the need to pivot and magnified the importance of surrounding yourself with people who can embrace the pivot. Whether it’s economic conditions, facility transition, one-time events, employee onboard/exit, client onboard/exit – a small business DNA can change overnight and you always need to be mentally prepared to pivot.
Here’s a brief summation of some of our pivots from the past 15 years…
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I remember when COVID-19 first hit, we held a team meeting and we stated “we’ve been here before” and there “will be opportunity” that comes from economic challenge – just like in 2008. We bent, but we didn’t break. We kept a positive attitude, tried not to panic and believed in the ability of our team to pivot around any obstacle, and we were in a better position to beat the odds.
We didn’t take anything for granted: We’re fortunate to still have a job to go to in an industry that we love. We’re grateful to still have clients to care for. This resolve helped us pivot to a completely new business model that (1) added more value for our current clients and (2) enticed strangers to engage with us.
Thank you to our employees, client partners and vendor partners for a memorable first 15 years. We’re excited for what’s to come in the next series of pivots.