Phire Branding Company

05/28/09

11 thoughts for 11 years.

As I celebrate 11 years of being in business, I look back on some of the things I’ve learned.

We get better every day. Back in 1998, I thought I knew everything there was to know about advertising. All I really knew was how to win awards. That is not the same thing as helping our clients prosper by any stretch. Every day, I learn something that we can apply across our client spectrum to improve their business.
The client knows more than we do. We used to walk into a room and try to out-passion people about their own businesses. This is not our job. Our job is to take their passion, help take it to the next level, and help it spread in the marketplace.
Technology should be wrapped around fundamentals. I’ve seen web firms come and go. I’ve seen online ad agencies come and go. I’ve seen SEO companies come and go. Hell, I even recall a couple of Second Life agencies. Technology has grown so much in the last 11 years, and even in the last 11 minutes. But technology is a means to deliver proven marketing fundamentals. It is not a fundamental on its own.
The good days are good. Getting new business. Launching a campaign after months of work. Presenting a client with a plan and a vision and a brand that gets them re-excited about why they come to work every day. Those are good days, and they make it well worth it. Heck, they even make up for the….
The bad days are really bad. Getting a budget cut. Not getting paid for our work. Winning a pitch and then finding out it wasn’t funded. Losing business for all the wrong reasons. Internal issues. These are the bad days. And they can really wear on you in this business.
We get to meet some of the coolest people on the planet. Celebrities. Industry movers and shakers. People with little more than an incredible idea. Their stories are so different, but remarkably inspiring. There is no other business I can think of that allows such access to unique stories, goals, visions, and dreams within deep, meaningful relationships.
You’ve got to have fun. As a small office, we tend to drive each other insane. So we have office games (including this one called Mickless that is so perfect, I believe I could sell the concept). We joke. We rib. And we get an incredible amount of good work done on behalf of dozens of clients.
Take a long view of successes. When I think of client engagements, 11 years gives you the ability to see not only what worked immediately, but also what is sustainable from a marketing perspective. Every agency shows you their success stories. I’m not afraid to show failures as well. After all, are you going to trust someone who claims to have never failed? How then, have they ever learned to succeed?
Times will always be tough. The last 11 years in the State of Michigan have been challenging. It’s also easy to blame things on the external. I’ve seen the dot com boom and bust, I’ve seen 9/11 and the aftermath, I’ve seen a state where the economy has been in recession for 8 years. But I’ve seen successes throughout, almost always by those who refuse to see the outside situation as a hindrance on their own situation.
Share more. I used to be afraid of letting go. Letting go of industry secrets. Of the special sauce. Of our client list. Of relationships with other partners. It took me a while to see the light, but the more you give, the more you get back. So now I share freely, ask frequently, and open my business to anyone who wants to look. If you can replicate it, go for it. But you can’t.
Eleven things on a list? Unnecessary. Brevity is still king. If you can’t sum up things quickly, you’re doing it wrong. This blog post has gone on way too long, and if I’m being honest, there was diminishing returns after about 4.