Happy birthday to us! energyhill has just celebrated our 10 year anniversary! We are incredibly excited to have reached such a meaningful milestone and are grateful to our clients and partners for supporting us. In celebration of our birthday, we wanted to take you through 10 lessons learned from 10 years working in the marketing industry.
In 2013, energyhill was born! But starting a new business is overwhelming and nerve-wracking. Where do you start? What is the key to success? What if you fail?
At energyhill, we believe in the power of “learning by doing”. There is nothing wrong with making mistakes, because mistakes are how you learn. Once you take that first step, everything will come together through your hard work and willingness to learn.
We were fortunate to have great clients in our portfolio from the start, mostly from our years working as freelancers. When we formally opened energyhill, one of the best decisions we made was setting up a robust support team right off the bat. The quality support and communication we provided to our clients from the beginning were essential to building our long-term success.
Sometimes clients who enlist a design and marketing company’s services have little to no experience in the field. So laying out a clear and organized project plan for them is essential. We pride ourselves on having honed a tight process for designing, revising, and implementing our clients’ projects.
Chances are you have heard the term “work-life balance” before. We have made it a priority to balance our personal lives with our business. Be realistic about maintaining this balance, especially because starting your own business requires a lot of sacrifices. It’s essential not only for your personal health but for the wellbeing of your family and your business.
This might sound harsh, but it is necessary! Take your time to hire the right people for your team. Prioritize finding people who will fit the team dynamic and who will enthusiastically show up for the work. And if you feel that someone just isn’t the right fit, have faith that you know your business better than anyone. Make the choice to let them go so that 1.) they can find an opportunity better suited for them and 2.) you can find the right person for that role.
There is a ton of competition in the marketing field, so it was essential for us to set ourselves apart. Our team is consistently looking for ways to innovate and take our clients to the next level. We look for ways to create new business processes for our clients, advise them on creating new products, and help them build better methods of engaging their clientele.
This lesson goes hand in hand with setting realistic priorities. Once that step is taken, you quickly realize that there are moments when you have to step away from the work. Learning to let go and delegate is crucial: You cannot ALWAYS be involved with every single project your team has in development. So that is why it's so important to build a strong team; let them carry the work when you have to take a step back and attend to personal matters.
2020 was certainly a year of… surprises. At energyhill, we took pride in the pivots we made during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. In building our business model and project plans, we keep the VUCA principles in mind: VUCA stands for Volatility in the market, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. You can create the most comprehensive and detailed project plan possible, but you simply cannot account for everything that might go wrong. You have to be ready to innovate at a moment's notice; anything can happen!
After we joined C12, a Christian entrepreneur peer group, we realized we should have joined sooner! This group has helped us review our curriculum, compare experiences, and have camaraderie with other professionals in our field.
Open yourself up to networking and collaboration opportunities. You can learn so much, gain valuable experience and contacts, and get a new perspective on the work you’re doing. It can be essential for the growth of your business and the quality of service you provide to your clients.
energyhill’s Co-Founder, Gloria Lowe, has worn many hats over the past 10 years, but her role has been fluctuating quite a bit recently. We made the decision to change her title from Creative Director to Chief Wellness Officer. While she still leads the creative work, we wanted to qualify the work she does to develop our team in a more concrete way.
Creating this role solidified what has actually always been part of our vision. We sought to create a healthy and happy working environment for our employees and a high standard of business for our clients. We are thrilled to say that we have pulled it off in spades!
As for this year, we have the strongest team we have ever had and are excited about the work we are doing. We leaned into the podcast world and have been sharing marketing tips and tricks on social media (make sure to follow us for the latest!). Even though 10 years have passed, we feel like this is still only the beginning. We’re excited for the next chapter; stay tuned to see what we have in store!
To hear more about energyhill’s decade-long journey, check out our podcast recording on Youtube hosted by energyhill co-founders, Ryan and Gloria Lowe.
After 10 years in business, energyhill continues to operate at the top of its game! Relying on design and marketing experts can not only simplify the process but also save you time, money, and effort. Contact us to learn how our award-winning marketing and design team can help your business grow.
"*" indicates required fields
