Who could’ve predicted the last 12 months for our agency? Not me, that’s for sure. It has been a while since I have written and a short time since I’ve recorded. With that in mind, I wanted to take a few minutes as the day is winding down and give everyone an update on how things have been going over the last year. 

It was this time last year that I remember sitting at my home office, three months removed from quitting my corporate job and moving to WMG full-time, that I was filled with fear over what the rest of 2020 looked like. We had lost nearly 50% of our business, small businesses were being forced to close, and the economy and our nation’s people, including me, were filled with uncertainty. It’s crazy to sit here and think that it has already been a year. 

Our team, small as it was in March of 2020, was determined to make a significant shift in our efforts to continue our business, reestablish growth, and most importantly help the small businesses that we were partnering with navigate through the pandemic. We took an approach to move to more website builds, SEO, and local search optimization through Google My Business and between March and December of 2020 we built over 60 websites, actioned and optimized 70 Google My Business listings, and doubled the size of our company as a result of that team effort.

Uncertain Leadership

2020 was a year that made me realize the true value of leadership and perseverance. To be clear, I have never lead a company before. I had never lead a team at a corporation. At my last job I was “in charge” of a department, but there was only one other person on that team. Leadership is something I have learned a lot about through other leaders, partially my MBA program, and mostly through trial-and-error. Failure is a great teacher, but mentors are better. All the education, without all the pain ;)

2020 was a year of change. Our partnership dynamic changed, we opened a new Speakeasy studio in Brighton, and we added five new people to our team. Moreover, we expanded our footprint in the southeast Michigan and greater area Louisville markets, and registered ROIs for our clients in the range from 5-to-1 to 11-to-1. It has been a blessing to be by the side of local businesses and see so many friends and colleagues find success even in the midst of the pandemic. 

However, it has been equally sad though to see other friends and colleagues have to pivot or close down. It seems for every story of redemption and triumph there is one of loss and dismay. 

We’re Not Stopping

I tell you this story and give you these details about our year as an agency because it is the current of the underlying message that I speak about frequently which is perseverance. An overused work by gurus and motivators, but for the small business owner is the fancy way of saying “grit”, “staying tough”, and “not backing down”. That word has been engrained into the DNA of every real business operator throughout 2020 and it will ultimately make business operators better—I know it has certainly made me better. 

My favorite thing about this is seeing how a team can rally around a mission and help the company achieve its goals. Our company is not a one-man-band. I have the honor of working with some absolute professionals on my team and continue to be impressed by the creativity, knowledge, and flexibility of those at Wayne Media. It’s an honor and privilege to lead, definitely not a right.

Our team isn’t stopping. Our mission of helping small business succeed, scale, and grow is continuing and we’re going to keep being innovative and creative to accomplish that mission. If the last 12 months were any indication, literally everything is on the table in terms of possibilities with WMG. I’d rather take things one week at a time, plan for the future, and adjust for change—seems more reasonable.

As you’re reading this, I hope and pray that you continue to stay on the path and never back down from the challenge or obstacle in front of you. 

Q1 of 2021 is nearly done. Let’s get after the next three and finish 2021 strong. 

All the best,

Rob Johnson
Creative Director