Up All Night: 2 a.m. CEO Musings
BY Anamaria Suescun-Fast, CEO and Owner
Becoming CEO and owner of talkStrategy has been everything I thought it would be, and then some. I can now fully appreciate the entrepreneurial business owner mindset. You worry. You ideate. You celebrate. You stress. You never stop pushing to be better, to do better for your team, for your clients. So many “what ifs” swirl in your head. And each of these thoughts routinely jolt me awake at 2 a.m.
What literally keeps me up at night? Here are a few things:
A New Way to Full-Service
Recently, I’ve had conversations with people about the full-service agency model. Is it dead? Does it still work? What does it even mean for clients today?
At talkStrategy, we believe that for clients to be successful, agencies must be highly integrated and collaborative. These are not just marketing buzzwords. True integration takes a deep understanding of how all communications are woven together and interconnected—no silos allowed. Sure, we can produce an amazing “spot,” but does that one asset connect with your email strategy, your SEO, your public relations and social media? If you’re not asking these questions, you’re missing the secret sauce that is integration to maximize results.
It takes a deep understanding of the current (and complex) marketing ecosystem to be able to create a seamless process between creative, strategic planning, execution, and analytics and tracking. When done right, it’s not easy, and it’s challenging to manage as a business owner, yet it’s necessary to meet the needs of today’s clients. And it takes a diverse team of in-house professionals who each have a seat at the table to make it work—from the twenty-somethings to the seasoned senior team.
We have successfully established a non-traditional, full-service agency structure where creative, multimedia, digital and accounts are all intertwined, resulting in a choreographed collaboration that allows for efficiency, flexibility and a strategic focus. With decades of agency expertise among both the executive and leadership teams at talkStrategy, we have combined the best of agency life from yesterday and modeled it to meet the integrated needs of today. This unique approach has allowed us to experience great success in designing and executing comprehensive, omni-channel campaigns driven by a clear strategic vision.
And, yes, one agency can be great at all things. In fact, it’s imperative.
Women-Owned. Women-Led.
Hi Barbie! Maybe I’m on a high after seeing the movie. Or maybe I am just so proud that talkStrategy is women-owned and women-led. The executive and leadership teams are composed of the most badass women around. They are passionate and compassionate and are a tremendous support system. It takes a village to run your own business, and when you have women to inspire you and support you (on good days and bad days), there’s nothing that can’t be accomplished. They each bring their A-game every day, no matter what, and they contribute to the business as if it were their own. I would have never done this entrepreneurial adventure without each of them. We are at our best together.
Get to know the women propelling talkStrategy to new heights:
- Executive team: Chief Creative & Digital Officer Laura Hotten and Chief Strategy Officer Kristine Smith
- Leadership team: Director of Communications Rachel Trevino and Digital Media Director Tina Dunk
It’s also important to state that we love our “Kens” too — they bring the Kenergy every day.
Best Team ‘Eva
Speaking of the team. One can never overestimate the importance of a team. It drives everything. In a recent meeting, I was talking to a prospective team member about who we are, what we do and the type of company we are creating. As I was talking a million miles a minute (probably after my third cup of coffee that morning) she commented that she loved how I was raving about my team. I didn’t even realize that I was going on and on about just how amazing each one of them are. There’s a genuine energy that permeates throughout the team that has organically created our talkStrategy vibe. It’s the people that make the place that results in the passionate work for our clients. They are each brilliant, bringing sincere heart to work every day.
Get to know our talk tribe.
Lastly, I really should incorporate more vegetables into my beige food choices. But that’s a musing for another day. Right now I need to go back to sleep.