On starting a new shop:
When Bruce and I started this agency, we were full-time new business guys out to pitch anything that moved. Our first account - marathoner Bill Rodgers' running clothing company - only billed $35,000 but it gave us visibility. From there, our business grew not by leaps and bounds but by tiny little steps: clients that spent $50,000, maybe $100,000. In six months, we won 25 accounts - and in ten years, we've trimmed our list to ten. An essential step so our principals - Bruce, Dave Lubars, Fran Kelly and I - can stay involved with all our clients.
On timing:
I couldn't have picked a better time to get into the business. Fifteen years earlier, New York was the place, the only place. Luckily, advertising has now become a national business. We're not just an agency in Providence; we're part of a movement - an informal network - with agencies in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Richmond, Minneapolis, Raleigh. We compete for employees, headlines, awards, even business. But we know and respect each other; talk to each other. It's a movement of people who share the same goals and standards.