Creating The “Adholics”

Creating The “Adholics”
Joshua Fedie | Principal | The “Adholics” LLC

The idea for The “Adholics” has been a personal dream of mine for years, but one I never thought I’d have the courage to actually act upon.

To quit a perfectly good job with one kid and one on the way in the worst recession of my lifetime is admittedly crazy, yet it seems like the right thing to do. And not just for me and my family who would love a little more quality time together. But the right thing to do for my future clients with budgets, not needs, that have been slashed.

Watching as marketing directors cut important and desired items because “I just can’t make all these items fit into our budget” has become all too common at far too many companies. Agencies aren’t helping. Instead of cutting prices to help companies meet some of their marketing needs, the agency world is fighting to hold on to that all-important $200+ hourly rate.

Can you blame them? Keeping the agency doors open requires a lot of money to cover rent/payroll/benefits/heat/phone, to name a few.

The concept behind The “Adholics” minimizes the generation of these expenses. In fact they have become nearly non-existent.

But will prospective clients embrace the concept of a virtual agency? They most likely already have, whether they know it or not.

Agencies of all sizes are struggling, especially in this economy, to bring in enough work to employ in-house talent. Instead they have been “hiring” freelance creative on a project basis when needed.

The freelancer gets his/her hourly rate from the agency, the agency passes on their $200+ hourly rate to the client, everyone gets paid and everyone is happy. The problem here is most times this is an undisclosed expense to the client who is paying for more than what they are actually getting.

The “Adholics” is built on transparency, willing to be up front and honest with the money you’re spending. We are freelancers with one big difference – our creative collaborative is a group of the best out there, not the cheapest available. And these uber-talented people have the experience to prove it.

Being a salesman, I can’t help but turn this post in to a pitch.

I apologize, I’ll stop now, I just can’t wait to sell this group!

What I really set out to do with this post is thank some people.

To the people out in the web who have been following the creation of this group on our Facebook, twitter, blog or various other social channels, Thank you. I’ve tried to keep these pieces updated with information on the group’s growth and journey to launch, and I hope you have enjoyed following. Keep watching. It’s only going to get better.

I want to thank my family for the support and not committing me when I presented the idea of quitting my job and starting a business. Anyone who’s married knows spouses are really good at putting a fast stop to stupid ideas. So thanks Wendy for giving me the green light.

I also want to thank my group, The “Partners” in The “Adholics”. You have made this scary time in my life one of the most exciting. I can’t believe the enthusiasm, talent, drive and helpfulness I have found in each one of you, and I look forward to the future successes we will all soon have. Without the support of my team, it would be nothing more than a good idea, and that’s about as far as it would have gone. I know this, my appreciation is sincere, and I thank you all. Welcome to the family.

So with that, it is time.

Today is the first official first day for The “Adholics” Marketing & Advertising Group.

Today is the realization of a dream.

Today is the end of two years of planning, wishing, questioning and second-guessing.

The website will continue to undergo some changes as we grow, as will the portfolio. But I see no better time than today to kick things off officially. The partners have been added to the site, and their work will follow soon, but for now if you are curious please visit our social media channels, these should give you a good grasp on the size and talent of the group.

Vimeo: http://www.vimeo.com/channels/theadholics
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/theadholics
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Minneapolis-MN/The-Adholics/276466962727?v=app_4949752878&ref=ts
Twitter: http://twitter.com/TheAdholics
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/companies/974919

Let’s do this!

Cheers,

Joshua Fedie | Principal

The “Adholics” LLC
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