Posted: December 28th, 2010 | Author: Josh | Filed under: General, Uncategorized | Tags: Agency, Business, Creative, Design, Marketing, Minnesota, New-Year | Comments Off
New Year. New Budgets. New Optimism?
By Joshua Fedie
Principal | The “Adholics”
12/28/2010
I think 2010 was a great year.
Sure there was a lot of fear, budgets cuts, layoffs, questions without answers, anger, depression, uncertainty…alright maybe not a great year.
However what all this did cause was some business and personal examination for many, and what does that equal in the business world?
Innovation.
I have seen some incredibly innovative companies shoot-up out of this mess and I think it was good to have a little hustle mentality injected into America.
So far signs are looking good for companies responding to the needs of their customers in 2011. I know I’m hearing the word budget being used as a positive more lately.
Business as usual has become a thing of the past and creativity is king. The same principles applied to our grocery list has been pulled into our workspace and has forced us all to look at getting the most we can get for less than we had in the past. That is a good thing.
Can you imagine applying what you have learned with your current budget to your old budget, imagine how much more you could have done.
I don’t want this post to be a list of companies doing it right, what I want this post to be is a touch of inspiration for 2011.
To the company executive or marketing director that just might stumble upon this message, Be Optimistic. Challenge your staff to try new ways. Challenge your vendors to invest in you.
To the employee feeling like there are more barriers than doors, don’t be afraid to speak up in 2011. Many times the best ideas come from within the trenches; you might have the solution your company needs. Keep your mind alert and take ownership of your future in your current company.
To the job seekers, don’t stop looking, we want you back in the workforce and we are getting there. Don’t be too proud to beg, don’t lose sight of your goals and don’t be afraid to let a little hustle in.
Lets start the year with the confidence we had just 5 years ago and really show what we are made of.
It’s time to take back a little ownership, lose the negativity and become inspired.
I can’t wait for the ball to fall.
I look forward to meeting my new clients of 2011 and continuing my relationships with the great clients I had in 2010. This last 6 months has been quite the rush for me and The “Adholics”, I had no idea how much fun this group would be.
With the most sincerity, I want to wish everyone a happy New-Year and a great journey back to a better time and place.
Cheers,
Joshua Fedie
Principal | The “Adholics”
Posted: October 18th, 2010 | Author: Josh | Filed under: In The News, Uncategorized | Tags: Advertising, Economy, Marketing, New Business, Open for business, Pioneer Press, The Adholics | Comments Off
The Pioneer Press gave us a whole page in Sunday’s business section.
By Joshua Fedie | Principal, The “Adholics”
10/18/2010
When I started courting the staff of the Pioneer Press in St. Paul MN about running an article on The “Adholics” I thought I’d eventually receive a business card sized blip about our launch.
I never imagined that we would be granted an entire back page spread.
They even sent one of their staff photographers to our A.A. Meeting to snap pictures for the article.
I am humbled by the generosity of the Pioneer Press and thrilled to share this great article with anyone willing to read.
Below is the text of the story, you may also read the article on the Pioneer Press website if you prefer.
Open for Business: Adholics
Pioneer Press
Updated: 10/15/2010 08:54:23 PM CDT
Owner: Joshua Fedie
Type of business: Full-service marketing and advertising collaborative
Number of employees: 18 partners
Locations: Minneapolis and St. Paul
Contact Information: 612-715-3827; TheAdholics.com
Tell us what your business does. The “Adholics” are a collaborative group of creatives who represent most major disciplines in marketing and advertising. We offer graphic design, web design, web development, photography, copywriting, packaging, branding and identity, social media strategy, public relations, search engine optimization, media buying and plannng, production, editing and animation of videos, environmental design and collateral design.
Why are you launching it now? The concept for The “Adholics” has been a dream of mine for many years. I wanted to be in a position to go after “dream accounts,” and I thought my best chance at doing so was by aligning myself with top-tier freelance creatives from around the Twin Cities. So with the economy sucking wind, I couldn’t think of a better time to launch a company.
There are also two other specific reasons.
No. 1: to provide companies with the skills and talent they could expect at a large agency without charging the overhead and markup of a large agency.
No. 2: to help clients with access to freelance talent while providing them with a singular point of contact who manages the entire process. All overhead has been eliminated, there are no employees, just partners, and the freelancers still get to work in their pajamas.
Where did you get the idea for your business? Short answer: I brought the concept up with a few of my now partners and the idea turned into a company almost on its own.
Long answer: Marketing and advertising agencies are shrinking their permanent staff and supplementing with a deeper freelancer pool. Part of the idea for The “Adholics” came from my own personal dissatisfaction with this practice at other agencies. Clients paid for a certain caliber of work promised to them in a capabilities pitch, but what they received was something totally different. That’s because the creatives who handled the work previously had been replaced by freelancers.
My goal with The “Adholics” was to create an agency with 100 percent transparency — clients know whom they are working with.
But the group had to be much more than a revolving door of the cheapest creatives I could find. That’s why I lobbied hard to partner with some of the brightest freelance talent on the open market.
By making everyone a partner instead of an employee, our clients have the opportunity to work with the most inspiring group I have ever had the privilege of representing.
That, and I don’t have to hold weekly staff meetings.
How did you develop your business plan? No outside funding was needed, so a formal business plan to acquire funds wasn’t an issue. The business plan was more a company philosophy developed over conversation with the various partners.
I believe that this approach has strengthened the group and given us all a deeper understanding of why we are doing this and what we stand for. But I still have the cocktail napkin to refer to if necessary.
How are you financing your business? Personal savings; I’m not a big fan of credit.
How do you see current economic conditions affecting your business? At some point during every conversation I’ve had with potential clients, the economy comes up. They understand the concept of The “Adholics” right away and are excited.
The business was developed somewhat in response to the economic realities we face today. Will our business model change as the economy improves? I hope not. I really like working in fuzzy bunny slippers. And I know it makes my creatives more creative not working from a cubicle. That being said, if we have to get a shared office to prove our legitimacy, we’ll look into it. Do coffee shops sublet?
What makes your business unique? Our process, partners, level of talent, culture and mission are just a few unique things. And the fact our name makes people think we’re a 12-step group happens to be another.
What was the biggest obstacle you had to overcome to get this business going? Finding the partners who could offer the skill set I desired was a long process. I was very picky when selecting people to bring in to the group; I was not willing to launch The “Adholics” without what I considered to be the best creative talent I could find. Convincing the partners to refer to themselves as The “Adholics” has also been fun. Many of their Facebook friends now think they’re in recovery.
How did you overcome the obstacle? Selecting the people I wanted to partner with was more difficult than actually selling them on The “Adholics.”
My partners’ excitement really propelled the growth and launch of the group. I was able to launch about six months earlier than expected.
What will tell you the business is successful? For me, success won’t be determined merely by landing accounts. The truest measure will be when those clients come back to us for another project, or even better, refer their friends. Anyone can sell a concept, but proving the validity of the “Adholics” and being welcomed back with open arms will be the ultimate sign that people are becoming addicted to what we have to offer.
Here is how it looked in Print:
Posted: May 24th, 2010 | Author: Josh | Filed under: General, Uncategorized | Tags: Advertising, Creating a company, Marketing, Minneapolis, Minnesota, New Company, St. Paul, The Adholics | Comments Off
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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Posted: April 30th, 2010 | Author: Josh | Filed under: General, Uncategorized | Tags: Adobe, Apple, Computers, Flash, html5, ipad, iphone, itouch, Steve Jobs | No Comments »
Below is a short exerpt from a post written by Steve Jobs (you know, the founder of Apple Computers) on Flash and why his products do not and will not support it.
Sorry Adobe, I love your other products, but I think he has a great couple of points here.
“Flash was created during the PC era – for PCs and mice. Flash is a successful business for Adobe, and we can understand why they want to push it beyond PCs. But the mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards – all areas where Flash falls short.
The avalanche of media outlets offering their content for Apple’s mobile devices demonstrates that Flash is no longer necessary to watch video or consume any kind of web content. And the 200,000 apps on Apple’s App Store proves that Flash isn’t necessary for tens of thousands of developers to create graphically rich applications, including games.
New open standards created in the mobile era, such as HTML5, will win on mobile devices (and PCs too). Perhaps Adobe should focus more on creating great HTML5 tools for the future, and less on criticizing Apple for leaving the past behind.”
Steve Jobs
April, 2010
Read the entire post here: http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughts-on-flash/
Cheers,
Joshua Fedie
The “Adholics”
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Posted: April 20th, 2010 | Author: Josh | Filed under: General, Uncategorized | Tags: Baseball, Minnesota Twins, Photography, Rat Race Studios, Target Stadium, Twins | No Comments »
The last couple of weeks in Minnesota have been pretty exciting, even if you’re not the biggest sports fan, because in Minnesota Baseball has moved back outside!
Now I haven’t officially named any of the partners involved in The “Adholics” yet, but these pictures just needed to be posted.
So that being said:
The official photography studio for The “Adholics” are Rat Race Studios www.ratracestudios.com.
They were recently at the new Target Stadium doing what they do best, taking pictures. You just have to see how they captured the stadium, I’m pretty sure the Baseball gods are smiling right now.
Follow this link to view the entire gallery: http://www.ratracestudios.com/target_field_gallery/index.html
How cool is it that photographers this good are part of my team!
Cheers,
Joshua Fedie
The “Adholics”
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Posted: February 23rd, 2010 | Author: Josh | Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »
This article was found on the web site of the onion at:
http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/fork_manufacturer
Fork Manufacturer Introduces Fifth Tine To Accommodate Growing American Mouthfuls
EVANSVILLE, IN—In an effort to keep pace with the rapid growth of American mouthfuls, flatware manufacturer KitchenMaster announced yesterday the addition of a fifth tine to its line of dinner forks. “These days, a traditional four-tined fork is just not enough to handle the quantities of food people shove down their throats,” said company spokesman Ken Krimstein, holding up a fork supporting six separate tortellini, two turkey sausages, and some mashed potatoes. “To stay relevant to our customer base and bring back some of those who have given up on using utensils entirely, this was an adjustment we just had to make.” Krimstein added that the augmented forks would soon be followed by 25 percent deeper spoons and 3-gallon gravy boats.
A little extreme?
Yes.
Far from the truth?
No.
“But how does this apply to my business” you ask?
Simple: Always ask your customers how they use your service or product and how you can make said service or product better or more relevant in their lives.
If you ask they will tell you; and if they don’t, just watch how they utilize your products in real world settings and you will surely get your answer.
I remember sitting in a presentation on product development, the speaker was from an incredible group from New York (the name is slipping on me right now). His firm was working on a redesign of walkers for a geriatric product company. As part of the redesign they met at a senior living complex to ask residents what they like/dislike about their current walkers and what if anything they would change.
The response was unanimous.
All of the attendees in the room raved about how great the product was and how they would never change a thing; “we just love the product” they all cheered!
It was when the meeting ended that they found the area for improvement.
They watched as all of the participants’ walked out, aided by their walkers, which had been self-modified with tennis balls attached to the feet for better sliding and baskets zip-tied to the front for carrying items.
True story.
All you have to do is ask; and then depending on your audience, stick around a bit and watch.
“But this sounds like sales” you say.
What do you think Marketing is?
This is important as well when rebranding a company, because it is not how you see yourself, it’s how your customer see’s you.
But we’ll save that for another post; another day.
Cheers,
Josh Fedie
The “Adholics”
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