I learned a long time ago, if you want to be successful you need to surround yourself with people who don’t think the same way you do and who are good at the things you aren’t. If you are very lucky you will find someone who cares enough to disagree with you.

I am very lucky, because I found Allison.

She argues with me, she asks pointed questions, she corrects my grammar and spelling, and tells me when I screw up. As annoying as that is, I can’t imagine life at Roundpeg without her.

Allison loves structure and routine, so when I suggest something new, some change in our operating strategy or new software, I can always count on her to ask the tough questions and point out the flaws. This is not to say she is unsupportive, just cautious. While I can get her to change with enough prodding, more often then not, she has saved me from rushing off in the wrong direction.

She would rather write a note than talk on the phone and she hates big networking events. How could I possibly hire someone who dislikes big networking events? But she doesn’t like them. That doesn’t mean she is without a network. Through social media, G-Chats, and intimate events, Allison has built a solid power circle, which rivals any of my networks. She just did it in her own way.

But we don’t disagree on everything. We share a common love for animals. While she will insist bringing home Maybee was my idea, I distinctly remember her singing a chorus from the song “Maybe” from the musical Annie until I gave in. (She sings better then I do, too.)

We share an off beat sense of humor, an addiction to Diet Coke, a love of art, theater and Project Runway. Most of all, we share a passion for what we do. We argue about what we believe is in the best interest of our clients and Roundpeg. The result is usually a better idea then either of us would have had on our own.

Did I mention how very lucky I am, that Allison is one of the Faces of Roundpeg

They had many nicknames in the Indy business community, but to us they will always be The Boy Band. An unlikely duo, Jay Mattingly and Taylor Brough  shared a sense of  fun and a passion for what they did which allowed them to find a collaborative rhythm.

As solo artists they brought dramatically different backgrounds, skills and personality styles to Roundpeg.

Taylor was the quiet one.  He would often hesitate, thinking carefully about what he wanted to say. When he spoke up, it was worth paying attention.  After three years of working together, he could read my mind and my handwriting.   I am not sure which I valued most.

Jay exploded into every room he entered.  He had a million ideas and loved brainstorming with me. His telephone personality was an amazing mix of fun and business, and I know people called in just to talk to Jay.  The office is a little quieter without him.

 When they both left this summer to pursue bigger dreams, they took a piece of our hearts with them, but they left behind a wonderful legacy:

• Roundpeg Radio which started as a bit of summer music fun and transformed into our popular weekly podcast More than a Few Words.
• Adventures in Dining and Adventures in Culture – A standard practice of road trips as a team to find unusual food and experiences.   Next up? Paintball!
• On the business side they gave us a huge portfolio of great logos and websites and the RP avatar which is now the face of Roundpeg on all social media.

I didn’t want to come to my interview at Roundpeg. I wanted to go to the zoo.

It was late January, 2010. I had been un- or underemployed for the eight months since my college graduation. I’d worked retail, I’d done some contract writing work for a local university and most recently, I’d been laid off from a part-time job that I hated but wished would go full-time because it paid well and I wanted a job–any job.

I was down-in-the-dumps on that January day when Roundpeg called and told me they didn’t have any jobs available, but they’d talk to me about an unpaid internship. I didn’t want an unpaid internship, I wanted a job. I was tired of being poor and depressed. But I knew that I needed to keep moving and learning if I was ever going to find that elusive full-time gig.

“Can you come in Monday?” My heart sank. Monday was going to be a rare day for myself. You see, Monday was Martin Luther King Day, which meant free admission at the Indianapolis Zoo. It was going to be my treat to myself: a free trip to the zoo on a frigid winter’s day.

“Of course I can.”

So I went. We interviewed, but I don’t really remember it. I was full of resentment and hurt, going through the motions. But Roundpeg and I looked at each other and saw the same thing: potential. They saw a girl who was a little surly, a little battered, but who might just have some chops. And I saw a company that was a little rough around the edges, a little scrappy, but which might just have the makings of something great.

“When can you start? How about today?” Lorraine asked.

Goodbye, shark petting tank. Goodbye, red pandas. “Sure, why not?”

I worked the whole day, and then never left. Two months later, I was brought on full time.

So much has changed since that day I first walked into the little white house. For one thing, we don’t hire interns on the spot anymore. The company is also more confident, more focused and more profitable. The cast of characters has changed, revolving around the constants of Lorraine, Rebecca and Clyde. The brand and the company have grown up tremendously, and it’s been incredible to watch the change.

And for me? I’m more confident, focused and profitable, too. I’ve honed my writing skills, discovered the wild and wonderful world of social media, built a tight network in the Indianapolis community, gotten comfortable enough with myself and with my boss to help steer the direction of the company. I’ve learned to manage people–sort of. I’ve executed great campaigns with clients I loved that reaped big results, and I’ve face planted on a few projects that left me with valuable, if painful lessons.

But most importantly in my two years at the ‘Peg, I’ve rediscovered my self worth. I’ve grown up. And I’ve had a lot of fun along the way, with Taylor and Jay and Peter and Jenna  and Rebecca and the parade of interns.

Lorraine still owes me a trip to the zoo, though.

When I started Roundpeg, the company was run from a spare bedroom in my house. My cats Snowball and Midnight were my companions and coworkers. Midnight enjoyed sleeping on my planner or mouse pad and Snowball was always fascinated with the movement on my computer screen.

It felt  strange when we moved to the little white house and there were no animals.  That didn’t last long. Rebecca was remodeling her kitchen and her dog, Bonnie, was not getting along with the construction workers. I agreed to let her come to work for a few weeks.

Four years later, Bonnie is a regular part of the routine at Roundpeg. Her daily duties include greeting the team, ignoring our cats, charming our clients and snoring as she snoozes on a pillow in my office.

If you are going to have an office dog named Bonnie, you have to have an office cat named  . . . you guessed it, Clyde. And of course, we do. Weighing just a few pounds when we got her, she quickly established herself as the head of the office.  When she is not hazing interns, new employees and the other office animals, you can find her perched high on bookshelves surveying the chaos beneath her.

And finally, there is Maybee who can always be found in the middle of things. Every water cup and lap are her domain, including those belonging to potential clients or prospective employees.

The animals are a part of Roundpeg adding personality to our Facebook page and fun to our office. They make us laugh as they interrupt our work flow, sales presentations and seminars with their antics.  Most of all, they make our house feel like home.

For more of their antics: Check out our Cats at Work Album on Facebook.

So, how is this Friday the 13th treating you? We’ve had another busy week at the ‘Peg. Our first seminar of 2012 was sold out and several of the other upcoming seminars are already sold out so don’t delay signing up if you’d like to participate. Of course no matter how busy we do carve out time to blog. Check out what made it into the Roundpeg blog-o-sphere this week:

Saturday – Faces of Roundpeg: My Coach Matt
After resisting the idea of a sales coach for years, Lorraine succumbed to Matt Nettleton’s charm

Sunday – Know Thy Busines
Allison explains why it is important to know your business…strengths, weaknesses and boundaries.

Monday – Korea Taekwondo Academy – Breathe out the Old, Breathe in the New
One of our newest website redesigns, KTAUSA.com gets a fresh new look.

Tuesday – Are You Really My Friend If We Just Chat Online?
The relationships are real, just different.

More Than a Few Words: No Bullshit with Erik Deckers
Conversation about social media users who are serious about using this tool as part of their business marketing strategy.

Visiting A2 University
Lorraine had fun chatting with Troy Hanna ( @the funsalesdude) on the new A2 University podcast.

Wednesday –  Pinterest: The Next Big Thing or a Waste of Time?
Allison explains why she thinks Pintrerest will be “the next big thing in 2012″.

Thursday – From Real Time to My Time
Perhaps a change for the better in 2012 would be better time management? Check out how Lorraine is making this change.

Friday – I’ld Rather Be Fat….

In response to a blitz of follows and friend requests from IndyFitEverything, Lorraine suggests that this is not perhaps the best strategy for small business owners.

The first week of 2012 was exactly what I expected.  It started a bit slow, with the Monday holiday, but definitely picked up steam as the week progressed.  We launched our 1st quarter seminars and we are almost sold out for our first class.  (If you are interested in attending, don’t wait, reserve your seat now.   We have already started two new web design projects, and we are excited about what else is in the works.

With everything going on, we still had time to write some interesting blog posts. If you didn’t have a chance to stop by this week, here is a summary of what you missed.

Saturday – Faces of Roundpeg: The Interns

Interns are a part of the fabric of Roundpeg. I am a teacher at heart, and I love sharing what I know about marketing with people who are interested in learning. Every semester we have one, two or three individuals who are testing their careers with us.

Sunday - Start the Year Right

I love New Year’s Day. On this day almost anything seems possible. Closing the books on 2011, it is time to plan for the year ahead.  And just like every year for the last ten years, I am putting the finishing touches on my business plan.

The Web Strategy Organization Chart

Oli Gardner wrote a blog post, which is actually a small novel, outlining a six month plan to improving your search position. In it he, outlined the elements which come together to create an effective web strategy. His infograhpic gave me the inspiration for this post.

Monday – Plunger Bouquets and Other Bad Design Ideas

Jenna shares some of the things that make her want to set her graphic design degree on fire.

January Press Refresh

It is a new year, and time for new resolutions. How about making yours to whip your website into shape? We can help. At Roundpeg, we believe in empowering our website design clients to maintain and tweak their websites, continually improving their content and SEO.

Tuesday - Just One Story

Allison explains why business owners who can’t focus one message remind us of the person who trap us in a conversation who can’t just tell you a straightforward story? You want them to tell you one simple thing, but they have to expound on every detail…

More than a Few Words:  The Client Experience

Branding does not stop at the edge of the paper or the bottom of a website. True branding extends into all facets of your customer experience. How you answer your phone, greet guests as they visit and even furnish your office all combine to create a brand impression. This week, we spoke  to interior designer James Kuster, specifically about how he works with clients to extend their brand into all facets of the customer experience.

Wednesday - Roundpeg in Three Words

One of the most interesting and sometimes difficult question a business owners should answer as they write their first business plan is this:What are your company values? This is different then your mission, which is why the business exists or your vision, which is a snapshot of where you will be in five years.Values are about the core or soul of your business.

Thursday New Website is Work of Art

One of Roundpeg’s first WordPress web design projects was the site we built for my husband’s metal sculpting business. In the four years since the site was built, WordPress has grown tremendously as a platform, and so have our skills as a web design team. It was time for a major overhaul of AballStudio.com

Friday -Taking Online Relationships Offline: Richmond Social Media Club, 1/13

Allison talks about her friendship with Randy Clark.  She describes how it started online, but has grown into so much more, they will be taking it on the road for a presentation in Richmond later this month.

Interns are a part of the fabric of Roundpeg. I am a teacher at heart, and I love sharing what I know about marketing with people who are interested in learning. Every semester we have one, two or three individuals who are testing their careers with us.

Traditional and non-traditional candidates, our interns come in all shapes and sizes.  BabyD was a high school sophomore with a talent for video and web design. Mid-career interns Jenn and Kristen were mature women, with more than a few years of experience in different fields.  They came to Roundpeg to learn things which would allow them to take their careers in a new direction.

We even had an international student, Liang Chen, who was here as part of a delegation of students from Taiwan participating in Butler University’s International Trade Institute’s International Business Administration Program.

The faces change, but you can always count on a little bit of learning going on at Roundpeg. And the learning is not one way.  The good interns, the ones we will always remember, gave us as much as we gave them.    Meet some of our interns:

Grant Harris (Jan. 2008) joined us during his last year at Ball State.

Together, he and I learned about Alexa rankings and the positive impact blogging and commenting on other blogs can have on our website’s traffic

Emily (Felts) Reynolds (May 2008) spent the summer working on email marketing, and  event promotion.   But her greatest gift to Roundpeg was the introduction to our former Art Director, Taylor Brough.

Liang Chen (2008), Jay Mattingly (2009) and Scott Pfeiffer (2011) were each  a part of the redesign of the Roundpeg website. With little or no wordpress training when they started, they each left a lasting mark on our brand when they left.

Jenn Riley Simone (Nov. 2010) came to Roundpeg hoping to learn about social media.  She learned enough to open her own marketing firm, offering social media as one of of many services for her clients.

She brought a wonderful sense of fun to Roundpeg and along the way she taught Allison how to be a mentor and a manager. But her greatest gift was the interview she landed for the two of us on NPR’s Marketplace Radio program.  

Not every intern gets offered a job at Roundpeg. Sometimes we are ready to say goodbye at the end of their internship, and sometimes the timing is wrong. We haven’t been able to offer jobs to all the talented, creative people who have been a part of Roundpeg over the years.

But sometimes we learn enough to know the intern is a keeper like Annalise Corman (2008), Jay Mattingly (2009), Sharayah Saunders (2010), Allison Carter (2010) and Peter Wolfgram (2011).

It is not always easy, starting over, carving out time for training, and answering the same questions over and over again, but a good intern is always worth the effort.

Hard to imagine that we are at year’s end. Not to be cliche, but where has the time gone?  All of us who work here at Roundpeg know to expect the unexpected when we walk in the door and this week has not been an exception to that rule. While we are ready to celebrate the New Year, we’ve made it through this week by the skin of our teeth.

Have you had time to check out our blogs this week? From our list of personal favorite blog posts to our business plans for 2012, we’ve covered a lot of territory.  Happy New Year & we’re looking forward to a new year of blogging. What are you looking forward to?

Saturday – Faces of Roundpeg: Matt and the Gift of Words
Matt shared some words of wisdom with Lorraine when she was starting Roundpeg. Is there someone who has gifted you with their words this year?

Sunday – Simple Season’s Greetings from Roundpeg
Jenna designed the 2011 Roundpeg holiday card to reflect our new aesthetic. We wish our clients, friends and families a wonderful holiday season.

Monday – Hidden Gems from 2011
Last week we shared the top ten most popular blog posts, this week we tell you a little bit about our favorites from 2011.

Tuesday – All American Doesn’t Have to be Red, White & Blue
The challenge of designing a logo that will look good not only on the product but on a website as well.

MTFW: Your Baby is Ugly
Roundpeg designers Jenna Giles and Peter Wolfgram  discussed the challenges and rewards of working with graphic design clients.

Wednesday – Small Business Social Media Strategy for 2012
Social media became mainstream in 2011, how do you plan to use it in 2012?

Thursday – The Cobbler’s Children: 2012 Roundpeg Goals
This post is a list of our goals for 2012.

Friday – What Did Your Letter Say?
At the beginning of 2011, Lorraine wrote a letter about what she hoped to accomplish this year. Read this blog to see how her year wrapped up.

Happy New Year!

There’s no industry in which the old saw “the cobbler’s children have no shoes” is more true than marketing. We spend so much time focusing on our clients’ success, saving our very best ideas for them, that it’s easy to let our own marketing grow stale and complacent. But as we look towards 2012, it’s time to stop letting our own children go barefoot. Here’s our list of what we want to accomplish in 2012–what goals are you setting for your company in the new year?

• Revitalize our email marketing. We design and write email newsletters for clients every month, but our own is usually a rushed and hurried affair sent off to a stale list that sees few new registrants. No more. We’ve decided to make our newsletter a priority in the new year as a way to provide value to friends and clients as well as keep our name top of mind. So go ahead, sign up in that box to the right. You can choose to join one of our newly segmented lists and start receiving great content twice a month.
• Give back to our clients. You might not know that Lorraine started life as a teacher. In fact, her undergraduate degree is in education. So ongoing education for Roundpeg clients is one of the cornerstones of our business: we believe in empowering clients to take control of their own marketing. While we include WordPress training for all of our web clients, it can be hard for them to stay accountable and engaged in keeping their websites updated. To help them, we’re rolling out a new seminar series, Press Refresh. Open just to our web clients, these seminars help busy business owners continually improve their skills and stay on the track for success.
• Network more. I love social networking. It lets me meet new people while not actually having to be social. For an introvert. it’s fabulous. But let’s face it, nothing replaces good old fashioned face-to-face networking for meeting new prospects and strategic partners. It’s easy to let networking fall to the wayside when you get busy and can justify away its loss with social networking. Ultimately, however, people buy from people they like and trust, and in person networking is the fastest way to build that trust.
• Tinker more. When we launched this website in July, we loved it. It was clean! It was modern! It didn’t have circles! But as we’ve played with it and grown into the site, we’ve realized some things weren’t perfect, like our calls to action or certain page names. So we’re playing with them, doing AB testing, finding what works and jettisoning what doesn’t. In the new year, I hope we keep this constant quest for progress and improvement.

When I first started Roundpeg I looked to people who had started successful businesses. I looked at the path taken by people who had come from the same place I was coming from.  They were people who had made the transition from corporate executive  to entrepreneur.

One of the first people I looked to was Matt Michel.  Matt and I had worked together at Lennox, a lifetime ago.  After a successful career, he went out on his own, forming the Service Roundtable, an online community and resource program for HVAC contractors. I called Matt and asked him how to start a business. He gave me a number of good suggestions, but the best thing he did was give me one of my first testimonials.

Unsolicited, Matt wrote some really nice things about me, and those testimonials were used again and again in our brochure, web site and proposals. His reputation, credibility and words of endorsement opened a lot of doors for me.  Many of my early HVAC contracts came as a direct result of Matt’s initial comments.

As I look back at where we came from and forward to where we will be, one of the things I know are that “words” have power. What you say about someone else may seem like a small thing to you, but it can have tremendous impact on others. As you read my thank you to Matt, think about the people whose words have been valuable to you.

Think about the people who took the time to introduce and endorse you, opening doors for your business.  Have you said thank you?  And more importantly, have you used your words to introduce, endorse and open a door for someone else?