Running a business is often portrayed as a linear path – only upward trajectories and constant success. However, anyone who’s ever ran a business knows it’s anything but straightforward. Over a decade ago, what began as a small venture quickly escalated into a full-fledged business — taking me from being a photographer to a marketing entrepreneur all before I turned 25.

When you start a business without a clear script, you often find yourself saying “yes” to almost everything. This was especially true for me. My willingness to embrace any opportunity helped me grow ALX, but it also made our market broad and our service offerings diffused. 

This approach worked for a while, and in 2018, we landed a billion-dollar client who kept us on retainer for nearly six years — a rarity in our industry and a source of immense pride for me. 

Fast forward to 2023, and my company was continuing to expand, but I felt unfulfilled. A business friend once asked me, “What fulfills you professionally?” and I was stumped. How could I, someone who built a career as an entrepreneur to pursue passion and autonomy, not know the answer to that question anymore? 

I knew the pride I felt in the growth of ALX wasn’t the same as fulfillment in the work. But how could we pivot from clients who were expansive in their needs and also, in the size of our scope together

In 2023, this client not only verbally said they would continue with us into 2024 but also, they planned to double our contract. We spent all of Q4 planning, interviewing, and hiring in anticipation. Then, just days before the new year, they dropped us. Out of the blue. Shock and dismay crept in immediately. The fear was followed by a sense of relief. I realized that this failure could be a test, a challenge to define where we wanted to go as a business. This time, intentionally and with purpose, to grow and fulfill our professional selves, not work for the sake of saying yes.

The months that followed were challenging as I worked to pull our plane up from the nosedive. The years of relationship with such a large client had resulted in a less diverse book of business – we had gone in too deep. I was not going to lose ALX to this. It was just not an option. 

So I did what I do, focussed on what I could control and got to work. How could I build a balanced business that I love again? Instead of letting clients dictate our culture and model, I wanted to reconfigure ALX to truly reflect our values and passions, now a bit older and wiser.

Embracing Change and Finding New Directions

I took a step back and asked myself some tough questions. What did we enjoy doing the most? What kind of clients did we want to work with? What values did we want the company to embody? These reflections helped us to refocus and redefine the core mission of ALX.

One of the first changes we made was narrowing our service offerings. Instead of trying to be everything to everyone, we focused on our strengths and the services where we excelled.

We are data-driven storytellers who build up brands by understanding their individuality.

ALX offers four core services: CX strategy, brand strategy, web design, and social media strategy. All of these initial services can enter a maintenance or ongoing management phase, depending on the internal resources of the client company. ALX takes care to understand a brand’s journey, audience, and goals. Matched with data and analytics to decide next steps, we help brands weave a narrative across digital spaces to confidently connect with their target audience. 

Building a Culture of Resilience and Innovation

With a renewed focus, we also turned our attention to building a company culture that encouraged resilience and innovation. We wanted the team to feel empowered to take risks, make mistakes, and learn from them. This collaborative environment fostered creativity and allowed us to develop unique solutions for our clients. Without the walls and constraints of a typical agency, we’ve since flourished at generating the ideas that our clients embrace — creating campaigns and programs that are built on originality and truly elevate the brand.

Remembering that we lead with love…

It’s more than just a catchphrase that looks sharp on our website, it’s our core value. As with all our clients, we started from the very human-centered elements that connect us. As much as our digital marketing efforts are about impressions, engagement, and growing against benchmarks… it’s also about human connection and an understanding of human behavior. 

…and design with Data!

To append our core value, we had to offer an anchor. We recognized that everything we do as marketers must be rooted in data. It’s the substance that fills in the spaces created by innovation and creative thought. An amazing ad campaign is only as good as the landing page it drops your audience into. And that landing page has to have A/B testing, SEO value, and constant analysis as part of the ecosystem. With that in mind, ALX has doubled down on the importance of data, and as such, it’s provided us with the northstar needed for amazing results. 

The Road Ahead

The journey of rebuilding ALX has been a rollercoaster, but it’s one that I wouldn’t trade for anything. Losing our biggest client was a blessing in disguise. It forced me to confront the uncomfortable truths about my business and myself. It pushed me to make changes that I had been avoiding and ultimately led to a more focused, resilient, and innovative company.

As we move forward, I am committed to maintaining this newfound balance. We learned that it’s okay to say no, to prioritize quality over quantity, and to build a business that aligns with our values and passions. The challenges we face often pave the way for growth and reinvention, and I am excited to see where this new direction takes us.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to finish a few things before I pick up my boss… my daughter, Georgie.