Showcasing experienced entrepreneurs offers an added marketing communications or social media element to help promote their businesses. In addition, it provides a forum through which they can share solutions to unique business challenges that might be the answer to a similar challenge with which yet another entrepreneur is struggling. This openness of information flows with the following story offered by
Gabi Ladowski, owner
Gabi Ladowski Design & Creative Services
www.gabiladowski.com
gabi@gabiladowski.com
847-259-6415
ABOUT MY BUSINESS
I’m a freelance consultant graphic designer, art director and translator celebrating 30 years of full-service creative for all media. This includes graphic design, packaging, web design, logo design, branding, marketing consultation, and much more. I get involved in the entire project from concept to finish. A sampling of what I create would be corporate communications, brochures, editorials, catalogs, newsletters, advertising, website design, Internet marketing, optimization, brand identity, logos, and signage. More recently, I’ve been offering bilingual translation services used for documentation, instruction manuals, handbooks, newsletters, and advertising. I work with marketing professionals, web developers, copywriters, and others to provide a complete creative service.
MY UNIQUENESS
My full involvement is what sets me apart. I go beyond the traditional graphic design project by getting involved in the client’s marketing strategy in order to provide the best possible service. I research the industry, the client’s competition and take all measures to ensure that the client gets the best return on his or her investment. I work to make the client competitive by anticipating in what other areas I can help with the client’s long-term rather than short-term marketing program. In addition, I’m able to be more competitive than most because I have no overhead, no employee salaries or benefits which allows me to pass along savings to my clients.
MY IDEAL CLIENT
Any business that is open to suggestions would be an ideal client. Also one that is ambitious and wants to get ahead of the competition. Or, a company that understands that graphic design is more than just hiring an artist to create a great one-time design, but it's collaborating with the graphic designer as a means of making their business successful. I guess the perfect client is one who understands the overall value that a designer brings to the table.
UNIQUE CHALLENGE
I came to the United States in 1989, after already having established a very successful graphic design business in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Upon arriving here I found myself having to start my career all over, again, from square one.
EFFECTIVE RESOLUTION
Initially, I looked for design work among some of the major advertising agencies and design studios, but with no success due to the recessionary economic climate that existed in the late ‘80s. I thought my luck had turned when a vice president of a major ad agency offered me a position – ironically, however, it was in Buenos Aires! Of course, I declined. I finally was hired as the art director of a start-up software company. After a few years there and then with other companies, I was becoming more and more of an independent consultant. At the time, companies were experiencing layoffs, yet realizing they still needed to get things done. I was in the perfect position to create the perfect combination for both them and me. So, in late 2001, I went back to my roots and, once again, started my own firm. Soon after, I was hired by one of the largest book publishers in the country on a contract basis to work on their bilingual educational books. That opened a new market for my business and I added bilingual translation to my list of services. I finally had come full circle – from business owner to creative-for-hire back to business owner and am proudly celebrating my 30th Anniversary of delivering full-service creative for all media.
Showing posts with label GrooveMaster Graphics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GrooveMaster Graphics. Show all posts
Monday, February 7, 2011
Monday, February 22, 2010
Experienced entrepreneurs sharing business challenges featured on Transparency online showcase
Showcasing experienced entrepreneurs offers an added marketing communications or social media element to help promote their businesses. In addition, it provides a forum through which they can share solutions to unique business challenges that might be the answer to a similar challenge with which yet another entrepreneur is struggling. This openness of information flows with the following story offered by
Gary Swiontek, Owner
GrooveMaster Graphics, Arlington Heights, Illinois
http://www.groovemastergraphics.com/ - gary@GrooveMasterGraphics.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/groovemastergary on LinkedIn
847-394-8512
MY BUSINESS
GrooveMaster Graphics is a graphic design company that in reality creates “message delivery systems.” Attractive graphics are only a means to an end. We create logos, brochures, postcards, ads and other printed marketing communications to help clients build their brands. In the end, they’re able to sell their goods and services as a result of our broadcasting their messaging via professionally designed graphics.
OUR UNIQUENESS
Our tag line is “We Listen, We Deliver.” So listening to clients in order to understand their goals is important to us. We ask for specific information about the project as well as general information about their brand, philosophy and so forth. Most projects begin with a questionnaire used to gather this information so that we are in the right neighborhood before we start development. Ultimately, because we are listening we can deliver the appropriate artwork. But, much more importantly, we will deliver the client’s precise messaging. We seek clients who have solid marketing plans and are committed to them. We also look for prospects who understand the value a professional graphic designer adds to the success of their businesses. The ideal client is one who puts a great deal of trust in our judgment.
UNIQUE BUSINESS CHALLENGE
An ongoing challenge that faced GrooveMaster Graphics was how to handle the roller coaster environment of projects either coming in all at once or widely spaced apart. The main reason that this was occurring was due to the fact that we were not acquiring enough clients who required services on a semi-regular basis. This would have generated a strong, consistent revenue stream. This predicament affected our bottom line as well as our growth potential by never knowing for certain where the next project was coming from. At the same time, we found it even more difficult to be as creative as possible when squeezing multiple projects into a small time frame. Everything seemed out of balance.
OUR EFFECTIVE RESOLUTION
I decided we needed an action plan. It began by seeking advice on how to be more focused and organized in terms of marketing GrooveMaster Graphics. I got in touch with professional business and marketing consultants. Here is the result of working with them.
1. We have put our marketing plan in writing. Until we did, it wasn’t real. Seeing it in black and white makes it a concrete element for which we are accountable.
2. We’ve also clearly defined our services so that clients have no misconceptions as to what we provide. In addition, we have created service bundles to give clients an economical choice of “message delivery” options.
3. Next, we identified our specific target audience. This makes our own messaging process much more focused and effective.
4. A social media strategy came next. We are a social media participant, yet we are still exploring what forms of social media are most appropriate for reaching our ideal clients.
5. GrooveMaster Graphics does email a monthly newsletter. It is a major element in our marketing strategy. It provides informational and educational content to our readership.
6. A great deal of effort will be put into building a new website with easier navigation, more information and highly effective SEO and SEM initiatives as part of its overall scope.
While many of the plan’s elements are in action today, several others are in their development stages. Our evenly-spaced projects problem is not entirely resolved as of yet, but we are putting a stronger focus on new goals which our action plan should help us reach. We feel that a true commitment to our plan along with follow-through should help in GrooveMaster Graphics’ overcoming its roller coaster challenge.
Gary Swiontek, Owner
GrooveMaster Graphics, Arlington Heights, Illinois
http://www.groovemastergraphics.com/ - gary@GrooveMasterGraphics.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/groovemastergary on LinkedIn
847-394-8512
MY BUSINESS
GrooveMaster Graphics is a graphic design company that in reality creates “message delivery systems.” Attractive graphics are only a means to an end. We create logos, brochures, postcards, ads and other printed marketing communications to help clients build their brands. In the end, they’re able to sell their goods and services as a result of our broadcasting their messaging via professionally designed graphics.
OUR UNIQUENESS
Our tag line is “We Listen, We Deliver.” So listening to clients in order to understand their goals is important to us. We ask for specific information about the project as well as general information about their brand, philosophy and so forth. Most projects begin with a questionnaire used to gather this information so that we are in the right neighborhood before we start development. Ultimately, because we are listening we can deliver the appropriate artwork. But, much more importantly, we will deliver the client’s precise messaging. We seek clients who have solid marketing plans and are committed to them. We also look for prospects who understand the value a professional graphic designer adds to the success of their businesses. The ideal client is one who puts a great deal of trust in our judgment.
UNIQUE BUSINESS CHALLENGE
An ongoing challenge that faced GrooveMaster Graphics was how to handle the roller coaster environment of projects either coming in all at once or widely spaced apart. The main reason that this was occurring was due to the fact that we were not acquiring enough clients who required services on a semi-regular basis. This would have generated a strong, consistent revenue stream. This predicament affected our bottom line as well as our growth potential by never knowing for certain where the next project was coming from. At the same time, we found it even more difficult to be as creative as possible when squeezing multiple projects into a small time frame. Everything seemed out of balance.
OUR EFFECTIVE RESOLUTION
I decided we needed an action plan. It began by seeking advice on how to be more focused and organized in terms of marketing GrooveMaster Graphics. I got in touch with professional business and marketing consultants. Here is the result of working with them.
1. We have put our marketing plan in writing. Until we did, it wasn’t real. Seeing it in black and white makes it a concrete element for which we are accountable.
2. We’ve also clearly defined our services so that clients have no misconceptions as to what we provide. In addition, we have created service bundles to give clients an economical choice of “message delivery” options.
3. Next, we identified our specific target audience. This makes our own messaging process much more focused and effective.
4. A social media strategy came next. We are a social media participant, yet we are still exploring what forms of social media are most appropriate for reaching our ideal clients.
5. GrooveMaster Graphics does email a monthly newsletter. It is a major element in our marketing strategy. It provides informational and educational content to our readership.
6. A great deal of effort will be put into building a new website with easier navigation, more information and highly effective SEO and SEM initiatives as part of its overall scope.
While many of the plan’s elements are in action today, several others are in their development stages. Our evenly-spaced projects problem is not entirely resolved as of yet, but we are putting a stronger focus on new goals which our action plan should help us reach. We feel that a true commitment to our plan along with follow-through should help in GrooveMaster Graphics’ overcoming its roller coaster challenge.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
