Today we’re sharing a Member Spotlight featuring some of our original members, the team of Nick, Chris, Jordan, and Micah of The Creative Co. They run a Honolulu-based digital marketing firm based out of our upstairs offices.
They work with companies in Hawaii and beyond to build beautiful, optimized websites and help with graphic design, photography and videography, and social media. You can find out more about them on their website, The Creative Co.
Andrea Bertoli (AB): Tell us more about the vision of the company.
Nick Galang (NG): As a creative firm, our goal is to create brands that make people’s jaws drop. We want our clients to be the best in every digital marketing sphere possible. It’s why we consider ourselves an all-in-one company. We find that clients prefer talking to one vendor instead of five or six, and that a unified ecosystem of marketing just makes things a lot cleaner, more efficient, and more cost-efficient for people.
AB: What awesome services do you offer?
(NG): We offer a suite of services for startups, non-profits, businesses and more.
- Web Development – We offer full web development, working primarily with Webflow, WordPress, and Squarespace. We are code designers, meaning that almost anything you can think up, we can do.
- SEO – No matter how beautiful your website is, it won’t matter if people can’t find you. SEO, or search engine optimization, is the way to point your customers in the right direction online. This may be the most important/overlooked aspect of digital marketing.
- Social Media management – All of us are millennials. We love our phones, and we love attention. So naturally, coming up with fun content that engages your users is second-nature to us.
- Videography/Photography – We’ve invested heavily in our digital services and have the right equipment for both photography and video. This investment pays off when we create great intro videos and company portraits – the kind you will actually want to use on LinkedIn.
- Graphic design – Let us put our extensive Photoshop/Illustrator skills to the test to help you redesign your logo, business cards, marketing collateral, and more. Can we all agree that we won’t use logos created in Microsoft Paint?!
AB: Do companies really need to be online? What’s the value of diversified online presence?
NG: Y-E-S. Think of your online presence like an automobile. Each part of your online presence helps to make the machine run. Without one or the other, there will be faulty functionality. What we’ve seen is that every part of digital marketing is interconnected. That’s why we offer so many services, they all affect one another and can either appreciate or depreciate the value of your company.
AB: What is the number one piece of advice you have for someone who wants to build a new online presence for their brand?
NG: Create a true and in-depth marketing plan. For every new client, we have Discovery meetings to analyze on a granular level how specific services fit into their overall marketing strategy. There needs to be a plan. If you just throw yourself out there on the internet without a thoughtful marketing plan, then you’ll eventually end up having to untangle your chaotic online presence just like you untangle those annoying iPhone cables in your pocket.
AB: How did you find this work (aka: what inspires you to do this work?)
NG: We found this work because we saw a problem in local marketing strategies. Companies have operated a certain way here in Hawaii for YEARS, and now that we’ve arrived in 2019, many local companies are being out-muscled online by companies that have adopted modern marketing strategies. We saw this problem and now offer a solution for local businesses to thrive in today’s market.
AB: Your brother is on your team: what advice do you have for people that want to build a business with family? How do you build a team that includes family + coworkers? Is this an issue for either of you?
NG: I love my brother! I think it’s important to have processes built into your company that rule out any sort of possible nepotism. Everything is based off accountability, ownership, and excellence. That being said, it is imperative for startups and small companies to hire workers who are self-motivated and who are problem solvers. That’s what makes our company successful: everyone here is self-motivated, solves problems independently, and will just make things happen.
AB: What were some of the big wins you had this year and what are the goals for 2020?
NG: We’ve moved into the realm of mid-sized business clients, which has been very encouraging. We’re hoping to create more partnerships, subscription-based services, and high-level marketing strategies for businesses in 2020. An achievable goal in 2020 would be to have five new mid-sized business clients. As we continue to gain more work, we lose more hours in the day. We are looking to make sure we are a good fit for potential clients and vice versa.
Thanks, Nick for taking the time to chat about your cool biz. Be sure to check out the great discounts The Creative Co. offers Impact Hub HNL members. Find them online and on Facebook.
