Crazy? Maybe. But Moncton, here we come
Growing a business without losing the good things that come from being a small agency
THE FIRST DAY of school is always filled with bittersweet emotions from both kiddos and parents alike. After dropping my two kids off for their first day of school (SK and Grade 4 here we come!) I took a minute to scan Facebook and was flooded with the ceremonial ‘back to school’ photos and parents pleading for time to pause, or at least slow down a bit. As much as it brings mixed emotions, watching our kids grow, learn and take on bigger challenges are some of the most fulfilling parts of being a parent.
Over the summer months, while my two kids were off exploring and regrouping after a busy year, my third kid was preparing to take a big leap as well. My third kid is my business. In October, Kitestring will celebrate its 10th anniversary. In many ways, I’ve seen it grow alongside my kids. Ten years later, we feel like we have built the business that we imagined the day we decided to abandon logic and follow our desire to open Kitestring. (Lesson #1 — Logic and entrepreneurship don’t always work together.)
Of course, as an entrepreneur, I don’t think you’re ever done — there’s always something more to aspire to. As the partners sat down to contemplate what’s next for Kitestring, we had a good sense of what growth felt good and not so good. Growth for sole purpose of getting bigger didn’t really appeal to us and was never why we started Kitestring in the first place. We love the size of our business. We get to work with our clients, spend days with our staff and create work that we’re all proud of. Being bigger makes this harder and harder to do. (Lesson #2 — Don’t mess with what’s good.)
So, instead of growing bigger, what would happen if we could recreate what we’ve built?!
In our 10 years, I’ve learned that things happen if and when they’re supposed to. So, when the opportunity of opening up a Kitestring office in Moncton presented itself this summer, we all knew we had to explore it. (Lesson #3 — The crazier it seems, the more you should pay attention to it.)
Although we got a few “you’re nuts” glances when we were presenting the idea to others, after several “dreaming” meetings, planning meetings and business meetings, we all knew that bringing Kitestring to the Moncton business community was the right next step for our business. So, we are growing while staying as small as humanly possible. Our intention is that Kitestring will continue to be a small full-service agency, ensuring our business continues to grow by creating an interdisciplinary team that will grow together, create emotionally infused work and preserve the values that are important to our business.
We’ve decided that for this child, we won’t dream about slowing down time, but instead invest our energies in growing them the best we can.