Over the four months since I started my new business, I've had plenty of occasion to hang out with the hep cats at The Hodges Partnership -- principals Josh Dare and Jon Newman, as well as several of their compatriots, including Steve Cummings and Julia Webster. Between a joint project we're collaborating on and Jon's incessant Twitter updates (a good thing), I feel like a neighbor.
Thanks to Jon's blog, I can now feel like a nosy neighbor -- peering into the future with The Hodges Partnership. Earlier today, Jon posted about his PR firm's efforts to peer into the future, and carve some new spaces -- physical and virtual -- for the business. It's a daunting economic environment -- to launch a business or to grow one.
This year, things are feeling a bit different, and that annual risk taking moment is a very different one, one I think that will change our business in many potentially exciting and scary ways.
First, is this expansion of traditional public relations into the social marketing realm. While this is leading to many great opportunities for us, there is no guarantee that this trend will continue or that we will figure out its magic formula, although initial returns look promising.
Second, rumor has it that the economy is not exactly solid, although business for us has been good and the forecast is promising. We are always big believers in never taking the foot off the new business pedal and that has served us well.
Third, we have maxed out in our first floor space and while we can expand to the second floor, this will trigger a major commitment financially, some immediate investments and some over time. The payoff will be great but the road getting there more than bumpy.
Finally, we may decide that one hire is not enough. This may be the time to take the quantum leap. I have talked about content fueling the social marketing engine and we will need at least one content provider and equipment to create the content. We also need some account management support at both senior and junior levels. This will have an additional cultural impact in the business that we're not taking lightly.
