Jeff Gapinski is a Partner at Huemor (based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), listed on 50Pros as a top 50 firm in Web Design, Web Development, User Experience, and Creative Direction.
In this Q&A, Jeff shares his in-depth perspective, unique background, robust experiences, and insightful tips.
As a 2011 college graduate I was entering a job market that was less than ideal.
I applied to dozens of agencies in the metro-NY area, had a few interviews and got a couple of really low-ball offers.
We're talking...$10/hr to commute to Brooklyn daily, no thanks.
I ended up settling for a corporate graphic design job and quickly realized that it wasn't for me.
To scratch my creative itch I began to take on freelance work on the side. After landing a few clients, I was referred to a large wholesale cosmetics business. They wanted to break into the direct to consumer market and needed help building a ecommerce website. I had never built one at that point, but I was up for the challenge. I quickly realized I was in over my head, and started to recruit a couple of people to assist.
We ended up pulling off the launch successfully, and the client was extremely happy with the result.
That immediately led to more work, and before I knew it, I was their marketing department.
After 6 months of balancing my day job and this side hustle, I decided that I was going to take the leap and focus on building an agency.
The rest is history.
Agencies and Agency owners as a whole seem to be really driven, creative people.
I love sitting down with other agency owners and talking about almost anything, their perspectives are always so interesting.
I'd also say that largely despite some competition, agencies are very into helping one another.
There's this big "get rich quick" SMMA movement happening right now that I think will lead to agencies getting a bad rep.
People think that listening to a 6 hour "guru" course is going to make them millions overnight.
So in turn, you have a flood of people who don't really understand what they're doing selling services to small businesses who don't know how to identify who's legit and who's not.
Thank goodness for websites like 50Pros to help identify who the true experts are!
Like many businesses, we were faced with a lot of challenges at the onset of COVID-19. In early 2020 we had a number of clients pause their contracts, we also had new contracts completely fall apart. We had some money saved, but not a ton of runway. We had to make decisions quickly and decisively.
One of many decisions that was made was our investment in marketing. When many businesses pulled back marketing budgets to save money, we decided to double down on ours. In my opinion, it was our saving grace.
The impacts weren't immediate, but within 6 months our business was not only back to where it was prior to shutdowns, we quickly started to exceed our numbers. This set up all of the growth we've experienced up to now.
It's almost embarrassing to say, but Craig's List.
(Yes, the same place you can get a free couch)
I would hunt for help wanted ads as well as post my own.
The quality of clients from there wasn't great, but it helped me get reps in, build a small portfolio, and get a couple of testimonials.
It's also what led to the large client referral that allowed me to launch my agency.
We deploy a large number of things today to get clients.
1. Organic Search: This is our highest volume driver of leads and something we heavily invest in.
2. Organic Social: This is something we've really only scratched the surface with, but has generated nearly $500,000 in sales to date.
3. Sponsored Listings: Listings with 50Pros and similar sites not only send qualified traffic our way, but they also help build 3rd party trust and credibility.
4. Retargeting Ads: All the traffic we get from the first 3 buckets get served up ads on social channels and Google Search pointing them to offers.
5. Referrals: We actively pursue technology partners and clients for referrals to other businesses that we can help.
6. Cold Outreach: The smallest part of our client acquisition, but incredibly powerful for getting in front of a very specific audience.
Oftentimes, clients report engaging with us in multiple ways, so I think it's very important to have a few different acquisition methods going.
As a people-led business, I believe the biggest challenges surround attracting, affording, acquiring, and retaining talented individuals at all levels within the agency.
Competition has gotten harder with globalization, and now you're no longer competing with businesses within your region for candidates. You're competing with businesses everywhere.
How do you stay updated on the latest technologies and tools relevant to your industry?
Podcasts and social media are how I stay tapped into what's going on.
I've been at this for over 13 years, so a lot has changed.
I'd say the biggest change for better and worse is the ease and ability to create content.
It's amazing that the barrier has become lowered for individuals and that more people have a voice, but with that comes a lot of noise.
For businesses, this means it's harder than ever to differentiate.
I see the lower-end of the market getting gobbled up by AI.
Companies that built their businesses on churning out high-volume, low-effort creative are going to be hurting very soon.
Ultimately, if businesses don't end up bringing this stuff in house, I see there being a small handful of companies that do the legwork at a very low subscription cost.
If you want to remain successful as an agency, you're going to need to make a push upstream.
Companies that are strategy focused, rather than delivery focused, will continue to remain valuable and desired.
Technology has created so many amazing innovations. But at the end of the day, it's just a tool, and it's only as good as the craftsman wielding it.
If the company can't put a plan together their value is going to be quickly diminished.
I'd advise anyone considering an agency to ask themselves the following questions:
1. Do they have public work examples that align with what I want to accomplish?
2. Do they have public testimonials from credible sources?
3. Do they seem like they're aligned with my values?
For someone considering us, I'd advise them to ask:
Do I view my website as a valuable investment, or just a box I need to check off on my marketing collateral list?
We're a pretty easy-going bunch of individuals to work with. No egos. We genuinely want to help our clients succeed.
We'll work best with individuals who share those qualities.
You don't need to have everything planned out, but having an idea of your budget and timeline will be important.
Showing 50 of 1,500+ keyword specialties
Browse only the best agencies and be confident knowing your project is in great hands
From PR to SEO to AI, we have the curated the best firms for any project you have
Each agency is ready to start on your project or task with professionalism
Get a fast snapshot of each firm so you can create a shortlist in record time
Tell us your unique project goals and we tell you what services & agencies you need
Agencies pay us a small monthly fee to be listed, so using 50Pros is 100% free
