By Heather Isch
In 2015, I formally took the reins as the President and Owner of LKF Marketing after 18 years as an employee. It was a really great feeling to know that the company and team I loved so much was now in my care.
The first order of business was putting together a strong leadership team and building out a vision for our company that capitalized on 27 years in our community. I also knew we could not do the work alone; gathering partners to help us would be critical.
Our outside partners have been a big part of our growth. I deeply appreciate Jim Coyle, our EOS implementer; Dan Gavlas, our CPA; and Lisa Carriveau of Mercantile Bank, our banking partner; for their support and guidance over the last 5 years.
We have done a lot of hard work since I bought the company and we have realized many achievements as a result. When asked for what they would include in a highlight reel of LKF’s last 5 years, here’s what our leadership team shared:
- Achieving our best revenue and profit year to date in 2019.
- Growing our staff from 12 to 17.
- Welcoming clients, vendors, friends, and family to our 30th anniversary party in 2019.
- Investing in technology and equipment that really paid off when we became a remote workforce in March 2020.
- Becoming laser focused on finance, technology, and employee development.
- Celebrating many client anniversaries, including for those that have been with the agency 20 years or more. We love our clients and their loyalty!
- Settling into our new office location on East Michigan Avenue.
- Implementing flexible work schedules to encourage a healthy work-life balance.
- Winning 10 awards for our projects and collaborations from the Communicator, Davey, Hermes, and W3 awards.
While 2020 has been difficult, we remain optimistic. I believe that there are brighter days ahead and look forward to continuing our work of delivering intelligent marketing solutions that help our clients continue to thrive.
I am continually thankful for this wonderful family called LKF Marketing, the clients that partner with us, and the community that we live in and looking forward to what the next 5 years will bring!
Keep calm and market on!