In our community of Small Business Superheroes, the aphorism “to start a business, solve a problem” is widely known. Barring the risk of choosing too small or rare a problem, this tends to be excellent advice. The theory goes that if you are experiencing a problem, others likely are as well. Solve it and you may find an underserved market hungry for a time-saving solution. Solve it well enough and you might grow your company 3x in 8 months. That’s exactly how Avintiv Media, brainchild of serial entrepreneur Jon Boles, came to be where it is today.
Marketing shouldn’t be hard, or so vague in terms of return on investment. Jon Boles knew this. Yet each time he outsourced marketing for one of his ventures, he found it impossible to find an effective, savvy design agency that operated with integrity. When it came time to bring his company Modus Apparel to life and make it stand out, Jon knew he needed world-class marketing. Running his small business near Phoenix, Arizona he had numerous seemingly decent options. But having been burned so many times before on lackluster design, copy that doesn’t convert, and inflated promises versus saggy deliverables, Jon decided to do everything himself. What do we mean by everything? Site coding, layout, design, fashion photography, social media marketing. Everything.
Usually, an attempt to do so much with so few resources will end in calamity. This wasn’t Jon’s first rodeo, however, and he managed to absolutely nail his design. After the ninth or tenth person to lavish him with praise on his website, his entrepreneur sense began to tingle. He started to meet this effusive praise with pointed queries: “How much would you pay for a site like that?” and “What do you think social media management is worth to your company?” The answers to these questions lead him to create Avintiv Media.
When he started Avintiv Media, he knew he wanted to laser focus on his core competencies. Avintiv Media specializes in business coaching/consulting, custom web development, and lead generation. They elevate themselves above their competition by, among other things, taking longer and investing more in their discovery phase. This prevents them from, for instance, selling lead generation services to a client who isn’t operationally ready to scale. Jon’s goal is to partner with his clients rather than siphon what value he can and move on. His team’s ability to work with companies in various stages of growth helped lead to an incredible 300% growth in less than a year.
How did Accountingprose come into Jon’s life? Despite being passionate about all aspects of growing a business, Jon hated dealing with financials. He loved making money but didn’t want to have to sift through hours worth of spreadsheets to find out how well he was doing. That’s when a consultant of his pointed him to us (thanks, Chris!). Ever since it has been a match made in heaven. Prior to Accountingprose, Jon had gone through six different accountants trying to find the right fit. He wanted someone trustworthy, detail-oriented, and passionate about utilizing modern technology to achieve operational excellence. Needless to say, we ticked all his boxes:
“I onboarded with you guys and it was phenomenal from day one. [Accountingprose] allowed me to grow my agency the way I wanted to grow…” Asked about onboarding, Jon celebrated our tech savvy: “It’s very enjoyable that [Accountingprose] understands technology, that you’re at the forefront of technology. It made me very comfortable...it was a lot easier to onboard with Accountingprose than any other firm.”
Jon is aware that Avintiv Media has a far more complicated accounting setup than is typical. His experience working with us has made him confident enough to recommend us to many of his clients (which we always appreciate!).
Jon’s favorite thing about being the boss is being the kind of leader who inspires his team. His least favorite is the occasional rag doll feeling of being torn in multiple directions. Every problem ultimately lands at his feet and so it can be a lot to bear sometimes.
We like to ask our clients what superpower they would pick if they had a choice. Jon picked a superpower that would ultimately better his clients, his business, and his life. If he could pick any superpower, it would be to see into the future. This way he could easily know exactly how to launch his clients’ businesses into success! It would also save him a ton of time and energy trying to come up with predictions for different strategies and markets.
If you find yourself wishing you had an agency like Avintiv Media in your corner, now you know who to call! Avintiv Media is offering a special discount to readers of this blog. After the standard half-hour greeting call, they’re offering a free two-hour discovery session where they will meet with you to learn more about your business and how theirs can help.