My time at TKG, and quite frankly my career in digital marketing started in August of 2013. I came to TKG with a few years of experience in small business website development and branding, as well as a brief stint with a startup musical instrument e-commerce shop. I stumbled upon the job posting for TKG and after browsing the website I decided to apply.
I vividly remember the interview with Stacy Hoffman and Dave Brown. I remember seeing the pool table in the lobby area, the cool office layout and décor and thinking that I would love to work here. I asked questions in the interview specific to work life balance and career advancement. At the time, I believed their answers were lip service. I had never worked for a company that valued work life balance and career advancement, until my time at TKG. Everyone says they do but when the rubber meets the road, the deadline drives the work. As for me, I would put in long hours, while my family was at home.
Family
My first week on the job as a Digital Marketing Specialist, I started to feel like they were telling the truth. It wouldn’t be until 6 months later that I would fully accept the fact that they were in fact being honest. Geoff, Patrick, and the rest of the leadership team at TKG, not only value doing great work and delivering results for our clients, but they believe in improving the lives of every employee at TKG. They work to help employees advance their careers, without working long hours. I remember at least 10 times where Geoff and other managers would walk through the office at 5:15 and say, “Get out of here. The work will be here tomorrow.”
Excellence
After almost 9 years at TKG and holding 4 positions throughout the company, I have learned first-hand what it means to deliver results for clients. When I was building websites and selling musical instruments in my previous companies there was a lot of throw-stuff-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks. I could build a beautiful website that, on the surface, looked world-class, but they did not always perform. I remember that being one of the huge draws to coming to work at TKG and through working with our team members over the years, I have had the privilege of seeing our clients see great and sometimes insane positive ROI, which brings me to my next point. What happens when you do not deliver results?
Integrity
Again, what you say and what you do can be two different things. Not at TKG. I was told early on, and throughout my 9 years at TKG, that honesty is non-negotiable no matter what. Of course, you always hope that things are always positive. That traffic is always up, sales are higher and leads always flowing. But we all know that in business, things are not always daisies and roses. When the data is not good and things are not going as planned, do we act with honesty and integrity? At TKG, when we screw up or when data is down, we own it and we develop a plan to fix it.
After 9 years, I can honestly say that I love the company as much as I did when I started. There have been challenges and difficulties along the way as there are with any business, but I believe we have remained consistent to our values and mission throughout my entire career here. I can’t wait to see what the next 9+ years have in store!
