Big Changes = New Opportunities

“We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance.” ~Harrison Ford

 

Change is constant in life and it seems to only accelerate over time. One of my key goals when I thought about my professional life was that I wanted to make sure I was never in a job or career in which I was bored or stagnant. And in this department I have surely succeeded beyond my wildest dreams.

Those who know me know that I have had an extremely diverse and varied range of experiences over these past 25 years. To be sure, I’ve never been bored as I’ve ranged from agency employee and then agency co-founder to corporate employee to entrepreneur to (most recently) marketing consultant.

There is little doubt that my greatest professional satisfaction and enjoyment came from co-founding and building Kaufer Miller Communications in the 1990s. It was a successful and special experience that was the result of addressing a growing market need with superb service delivered by talented employees who thrived working in a fun environment.

I wasn’t sure if I would again have the opportunity to create this kind of successful company so I’m extremely grateful (and excited) to announce my newest venture: twelve23 – a firm that provides digital marketing, design and development for brave brands.  This is a partnership with a long-time colleague and friend, Munish Sangar. I met and worked with Munish in 2007 and together we collaborated on numerous projects.

In Fall of 2011 we talked about our mutual goals: wanting to build a company that provided a range of services to companies (and non-profits) of all sizes that helped them better navigate and conquer the exciting (and often confusing) new digital landscape that has emerged. We carefully examined our values, motivations and long-term objectives and decided the fit was right. I began working alongside Munish’s team in their Belltown headquarters in October and we all instantly meshed. So it only made sense to combine the development and design expertise provided by Munish and his team with my marketing and communications programs to provide a suite of solutions for a growing base of clients.

We officially launched our new website earlier this week and are in what we in the communications business like to call “soft launch” mode. Fortunately, we’re busy servicing existing clients and hiring employees to support the expanding base, so we haven’t worried about orchestrating a major marketing push for ourselves (yet). Rest assured, we know what it takes to build a brand (and buzz) and will be applying those skills to twelve23 over time. But our first priority is to our clients and providing them with the service and support they need to be successful.

Little did I know when I was watching Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in the early ’80s how profound a quote of his would turn out to be in my own life. But he’s absolutely right – and I very much consider twelve23 to be both an exciting change and second chance that I’m fully embracing.