After
five years, BOCA is at a crossroads where I must decide whether or not to grow
my business. Yes, our little agency, once comprised of me, myself and I plus a
few contractors, now employs 20 souls. And despite minimal branding efforts,
word of mouth has spread: We've won many accounts, formed strong partnerships
and continue to attract high-quality candidates. So with all this in mind, the
ambitious PR professional in me says, "Grow!" while my shrewd
small-business owner side takes a more tempered approach.
Favoring
the small-business owner side, I recently sat down with the BOCA team and we
talked about growth and our brand. (As the owner, I feel it is important to consult
and work closely with my employees, as every decision I make for BOCA impacts
the universal BOCA team.) Our discussion yielded a unanimous decision: It is
time to share BOCA's amazing culture and build upon our great work.
"Growth" it is.
I
love our current North Beach location. We are located on Francisco Street
between Powell and Mason. Our space is an old, ground-level art gallery with
beautiful French doors that open up to the sidewalk and afford a ton of natural
light. But growth translates to a need for more physical space. So we began to
look at spaces around San Francisco. I found that, aside from the deterrent of
high rents in the City, I just couldn’t imagine leaving my art gallery space —
at least not yet.
So
instead, we decided on the "Google campus" approach and signed a
lease for two more spaces (an old laundromat and a former hair salon) right
around the corner from our current location — literally within 100 feet. We are
excited to take these two obscure spaces and turn them into beautiful creative
galleries. (You may recall that an early Facebook posting of ours referred to our
art gallery spot as a "creative think tank" rather than an office.
That's more reflective of BOCA, don't you think?)
Now,
BOCA is ready to turn up the dial for its next phase of growth. We plan to
promote our brand for the first time ever, and put heart and soul into an
awards program that will highlight all the great work we do for our clients. The
small-business owner part of me is still understandably anxious, but the PR
professional is, as always, fearless. Wish us luck!
