Cheers to Nine Years

In 2010 Apple released the iPad, Justin Beiber was topping the charts after being discovered on YouTube and flash mobs were still a thing. It was also the year that – with the support of my family – I sat down at my kitchen table and formed what is now KidGlov.   

The experience of starting and running my own business has been wonderful, terrifying and transformative all swirled together. Knowing that 70% of start-ups do not make it to their tenth year gives us reason to celebrate our success. While it feels like the time has flown by, it’s hard to remember my life before KidGlov.  

Here are nine of my favorite KidGlov milestones in our nine-year history: 

1. In May of 2010, I started out as Wineman Communications Group. You could say the word “group” was aspirational because it was me, my laptop, my cell phone and my dining room table.  Occasionally the peacocks that roam my farm would “scream” while I was on the phone, startling the client on the other end. But eventually a group did form, including several of my favorite freelance friends and a few clients such as MembersOwn Credit Union and Nebraska Healthcare Association that are still with us today.
   
2. In February of 2011 we unveiled the Tabitha rebrand. This was a major achievement for our fledgling organization. The award-winning work included a logo, tagline, positioning and branding campaign. In conjunction with the rebrand we introduced their new President and CEO, Christie Hinrichs and opened three new buildings.
3. Later in 2011 Rachel Nullmeyer (Production Manager) and Kelley Peterson (Vice President : Creative Director) became full–time employees. I am proud to say they are both still with us today. Since that time Rachel got married and has an 8-month old baby and Kelley’s oldest son has graduated from college, is now engaged and her twins have graduated from high school
   
4. As we grew, it became apparent that the business was no longer just about me. In 2013 we rebranded to KidGlov and moved to our downtown office at 1120 P Street in Lincoln. The name KidGlov embodies our style of business—to strategically advance your organization and brand for success while working side-by-side with you. It’s how we take a message and turn it into a movement.
5. At our five-year mark in 2015, we updated our strategic plan and doubled down on our focus of providing an amazing culture for both our employees and our clients. We solidified our status as a boutique agency and started doing the work that formed the core values that still serve us today:
   • Courageous: We believe in ourselves and our ability to change the world. 
   • Loyal: We have each other’s backs. We are honest and true. We do what we say we will. 
   • Determined: We make things happen. We find a way. We don’t stop at the first roadblock. 
   • Loving: We love what we do. We are passionate about doing it well. 
   • Creative: We find magical new solutions to advance our clients and ourselves.
6. Speaking of doubling down, in 2017 we started our teams in Omaha and Colorado. We punctuated our entry into Omaha with winning Best in Show at the Omaha AMA Pinnacle Awards. Since that time both teams and our client list have grown in each market.
7. In 2018 we were named Lincoln’s Best Place to Work in the Small Business Category. This was a 10–year goal accomplished much sooner than expected. The results from the employee surveys revealed that 100% of our employees were highly engaged and felt that senior leaders valued people as our most important resource. Some employee quotes from this process include: “KidGlov has been so great to me since I started working here. I have grown in ways that I never imagined I would, I have learned new things daily.” Another team member said “Merely saying that KidGlov is a great place to work is doing it a disservice. It’s beyond great. I’ve never worked with a bunch of people who genuinely care about my well-being more than they care about what I have to offer them.”
8. Earlier this year we moved our Colorado office to Denver. Much more than geographical, this move solidified our focus on purpose-driven organizations which include nonprofits, health & wellness, financial, and retail.
9. Those of you who know me – know that I love to win. My competitive soul was elated when we won a dozen AMA Omaha Pinnacle awards and twenty-five AMA Lincoln Prism Awards this spring. Making our achievement even sweeter, this work represented nine different client organizations – all joining us at one or the other event. It also represented work that involved team members from all three of our offices. 

So, after nine years, I would like to raise a glass and propose a toast. “Here’s to a supportive family, amazing clients and the best team anyone could ever hope to work with.” 

I can’t wait to see what our tenth year will bring.  

Want more information? Visit our purpose-driven business hub to find a variety of case studies, helpful blog posts and Agency for Change podcast episodes featuring other purpose-driven business leaders.

KidGlov is a boutique, full-service, advertising, branding and content marketing agency and certified B Corp, with offices in Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska, specializing in nonprofit marketing, healthcare marketing, financial services marketing, social impact marketing, and purpose-driven businesses.