Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Keller.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Justin. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
If I had to sum up my story, it’s a story of a kid with a lot of curiosity growing up to become an accidental expert.
About 20 years ago my curiosity to learn and try something different sent me on a path of seeing if love for art and creativity would translate to the digital world. I began teaching myself Photoshop, studying logo designs, and paying more attention to design around me. You have to understand that this was at a time when it wasn’t easy to learn these things. You still had to load software on a computer and it was expensive. It was also when you still had true dial-up internet and you would just pray you received a CD in the mail from AOL to give you more time online. I think they’re probably teaching coding to elementary kids now, so it was quite different for me. So it wasn’t easy to learn this, but it was something I was falling in love with.
At the time, I was growing up in North Dakota in a town with the population of about 50,000 people, so my exposure to design, branding, and marketing was very limited. So I became curious again and wondered what could change for me if I get to a bigger city where there are big agencies. That led me to enroll in design classes at a design college in Minneapolis, MN. The relationship with any sort of college education was cut short though when I was in a Photoshop class and the instructor told another student to ask Justin how to do it. I was already struggling to stay focused on school, follow the slow pace of the class projects, and fit into a system that wasn’t designed for the way I learned; so I walked out and never went back.
Within weeks of walking out of the design school, I landed a job as a graphic designer at a rock climbing supply company. And it wasn’t long after that when I was offered a job at a church to do music, design and video. This was a very natural fit for me having grown up in a Pastor’s home and with the church being such a big part of my life even to this day. But I had never known that my love for branding and creativity could’ve been used at a church. And this really began a new path for me.
Fast forward, and I ended up on staff at Woodlands Church, in the Woodlands, TX as a Creative Director. I was helping with capital campaigns, local marketing for the church, and even working on National marketing for the books and curriculum that we were developing for other churches to use. I had a team of designers, videographers, and website developers. We were basically an agency inside of a large organization. It was funny because I had always assumed that I would be a Creative Director at a big agency downtown Minneapolis, or maybe even in New York. But I had never pictured that happening inside of a church. But what I loved was that our work mattered. I was impacting millions of people through branding and marketing, leading a decent sized creative team, and getting more work done than with fewer people than most agencies.
Over a period of six years at the church, I really evolved. I went from a designer and producer to a strategist on accident. I say on accident because I didn’t ever see that in me. But at the church, I was able to walk us through a rebrand and name change, help raise millions of dollars for missions and outreach, and gain a lot of experience leading creative teams in a fast-paced environment. I learned about engaging people, I studied books on the brain, and I immersed myself in an opportunity to learn about marketing and branding. So six years into this role, and now with about 15 years of experience, I decided to start my own business. But I’d be lying if I said I always knew I would have my own business.
In fact, I never really thought about it that seriously. I was very content leading things from behind the scenes and partnering with great leaders. I didn’t need to have my own thing. But the way that it happened was sort of the way a lot of other things have happened for me; accidentally. I had a job offer in Miami, but there was no way I could move there. So I decided to test the waters and I told them that I’m starting a business and I could do what they needed without having to leave Houston. They were interested and asked to see a pitch for this in a couple days. I had nothing up to this point. I didn’t know what I was selling and how to even package that up to pitch them, but of course, I said “YES”.
I’ll never forget calling my brothers (who had way more business experience than me) and asking them how do I price this, how do I package this up, and what the heck do I do?
I took what they told me, sat down for hours at a local restaurant, went through a couple glasses of wine, and created my first pitch document to sell the business I didn’t think I’d ever start. I pitched it a couple of days later and it wasn’t long after that when that job offer was turned into my first client. With a lot of excitement and even more hesitation; I was on my way.
So August 27, 2012, is the day that Circlefifty officially became a company. And in a quick six years, we’ve been able to help over 100 churches and business build their brands and grow in their markets.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It hasn’t been an easy road for me, but it’s been every part of the journey (highs and lows) have been so worth it.
Have you ever had a really great vacation planned? The destination is amazing, you’re so excited, but you still have to get there. You end up dealing with flight delays, your bags get lost, and the transportation to the hotel took you through the worst part of the city making you wonder if you’ll make it there alive. But then you arrive at your destination and it’s even more magnificent than the pictures and what you imagined. It was worth the trip.
That’s how I would describe the journey of entrepreneurship. It’s full of struggles, but it seems like on the other side of each of those struggles, there has always been something amazing waiting.
There have been a lot of struggles for me. I mean, I didn’t set out in life to be a business guy – I was creative. So I’ve had to really learn a lot about a business by reading a lot and by asking a lot of questions from people a lot further along than me in business. Heck, I’ve struggled with marketing and selling myself. The very thing that I help others do – has actually been really hard for me.
But I think the biggest struggle has been learning what works for me and not trying to fit into the mold that everyone else fits in. There’s a lot of crap out there about hustle for entrepreneurs. There are endless examples of guys working non-stop, traveling all the time, and accumulating a lot of possessions. But I don’t think that’s the narrative that I want to write for my life. I’m having to learn how to play my own game. I work hard. I get up at 4 am most days of the week and even end the days wrapping up some work. But I’m making more time now than ever for my son and realizing that the hustle is overrated if it’s not effort toward the right things.
So for me, I’m on a journey learning to build a great business, while remaining present with my family, and being productive with my time. Measuring what matters, not just what I accumulate. So yeah, I’d say learning to play my own game and not get caught up in trying to live my life through someone else’s lens is a huge struggle.
Circlefifty Creative – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We help navigate critical moments for organizations like rebrands, renaming, or launching new campaigns. Most of the clients that come to us are needing to increase the engagement with their audience and build more brand awareness. So most of the projects we work with include brand identities, brand messaging, website development and videography.
Our specialty is in developing brand messaging and positioning organizations to generate more sales, or in the case of churches, increase donor engagement. I created a communication framework for organizations, The Brilliant Brands® System, which clarifies brands messaging and marketing strategies in as fast as two days. It’s a process that takes most agencies months to do as precisely as we can do in a much shorter time frame.
I’m really proud of the success our clients have. Most of our clients are founders of the organization we are working with. So for them, it’s personal. So for us, it becomes personal.
I think Before starting my business I frequently had to work with outside branding, design, and marketing agencies. I always hated working with them. They never took the time to really learn from you, but they were quick to tell you what to do. I didn’t want to be that type of agency. When I hear that they increased their sales, or they were able to launch another location because of what we did, or their staff is more aligned with the brand than ever; that makes me happy. That’s what this is all about.
So what really sets us apart would be that we aren’t a typical agency. I didn’t get brought up through the agency system so I don’t know the rules I’m supposed to play by as an agency. Instead, I have just been focussing on creating the experience that I would want if I were a client working with an agency. And this really translates to what we offer and how we solve our client’s needs.
One of the major ways this sets us apart is how fast we do really great work. We navigate full renaming and rebrand projects for clients as fast as two or three months. Most agencies drag out the process for up to a year and prolong progress. But times have changed and a business needs to be able to move at the speed of need if they are going to compete in this market. That’s usually why they work with us and what sets us apart. We’re not afraid of quick turnarounds and big challenges.
One last thing that sets us apart is that I care more about the right relationship than just another contract. I am eager to tell potential clients that we aren’t the right fit for them. Or that they don’t need to spend money on this yet, and then I redirect them to what they should focus on. Maybe I’m just getting old, but life is too short to do business with the wrong people. I know many people say it’s just business, it’s not personal – but for me the business is personal.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success is helping someone else get the results they are looking for, building great relationships through it, feeling great about what you did, and staying the course. I define it that way because it translates to fatherhood, as much as it translates to business. So for me, I’m measuring the obvious things in my business such as revenue, retention, and project success.
But more importantly, I’m asking these questions: did we help them succeed, did we build a great relationship through the project, do I have pride in the work we did and did we see it through well. If we get it right in three out of the four, it was a good project. But success is when I can say yes to four out of four of those questions. Getting it right in all of those areas will keep me passionate about the work, and hopefully will keep clients coming back. Of course, this is a work in progress and not something that I’m even close to mastering.
Pricing:
- I have a book for $20, Rebel Brands – 1o New Rules for Building a Brilliant Brands: Rebelbrandsbook.com
Contact Info:
- Website: Circlefifty.com
- Email: info@circlefifty.com
- Instagram: @kellerthinks
- Facebook: @kellerthinks
- Twitter: @kellerthinks
- Other: https://medium.com/@kellerthinks
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