Sitting with a customer on a fateful day that year, Steele realized that she could talk about meeting customers’ needs all day long and even offer them solutions, but in the end “I only sold cable,” she said.
Steele had been talking with her family and husband about a business idea for some time. “Being a daughter of a serial entrepreneur and now a wife of an entrepreneur, I just kept thinking about this business,” Steele said. “I joke about this but I’m the world’s worst employee because I want to do things my way.”
On March 2, 2009, Steele opened the doors of The Hathaway Group LLC at its current location, 317 S. Main Street, downtown Dayton.
“I started out with just me – running around trying to conquer the world,” Steele said. “I hired my first employee (Jessica Schaefer) in 2012 and she started working on social media and sales.”
Brand that’s mindful
The Hathaway Group today has a total of six employees, including Steele, and offers services under the brand “Mindful Marketing” to more than 25 clients in the local area.
“I’ve seen a great deal of success,” Steele said. “And as we grew, I was able to hire graphic designers and a creative director and finally, an events and content manager. We had been doing a lot of outsourcing to contractors but they didn’t eat, sleep and breathe our brand every day like our own staff does.”
Steele describes her agency as a bit different than the norm. ‘We are rather irregular in this business and very hands on,” she said. “We take the time to learn about each client and what makes them successful so that when we go back to them, we are able to perpetuate the things that make them stronger. We are not just a little group sitting over here doing what we do. We become part of each client’s business.”
Working to build her client list basically from scratch, Steele, who is a lifelong sales professional, said much of her business has come from cold calling and building relationships.
“I love sales,” she said. “I love to call and to pitch. I like everything about it. And I love sitting in front of people and getting to know them and how I can make them successful.”
Love of Dayton
Steele drew on her love of Dayton and its local brands to help her start and grow her company. She spent countless hours scouring local media and initially called upon the brands she used herself and enjoyed. “I want people to know about amazing products so to start with, I tell companies I’m a user of your product and I want to be your advocate in the marketplace.”
Born and raised in the city and eventually graduating from Alter High School in Kettering and the University of Dayton with an MBA, Steele said for her, prospecting comes naturally. “I ask myself ‘what do I do?’ And ‘what do I like?’ My first customer came out of necessity because so many people are really good at running their businesses but don’t have time to market,” Steele said.
So in her business, Steele said she became the person working behind the scenes helping clients sift through the complex worlds of media buys, social media, branding, and targeted marketing, offering marketing research and consultation as well as creative services of all types.
“I talk to my customers about goals and objectives,” Steele said. “Then we strategize a marketing plan that truly represents their business.”
Growing in downtown
The Hathaway Group is located in downtown Dayton in a building with room for growth. “I have always been at this location and now own the building my father bought in 1984,” Steele said. “I grew up running around this building and there is a lot of history in the walls.” Steele continues to share the building with her father Sean Hathaway, who owns two businesses.
Steele said her marketing company, unlike many, does not focus on one particular industry, but instead works with any company, large or small, in any industry.
“Our client list is diverse,” Steele said. “We don’t specialize on purpose because there are so many ideas out there that are working for different customers. This allows ideas to come out naturally. There are so many great brands here in Dayton and great opportunities for every idea.”
You won’t find a list of clients, though, on The Hathaway Group web page and that, according to Steele, is on purpose. “I like everyone who uses the brands we service to believe that the marketing comes from inside the company,” she said. “There is no reason for me to talk about myself in those successes. The success they have had – it’s fantastic. And my clients will talk about me. I’m very proud of what we’ve done but everything that I develop inside The Hathaway Group belongs to my clients.”
Size does not matter
And though The Hathaway Group is a small agency, Steele said their size hasn’t hindered their growth. “We are always interested in meeting new clients and helping them succeed,” she said. “We understand what it takes to make small businesses tick because we are one. We are local folks that understand the market and are invested in what are customers are trying to accomplish.”
With an eye to the future, Steele said that the company is seeing growth in working with partner agencies throughout the Midwest. “These are agencies that have a specialty themselves,” she said. “And they come to us for social media acumen or media buying. By helping them to grow their brands, we see opportunity in the future to grow our relationship base and client list.”
And with growth will come need for more staff. “There is always something on the horizon,” Steele said. “I love the Dayton brand and it’s very rewarding because it’s where I’m from. It’s my hometown.”
For more information, log on to thgmarketing.com/
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