Some of the most significant events in life happen outside any clever planning on our parts. This is ever so true in this new chapter of The A Group. Today, Pete Wilson, author, speaker and former pastor of Cross Point Church in Nashville, TN is joining our team as our new President. Here’s how it happened.

Awards can be a sign of a job well done. They can become a distraction when they become an end instead of a pure recognition. I have never chased awards for The A Group in our ten years in business. We have won several over the years, however. We have been chosen to be one of the latest finalists for the Nashville Business Journal Small Business of the Year Award. I must say, I’m very proud of our entire team for this one. From the NBJ’s own website: “We solicited nominations from profitable businesses with 75 or fewer employees. From there, we let the numbers do the talking, recognizing the companies with the greatest revenue growth over the last three years.The company with the greatest growth in each of five categories will be recognized during an Aug. 16 awards luncheon.” The A Group was chosen a finalist in the 20-29…

Yesterday was a big day for me. Our entire team celebrated 10 years in business and moving into our new offices. There were a lot of details to come together since the save-the-date email was sent prior to even moving in. I’m so proud of my entire team, specially TAG’s President, Shannon Litton, for making it all come together seamlessly. The food, flowers, gifts, and many details all turned out the way we envisioned. I’m so proud of my entire team for pitching in and making this happen. Here are some of the pictures:   To see more pictures of our open house click here How does your organization celebrates its milestones?

As a business owner, I’m never “off.” The mind of an entrepreneur is always working on opportunities, challenges and next steps. Of all the many thoughts that go through my mind on any given time, there are 4 areas of business that I’m constantly monitoring because I have learned that if they begin to deteriorate, so does my business. The Brand. That’s the promise every company makes to those it serves. Whether you sell widgets, services or an experience, your brand promise needs to be monitored. The A Group is a high-end marketing, technology and branding firm. Everything we do is based on strategy and best practices. I’m always monitoring the output of both products as well as services. Are we delivering on our promises? The Model. Is the current business structure a sustainable one? You’d be surprised by the number of busy businesses that end up failing. I remember…

According to the statistics from the Department of Labor and Commerce my business was not supposed to last this long. This month, The A Group turns 10 years old. Only 29 out of 100 new businesses that started 10 years ago are still in business today. Not only we are still open for business, we are having our best year yet both in revenues as well as in the quality of work we produce. While there’s no miracle formula, there are a few things we got right from the beginning that allowed us to still be here today. While I credit God with all that’s good in my life, including my business, I also know that God often gets blamed for poor decisions and misguided business practices of businesses that fail. There are a lot of factors that dictate the success or failure of any given business, some of them…

The conversation starts with familiar words: “I’m starting a new business. I need a logo and a brand identity.” That’s an exciting place to be. Creating your brand early in your business is crucial to establish your place in the mind of the consumer; however, I have seen a lot of entrepreneurs spend more time tweaking their logo than working on their most important task: their business plan. I’m a marketing guy. And I think every organization should have the best brand representation possible starting with their logo, brand statement and identity item. However, before you pick colors, shapes, paper and all that shines and sparkles (and I love that process), make sure you think about: Your target audience. Do you really have a firm grasp on your ideal customer? Only after you do, you’re able to create an identity that speaks to your core audience. Even if you’re a…

“we have a technology problem,” is what I often hear from a client or potential client, but while that might be true, most of the time it’s not the technology problem that’s causing the issue, but a communication one. My company, The A Group, has a technology division where we have developed a sophisticated platform for media-rich tools as well as a powerful and easy-to-use content management system. While I’m happy to sell our products to anyone who needs faster, easier and overall better technology, I’m always careful to make sure people understand that’s the communication strategy that drives the technology and not the other way around. This might sound simplistic to some, but I can tell you from personal experience that many churches, businesses and not-for-profits believe that a shiny new website, a powerful digital media tool, or an iPhone app will cure their communication problems. They won’t. What…

When I first began The A Group some nine years ago, it was designed to fit a need within the Christian landscape for strategic marketing solutions. Being strategy driven instead of product, we birthed The A Group Technologies as communication shifted from print to online, to social media and now into mobile platforms. We have worked with authors and publishers from early on, but over the past few years the publishing world has gone through a major transformation as more and more content providers and brands try to navigate uncharted territory. The A Group Brand Development is our answer to that need. Whether we’re working with an established brand or an emerging one, we’ll help our clients in these key areas: To find the intersection between publishing, marketing, and technology that elevates the brand To fill the gaps in a confused, changing industry To emotionally and intellectually connect mission and…

Everyone has to win. I believe that about most exchanges in life, and more so when talking about business. I have spent a lot of my life arguing with brilliant software engineers and developers about the need to create the administrative back end of software as easy and beautiful as the user interface. “We must make it Martha friendly,” is my cry around the office. Years ago we developed software for a church who hired a sweet lady named Martha to work it. Well, Martha was not computer savvy. That’s an understatement—she thought the mouse was a foot pedal the first day she looked at her terminal. Martha did us a big favor. She forced us to make things simple; very simple. And from then on, every time things start to get complicated, I dig Martha up (she’s not really dead, only gone from her old position). “What would Martha…