Tell us the basics: Who are you, what’s your company’s name and how long have you been at this company?

I am Joyce Davis, and I’ve been a creative marketing professional for more than 30 years. I re-established Square One Creative, LLC here in Richmond when I relocated from San Francisco eight years ago.

I chose the name Square One because I believe business owners often should start at square one to ensure their business identity and brand are solid foundations to build on, to fully understand the value of what they offer and to connect to their customers’ true needs.

How did you wind up in this business? What did you do before starting Square One?     

I studied advertising and marketing at the Art Center in Pasadena, Calif. I dreamed of working for large ad agencies, creating campaigns and TV commercials. I realized that dream working on campaigns for a number of national brands in large agencies in San Francisco.

I eventually helped found a marketing agency as their creative director, working with clients that included Wells Fargo Bank, technology firms and many other national brands and small businesses. I worked briefly at Leap Frog Enterprises as a marketing designer.

I decided my calling was to help entrepreneurial businesses be successful by identifying their true, unique value and connecting with their best, most-profitable target markets. Once I decided to relocate to Richmond, I knew it was time to establish my own creative marketing business.

You’ve worked in the past for large agencies that serve large clients. What are some unique needs your small-business clients have that larger clients didn’t?

I enjoy having a very direct, immediate impact on my clients’ success if they are willing to innovate and implement strategies quickly in order to take advantage of opportunities in the marketplace. Their needs include bringing in business and “packaging” their unique value in ways that connect with and attract their target customers. They don’t have the marketing budgets national brands do, so they have to market smarter, using both traditional and new media tools. I enjoy helping small-business owners develop their own strategic “marketing mind.”

What’s a lesson you’ve learned during the recession?

The lesson I’ve learned is not to panic, but to look for opportunities instead. Innovation, a positive outlook and being proactive help both businesses and individuals weather economic downturns. What doesn’t work is a “bunker mentality” – thinking you can wait it out and save money by not investing in your marketing. You are forgetting what this mentality is costing you in lost opportunities!

Is there a secret to your personal success? Perhaps a piece of advice you’ve always remembered?

I believe you have to identify the life goals you are working toward. These can drive you forward and energize your efforts. I enjoy teaching people how to reconnect with their own creativity. My work helps entrepreneurs realize their dreams of a successful business, enabling them to live the life they envisioned.

What’s coming up in the next year for you and your company? What about in the next five years?

We hope to do more work with technology clients and with businesses that are producing “green” products or services. I believe these areas will gain momentum once the economy turns around. Ultimately, I would like to add online courses in marketing and creativity to the resources we offer.

What, at your business, is the most effective way to connect with clients?

Two of the most productive ways we connect with prospects and clients is by supporting our referral partners and by offering free educational seminars. Membership in a few strategic professional organizations has been a very productive way to network and make connections within those industries we serve.

What’s the part of your job you dread the most?

Dealing with Internet service issues and loss of power from all the storms we’ve had this year!

What’s the part of your job that excites you the most, the thing that makes you want to hurry to work?

The creative aspects of what I do. My work challenges me to keep ahead of new media, strategies and technologies. Even if I am not developing campaign ideas, copywriting or designing myself, I enjoy working with other creative people (even with my clients), helping them develop their skills, to ultimately produce the most effective marketing communications possible.