Adam McWethy of BLVR: Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Launched My Business or Startup
An Interview With Doug Noll
Figure out what you believe, then base every decision on that belief. This will allow you to make quick bold decisions that will in turn allow you to get further ahead faster.
Taking the risk to start a company is a feat few are fully equipped for. Any business owner knows that the first few years in business are anything but glamorous. Building a successful business takes time, lessons learned, and most importantly, enormous growth as a business owner. What works and what doesn’t when one starts a new business? What are the valuable lessons learned from the “University of Adversity”? As part of this interview series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Adam McWethy.
Adam leads BLVR’s day-to-day operations and is responsible for the financial affairs of the company. He takes great satisfaction in ensuring the BLVR team executes at a high level to ensure positive outcomes for every client. With almost 20 years of industry experience, Adam has worked with close to 500 brands, including Globe, World Vision, Marcus & Millichap, Creative Planning, and Liberty Station to name a few.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I taught myself to develop websites at a travel company that I founded which went out of business shortly after 9/11. My brother Todd was the Creative Director at a tech start-up that got acquired and he also found himself out of job at the same time I was. His roommate needed a website, and since Todd knew how to design and I knew how to develop — we took it on. And the rest is history.
Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?
With no portfolio of work to lean on it was difficult to demonstrate to clients what we were capable of doing. We had to come in with really low-ball prices in order to secure some work. And since we weren’t making much money, I would have to close down the computer at around 4pm each day and then go sling surf and turf dinners at a restaurant each night in order to earn enough money to live on. It was a tough slog.
Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?
We always had just enough to get us by, and we were consistently growing steadily and surely. We started to get a few reputable names in our portfolio, which made the next sales pitch go a lot easier.
We have always had an anti-status quo approach — meaning that we’ve always sought to improve. As a result, there has never been a shortage of things to do in order to get better.
As The Belief Company, we are guided by being changemakers. So instead of dwelling on the difficult times, we choose to view them as opportunities to be innovative and make positive advancements.
So, how are things going today? How did grit and resilience lead to your eventual success?
Creative agency life is a constant roller coaster. The first thing to get cut during financial downturns is the marketing budget, so the last few years have been rough. But we have used this time to develop and really build out our unique Belief Method expertise. It’s become our differentiator that has positioned BLVR to stand out in a sea of sameness. We have started to see a big return on this investment, and the momentum is starting to snowball.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Todd and I were living at home with our mom when we first got up and going, and when we were ready to hire our first employee, we conducted the interview in one of the bedrooms at my mom’s house. During the interview, my mom yelled up, “Do you boys want any fresh baked cookies?” It was pretty embarrassing. So the lesson we learned there was to conduct interviews at the nearby Starbucks.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
We have always had a heart to give back and make a positive impact in the world. So we developed a pro bono program called Brand Aid where we would help non-profits and charity organizations with graphic design and marketing services. In a cut-throat industry that is so focused on profits at all costs, BLVR stands as a light of hope and positivity to our employees, clients and partners.
A few years ago, we partnered up with Love Does, which is an incredible organization that fights for human rights, cares for the vulnerable and provides education in conflict zones around the world. We got to help them with their branding and marketing communications, which has helped them have an even greater impact.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Take dedicated time to get perspective. This means getting away from the office every day and especially on the weekends to think. I do this by taking my dog for a walk. There is something about the fresh air and Southern California sunshine that allows my head to think in a different, more impactful way.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
We were a small “nobody” agency when we first got going. Despite this, Doug Hecht, President and COO at a huge agency in San Diego named Digitaria took us under his wing and agreed to mentor us a few times each year. The fact that he made himself available to a couple of little guys was absolutely incredible. I’ve tried to model this to other folks who are just getting up and going by making myself available to mentor them.
The one key piece of advice that I recall getting from Doug was a book recommendation about the proper process for creating websites. That helped shape how we delivered websites to our clients. Now, whenever I mentor others, I always try to recommend a good book or two that I feel would be helpful.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
Bringing goodness to the world is what motivates us each and every day. A few years back we became a B Corporation, at which time we tightened our pro bono program a bit. We now select one humanitarian organization each year to provide consultation and full brand development services. We also give that organization up to 10% of profits.
Earlier this year, a team member told us about his niece who is affiliated with a rare degenerative and life-threatening disease called Blau Syndrome that robs people of their vision, mobility and in some cases their life. So we decided to throw our support this year behind the Cure Blaue Syndrome Foundation. Hopefully we’re able to elevate their brand so that they can grow, garner more support, and ultimately cure that nasty disease.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first launched my business,” and why?
1. Figure out what you believe, then base every decision on that belief. This will allow you to make quick bold decisions that will in turn allow you to get further ahead faster.
2. If you’re in it to get rich quick, it’s not going to happen. It’s going to take way longer and will be way more difficult than you could ever imagine.
3. Get a mentor or two. And pay for consultants to help you as early and as often as possible. They will save you so much time and money over the long haul.
4. Figure out your point of differentiation at the same time you are coming up with your business idea. If you don’t have a differentiator, you may want to rethink launching the business altogether.
5. Find partners that have polar opposite skill sets as you do. This is most important with the CEO and COO relationship. The CEO must be a visionary, and the COO must be able to take the vision and execute upon it.
Can you share a few ideas or stories from your experience about how to successfully ride the emotional highs & lows of being a founder”?
Don’t get emotional — it’s just business. Make quick decisions — don’t swirl. Seek to help others — then you will be blessed in return.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
For people — find your true belief and then build everything in your life on top of that foundation.
For businesses — find your true belief and then build everything in your business on top of that foundation.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
About the Interviewer: Douglas E. Noll, JD, MA was born nearly blind, crippled with club feet, partially deaf, and left-handed. He overcame all of these obstacles to become a successful civil trial lawyer. In 2000, he abandoned his law practice to become a peacemaker. His calling is to serve humanity, and he executes his calling at many levels. He is an award-winning author, teacher, and trainer. He is a highly experienced mediator. Doug’s work carries him from international work to helping people resolve deep interpersonal and ideological conflicts. Doug teaches his innovative de-escalation skill that calms any angry person in 90 seconds or less. With Laurel Kaufer, Doug founded Prison of Peace in 2009. The Prison of Peace project trains life and long terms incarcerated people to be powerful peacemakers and mediators. He has been deeply moved by inmates who have learned and applied deep, empathic listening skills, leadership skills, and problem-solving skills to reduce violence in their prison communities. Their dedication to learning, improving, and serving their communities motivates him to expand the principles of Prison of Peace so that every human wanting to learn the skills of peace may do so. Doug’s awards include California Lawyer Magazine Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers in America Lawyer of the Year, Purpose Prize Fellow, International Academy of Mediators Syd Leezak Award of Excellence, National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals Neutral of the Year. His four books have won a number of awards and commendations. Doug’s podcast, Listen With Leaders, is now accepting guests. Click on this link to learn more and apply.
