We recently connected with Max Lefeld and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Max thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
I would have to say that it’s starting my own company with the very deserving name, Co.Jones! Pronounced Company Jones in English or Cojones in Spanish. That’s what I thought was needed when I went on my own almost 20 years ago. Nothing has changed. I still feel that we are a start-up every day. When you go on your own, it teaches you valuable life lessons of humility, gratefulness, respect, and appreciation. Things people take for granted or sometimes forget. The corporate ladder makes people believe that they are in control, but suddenly winds change, and they get thrown out of the ship. Suddenly they are humble again. Corporate culture teaches us that the corporate ladder is an increasing vertical thing where the higher you are, the more important you are. But the reality is that it’s not vertical, it’s a horizontal monkey bar where everyone is hanging and competing to see who can hold the longest. We are all equal. And seeing others horizontally teaches you to respect and accept. So, back to the question, I have been hanging on, on my own, for 20 years as an independent, freelance, multicultural creative who specializes in the Hispanic market. It does take lots of Cojones to step aside from the perks of Corporate America and try entrepreneurship on your own, in a foreign country.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I was an advertising creative director working for some of the largest American ad agencies in my country, Venezuela, (Leo Burnett, Walter Thompson, Ogilvy) when in 1995 I got the offer to move to the US and work in what they called the Hispanic market. I liked the challenge of leaving everything behind and going after a whole new chapter.
Suddenly, the plane took off. I landed in unknown territory and 28 years later I call it home. What I basically do is come up with ideas – think about bridges – that gap the divide between corporate America and us, the Latinos, or how you call us here, “the Hispanics”. I think of culturally relevant ways to engage and persuade my people to look, get interested and ideally purchase products and services that they do not know about or understand, or if they do know about them, remind them of them and persuade them to purchase. It’s so much more than just translating! It’s understanding the two sides of the deal. Understanding the brand and its benefits to the target and understanding the target and how they would benefit if they considered this new brand proposal. It’s sort of a bi-racial matchmaking. I get brands/services to meet Hispanics and wait to see if they swipe left or swipe right.
In this career in Hispanic, creative advertising, I have done work for global brands like Budweiser. We did so many TV commercials for them. Developed World Cup soccer campaigns, World Series, and even Super Bowl spots. For Nissan, we were able to reverse an industry standard. Usually, Hispanic advertising agencies get the General market spot and just have it translated. However, in this particular instance, our Hispanic TV spots were translated from Spanish to English and they ran on regular American TV networks, proving that creativity doesn’t have to be underestimated because of where it comes from. At. Co.Jones we have vast experience working with all sorts of clients, from National accounts to regional clients. From TV spots to social media posts. Our nimble and flexible operation allows us to thin out or stretch depending on client budgets and needs. For us, no client is too small. Some of our biggest pride comes from helping small brands get going. So, that’s who we are. We hated bureaucracy and decided to go out, roll up our sleeves, and be our own boss and our own employee. Here, the chef will also be the waiter.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
I would say being creative, honest, trusted, responsible, grateful, and respectful. It’s like 6 crystal balls that you must juggle and keep them all in the air. If you drop any of those, clients most likely would not repeat. Repetitive business is key. Always strive for great ideas; don’t just settle for the first. Be honest with your compensation and responsibilities. Deliver on time or even before. Never stop expressing your gratitude for their trust and business. Lastly, and certainly not least, respect their time, their investment, and them. Treat others the way you want to be treated.
Those ingredients come first before anything else. You can do all the influencer BS you want, but if there’s no creativity, honesty, trust, responsibility, gratefulness, and respect, things fall quickly and there’s no growing at all.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
I go back to the monkey bar example I spoke about earlier. Treat and see others horizontally, not vertically. Do unto others what you want for you. If you like to take Fridays off because it’s cool to run errands and chill out, the same goes for your people. Don’t just take privileges because you are high on the ladder. Make everyone feel as if they are high on the ladder as well because, at the end of the day, you are all balancing each other. I think fairness is a great way to split privileges and responsibilities. If someone needs to mind the shop, then split the time off, so everyone gets a feel for it. That’s how I think you maintain morale. Sharing the load, but also sharing the joy.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://showcojones.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/co.jonescreative/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cojonescreative
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/76205137/admin/feed/posts/
Image Credits
Marian Lefeld