We were lucky to catch up with Kelli Maxwell recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kelli thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

When I first started in the marketing industry, I was trained by the good old boys. You know, the ones from Mad Men… the radio, television and newspaper salesmen. They all still utilized the tactics that worked back then and it was still very much a male dominated industry here in Montana. The more I worked with them for my job (marketing a local financial firm) the more I saw how outdated and out of touch they were. They didn’t believe in social media and they all seemed to care only about the sale; not the creative that went into the content or building the relationship with their clients after the sale. So when I started my agency I took what I learned, which was mostly how NOT to be a marketer, and vowed to do basically the opposite of what everyone else was doing.

I chose to focus on people before profits, in fact that’s one of my founding principals in everything I do. I chose to focus on the little guys, the start ups, the ones who get laughed at because they don’t have a budget. And I chose to custom bid every job we do, instead of forcing clients into a cookie cutter package that doesn’t fit their needs. I also chose to focus on authentic content creation; not generic content anyone could create, to really highlight my client’s personality and their expertise. I also chose to never make anyone sign a long term contract. I don’t believe in locking people into a six or twelve month commitment just to make sure I get paid. Every account is month to month and flexible so that we can adjust as we grow and my clients know they can always walk away if they aren’t happy. So far that hasn’t happened yet, as we have a client retention rate of over 80%.

I am living proof that my philosophies work. I used them first on myself and grew a six figure agency in the first two years without ever spending a dime on advertising. I created my own authentic content on social media to attract my ideal clients and once we started working together, they don’t leave. I’ve also made several millionaires with little to no add spend on their accounts and continue to use these exact strategies today.

Kelli, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My origin story is a fun one; I got my start as a professional princess. While I was working at the financial firm, which to be honest was so boring and unfulfilling, I was searching for a creative outlet. A friend told me about some princess party companies in big cities and mentioned that Montana didn’t have one. So, I jokingly said I would start one. I did. We dressed up as popular princess characters and performed at local parties, events, parades and even the zoo. This was were I really learned how to manage a business, all the back end admin work that goes into running a business, and cultivating my content creation and social media skills. I grew that company and brand so well with my content creation that I was picking up freelance work for other local companies to help with their socials. That’s when I finally made the leap to quitting my job and starting my own agency. I sold that company, subsequently started a whiskey coffee company that I sold, and had a popular podcast show that got paid sponsorships in the first year and ran consistently for three years straight. I also started and sold a gym, invested in real estate, built my dream home and have continued to grow my agency in that five year time span.

All of those things have lent themselves to one main goal; building generational wealth and cultivating my business and marketing acumen. These days I’m solely focused on growing my agency nationally; we now have branches in Arizona, Kentucky and Indiana and private investing in companies and brands I believe in. I’ve learned a lot of lessons the hard way but I’m proud to say everything I do is still based in the foundation of why I started Ember Marketing Group, how we serve our clients and level of personalization and customization we provide is parallel to none.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Authenticity is the one word I always come back to. With the recent rise in AI, automations, an infinite number of tools to make everything “easier”, I feel like the human element has been largely lost online. We saw a peak in the early days of social media where everyone was posting their highlight reels, using filters on their pictures and using automations to spam everyone. I love seeing the tables turn back to authentic brands using real bodies, tik toks and reels going viral showing people just being themselves and the ability for anyone to be able to build a brand a business by sharing their individuality and attracting their audience. We are craving authentic connections, especially after a global pandemic, and my greatest fulfillment comes from spending time with my clients, letting them simply be themselves, and capturing that on video for them. All the automations to grow and manage a business won’t matter if there is no heart or human behind it and finding ways to utilize those tools but also keep our human connections is what drives my creativity daily.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I feel like the words “pandemic” and “pivot” have become synonymous but truly that’s what we all did. My business tripled in the year 2020 because where fear and uncertainty reign, I choose to find opportunities and think outside the box. The businesses who survived that year got creative and doubled down on their marketing and I did the same. I worked with several different industries, some affected and some not so much by the lock downs, and we all got to encourage one another, think outside the box, ask for different perspectives and find creative new ways to continue to market and do business. That is my most glaring example of pivoting, but the biggest lesson I learned is that every worst case scenario is always just a perspective. I found great wealth and success for myself and my clients where others found defeat and loss and although it’s always so much easier said than done, we always try to look for the bright side in all seemingly negative situations.

Contact Info:

• Website: embermg.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelli.r.maxwell/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/embermg
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelli-maxwell/

Image Credits
Daniel Kessel Kelli Maxwell