Viamark Carolinas Shares Their Secret to Success
Viamark Carolinas shares their secret to success!
Viamark Carolinas president, Bea Raybourne, and her business partner and agency vice president, Gayle Brown, first launched Viamark Wilmington (NC) in September 2006 from a spare room in Raybourne’s house. They had zero clients.
By 2016, in an inspiring example of determination, hard work, and strategic synergy, they had grown the agency enough to invest in the Viamark South Carolina franchise. Today, they operate as Viamark Carolinas, a two-state agency with a highly diverse client base that includes automotive, telecommunications, healthcare, industrial, and a variety of retail.
Raybourne shares their secret to success....
"Gayle and I have known each other for nearly twenty years. In 2004, I was the general manager of a radio station, and Gayle was local sales manager. Over time, corporate pressures became unbelievable. The stress overwhelmed the gratification we got from our work, and the amount of time we could spend with our families was dwindling.
Our ultimate goal was to be happy and make a lot of money. With Viamark, we saw an opportunity to start a business where the foundation was already in place with a website, reporting, and marketing materials. It also made us part of a bigger group, enabling us to compete with larger agencies for clients.
I recommend Viamark, but I also warn that it is much harder than you might think. Gayle and I both enjoy sales backgrounds and had a lot of contacts in Wilmington and Charleston, but it takes more than just hard work and contacts. It takes a no fail mindset, determination, and a good support team. Gayle and I were lucky in that we went into this as a team, and our talents play well off each other. We often lean on each other for our strength and support. It would have been much tougher on our own independently.
We now have almost outgrown our fourth office and continue to expand our staff to help super-serve our ever-expanding customer base. Many of our clients have been with us for more than 10 years.
We like to hire talented young women with experience or who have studied for a career in advertising, digital marketing, and social media, and we enjoy empowering them to pursue their goals in life and in business.
As for us, we have the flexibility needed, which allows for more time with our families. This was the catalyst that drove us to owning our own company, and we are blessed to have continued success.
