Everhouse is a small creative agency that tackles difficult marketing questions. They aren’t just communicators and creatives, though. They’re researchers. The Everhouse team delves deep. First, to understand, then to distill complex concepts and communicate them (oftentimes through video and animation) to the rest of the world. 

How did you first learn about Anchor Advisors?

Over the years, my brother-in-law John and I had joked and dreamed about someday combining forces; I was a lifelong medical device salesman, and he’d built a career in marketing and communications. We figured we could do great things together by adding my sales experience to his creative expertise. 

When we were ready to move from dreaming to strategizing, we called Brad. John had known Brad for years and admired his depth of knowledge about the industry. As it turned out, Brad was the perfect person to help us think through and plan our partnership. 

What were the goals of the engagement?

The goals were probably slightly different for me than for John. I was making a major career change, whereas John had been running a creative agency for over 10 years. I wanted to walk away with a better understanding of the creative agency space and how to ramp up my skills to start meaningfully contributing. Fast.

How long did you work together, and what did you accomplish? 

By the end of the engagement, which lasted about six months, all John and I really needed to do was take some documents to a lawyer and sign on the dotted line. All of our questions were answered.

Brad knows the industry so well; he was like a third-party mentor throughout the entire process. He helped orient me to the field and what a creative agency partnership could look like. We crafted an org chart with roles and responsibilities, reviewed job descriptions, and figured out which silos John and I would each own. We talked about tiny details and big ideas.

The other major thing Brad helped us do was to develop a partnership agreement. We worked together to design the framework and figure out the nuts and bolts. 

What’s different at Everhouse because of your work with Anchor Advisors?

Beyond the obvious stuff of establishing our partnership, Brad also helped us think more strategically about the work we do and don’t want to do and how we price our services. Through his coaching, Brad encouraged us to move away from the “dollar menu” of services and start charging clients for the value we deliver. 

He was instrumental in moving us down a path we knew we wanted to go, but needed the extra nudge. When someone with Brad’s expertise tells you you’re an expert, it gives you the courage you need to jump!

Favorite part about working with Brad?

At the end of every call, Brad asked me, “Frank, anything that’s not making sense to you? Anything I can do a better job of explaining?” If I didn’t have an immediate answer, he’d always leave it as: “If something comes up on your drive home, shoot me an email, give me a call.”

During such a pivotal moment in my career, in my family’s life, and in my relationship with my brother-in-law, working with Brad was a huge comfort, like having both a personal trainer and a professional safety blanket.