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From Barb's desk...
Happy New Year and welcome 2023! How can it be 2023 already?! 2023 is a notable and special year for Heartland Marketing Group as we turn 40 years old.
I admit to having mixed feelings about HMG being 40. I am very proud of our accomplishment given the fact small agency/business survival past one to five years is very low. In fact, Forbes tells us 20% of small businesses fail in the first year and only 45% to 50% reach their five year anniversary.
Our longevity is a credit to the terrific team here at HMG. Ann Trimble-Ray, our vice president, has so much to do with our client service. She will celebrate her 35th anniversary with us next month. Ann treats every client with care and works to meet and exceed every one of your expectations and requests. It’s absolutely no secret that much of our success is due to her. We also have a team of professionals, both past and present, to serve clients like big city agencies do. Aren’t I lucky most of them have chosen to settle in northwest Iowa?
The mission of Heartland Marketing Group has always been to tell our client’s stories. I appreciate all of our clients and am extremely happy to tell ag’s story for them. I was raised on the farm, worked in animal health sales, and married a farmer so you could say agriculture and its stories are my passion. Starting this company reflects my desire to help ag-related companies tell their stories using all kinds of communications strategies and tools. One of our best accomplishments as a company is that our first customer is still a client today. Serving them for 40 years is definitely an honor.
Now the other side of those mixed feelings. I’d like to say I started HMG when I was 13, BUT we all know that would be a stretch of the truth. I am proud to say I started HMG after marrying a terrific farmer from Sac County, Iowa, who has supported my dream while we grew a farm and raised a family of three children. Andy, Dan, and Kourtney have grown up riding with Mom sometimes, hanging out in the kitchen of the office before or after sports practice, having Mom fly into one of their school activities at the very last minute, and mostly seeing two parents work to make both occupations go. I am proud to say they are all grown adults now, successfully pursuing their own careers. Of course, Steve’s help goes beyond being supportive as he has been our business manager for the past 30 years in addition to running the farm. I tried to even it out by helping to load pigs and running the combine. Something tells me I got the better end of the deal.
Like so many businesses and industries, we have seen many ups and downs during these 40 years. There were times we had to dig in to make it all work and other times when the plans all came together. Truth is, both of these times proved to be blessings. We learned what we were made of during the tough times and celebrated clients’ successes during the good ones. What a joy!
As we celebrate our 40 years in business this entire year, stay tuned to see what we have planned. We want to include you as well.
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