Finding a great business partner can make running your own business a great experience.
“I get up every day and want to come to work,” says Guy Michael, partner and vice president of business development and account services for Sync Creative, an advertising and interactive agency.
Michael started the job with Jeff Beeler, now managing partner, 16 years ago.
“I had left a job to do freelance marketing design and selling print,” says Michael. At the time, he found out that Beeler was also going to freelance, and the two decided to team up and begin an agency.
Their first office was the spare bedroom of Beeler’s townhouse in Westerville. They soon outgrew that space and moved to an unused room at a client’s office, while increasing to three employees. Another year passed, they added a couple more employees and moved to an office space in Gahanna.
In Gahanna they were in a custom built-out space in the attic of a school house.
“That was a great space,” says Michael, “but we wanted a more creative space in an urban neighborhood. Lots of our clients are located in downtown Columbus.”
They were also looking for an older space. Their search led them to many different neighborhoods and spaces, when they found a building in German Village that an architecture firm was moving out of.
“We wanted an older building,” says Michael.
Built in the year 1900, the building has needed quite a bit of work throughout the years. The previous occupants had started a bit of renovations, which Michael and Beeler liked and kept. Otherwise, work that needed to be done included shoring up the foundation in the back of the building, working on plumbing, electrical and wiring for a network, restoring woodwork, re-roofing, and adding a conference space.
The layout of the 2,143-square-foot space is sometimes a challenge; because it is an older home, it is divided into rooms. However, the rooms are large and do allow space for their employees, kitchen, reception, and conference room.
The company turned to Walltalkers to install Dry-Erase boards in several of the rooms.
Custom built cabinetry has been added, designed internally by Daren Elosh. Much of the furniture has been sourced from IKEA, except for the conference table and chairs which are from Continental Office Environments.
The cobblestone streets and wrought-iron fences of the neighborhood give the team plenty of visuals to relax and recharge. German Village has plenty of spots to frequent for client meetings and lunches.
Like many companies, Sync Creative struggles with managing growth, but Michael has some close friends and advisers to turn to for advice.
“It also helps to have the same partner for so long,” he says. “We complement each other and rely on each other. I wish I’d known Sync was going to last 16 years…it would have saved me many sleepless nights!”
For more information, visit SyncCreative.com.
Do you know of, have, or work in, a creative workspace and would like to be featured in this series? If so, please contact Anne Evans.