Colwell Creative Content is a small - but growing - digital marketing agency that is based in Elmira, New York. But we have clients all over the United States. We also work with clients in Canada and have done business with companies based all over the world.
As a digital marketing agency, we offer a variety of services, including:
Website content - including web pages and blog posts
Website design services - WordPress, Wix, and SquareSpace
SEO (search engine optimization)
Ghostwriting and editing services for books and other forms of media
We’ve worked with companies in multiple industries to provide them with the services they need to grow their businesses. In fact, that’s our tagline - Let’s Grow Your Business Together.
But there’s a lot more to the story. And it’s one that I (Nicole) love to tell.
In the Beginning...
Colwell Creative Content started as a need for me to make money for my family.
In 2011, I left a job in ministry to work as a supervisor for a business in Elmira. I was excited about the opportunity, but it didn’t take long before I realized how challenging and mentally draining it was going to be.
Early in 2012, my husband began mentioning that I looked like an abused woman when I came home from work. He wasn’t far off. My boss had fired others in the office and not hired people to take their places. I was expected to take on their workloads, on top of my own. I was doing my best to stay afloat, but it was nearly impossible.
The verbal abuse started around February that year. I was constantly being brought into her office to get reprimanded. Her husband did it too. I reached a breaking point in early March 2012.
I was having lunch in my van in the parking lot and crying to my husband on the phone. My boss wanted to have a meeting with me at 1:00 pm, and I knew I was going to get yelled at, once again. My husband was quick to offer me advice.
“Just go home,” he said. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I asked him if he meant to just go home for the day and he said, “No. Quit. We’ll be OK. Enough is enough.”
Everything in me wanted to argue with him about it. But I was feeling so defeated, and I couldn’t. I went back inside, packed up my belongings, and walked out without saying goodbye to anyone. I went home and to be honest, what I had done started to dawn on me. I started to panic and my husband called me again to check on me. He told me to relax and watch TV for the rest of the day.
He consoled me when he came home from work. I didn’t know what I was going to do for a job. But he wasn’t worried, and I knew that I had ultimately done the right thing.
The Email
A few days later, I received an email from a company that I had signed up to write content for a few years prior. I hadn’t heard one word from this company up until then. But I had started writing when I was 10 years old. It’s always been my passion. I just didn’t know how to get paid for it.
The email basically said, “Hey, you signed up to write for us in 2007. Are you going to do it or not?” My curiosity was piqued. I decided that I could give it a shot, but I wondered if they would actually pay me. Was it a scam? I figured I’d test it out and see what happened.
I wrote a small article about Scooby-Doo Halloween costumes that paid $3.56. Then I waited to see if I’d see a payment for it on the 15th of the month like they promised.
I did.
My first thought was, Hey, I can do this. And that was the beginning of Colwell Creative Content. My next paycheck was more than $150, and they just increased after that.
Business Growth
It wasn’t long before I found other ways to get clients and find writing work. I joined a company called Blogmutt (now called Verblio) and started writing for their clients. Suddenly I had people contacting me asking me to write articles for their websites.
People got in touch with me asking if I could do things that I had never done before, like design them a newsletter. I put my head down and I figured out how to do it. Many of those clients are still with me to this day.
It got to the point where I started turning clients away because there was only so much ME to go around. Then I realized that what I really needed to do was expand. I needed to bring on other writers to help me handle the workload. To remain competitive, I needed to add new services with more professionals to do that work.
Ups and Downs
It hasn’t all been roses and sunshine. We have certainly had our ups and downs, but the downs have never lasted for very long. That’s the way it is in business, and I learned that pretty quickly.
But I forged ahead. I knew that when I walked away from that job that day, God had an incredible plan for what He wanted me to do. I couldn’t see it then, but I learned very early on to “walk on water.”
Where We are Today
Today, Colwell Creative Content has had its very first six-figure year, and 2022 may very well be our first seven-figure year. It’s an exciting time to be able to help businesses grow. It’s what we’re called to do, and it’s what we love.
Our team is made up of around 25 professionals who specialize in all of those services I listed above. And we’re not stopping there.
What could digital marketing do for your business? Want to find out? Contact us today and Let’s Grow Your Business Together.