It was 11 years ago when Greg Abel got the entrepreneurial itch and decided to leave his job in journalism. With a strong background in writing and plenty of agency experience, Greg went out on his own and formed a company, Abel Communications.
In recent years, Greg has proven that Abel Communications is a leading public relations firm in the Baltimore Metropolitan area. The company has exceeded expectations by jumping from two to 15 employees over the past six years. In the last nine months alone, eight new workers have joined the team.
While Greg wants his company to be successful, he is most focused on giving back to the community. By growing his business in Baltimore, Abel shows that anyone can become a business owner in Maryland, hire local employees, and have those workers feel that they are making a difference.
Greg Abel sat down with MDBizNews to talk about his entrepreneur experience, giving back to Baltimore, and the future of Abel Communications.
What made you take the leap and start your own company?
Prior to starting Abel Communications, I’d spent 15 years working in various roles across journalism, sports marketing, agency PR and corporate communications. Having experience at places like Advantage International, which was an international sports marketing agency, and as PR Director at a publicly-traded company gave me the confidence and depth of experience I felt I needed to start something on my own.
I also never felt comfortable working for someone else. I think I’m a bit of an oddball, someone who doesn’t fit in naturally inside other corporate cultures; so I wanted to start something of my own. It wasn’t so much a desire to be an entrepreneur as much as it was finding a way to feel comfortable in my own shoes. But through the experience of creating something I became an entrepreneur and that has been a phenomenally rewarding journey.
Why did you decide to locate your company in Baltimore, Maryland?
I’m a Baltimore native. I grew up in Owings Mills and went to college in Virginia at James Madison and worked in D.C. for about 5 years. But for the last 15 years I’ve lived in Baltimore City and it’s my home.
As much as Baltimore has big-city problems, I feel an allegiance and loyalty to it. I’d like to be a part of the solution rather than another homeowner or business owner who moves away and leaves Baltimore’s challenges to someone else. So that provides a great source of pride and grit to our firm – we are proudly based in Baltimore and being here is deeply entrenched in the fabric of who we are and how we work.
Abel has seen significant growth in the past year. Tell us about the new positions and why you decided to expand your team.
There was a time, not that long ago, when we could keep clients very happy mainly by delivering media relations. This remains core to our work but any communications firm that wants to remain both relevant and strategic in the 21st century needs to be fluent in digital and social media and visual story telling.
This trend has played a major role in our growth. We’ve invested by hiring a new director of social and digital media, a graphic designer, and a photographer/videographer. In addition, we continue to hire outstanding PR talent who have come to our agency as we’ve added new clients and expanded relationships with existing clients.
What is unique about Abel Communications?
Our culture, collective spirit and Baltimore pride drive this agency.
The culture is creative and open but also very much focused on business results. We encourage our staff be courageous and inquisitive—‘always ask why’ is one of our mantras. Another is that we are consultants and not order takers. We regularly challenge our clients’ assumptions and encourage them to invest in new ways to reach audiences.
Finally, we celebrate Baltimore through both our client work and team outings. For example, we just started working with the Maryland Film Festival (MdFF) on the launch of its new theater, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Parkway in the Station North neighborhood. About half of our clients are based in and around Baltimore.
We celebrate our city and neighborhood with regular outings into Hampden or R House over in Remington. We close the office on Opening Day to celebrate spring and the start of the Orioles season. Employees are encouraged to use the day to head downtown to be part of the game, or just enjoy Baltimore in a way that makes them happy.
Where do you see Abel in the next five to ten years?
We want to continue to grow and work with ambitious clients that are growth oriented. While we’re always going to be headquartered in Baltimore, we want to be known nationally as a phenomenal agency.
Abel Communications has a great team and I take a lot of pride in that. In the next five to ten years I want to maintain my sense of responsibility to these incredible professionals and ensuring that they have a career that is fulfilling and challenging.
New clients help that by providing new opportunities and challenges, so that’s where I see my focus.
What is one piece of advice you would give local entrepreneurs?
Even when you’re alone, you never have to go it alone. Find mentors and peer counseling groups. And if you can’t find one, you can create one.
Instead of facing a new challenge alone, find someone who has been there before and ask them how they handled it – this approach alone can save you years of frustration.
One of the best things I’ve done for myself is join an organization called PRSA Counselors Academy, which is a national organization of PR agency owners and senior leaders. There’s an annual conference that I haven’t missed for five years because it’s people in a similar line of work in different markets, all sharing their ups and downs. It’s fantastic for learning and making professional connections, so I can’t recommend this kind of activity highly enough.
Learn more about Greg and the entire Abel team at abelcommunications.com.
The post Q&A with Greg Abel, President of Abel Communications appeared first on MDBIZNews.
from https://mdbiznews.commerce.maryland.gov/2017/03/qa-greg-abel-president-abel-communications/
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