The only constant in life is change. And change occurs whether you want it to or not. So when you have the opportunity to take matters into your own hands, it’s something like a blessing.

This January, after five-and-a-half-years an an exclusive consultant, I’ll be leaving Boxman Studios to pursue other endeavors.

Five-and-a-half-years is a long time. In fact, it’s the longest I’ve ever been at one company. And while I’ve enjoyed helping take Boxman Studios from a raw concept to the fastest-growing company in Charlotte and #120 on the Inc. 500 in under five years, it’s time to turn the page. I’ll remain on as a consultant, as I have a long-term interest in the success of the company, but for now it’s on to a new adventure.

So what happens next? Well, I’ve learned a lot about branding and storytelling in the digital realm here at Boxman, and so it’s my intention to use this experience as the foundation for building my own company.

Or rather, rebuilding it.

From 2001 until 2009, I ran my own “virtual” ad agency called smashcommunications. It was mostly a traditional shop, except that there wasn’t a brick-and-mortar office. The idea for smash was to take advantage of the rise in digital connectivity for collaboration and problem solving. Of course back then that mostly meant email and FTP, but still, I’d virtually collaborate with designers, writers, and production artists to help fulfill projects for clients from all over. It was a cool concept, and one that has since been adopted and perfected by agencies around the world. Considering the tools we use to connect and collaborate today, the idea of the “virtual” agency is rather commonplace.

Whether I reboot smash or go with a new name, I won’t be offering traditional advertising services this time around. Which is not to say that traditional advertising is dead, but rather that I’m betting businesses and organizations can benefit from the same concepts and strategies that I successfully employed at Boxman Studios. None of which included traditional advertising.

My new company will offer consulting services around brand building and inbound marketing – focusing on content marketing as the primary vehicle to drive awareness and generate revenue. And yes, while it’s true that content marketing is the business world’s latest obsession, unlike most of my (future) competition, I’ve actually created and executed content strategies that work.

Anyway, it’ll be fun to get out there and mix it up again. I look forward to it.

As always, thanks for reading.

jim mitchem boxman studios

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Jim Mitchem

The Great American Tragedy
A Tale of Two Sisters

Jim Mitchem

Writer. Father to daughters. Husband. Ad man. Raised by wolves. @jmitchem on twitter. First novel, Minor King, out now.

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