The Early Years
Trish Lessard started building websites back in 1996. As Trish pointed out in the interview, that is pre-Google!
Media Junction through the years has been marked by transition. In 2005, there was a dip both in the market and in Trish’s passion for the business. Not feeling the passion for the agency, she decided to walk away and start another business. She ended up getting her real estate license and grew a successful real estate business.
For a while, everything was going well. The business was growing, but something wasn’t right. Trish felt tired all the time. It got so bad that she went to the doctor. She was told that she was battling third stage cancer. The news hit Trish like a ton of bricks. Being a fighter her whole life, she wasn’t going to take this latest transition sitting down.
The Entrepreneurial Cross Roads
After two years of fighting, she beat the cancer. She decided it was time to return to the business. This time things were going to be different. She refused to waste her time building a business she wasn’t passionate about. She returned to Media Junction.
She found the business in turmoil. They were $60,000 in credit card debt and had little cash on hand. It was just her and Kim at that point. At that low point they had a decision to make: give in or keep going. They decided to keep going.
They posted a job for a web designer. The person they hired became their current creative director Ryan.
The Decision to Build the Agency You Love
It was at this point that she learned that she needed to build a business she loved and the team loved. This meant listening to the team and hearing what they wanted out of the agency. Some wanted a new place to work. They decided to transition yet again and move their offices closer to the city.
Around this time, they started talking to HubSpot. Though their conversations with HubSpot centered around software, they noticed the unique agency culture. As a HubSpot partner, they started to see success and continue to grow the agency team.
Working with diffferent contacts at HubSpot, Trish knew that they had something special going on. They people on the team seemed to enjoy their job, connect well with their co-workers, and always have a positive attitude. She wanted to bring this same passion and positivity to life at Media Junction.
Unleashing an Agency Culture
While they were growing, Trish knew that they could be doing better. She recieved a little pep talk from HubSpot co-founder Brian Halligan. Brian challenged Trish to define their culture. He shared that she was the one holding the company back by not defining the stucture of the team needed to flourish. Trish took the advice to heart.
Over the next 9 months, Trish and the core team at Media Junction worked to define their culture code. They wanted to create a code that would live in the company, not simply hang on posters or in a binder of the shelf.
They started with an open-ended survey to the entire team. They wanted to know what the team thought about their jobs, the agency, and where they wanted to see things go.
They took the submissions and started whiteboarding. Using the words that people submitted, they began to get a visual for the attitude of the team. They really wanted to tap into the thoughts of the entire team, not just the leadership component. This exercise helped tap into their thoughts.
The Media Junction Culture Code
Today the Media Junction culture code is alive and well. The process of creating the code proved to be as beneficial as the code itself. This code helps the Media Junction team hire the right people, the first time. It helps potential team members visualize what life will be like at Media Junction.
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