Inspiring Conversations with Marley Wilson of Creative Collective

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marley Wilson.

Marley, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin? 
Hi, my name is Marley Wilson. 

I am currently 25 years old – but I started Creative Collective when I was 24. 

I am originally from Toledo, Ohio. 

After graduating college from the University of Toledo, I started working for an agency called Hanson Inc., which specializes in website and app development, among other things like branding and strategy. 

Within about 3 days of starting my job as an intern in March of 2020, the office went completely remote due to COVID, so the majority of my experience was WFH. 

Within 6 months of being an intern, I was promoted to Experience Delivery Associate. 

Around October 2020, I asked my boss and his manager if it would be okay if I moved out of state (as we were still remote due to COVID), and they said that would be fine, so I literally Googled “top 10 beach towns in the USA” and found Wilmington on a list! 

Maybe a week or so later, my best friend and I drove 12 hours from Toledo, OH, to Wilmington, NC, to look at apartments, and I was sold. 

Funny side-story about that trip… no joke… about 5 minutes before we walked into the hotel to check in, a plumber who was supposed to be fixing a problem broke a pipe, so we didn’t have any running water the whole 3 days we were there. One would think that would ruin our trip, but we absolutely fell in love with Wilmington, and I moved here a month later on November 19th! 

After about 3 years of working for Hanson, I had made my way from an intern to a Functional Architect. As a Functional Architect my expertise lied in website architecture, user experience, performance optimization, and metrics. 

Not long after I moved here, I discovered this amazing place called Capt’n Bill’s. I found my way out there playing beach volleyball as a way to make new friends and meet people. Then, I decided it would be quicker if I just worked there and was forced to talk to everyone, so I applied to become a part-time server while I was still working for Hanson. 

Through that experience, I met a lot of amazing people and built a connection with the owners of Capt’n Bill’s. 

Eventually, they came to me and asked if I could help run their social media (because they knew about my full-time role in marketing), so I switched from serving to doing their social media marketing. 

One thing led to another, and then I started handling the Bill’s Brewing account, and then other local businesses started reaching out to me. 

I have always had a passion for photography and art, so it was really fun getting to work on things that both required my strategic and analytical brain… but also gave me some creative freedom. 

Working with Capt’n Bill’s and Bill’s Brewing is really what opened my eyes to the possibility of starting my own business. 

Growing up, my dad used to call me his “little CEO” because I have always been very ambitious and driven to lead others and build something of my own. Ever since I was a kid, I have always said I wanted to own my own business… I just never could put my finger on what exactly I was going to own. 

I really do believe that everything happens for a reason, and sometimes you just have to follow your heart and take chances. 

So, after a little under a year of working with Bill’s, in February of 2023, I made the bold and risky decision to ask Hanson if I could transition from a full-time employee to a contractor employee and dove head-first into Creative Collective Inc. 

Our 1-year anniversary is actually February 7th, 2024! (we are very excited!) 

I still have a great relationship with Hanson and hope to continue to work with them on collaborative projects in the future. 

I’d love to shout out my boss Joe, who honestly was the best mentor I could have asked for. Working at Hanson, I was able to learn from a lot of really talented and intellectual individuals who helped me grow so much in those 3 years. 

That being said, I think my leaving there was inevitable because I believe I have always been destined to be a business owner and a leader… and I’m not sure I would have ever been fully fulfilled doing the work I was doing there. With that, I am unbelievably grateful for the experience I got working with that team and the relationships I built, specifically with Joe. 

To recap CC’s first year, we… 

– worked with a total of 5 employees/contractors

– worked with a total of 15 clients

– built and went live with our website 

– and started a podcast! 

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I’ll say this, I feel very grateful to be in this town and for the connections I have made here because in our first year, about 75% of our clients came from word of mouth and referrals.

Of course, every new venture comes with ups and downs. At the start it was hard because I was doing everything myself. I was (and still am) staying up all hours of the night trying to be the accountant, the salesperson, the project manager, the task-doer, etc., and I just didn’t have enough hours in the day to do everything I needed to do. 

Because of that, it was hard to find new clients in the beginning because well… I didn’t have time to find new clients. 

Soon enough, I started to build my team, but I was still drowning. 

Trickle-down effect: our work ebbed and flowed a lot, so there have definitely been a number of months where I have gone without paying myself (if my mom and dad see this, they don’t know that, whoops!) 

Luckily, I was in a good financial position before taking this leap, so I was able to overcome that period and continue to build our team and client base. 

The reason I was in that position was because I was trying to build my business and my team at the same time, and when you start to build a team, your team’s paycheck has to come before your own, so sometimes that meant I had to do what I had to do. But without my team, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Danielle (my Lead Visual Designer), specifically, has made such an impact on CC as a whole, and I could not be more grateful for the work she has done for us both internally and for our clients. 

It definitely takes a village and I look forward to building a team that can continue to project CC forward in 2024! 

If I had to go back, I would do it all over again the exact same way. 

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I created CC with the intention of being a small business owner committed to orchestrating meaningful digital experiences for other small businesses. 

We offer services related to logo and branding, website builds, social media marketing, photography and videography, ads management, and email marketing. 

At Creative Collective, we do what we do because we’re passionate about the transformative power of digital experiences. We believe in what we do, and we believe that every business has a unique story to tell, and that story deserves to be heard in a compelling and meaningful way. 

Our agency was born out of a deep-seated desire to help businesses of all sizes harness the potential of the digital landscape to connect with their audiences, drive growth, and make a lasting impact. 

This is why we have bundle prices for small businesses in need of multiple services but a lack of budget – which hinders them from achieving a holistic approach to their marketing efforts. 

We get it, small business owners; we are a small business, too! We want to see you succeed just as much as you want to succeed! 

At the end of the day, we just want to help other businesses thrive, and we hope that if people see the value in our services, they can respect that we are doing everything we can to offer them a reasonable estimate, which is where the concept of the “Complete Collective” and the “Mini Collective” packages came from. 

In terms of our approach, we’re driven by the notion that digital marketing isn’t just about algorithms and analytics; it’s about people. It’s about understanding the diverse needs, aspirations, and behaviors of your audience and crafting tailored strategies that resonate with them on a profound level. 

We’re here to bridge the gap between your brand and your customers, using the latest tools, technologies, and creative expertise to deliver experiences that engage, inspire, and leave a lasting impression. 

With that – we believe that social media is the new TV of advertising, and people really need to get on board and understand the impact that it’s having on marketing efforts! 

Lastly… our name. 

Our name quite literally means a group of creative professionals with different skill sets who join forces to offer a full range of services to their clients. 

If you take a look at our services, it takes a lot of unique skill sets to accomplish each project type, and so my goal with CC is to build a team of experts in each realm of the business to ensure we are able to offer the highest quality output on deliverables. 

So really what sets us apart from others is this…

1. Our dedication to helping other businesses grow by becoming a part of their team rather than just stepping in as an outsider,
2. Our genuine desire to build last relationships with our clients and our clients’ customers,
3. And our unique team built to provide high-quality deliverables at an affordable price.

What do you think about happiness?
Building my own hand-picked team and working with like-minded, driven, and creative people honestly fuels my soul. 

Knowing I get to wake up every day and work with people who are just as passionate about CC as I am is the best feeling in the world. And the work that we do – getting to help other businesses achieve their dreams, too – is like icing on the cake! 

I feel really proud of the culture I’ve built at CC, and I just enjoy getting to manage and work with people who are helping to make our client’s dreams come true. 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.creativecoinc.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creative.co.inc/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/creative-collective-inc/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@creativecollectiveinc

Image Credits
Bailey Holmes