Today we’d like to introduce you to Ivan Reed.
SunCity Advising was founded in 2011 in El Paso, TX. “Sun City” is also the nickname given to El Paso, TX because the sun shines an average of 302 days per year. They found that the name remained suitable even though the business transitioned it’s headquarters from El Paso to San Diego. Primarily, they thought it was fitting because — not only is San Diego known for its sun as well — but really it was a metaphor for the way they wanted to target business opportunities for their clients and “shine light” in a way that brings them visibility to strategies and tactics that result in increased business value.
But, it wasn’t until 2014 when they made the decision to give up on small business consulting side-projects to a full-fledged marketing agency and strategy-building company that accepted full-time annual client contracts.
Their founders, Ivan and Sean Miles, were both getting their MBA degrees at the University of San Diego when they decided to expand the firm and continue helping clients with their growth goals. This meant foregoing the management consulting interviews they had been preparing for over the previous 2 years & focusing solely on the business.
They now serve small and medium-sized businesses from all industries who are focused on growth. Initially, however, they worked primarily with startups. They wrote business plans, implemented marketing strategies and built pitch decks that successfully resulted in funding. Now, they embed themselves into firms with a quarter billion dollars of annual revenue and both strategically advise them on marketing decisions, as well as help to implement some of the most technical web development issues that can arise.
It was a tough decision early on, with only one client under contract for $500/mo. But, they have since grown to a portfolio that includes more than 20 companies across 4 continents — and most important to — they have changed the lives of dozens of entrepreneurs and corporate executives!
Years have now passed and they are now considered industry leaders and regularly give lectures and discussions on college campuses, to entrepreneurship groups, and to startup incubators. The areas of expertise they most known for now are search engine optimization (SEO), paid advertising, social media, content creation, email marketing, and implementing strategic marketing initiatives. Their passion remains helping business owners with the business expansion so that they can focus on continuously improving their products or services.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
As my dad used to say, “nothing worth having in life comes easily.” Building a business is a tough thing to do. In the early days, right after the MBA program ended, I definitely had my moments of doubt and thought at times that it may not be worth the opportunity cost I was missing out on by sticking with a slow-growing small business.
But, as we began to grow more rapidly, revenue was less and less of a concern. Then, planning for taxes and finding the right employees were the next hurdles to overcome. At times both of those seemed like daunting tasks as well. But here we are – thriving as a business and enjoying the benefits of a strong, down to earth team.
I couldn’t imagine working for a huge firm where I didn’t know everyone and where the responsibilities could be spread to many people. I think one of the strongest aspects of our team is the fact that we all take ownership of figuring things out quickly and at a high level. If we didn’t have any obstacles to overcome in the beginning, we never would have built this company culture that focuses on self-worth and the opportunity for consistent individual improvement.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the SunCity Advising story. Tell us more about the business.
At the heart of it, SunCity Advising is business focused on helping others grow. We have found that by creating value for other businesses, we create value for ourselves as well. We are definitely growing a reputation for our strong SEO capabilities and have seen a significant part of our business growth on projects related to helping businesses become more visible to the search engines.
I think what makes us most unique compared to other marketing firms is our approach. Because of our background in management consulting, we initially operated in an advisory role for our clients. It didn’t take long for us to notice that there was also a need for implementation as well. So, we decided to take the management consulting model of high-level strategic advisory and combine that with the execution of tactics done by marketing agencies.
Relying on a high level of business acumen and a drive for results, we have positioned ourselves right between these two separate approaches. This is the SunCity Advising “secret sauce” that has carved and maintained our niche — and our customers speak for the success of this approach. We have never lost a client! This is by far our most exciting accomplishment because we believe it says everything about who we are; we’re more than a marketing firm. We treat every client as if we are an owner of the business as well and we take pride in the decisions that we help make to improve business results.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Luck is always a factor in the success and failure of a business. But, it is important to roll with the punches as well and look for the positives of any situation. When things looked grim for us as a budding consulting firm… what did we do? We decided to pivot to digital marketing because it was driving 90% of our revenue. Not surprisingly, once we committed to that transition, our own business grew rapidly! Many times the luck is right in front of you, but you’ve just got to be willing to listen for it and bend when needed.
Pricing:
- Marketing Services Starting at $500/mo
Contact Info:
- Address: 4250 Executive Square
Suite 101
La Jolla CA, 92037 - Website: https://suncityadvising.com/
- Phone: (858) 859-0123
- Email: mypotential@suncityadvising.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suncityadvice/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/suncityadvising/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SunCityAdvice
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/suncity-advising-la-jolla
Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
