Becky Wood is president of The Service Station Advertising Agency, a company she began in 1998. Prior to opening the agency, Wood’s career included work in media and sales.
Wood graduated from Limestone Community High School and attended Bethel College in Mishawaka, Ind.
She has two daughters.
Tell us about yourself: education, professional background, family, etc.
I’ve lived my whole life in the Peoria area. I grew up in Bellevue, just outside of Peoria, and graduated from Limestone Community High School. My parents, Patsy and Willard, raised five children. Being the youngest of five, we were known as the “Kool-Aid” house where all of the neighborhood kids wanted to come play. I went to Bethel College in Mishawaka, Ind., intending to major in business administration, but while there, I developed a passion for youth, so I had a split major/minor of youth ministries.
My career started as a business administrator for two local churches. I had two young daughters, so I put my career on hold for a while. My first priority is family. My parents always instilled “family first” with us, and that’s my focus with my daughters. Ashley, a freshman at ICC, is majoring in art history; Alyssa is a sophomore at Peoria Christian School. Her thoughts are on obtaining her driver’s license and, of course, turning 16.
When I re-entered the work force in telecommunications, I started in account management, then moved into sales. It was there I realized the opportunity to build relationships with clients. I dealt with owners, managers, and administration of local businesses that made up our backbone for the community. I then moved into media sales with a local radio station when the telecommunication company was sold. My desire always has been to make a difference in the industry, with the clients I worked with, and in the community I lived. I’ve been fortunate to work in businesses that had a high level of integrity, which was important to me. I found myself working with owners and managers wanting to brand, promote, and grow their market share on a daily basis.
What prompted you to open your own ad agency?
While working in the media, I had enjoyed working with the clients directly. In building relationships with my clients, it was based on integrity, service, and knowledge. I was at a crossroads in a position and had shared my desire to service people. I had discussed it, researched it, and looked for an opportunity. In working with a few clients, an opportunity became available within Bard Optical. Owner Diana Hall had operated an in-house agency and was the backing to the agency. She’s a strong business woman who understands my passion and drive. The Service Station was born. In handling every facet of the agency and its growth of 15 clients within the first year, the experience was invaluable to me. And I was immediately aware of how important good decisions were in running a successful business. I then became sole owner of the agency and moved it to its current location on University Street. The leap was on faith, determination, and solid support from someone I respect, admire, and love: Diana Hall. At the time, I had one employee and 1,500 square feet of space—along with a dream. The Service Station Advertising Agency, Inc. became mine. The agency is based on the 1950s gas station where you pulled up for one thing but received more. We don’t do oil, air, and wiper blades, but we do focus on service.
How did your previous careers help prepare you for owning The Service Station?
They say there’s a reason for everything. I look at my past positions and sometimes just have to laugh. I’d sit in a client’s office and think, “How can I help him or her?” Knowing the limited amount of time we all have in business, I started asking if I could meet with other media to save a client time, then work with those media to ensure radio and television would match. In my church employment days of overseeing newsletters and bulletins, as well as working on an old Mac Plus, I started creating print ad layouts or point of purchase pieces for clients. One day, a client suggested I just handle it all—be his marketing department, if you will. I remember sitting back and thinking, “Why not?” I had on-the-job training and was qualified in what I knew. Working for someone is completely different from owning your own business. Look around any business, and you see the blood, sweat, and even a few tears of the owner who’s doing the day to day. In working closely with local business owners, I asked questions and, honestly, never looked back or doubted the journey.
What are some of the products/services The Service Station provides? What are your personal areas of expertise? What areas of expertise have other people contributed to your company?
The Service Station Advertising Agency is a full service marketing/advertising business. We offer creative solutions for radio, television, and interactive media. In the last few years, we’ve moved into the design arena, offering graphic logos, 3-D animations, print and paper layouts, brochures, end-of-year reports, etc. Basically, anything you can think of to brand your business, The Service Station offers. My personal areas are retail and automotive. In working with a local auto dealer when the agency first started, I saw a need for direction in promoting dealerships to the growing number of women consumers. I have two national consultants I’ve worked with, and while I’ve not actually sold a car, I’m familiar with the terminology, research, demographics, and disciplines needed to increase TOMA, establish a branding, and increase sales. I work closely with the dealers we represent and am included as part of their management team. Being a woman, this is a compliment because it’s primarily a male-dominated industry.
The agency has grown over the last seven years from one support person to adding additional office space and a team of dedicated individuals. Combined, there’s more than 16 years of intrusive media experience in radio and television production. We have multiple years of experience in graphic design, and the administrative team is second to none. We’re fortunate to have several types of clients in addition to our niche auto dealer entity—including retail, restaurants, and B2B. I’m very keen on diversification of business because I believe it provides a true understanding of the area, the marketplace, and the economy in general.
Although business can be diversified, good business management remains the same—an all-out effort to be a good and stable employer, produce a quality product or service, and profit from it. Certainly the marketplace and clients shift, and, at times, one area of business will be more active and profitable than others. When automotive is down, the restaurant and retail markets may be up and vice versa. Diversification is the best way to maintain a revenue flow when the marketplace is changing or the economy is shifting. Good business people learn how to adjust to the current business climate. I’m learning that on a daily basis.
Tell us about your career as owner of The Service Station: what does a typical day involve for you?
In serving clients in five different states, my typical day changes. I still oversee every facet of the agency—from signing off on all invoices to design layouts to written copy. I also travel to Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa, as well as within Illinois. We’re currently working with two new clients in Michigan and Missouri and recently made a decision to go national with our auto dealer services.
An average day for me is always best spent when I’m with clients. They energize, inspire, and motivate me to do better, go farther, and get stronger. The day can start as early as 7 a.m. and finish about 7:30 p.m. From drafts, to “o table” meetings with staff on a client, to sitting in edit sessions for television and radio, it’s surrounded by e-mail and follow-up phone calls, and I’m so thankful for my Blackberry. I can fly up to a dealer, have a full-day shoot with aerial shots, a meeting with a client on a new product, and discuss ways to increase foot traffic or B.I.S. (butts in seats). As the owner, I also handle it when the server is down or the router dies.
Discuss your agency's on-site recording studio.
In touring some of the larger agencies, studios are common, but for one the age and size of our agency, it’s unique. The studio, while not an actual part of the agency, has been connected from the beginning. It allows clients to visit the “iso” booth, record both television and radio spots, and to be involved first hand in jingle development and voice talent selection. There’s something about sitting with a group of talented artists, watching them be orchestrated by a trained director who has such talent with any instrument, and see the magic emerge. I have the utmost respect for Mark Wood and his studio talents. We’ve worked together for years, and he’s among the most talented creative types I know. We did a jingle for a client once, and it was great watching his face when the singers arrived and the final mix was approved. And we did it all in Peoria.
What’s the number one piece of advice you give your clients about advertising? What are the major mistakes many companies make?
It helps if there’s one person making the decision for a business. Much of the messy advertising you see on television and radio today is the product of committees. Committees can criticize advertisements, but they should never be allowed to create them. If your business is going to be open 52 weeks a year, you must have some marketing going 52 weeks a year. What worked five years ago won’t work today. Clients say, “We’ve always done it this or that way and have never done it a different way.” To me, time is money and money is money; you know your business, and we know ours. Another mistake companies make is determining how much to spend in advertising and attempting to spread the dollars too thin. Focus often gets placed on the owners’ likes and dislikes—not the audience they’re attempting to reach. I cringe when a client says, “I buy what I watch.” Bad advertising can unsell a product, and bad placement wastes dollars. I have a saying with each client: “Bargain Becky.” Whether it’s their money or mine, we won’t waste it. Period. I avoid clients for whom advertising is only a marginal factor in their marketing mix. They have an awkward tendency to raid their advertising appropriations whenever they need cash for other purposes.
How do you balance your responsibilities as a small business owner with your first love of sales?
It’s been a challenge for me to adjust from selling to running the day-to-day aspects of a business. At first, I felt there wasn’t anyone who could “sell” the agency as I can. It’s almost like parenting a child; you just don’t think anyone can care for it as you do. I’ve learned over the years that balance is essential in all areas of my life. I’ll always have my sales hat on; it’s just a part of me. I enjoy opportunities to speak on sales and developing relationships, and yet, running the day-to-day business is also a passion for me. If something’s not right at the end of the day, it’s the owner of the business who has to settle things. After several years of it, I’ve come to the conclusion that the top man has one principle responsibility: to provide an atmosphere in which creative mavericks can do useful work. Balance is a state of mind. If I keep myself in line, remember to laugh at the little stuff, encourage someone in what he’s doing, and take time to breathe, balance is found. It helps to have a great support group, so thanks to God, Diana, Rob, Mary, Jan, Terry, Pat, Rusty, Effy, Debi, Myfanwy, Celia, Craig, Brad, Sherry, Todd, and Mark.
How does your staff assist with the advertising promotions for a client?
My favorite quote is from David Ogilvy: “Hire people who are better than you are, then leave them to get on with it. Look for people who will aim for the remarkable, who will not settle for the routine.” They’re the pit crew, the mechanics, the dreamers, the workers, and the support we dream about. They’re productive, hard-working individuals, and the agency is better having them be part of it. I don’t take any one of them for granted.
We gather together for meetings and just start looking at the project. The team is made up of administratives, creatives, sales, and one great dane. I had to mention my dog someplace. From research to mystery shopping to tackling the hard stuff like explaining why we landed in a specific direction, the staff is the backbone of the agency. We want to do more for clients, so we have a client coordinator, a full-time creative director, and a full-time media manager. If you think of all the markets—all the states we’re in—full-time doesn’t even hit what happens on a daily basis. We have a design department that includes great interns from Bradley University. We have an operations manager who came from Caterpillar. They assist our clients daily, and that’s so important to me. From copy to completion of a newspaper layout or a television spot, the staff is involved.
What’s your personal business philosophy?
To make a difference. I get one chance at each day and truly want to make a difference in the lives I connect with. I have the privilege of working with fantastic people who chose to do business in communities where families are being raised, incomes are earned, and children are educated. These people have services, products, and events and trusted my business to help them. What an honor that we get to do this. It’s never been about fame or awards for me, and it never will. It’s about making a difference, helping someone, and along the way being profitable. I ask myself two questions each day: “What do I get to do today?” and “What did I accomplish today?” There are three words I use in describing the agency: integrity, service, and knowledge.
What are you proudest of in your career?
There are many things that pop to mind. As a mother of two teenage daughters, they’re my top career. Receiving the 40 Leaders Under Forty Award in 2000 was great. Having someone who I worked with 10 years ago remember me and my values is awesome. Having a client phone and share news of her business is still the most exciting. To be included or considered part of a client’s team is a proud moment for me.
There are many obstacles I’ve encountered personally and professionally. I’m proud of making it through all of them. I have a strong faith: trust in God, believe in yourself, and dare to dream. Among my favorite quotes: “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal” (Henry Ford). Today is a gift; I will engage in it, and as Jean Luc Pecard says, “Make it so.” TPW