September 17, 2025 • 29 mins
Ever wondered what it takes to thrive in the luxury marketing space? Madison Hollimon of Mad Marketing House joins me on 'The Water Trough' to discuss her unique path and the secrets of impactful storytelling. Don't miss it! #LuxuryMarketing #CreativeJourney #ListenNow
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Episode Transcript
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(00:10):
Welcome to The Water Troughwhere we can't make you drink,
but we will make you think.
My name is Ed Drozda, The SmallBusiness Doctor, and I'm really
excited you chose to join mehere as we discuss topics that
are important for small businessfolks just like you.
If you're looking for ideas,inspiration, and possibility,
you've come to the right place.
Join us as we take steps to helpyou create the healthy business
that you've always wanted.
Ed Drozda (00:44):
Good afternoon folks this is Ed Drozda, The Small
Business Doctor.
Welcome back to The WaterTrough.
Today I am joined by MadisonHolliman.
Madison is the owner and founderof Mad Marketing House, a
marketing firm that specializesin authentic creation and
branding for businesses,particularly in the luxury and
personal brand space.
With over a decade of experiencein marketing, including five
(01:07):
years as an agency owner,Madison has worked with over
1000 businesses to transformtheir digital presence.
Her expertise in visualstorytelling and social media
content has helped countlessbrands grow their digital
footprint and generatessignificant returns on
advertising spend.
Madison's agency hassuccessfully managed over 1
(01:27):
million in ad spend yieldingmore than 50 million in revenue
for her clients.
Madison, welcome.
Madison Hollimon (01:33):
Thank you for having me.
Ed Drozda (01:35):
It's a pleasure to have you here today, Madison.
So tell me, what gave Rise toMad Marketing House?
Where'd the name come from?
Madison Hollimon (01:42):
So, have you ever seen Alice in Wonderland
and you have this Mad Hatterthat's just crazy.
So for us it was, we are a houseof creatives that are just
super, hyper creative and I justfelt like it was a fun nod to
the unlimited opportunity to becreative and drive results for
(02:06):
businesses within the marketingspace.
Ed Drozda (02:08):
I love the origin.
That's fantastic.
Would you say you've always beena creative sort or did it come
to you further on down the road?
What was your first foray intothe world of creativity?
Madison Hollimon (02:18):
Even at a young age I enjoyed painting.
I would draw and then as I gotolder I had this interest in
fashion.
Actually my first business was ascreen printing business, and I
paid my way through collegeselling t-shirts to schools and
contractors, because they wouldplace large orders.
(02:40):
And I had a guy that worked forme that would print the shirts
and I would go out and sell theorders and deliver them, and I
was able to pay my way throughcollege with my screen print
business.
Ed Drozda (02:50):
Sounds to me like a fascinating form of scholarship,
if you will.
Mm-hmm.
I know that a lot of peopledepend upon other forms,
financial aid or whatever, butto go out there and put yourself
through like that is a pat onthe back moment.
So congratulations to you forthat.
Thank you.
I think that's really cool.
And then having done that, youjust never lost the spark.
Madison Hollimon (03:13):
Yeah, I started working for my dad and I
did marketing for him.
He owns an international brand.
They sell center consoles for$2million speedboats all over the
world.
So I worked for him.
He taught me how to do graphicdesign.
He actually had a lull in hisbusiness as I was graduating
high school.
So we had a lot of time togetherwhere he would sit there and he
(03:34):
would help me do the t-shirtdesigns in Adobe Illustrator and
Photoshop.
And I just quickly picked up ongraphic design and then started
doing it for other people,designing a logo, helping them
build their website.
Then once I graduated, I wentand worked for a plastic surgeon
and managed their$1 million ayear in marketing across the
(03:58):
board for whatever they spent.
Half, half a million,$10 millionover the period of time that I
was there.
And I just had this love for itbecause I was able to see the
direct impact it made on abusiness to have really good
marketing.
Ed Drozda (04:13):
I'm one of those that believes that sales is secondary
to marketing.
Sales is a function that cansurvive because of marketing,
but without marketing, withouteffective marketing, what have
you got to sell and who's gonnaknow you've got it, anyway.
I'm definitely a fan ofmarketing, I think that it is
very, very powerful.
And one of the things that youmentioned in your story is that
(04:35):
you like to help people delivertheir marketing message through
storytelling.
So tell me more about that ifyou will.
Madison Hollimon (04:43):
Yeah, so when you're posting on social media,
you're always telling a story,whether it's in a video format
or in a carousel swipe format.
You wanna keep people engagedand interested.
No matter what you're doing,you're always trying to
communicate something or promotesomething or educate, and you do
that through storytelling.
Ed Drozda (05:03):
Storytelling is one of the most powerful means of
getting points across.
People can certainly relate insome form or another.
If I hear your story, obviouslyI am not you, you are not me.
But there's always littleglimmers of something that can
spark the imagination, sparkpotential, and stories do just
that.
Your experiences are differentthan mine.
(05:25):
Your story then gives me avision of things that I just
don't have any idea about, andthat's a fascinating thing.
So how did you choose theaudience that you work with?
What brought you into thatspace?
Because it seems as if you're insomewhat of a niche space.
How'd you end up there?
Madison Hollimon (05:45):
I think from my background, working with a
plastic surgeon and doing a highend luxury product, I was
exposed to a higher ticketsales, essentially.
Mm-hmm.
And we do work with some othersmaller businesses that have
lower ticket products orservices, but I think we really
excel in the higher luxuryproduct or service, just because
(06:09):
that's my experience.
I mean I grew up in a householdas my father was an entrepreneur
my whole life, so I was privy towitnessing him sell a boat and
make half a million dollars, orhe was in construction at one
point.
So I think it's just all I'veever known, so I just became
good at it.
Ed Drozda (06:28):
So that was your journey.
You kind of grew into it, or Iguess you could say you grew
with it.
Yeah, exactly.
Now imagine you're talking topeople who are contemplating
going down this path.
Not necessarily the luxury path,but they find the luxury path to
be very intimidating.
The fact that from an early ageyou were exposed to it, that
certainly gives you a leg up andyou feel more comfortable there.
(06:51):
But what would you say to thepeople that find it to be too
intimidating?
They're just simply afraid ofthe idea, but heck, I'd like to
be in that space.
What do you say to them?
Madison Hollimon (07:00):
I would just go get experience.
I would go work for somebodythat's in the space that you're
interested in, whether it's aninternal marketing position or
an internship, and get all theexperience you can, because I
would definitely say as I'mhiring, I love the fact that
somebody can graduate from aprestigious college and have a
(07:22):
really great project they workedon at the end of the year.
But what I really looked at iswhat is your experience?
What does your portfolio looklike?
Are you creative?
What areas are you creative in?
Are you hardworking?
Because if you can check thoseboxes, you can learn anything
and grow into any position thatyou truly put your mind to.
Ed Drozda (07:44):
All right, that's great advice.
I appreciate that.
When you are engaging with yourclients, and I think this is
something important for peopleto understand, would you
consider yourself a technicalconsult, a creative consult, a
hybrid of the two, or yet athird that I didn't mention?
Madison Hollimon (08:02):
Initially we do a strategy.
We look at their digitalfootprint before they hire us or
work with us.
Then within that strategy wesay, okay, here's the end goal,
and this is what we're gonna doin between starting to work
together and to get you to thisgoal.
And essentially we will adjustthat strategy every three months
or every quarter, so that we'reconstantly seeing on trends,
(08:25):
algorithms are changing, newcontent shoots are needed.
So we're able to keep our pulseon what content's working, what
content's not working.
What are other people in theindustry doing that we're seeing
convert so that we can alwaysstay on top of the game and make
sure that every month when we'regoing into the next season,
we're two steps ahead.
(08:46):
The way we are able to do thatis we have 15 to 20 people on
staff working 40 hours a week,thousands of hours we're
investing in these platforms.
That's the only way that we knowas much as we know about them.
Ed Drozda (09:00):
So vastly more important, certainly more time
spent in the actual developmentof the utility of the product,
versus the actual act ofcreating the product.
Is that fair?
Madison Hollimon (09:13):
Oh yes, absolutely.
A lot of the pre-planning andshooting and editing to get it
to that final moment is what allthat work, essentially what
you're paying an agency to do isall that work leading up to the
moment of hitting post.
Ed Drozda (09:29):
What kinds of things go into creating a marketing
persona for a client?
I'm looking at you as atechnical expert.
I'm asking these questions'causeI envision these are kinds of
questions that somebody who'scurious to go into this sort of
engagement might be looking tohave answers for.
Madison Hollimon (09:48):
Trying to come up with that, we call it an
avatar essentially, is who we'reselling to and who's buying this
product or service.
Usually it's a couple differentpersonas that you're going
after.
You typically look at your dataso far, like who has purchased
from you and how have youobtained that client.
Mm-hmm.
What is their age group?
(10:08):
Where are they located?
What are their interests?
What, are they buying from you?
Are they coming back?
And then you're able todetermine, okay, this is who my
avatar is.
Now I'm gonna go to thisplatform because we know this
age group is on Instagram orTikTok or YouTube.
Then we're gonna serve thatavatar with content that speaks
to them.
(10:28):
As a business owner, a lot ofpeople wanna see things that
makes them feel good and speaksto themselves, but you can't do
that.
You have to speak to who'sbuying your product or service.
Ed Drozda (10:38):
It's an important distinction.
Your client is trying to servetheir own clients and you have
to thread the needle betweentheir expectations and what
their own clients are lookingfor.
Tell me about that.
That must be an interestingexperience for you.
Madison Hollimon (10:56):
Yeah typically what we found is a lot of your
clientele, a lot of people goafter something and say, oh,
this is my niche.
This is where I wanna work.
But then along the way you'llfind out that actually it's
something different and you mayfind that you enjoy that more
and that it's easier for you toproduce or to serve as a
(11:17):
business.
And when you're able to do thatand streamline, that's when
you're able to scale.
Because you understand thatclientele so much that you can
do it across the boardeverywhere, and I feel like it
kills any business that does notniche down and find their
audience.
Because when you're trying toservice everybody, you can't do
(11:39):
that on a mass scale.
You can't expand your businessthat way.
Ed Drozda (11:42):
As a business coach I can tell you I've encountered a
number of clients over the yearswho have done just that.
These are folks in both maturebusinesses as well as those who
are new in business justdeveloping.
They frankly just don't know whotheir clients should be.
(12:04):
And let's face it, it does startwith the business owner.
It's up to me to figure out whoI can serve, right?
Not for them to tell me whatthey want necessarily, because I
still have to be able to providethem a bill of goods.
It's a curious place isn't it,Madison?
You're chuckling.
Obviously, you've been here.
Madison Hollimon (12:21):
Yes, it's funny because in my line of work
I always say it takes me 90 daysmost of the time to learn my
client and learn their style,how they communicate, what
they're gonna like.
And I'm laughing'cause as we'remeeting right now, I'm having
somebody emailing me that's beena client for a week and we're
trying to learn how to worktogether.
(12:42):
And a client might getfrustrated about something, but
for us that's a simple easy fix,let me do that for you really
quickly.
You just have to tell me that'swhat you're looking for.
Ed Drozda (12:52):
Right, but I don't know what I'm looking for.
Madison Hollimon (12:55):
Exactly, and we figured that out through
trial and error, giving youdifferent examples and you know.
Ed Drozda (13:03):
I think that's an important thing for people to
realize too.
I believe a lot of people aregoing into business thinking
that they can build something.
For example, a website, abusiness plan.
Something concrete.
Okay?
And they may be technically goodat doing those things.
(13:24):
But they undervalue theimportance of their ability to
draw the client out so as tocreate the thing most suitable
for that client.
It's not possible to create agood website for example, if the
client is not party to thesituation that leads to the
creation of that website.
(13:47):
Yes?
Yeah.
Now if I go to you and I say,well I want this site and I want
this kind of market immersionand presentation, I want to
reach this particular group ofpeople.
If I come to you with all theseideas, it would be easy for you
to sit down and put thattogether as is, right?
Of course.
(14:07):
You're technically capable, yougot the people to do it, so
boom, okay, fine.
Done.
End of story.
Mm-hmm.
But the value add is that youcan say hey Ed, hold on a
second.
Tell me more about what you'retrying to do.
Tell me about who you're tryingto reach, about what engages
them, and so on and so forth.
I believe it's that person who'stechnically capable that can
(14:32):
provide that additional support.
They become a valued, a trustedadvisor, not just a producer.
I think this is the mostimportant step in the
relationship.
Madison Hollimon (14:46):
Absolutely, I agree.
A lot of that value does comefrom if somebody comes to us and
knows exactly what they wantversus if they don't, because I
can say we have another clientover here that did it this way
and this was their results.
So if we kind of mimic thatstrategy a bit and utilize this
platform that we know does X, wecan get you here, but we're
(15:07):
gonna need this much extra moneyin ad spend or whatever to get
you to your true goal.
And a lot of it is just tweakingand adjusting as you go to get
where you wanna be.
You may say it's gonna take 12months to get there.
It might take 18, it might takesix.
You don't know until you startdoing it.
(15:28):
Once you get in the groove andget on a roll with your efforts
in marketing, you're able todetermine what works for you and
your business and your audience.
Ed Drozda (15:38):
It's quite a process, that's for sure.
So think of the biggestchallenges that you face and the
people such as yourself, faceout there in the marketplace.
Tell me about them.
Madison Hollimon (15:49):
I think as an entrepreneur we have these big
goals and visions of growing bigbusinesses and scaling.
For everybody else is different.
For us my goal was always to bea multi-million dollar agency
within five years and you knowfirst few years, it's really
easy to double revenue.
(16:10):
But once you hit that 1 millionmark within 12 months it's hard
to double it again the next 12months to get to two and then to
get to four.
And you're starting to hit thesenumbers where your business
starts to break a little bitbecause what took you to get to
half a million is not what'sgonna get you to a million, and
(16:30):
it's not what's gonna get you to3 million.
So as you go, it's streamliningyour process and your systems
and having the team to do itbecause the team that got you to
half a million is not gonna getyou to 3 million.
And you have to find those keyplayers that as an entrepreneur
and a CEO, I can't physically doanything at the$2 million a year
(16:50):
mark.
I have to have a team thatsupports me and I have to
essentially pull myself out ofit so that I can focus on
strategy and sales and have myteam execute.
I think personally for me that'sbeen the hardest part.
We're going into year five,we're gonna hit our$2 million
annual goal within five years.
(17:11):
But it's the evolution of theteam over the five years because
you bring people in, you becomeattached to them, and they help
you do certain things.
And then they might decide thatthis doesn't align with what
they want for their life.
They don't wanna hustle and growand be at a company that one day
can do this and the next day dothat.
(17:32):
So I would definitely say it'sscaling and systems and teams
and having those breaking pointsas you hit those revenue goals.
Ed Drozda (17:41):
It is an awkward space.
The vision is something that isnurtured and cultured in the
principle, the founders, theowners, and it's personal.
It's not something you can sharewith everybody completely.
You can try and you can thinkyou are, but the reality is, uh,
you can't necessarily in such afashion.
(18:05):
Even if you could, you can'texpect them to be fully aligned
with you, as you say.
I didn't envision I'd be working60 hour weeks three years into
it.
I didn't envision this or that.
Okay.
And that, of course is their ownjourney.
As a leader it's yourresponsibility and that of all
(18:26):
the other small business peoplewho are scaling and growing to
understand that vision ispersonal.
And it's also somewhat lonely.
As much as you need support,Madison as you said, you can't
do it alone and you know that,but how can you engage the right
sorts of folks to participate inthat vision with you knowing
(18:47):
full well they can never shareit with you completely.
Madison Hollimon (18:51):
I think from personal experiences, it's
directly rewarding peoplefinancially for contributing,
because at the end of the daythey're here for a job and to
have a living In today's time,the cost of living is insane.
You know, what$50,000 a year 10years ago gets you now is
drastic, and I think it'simportant to be able to bring in
(19:14):
a quality client that is payinga premium price so that you can
have the talent that needs to bethere that's capable of doing
the work that can earn a livablewage.
Being able to reward them as thebusiness grows and knowing hey
guys, if we take on another halfa million dollars a year, yes we
are gonna bring in support staffto get us there, but if you can
(19:37):
step up into this role and makeanother$20,000 a year, that's
exciting for people to have thatkind of growth that fast.
Within our company as we'vescaled so much there has been a
lot of growth opportunities forour team.
I think that's why we're able tohave the team that we are today.
Ed Drozda (19:54):
That's excellent, and that certainly is a goal for all
to strive for.
It's not a given, that's forsure.
One of the most important thingsis that the leader, the founder,
the owner has to be willing toshare in that growth wealth.
And I don't mean justfinancially either, but
emotionally and creatively aswell as in many other ways.
(20:16):
Those things are extremelyimportant.
So when you look at your growthover the last five years, and
you said this is your fifth yearnow, correct?
Madison Hollimon (20:24):
Yeah, we're going into year five.
April 26th will be five years.
Ed Drozda (20:28):
We'll call it the fifth year because, in fact if
you go zero to one and, you knowthat stuff anyway, as you now
are in your fifth year and youlook back over what you've done
and what you've accomplished,what are the highlights that
stand out for you?
What sorts of things have youlearned along the way that you
wish you would've had knowledgeof before you started?
Madison Hollimon (20:53):
I think for me, building this business at 25
years old, I was young and I wasmore mature than most
25-year-old because I am theoldest of five kids.
When you're that age you leadmore with emotion than you do
rationality.
Now I don't make decisionsquickly.
I think about things before Ireact.
(21:14):
I take emotion out of the mostthat I can because I am a woman
and my business is personal.
I bootstrapped the company and Ithink for me, being able to
think before I speak and lead asan example, not only for my
team, but for my clients andhave a servant's heart because I
(21:35):
am serving these people andtheir businesses.
I think it's really what hasgiven us the ability to, in the
past 12 months, triple ourrevenue by having that mentality
and knowing at the end of theday, everything's gonna work out
how it's supposed to.
There's a plan and I have totrust it.
Ed Drozda (21:55):
I think we all go through a phase where emotions
play a strong role and they'veslapped us around enough where
we realize, boy, I'd like to getto a point where I can keep them
in check.
Some of us succeed, some of usdon't, but it certainly is a
goal to strive for.
It lends a little bit morestability to the environment.
(22:19):
Wouldn't you say?
Madison Hollimon (22:21):
Oh, of course.
I do have legacy clients thathave been with me for almost
five years.
My very first client is stillwith me today, so I think that
speaks for itself.
But I will say I feel like theclients that we've brought in,
in the past year and a half, alot of them I don't see going
anywhere for the foreseeablefuture because they feel
(22:43):
supported by the team.
They are getting the results andthey know that we're constantly
looking for their best interest.
Like I had a call today with aclient that I had adjusted the
strategy on and they got on thecall to want to talk about
adjusting the strategy, but wehad already done it and we were
ready to present it.
And for us it's like making surethere we're always a couple
(23:04):
steps ahead and if we canprevent things and be organized
and communicate we will havealways have a successful,
thriving business and goodcompany culture.
Ed Drozda (23:15):
Interesting that you talk about the legacy client.
Five years is fantastic.
To have somebody around from theget go is fantastic.
It's also interesting that younote that you have some clients
who I'm sensing what you'resaying is a certain amount of
dependency.
We know that Madhouse is gonnatake care of us, so we don't
have to worry about it.
I'm sensing and maybe I'mmisreading, but it seems to me
like you've got an inkling of anidea of what's coming next for
(23:37):
you.
Madison Hollimon (23:38):
I do, and I almost feel a little
apprehensive to it because...
Ed Drozda (23:47):
Sorry for poking you, but I just couldn't help it.
Okay?
Madison Hollimon (23:50):
No, I'm an open book if you know anything.
It's taken us so much to gethere in the past 12 months.
Years one through three weregreat.
They were easier.
Year four threw us on our backsand it threw us on our back in a
very vulnerable time for me.
I had just had my third baby andI basically had to rebuild the
(24:11):
business last year.
I was constantly asking myself,am I just not meant to do this?
Is this not what the plan is forme?
And I was at that point justready to be done with it, and
then it started to turn aroundand ever since then, it's like
I've just been on the front seatof a roller coaster and I'm just
(24:34):
hanging on for dear life and itis moving so fast.
I'm always trying to, like Isaid, stay ahead, whether it's
with the team and hiring orreplacing our clients or scaling
the business, and we're justgrowing at a really fast pace.
It's happening organically, it'sreferrals, it's people spreading
the word on how great of a jobwe've done for them, and they
(24:54):
just wanna let people know.
I had a client text me, he's mysecond biggest client in spend,
and he's like, hey do you have areferral program?
I'm like, absolutely I gotta areferral program for you.
You refer me another greatclient, we'll take care of you.
But in the back of my mind, I'mjust like, there's only so much
of me.
And so it's like, okay, how do Ireplace myself?
(25:16):
And I know that that's withhaving to hire three people.
Ed Drozda (25:21):
I want to tell you something.
This might sound odd.
I'm very happy for you.
I'm glad you had that slap downin year four.
Madison Hollimon (25:29):
Oh, I needed it.
Ed Drozda (25:30):
I think we all need a slap down to give us an
opportunity to take a good hardlook at what's going on.
As far as the front seat and therollercoaster, come on girl.
You know darn well that's whatyou got yourself into, right?
Mm-hmm.
Madison Hollimon (25:46):
I wouldn't want to have it in any other way
'cause if business was slow, Iwould be sitting around like
poor, pitiful me.
What's wrong?
I move so fast.
It honestly is been just a dreamcome true where we've gotten the
business and the clients that weserve you best.
(26:08):
I really have no complaints.
I'm a mom of three little kids.
They were sick all weekend.
They got me sick yesterday.
So I am a human.
I do get tired and worn out.
But I do believe that usentrepreneurs, we're more
resilient than most people.
We truly can take anything andget back up.
Ed Drozda (26:29):
I'm glad you're doing just that.
So, Madison, our time is comingto an end, and before we part
company I want to ask, is thereanything you'd like to share?
Anything at all that comes tomind that's important to you?
Madison Hollimon (26:40):
I think it's important to give credit to the
people that truly help you getto where you are.
For me, it's been the support ofmy family, my husband, my dad,
my mom.
I have two sisters that work forme, and we truly have a family
business and knowing that you'reable to put your trust in your
(27:03):
family and they're gonna supportyou no matter what is really a
driving force to the successthat we have today.
I really am thankful for thesupport that they have given me
and sacrifices they have made toget us to this point.
Because we can't do it ourselvesand anybody that pretends that
they did it, their self is nottelling the truth.
(27:25):
So it's important to give creditwhere it's due.
Ed Drozda (27:29):
Thank you for that.
I think that's a lesson that weall need to understand and put
into action.
I appreciate that.
Well, Madison I thank you forbeing here with me today.
I'm very grateful to have you,and I wanna wish you the very
best in all that you do fromhere on out.
Madison Hollimon (27:50):
Thank you, I appreciate it Ed.
Ed Drozda (27:53):
Folks, this is Ed Drozda and here at The Water
Trough, I want to wish you ahealthy business.
Welcome to The Water Troughwhere we can't make you drink,
but we will make you think.
My name is Ed Drozda, The SmallBusiness Doctor, and I'm really
excited you chose to join mehere as we discuss topics that
are important for small businessfolks just like you.
If you're looking for ideas,inspiration, and possibility,
you've come to the right place.
Join us as we take steps to helpyou create the healthy business
that you've always wanted.
Ed Drozda (00:44):
Good afternoon folks this is Ed Drozda, The Small
Business Doctor.
Welcome back to The WaterTrough.
Today I am joined by MadisonHolliman.
Madison is the owner and founderof Mad Marketing House, a
marketing firm that specializesin authentic creation and
branding for businesses,particularly in the luxury and
personal brand space.
With over a decade of experiencein marketing, including five
(01:07):
years as an agency owner,Madison has worked with over
1000 businesses to transformtheir digital presence.
Her expertise in visualstorytelling and social media
content has helped countlessbrands grow their digital
footprint and generatessignificant returns on
advertising spend.
Madison's agency hassuccessfully managed over 1
(01:27):
million in ad spend yieldingmore than 50 million in revenue
for her clients.
Madison, welcome.
Madison Hollimon (01:33):
Thank you for having me.
Ed Drozda (01:35):
It's a pleasure to have you here today, Madison.
So tell me, what gave Rise toMad Marketing House?
Where'd the name come from?
Madison Hollimon (01:42):
So, have you ever seen Alice in Wonderland
and you have this Mad Hatterthat's just crazy.
So for us it was, we are a houseof creatives that are just
super, hyper creative and I justfelt like it was a fun nod to
the unlimited opportunity to becreative and drive results for
(02:06):
businesses within the marketingspace.
Ed Drozda (02:08):
I love the origin.
That's fantastic.
Would you say you've always beena creative sort or did it come
to you further on down the road?
What was your first foray intothe world of creativity?
Madison Hollimon (02:18):
Even at a young age I enjoyed painting.
I would draw and then as I gotolder I had this interest in
fashion.
Actually my first business was ascreen printing business, and I
paid my way through collegeselling t-shirts to schools and
contractors, because they wouldplace large orders.
(02:40):
And I had a guy that worked forme that would print the shirts
and I would go out and sell theorders and deliver them, and I
was able to pay my way throughcollege with my screen print
business.
Ed Drozda (02:50):
Sounds to me like a fascinating form of scholarship,
if you will.
Mm-hmm.
I know that a lot of peopledepend upon other forms,
financial aid or whatever, butto go out there and put yourself
through like that is a pat onthe back moment.
So congratulations to you forthat.
Thank you.
I think that's really cool.
And then having done that, youjust never lost the spark.
Madison Hollimon (03:13):
Yeah, I started working for my dad and I
did marketing for him.
He owns an international brand.
They sell center consoles for$2million speedboats all over the
world.
So I worked for him.
He taught me how to do graphicdesign.
He actually had a lull in hisbusiness as I was graduating
high school.
So we had a lot of time togetherwhere he would sit there and he
(03:34):
would help me do the t-shirtdesigns in Adobe Illustrator and
Photoshop.
And I just quickly picked up ongraphic design and then started
doing it for other people,designing a logo, helping them
build their website.
Then once I graduated, I wentand worked for a plastic surgeon
and managed their$1 million ayear in marketing across the
(03:58):
board for whatever they spent.
Half, half a million,$10 millionover the period of time that I
was there.
And I just had this love for itbecause I was able to see the
direct impact it made on abusiness to have really good
marketing.
Ed Drozda (04:13):
I'm one of those that believes that sales is secondary
to marketing.
Sales is a function that cansurvive because of marketing,
but without marketing, withouteffective marketing, what have
you got to sell and who's gonnaknow you've got it, anyway.
I'm definitely a fan ofmarketing, I think that it is
very, very powerful.
And one of the things that youmentioned in your story is that
(04:35):
you like to help people delivertheir marketing message through
storytelling.
So tell me more about that ifyou will.
Madison Hollimon (04:43):
Yeah, so when you're posting on social media,
you're always telling a story,whether it's in a video format
or in a carousel swipe format.
You wanna keep people engagedand interested.
No matter what you're doing,you're always trying to
communicate something or promotesomething or educate, and you do
that through storytelling.
Ed Drozda (05:03):
Storytelling is one of the most powerful means of
getting points across.
People can certainly relate insome form or another.
If I hear your story, obviouslyI am not you, you are not me.
But there's always littleglimmers of something that can
spark the imagination, sparkpotential, and stories do just
that.
Your experiences are differentthan mine.
(05:25):
Your story then gives me avision of things that I just
don't have any idea about, andthat's a fascinating thing.
So how did you choose theaudience that you work with?
What brought you into thatspace?
Because it seems as if you're insomewhat of a niche space.
How'd you end up there?
Madison Hollimon (05:45):
I think from my background, working with a
plastic surgeon and doing a highend luxury product, I was
exposed to a higher ticketsales, essentially.
Mm-hmm.
And we do work with some othersmaller businesses that have
lower ticket products orservices, but I think we really
excel in the higher luxuryproduct or service, just because
(06:09):
that's my experience.
I mean I grew up in a householdas my father was an entrepreneur
my whole life, so I was privy towitnessing him sell a boat and
make half a million dollars, orhe was in construction at one
point.
So I think it's just all I'veever known, so I just became
good at it.
Ed Drozda (06:28):
So that was your journey.
You kind of grew into it, or Iguess you could say you grew
with it.
Yeah, exactly.
Now imagine you're talking topeople who are contemplating
going down this path.
Not necessarily the luxury path,but they find the luxury path to
be very intimidating.
The fact that from an early ageyou were exposed to it, that
certainly gives you a leg up andyou feel more comfortable there.
(06:51):
But what would you say to thepeople that find it to be too
intimidating?
They're just simply afraid ofthe idea, but heck, I'd like to
be in that space.
What do you say to them?
Madison Hollimon (07:00):
I would just go get experience.
I would go work for somebodythat's in the space that you're
interested in, whether it's aninternal marketing position or
an internship, and get all theexperience you can, because I
would definitely say as I'mhiring, I love the fact that
somebody can graduate from aprestigious college and have a
(07:22):
really great project they workedon at the end of the year.
But what I really looked at iswhat is your experience?
What does your portfolio looklike?
Are you creative?
What areas are you creative in?
Are you hardworking?
Because if you can check thoseboxes, you can learn anything
and grow into any position thatyou truly put your mind to.
Ed Drozda (07:44):
All right, that's great advice.
I appreciate that.
When you are engaging with yourclients, and I think this is
something important for peopleto understand, would you
consider yourself a technicalconsult, a creative consult, a
hybrid of the two, or yet athird that I didn't mention?
Madison Hollimon (08:02):
Initially we do a strategy.
We look at their digitalfootprint before they hire us or
work with us.
Then within that strategy wesay, okay, here's the end goal,
and this is what we're gonna doin between starting to work
together and to get you to thisgoal.
And essentially we will adjustthat strategy every three months
or every quarter, so that we'reconstantly seeing on trends,
(08:25):
algorithms are changing, newcontent shoots are needed.
So we're able to keep our pulseon what content's working, what
content's not working.
What are other people in theindustry doing that we're seeing
convert so that we can alwaysstay on top of the game and make
sure that every month when we'regoing into the next season,
we're two steps ahead.
(08:46):
The way we are able to do thatis we have 15 to 20 people on
staff working 40 hours a week,thousands of hours we're
investing in these platforms.
That's the only way that we knowas much as we know about them.
Ed Drozda (09:00):
So vastly more important, certainly more time
spent in the actual developmentof the utility of the product,
versus the actual act ofcreating the product.
Is that fair?
Madison Hollimon (09:13):
Oh yes, absolutely.
A lot of the pre-planning andshooting and editing to get it
to that final moment is what allthat work, essentially what
you're paying an agency to do isall that work leading up to the
moment of hitting post.
Ed Drozda (09:29):
What kinds of things go into creating a marketing
persona for a client?
I'm looking at you as atechnical expert.
I'm asking these questions'causeI envision these are kinds of
questions that somebody who'scurious to go into this sort of
engagement might be looking tohave answers for.
Madison Hollimon (09:48):
Trying to come up with that, we call it an
avatar essentially, is who we'reselling to and who's buying this
product or service.
Usually it's a couple differentpersonas that you're going
after.
You typically look at your dataso far, like who has purchased
from you and how have youobtained that client.
Mm-hmm.
What is their age group?
(10:08):
Where are they located?
What are their interests?
What, are they buying from you?
Are they coming back?
And then you're able todetermine, okay, this is who my
avatar is.
Now I'm gonna go to thisplatform because we know this
age group is on Instagram orTikTok or YouTube.
Then we're gonna serve thatavatar with content that speaks
to them.
(10:28):
As a business owner, a lot ofpeople wanna see things that
makes them feel good and speaksto themselves, but you can't do
that.
You have to speak to who'sbuying your product or service.
Ed Drozda (10:38):
It's an important distinction.
Your client is trying to servetheir own clients and you have
to thread the needle betweentheir expectations and what
their own clients are lookingfor.
Tell me about that.
That must be an interestingexperience for you.
Madison Hollimon (10:56):
Yeah typically what we found is a lot of your
clientele, a lot of people goafter something and say, oh,
this is my niche.
This is where I wanna work.
But then along the way you'llfind out that actually it's
something different and you mayfind that you enjoy that more
and that it's easier for you toproduce or to serve as a
(11:17):
business.
And when you're able to do thatand streamline, that's when
you're able to scale.
Because you understand thatclientele so much that you can
do it across the boardeverywhere, and I feel like it
kills any business that does notniche down and find their
audience.
Because when you're trying toservice everybody, you can't do
(11:39):
that on a mass scale.
You can't expand your businessthat way.
Ed Drozda (11:42):
As a business coach I can tell you I've encountered a
number of clients over the yearswho have done just that.
These are folks in both maturebusinesses as well as those who
are new in business justdeveloping.
They frankly just don't know whotheir clients should be.
(12:04):
And let's face it, it does startwith the business owner.
It's up to me to figure out whoI can serve, right?
Not for them to tell me whatthey want necessarily, because I
still have to be able to providethem a bill of goods.
It's a curious place isn't it,Madison?
You're chuckling.
Obviously, you've been here.
Madison Hollimon (12:21):
Yes, it's funny because in my line of work
I always say it takes me 90 daysmost of the time to learn my
client and learn their style,how they communicate, what
they're gonna like.
And I'm laughing'cause as we'remeeting right now, I'm having
somebody emailing me that's beena client for a week and we're
trying to learn how to worktogether.
(12:42):
And a client might getfrustrated about something, but
for us that's a simple easy fix,let me do that for you really
quickly.
You just have to tell me that'swhat you're looking for.
Ed Drozda (12:52):
Right, but I don't know what I'm looking for.
Madison Hollimon (12:55):
Exactly, and we figured that out through
trial and error, giving youdifferent examples and you know.
Ed Drozda (13:03):
I think that's an important thing for people to
realize too.
I believe a lot of people aregoing into business thinking
that they can build something.
For example, a website, abusiness plan.
Something concrete.
Okay?
And they may be technically goodat doing those things.
(13:24):
But they undervalue theimportance of their ability to
draw the client out so as tocreate the thing most suitable
for that client.
It's not possible to create agood website for example, if the
client is not party to thesituation that leads to the
creation of that website.
(13:47):
Yes?
Yeah.
Now if I go to you and I say,well I want this site and I want
this kind of market immersionand presentation, I want to
reach this particular group ofpeople.
If I come to you with all theseideas, it would be easy for you
to sit down and put thattogether as is, right?
Of course.
(14:07):
You're technically capable, yougot the people to do it, so
boom, okay, fine.
Done.
End of story.
Mm-hmm.
But the value add is that youcan say hey Ed, hold on a
second.
Tell me more about what you'retrying to do.
Tell me about who you're tryingto reach, about what engages
them, and so on and so forth.
I believe it's that person who'stechnically capable that can
(14:32):
provide that additional support.
They become a valued, a trustedadvisor, not just a producer.
I think this is the mostimportant step in the
relationship.
Madison Hollimon (14:46):
Absolutely, I agree.
A lot of that value does comefrom if somebody comes to us and
knows exactly what they wantversus if they don't, because I
can say we have another clientover here that did it this way
and this was their results.
So if we kind of mimic thatstrategy a bit and utilize this
platform that we know does X, wecan get you here, but we're
(15:07):
gonna need this much extra moneyin ad spend or whatever to get
you to your true goal.
And a lot of it is just tweakingand adjusting as you go to get
where you wanna be.
You may say it's gonna take 12months to get there.
It might take 18, it might takesix.
You don't know until you startdoing it.
(15:28):
Once you get in the groove andget on a roll with your efforts
in marketing, you're able todetermine what works for you and
your business and your audience.
Ed Drozda (15:38):
It's quite a process, that's for sure.
So think of the biggestchallenges that you face and the
people such as yourself, faceout there in the marketplace.
Tell me about them.
Madison Hollimon (15:49):
I think as an entrepreneur we have these big
goals and visions of growing bigbusinesses and scaling.
For everybody else is different.
For us my goal was always to bea multi-million dollar agency
within five years and you knowfirst few years, it's really
easy to double revenue.
(16:10):
But once you hit that 1 millionmark within 12 months it's hard
to double it again the next 12months to get to two and then to
get to four.
And you're starting to hit thesenumbers where your business
starts to break a little bitbecause what took you to get to
half a million is not what'sgonna get you to a million, and
(16:30):
it's not what's gonna get you to3 million.
So as you go, it's streamliningyour process and your systems
and having the team to do itbecause the team that got you to
half a million is not gonna getyou to 3 million.
And you have to find those keyplayers that as an entrepreneur
and a CEO, I can't physically doanything at the$2 million a year
(16:50):
mark.
I have to have a team thatsupports me and I have to
essentially pull myself out ofit so that I can focus on
strategy and sales and have myteam execute.
I think personally for me that'sbeen the hardest part.
We're going into year five,we're gonna hit our$2 million
annual goal within five years.
(17:11):
But it's the evolution of theteam over the five years because
you bring people in, you becomeattached to them, and they help
you do certain things.
And then they might decide thatthis doesn't align with what
they want for their life.
They don't wanna hustle and growand be at a company that one day
can do this and the next day dothat.
(17:32):
So I would definitely say it'sscaling and systems and teams
and having those breaking pointsas you hit those revenue goals.
Ed Drozda (17:41):
It is an awkward space.
The vision is something that isnurtured and cultured in the
principle, the founders, theowners, and it's personal.
It's not something you can sharewith everybody completely.
You can try and you can thinkyou are, but the reality is, uh,
you can't necessarily in such afashion.
(18:05):
Even if you could, you can'texpect them to be fully aligned
with you, as you say.
I didn't envision I'd be working60 hour weeks three years into
it.
I didn't envision this or that.
Okay.
And that, of course is their ownjourney.
As a leader it's yourresponsibility and that of all
(18:26):
the other small business peoplewho are scaling and growing to
understand that vision ispersonal.
And it's also somewhat lonely.
As much as you need support,Madison as you said, you can't
do it alone and you know that,but how can you engage the right
sorts of folks to participate inthat vision with you knowing
(18:47):
full well they can never shareit with you completely.
Madison Hollimon (18:51):
I think from personal experiences, it's
directly rewarding peoplefinancially for contributing,
because at the end of the daythey're here for a job and to
have a living In today's time,the cost of living is insane.
You know, what$50,000 a year 10years ago gets you now is
drastic, and I think it'simportant to be able to bring in
(19:14):
a quality client that is payinga premium price so that you can
have the talent that needs to bethere that's capable of doing
the work that can earn a livablewage.
Being able to reward them as thebusiness grows and knowing hey
guys, if we take on another halfa million dollars a year, yes we
are gonna bring in support staffto get us there, but if you can
(19:37):
step up into this role and makeanother$20,000 a year, that's
exciting for people to have thatkind of growth that fast.
Within our company as we'vescaled so much there has been a
lot of growth opportunities forour team.
I think that's why we're able tohave the team that we are today.
Ed Drozda (19:54):
That's excellent, and that certainly is a goal for all
to strive for.
It's not a given, that's forsure.
One of the most important thingsis that the leader, the founder,
the owner has to be willing toshare in that growth wealth.
And I don't mean justfinancially either, but
emotionally and creatively aswell as in many other ways.
(20:16):
Those things are extremelyimportant.
So when you look at your growthover the last five years, and
you said this is your fifth yearnow, correct?
Madison Hollimon (20:24):
Yeah, we're going into year five.
April 26th will be five years.
Ed Drozda (20:28):
We'll call it the fifth year because, in fact if
you go zero to one and, you knowthat stuff anyway, as you now
are in your fifth year and youlook back over what you've done
and what you've accomplished,what are the highlights that
stand out for you?
What sorts of things have youlearned along the way that you
wish you would've had knowledgeof before you started?
Madison Hollimon (20:53):
I think for me, building this business at 25
years old, I was young and I wasmore mature than most
25-year-old because I am theoldest of five kids.
When you're that age you leadmore with emotion than you do
rationality.
Now I don't make decisionsquickly.
I think about things before Ireact.
(21:14):
I take emotion out of the mostthat I can because I am a woman
and my business is personal.
I bootstrapped the company and Ithink for me, being able to
think before I speak and lead asan example, not only for my
team, but for my clients andhave a servant's heart because I
(21:35):
am serving these people andtheir businesses.
I think it's really what hasgiven us the ability to, in the
past 12 months, triple ourrevenue by having that mentality
and knowing at the end of theday, everything's gonna work out
how it's supposed to.
There's a plan and I have totrust it.
Ed Drozda (21:55):
I think we all go through a phase where emotions
play a strong role and they'veslapped us around enough where
we realize, boy, I'd like to getto a point where I can keep them
in check.
Some of us succeed, some of usdon't, but it certainly is a
goal to strive for.
It lends a little bit morestability to the environment.
(22:19):
Wouldn't you say?
Madison Hollimon (22:21):
Oh, of course.
I do have legacy clients thathave been with me for almost
five years.
My very first client is stillwith me today, so I think that
speaks for itself.
But I will say I feel like theclients that we've brought in,
in the past year and a half, alot of them I don't see going
anywhere for the foreseeablefuture because they feel
(22:43):
supported by the team.
They are getting the results andthey know that we're constantly
looking for their best interest.
Like I had a call today with aclient that I had adjusted the
strategy on and they got on thecall to want to talk about
adjusting the strategy, but wehad already done it and we were
ready to present it.
And for us it's like making surethere we're always a couple
(23:04):
steps ahead and if we canprevent things and be organized
and communicate we will havealways have a successful,
thriving business and goodcompany culture.
Ed Drozda (23:15):
Interesting that you talk about the legacy client.
Five years is fantastic.
To have somebody around from theget go is fantastic.
It's also interesting that younote that you have some clients
who I'm sensing what you'resaying is a certain amount of
dependency.
We know that Madhouse is gonnatake care of us, so we don't
have to worry about it.
I'm sensing and maybe I'mmisreading, but it seems to me
like you've got an inkling of anidea of what's coming next for
(23:37):
you.
Madison Hollimon (23:38):
I do, and I almost feel a little
apprehensive to it because...
Ed Drozda (23:47):
Sorry for poking you, but I just couldn't help it.
Okay?
Madison Hollimon (23:50):
No, I'm an open book if you know anything.
It's taken us so much to gethere in the past 12 months.
Years one through three weregreat.
They were easier.
Year four threw us on our backsand it threw us on our back in a
very vulnerable time for me.
I had just had my third baby andI basically had to rebuild the
(24:11):
business last year.
I was constantly asking myself,am I just not meant to do this?
Is this not what the plan is forme?
And I was at that point justready to be done with it, and
then it started to turn aroundand ever since then, it's like
I've just been on the front seatof a roller coaster and I'm just
(24:34):
hanging on for dear life and itis moving so fast.
I'm always trying to, like Isaid, stay ahead, whether it's
with the team and hiring orreplacing our clients or scaling
the business, and we're justgrowing at a really fast pace.
It's happening organically, it'sreferrals, it's people spreading
the word on how great of a jobwe've done for them, and they
(24:54):
just wanna let people know.
I had a client text me, he's mysecond biggest client in spend,
and he's like, hey do you have areferral program?
I'm like, absolutely I gotta areferral program for you.
You refer me another greatclient, we'll take care of you.
But in the back of my mind, I'mjust like, there's only so much
of me.
And so it's like, okay, how do Ireplace myself?
(25:16):
And I know that that's withhaving to hire three people.
Ed Drozda (25:21):
I want to tell you something.
This might sound odd.
I'm very happy for you.
I'm glad you had that slap downin year four.
Madison Hollimon (25:29):
Oh, I needed it.
Ed Drozda (25:30):
I think we all need a slap down to give us an
opportunity to take a good hardlook at what's going on.
As far as the front seat and therollercoaster, come on girl.
You know darn well that's whatyou got yourself into, right?
Mm-hmm.
Madison Hollimon (25:46):
I wouldn't want to have it in any other way
'cause if business was slow, Iwould be sitting around like
poor, pitiful me.
What's wrong?
I move so fast.
It honestly is been just a dreamcome true where we've gotten the
business and the clients that weserve you best.
(26:08):
I really have no complaints.
I'm a mom of three little kids.
They were sick all weekend.
They got me sick yesterday.
So I am a human.
I do get tired and worn out.
But I do believe that usentrepreneurs, we're more
resilient than most people.
We truly can take anything andget back up.
Ed Drozda (26:29):
I'm glad you're doing just that.
So, Madison, our time is comingto an end, and before we part
company I want to ask, is thereanything you'd like to share?
Anything at all that comes tomind that's important to you?
Madison Hollimon (26:40):
I think it's important to give credit to the
people that truly help you getto where you are.
For me, it's been the support ofmy family, my husband, my dad,
my mom.
I have two sisters that work forme, and we truly have a family
business and knowing that you'reable to put your trust in your
(27:03):
family and they're gonna supportyou no matter what is really a
driving force to the successthat we have today.
I really am thankful for thesupport that they have given me
and sacrifices they have made toget us to this point.
Because we can't do it ourselvesand anybody that pretends that
they did it, their self is nottelling the truth.
(27:25):
So it's important to give creditwhere it's due.
Ed Drozda (27:29):
Thank you for that.
I think that's a lesson that weall need to understand and put
into action.
I appreciate that.
Well, Madison I thank you forbeing here with me today.
I'm very grateful to have you,and I wanna wish you the very
best in all that you do fromhere on out.
Madison Hollimon (27:50):
Thank you, I appreciate it Ed.
Ed Drozda (27:53):
Folks, this is Ed Drozda and here at The Water
Trough, I want to wish you ahealthy business.
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