Seafoam celebrates 8-year-anniversary by welcoming TWO new crew members + an interview with Nikki Bisel!

This past week was an exciting one for Seafoam. Aside from celebrating our eighth year of being in business, we also added two crew members to our team!

Keep scrolling to see what Seafoam’s founder, Nikki Bisel, had to say about growing our company, and get to know the new members of our team!

Eight years and beyond. — Q&A with Nikki Bisel

What does it mean to you to have been in business for eight years?

With every year that we’ve been in business, we’ve had so much growth — not just in terms of revenue or number of employees, but in our processes, how we do things, how we take care of our clients, and the quality of our work.

I’m happy and proud that we’ve been alive for eight years, because a lot of businesses don’t make it that long. It’s comforting to know that we’re beyond that dreaded five-year mark by a good chunk, but for me, it’s more about looking forward. I’m grateful that we’ve been around for eight years; I’m even more grateful of all the development and evolution that has happened in those eight years, but I’m even more excited about each and every year to come.

If anything, what it means for me that we’ve been around this long is that I now have eight years of experience seeing the growth and evolution of the company, so I know that I can be legitimately excited about each year moving forward based on that experience.

What are some of the lessons you’ve learned along the way that has made your company stronger?

People, people, people! There is no magic pill – no magic wand – for anything, whether it's helping to make our clients successful or growing Seafoam itself. It’s about good people and diligent, hard, honest work, and finding the right people for the right positions in this particular culture. When you find those perfect fits, it just works. Finding a round peg for a round hole makes things a lot easier.

There are two things I’ve learned...

First, you’re moving one chunk at a time. It’s awesome and necessary to have big, hairy, audacious goals, but the only way you get there is by reverse-engineering it — breaking it down into tangible, bite-sized pieces and working one step at a time.

Second, there will always be lessons to learn — to not get upset when I or we as a company make a mistake somewhere. It’s not about the mistake; it’s about how we recognize it and fix it so that it doesn’t happen again, and that’s how we become a better company. Every mistake is just an opportunity to one-up our competitors and to be a better version of ourselves.

Looking back, is there anything you would’ve done differently.

That’s hard. I know so much more now than I did eight years ago, but I think that’s just life. Unless I could take the knowledge that I had from eight years of running this company back in time, I’m sure there are things I would do differently, but I can’t. I think, looking back, if there was one thing I could tell myself when I started Seafoam, it would be all those lessons: There are going to be mistakes. There are going to be hiccups. That’s life. That’s business. But when you persevere and you just keep pushing forward toward a vision that you have, that’s what will propel you forward.

What are your hopes, dreams, and aspirations for Seafoam's future?

I’m not one to focus too intently on revenue or number of employees, because I think those are shallow numbers. But on a very broad level over the next decade, I want to keep growing. Sure, we’ve set goals for things like revenue, but for me, it comes down to the reputation of Seafoam. I want to be the most well reputed marketing consultancy and agency in St. Louis, and then the midwest. I want every client we have to want to brag about us, and I want every team member we have to want to brag about the rest of their team.

Welcome to the team!

Holly Wentworth — Brand Engagement Specialist

“I’m a Brand Engagement Specialist. In short, I advance brands’ digital landscape, one video or picture at a time. Every great company needs a great social media presence to back it up. It’s my job to take care of that in a strategic way that will build your client-base exponentially.” — Holly Wentworth

Madi LaChance — Marketing Challenge Intern

“I am Madi LaChance, and I am a Seafoam Marketing Challenge Intern at Seafoam Media. I took an interest in marketing to broaden my skills. I like to work hard; it’s fun to have the chance to build on a big project and to put my energy into something.” — Madi LaChance