Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Sutt.
Amanda, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Rock Paper Scissors is a branding and marketing firm just outside of Atlanta. The company was founded in 1986 by my mom just after she had completed her graphic design degree at the Art Institute of Atlanta. She had discovered graphic design after she and my dad moved to Atlanta.
She had had a degree in economics and spent the previous 10 + years in commercial banking and the public utility. When my mom moved to Atlanta she wanted to do something creative and went to school to learn how to make prints of her watercolors, and discovered graphic design. This was pre-digital graphic design, but when she graduated she bought her first Mac SE. Her professors told her she was crazy, but six months later she was teaching them how to use it.
I share this story because this shapes our culture. We are very business focused with everything that we do, in addition to leveraging technology to better serve us. This has been present since day one.
As the industry changed, we added services to our skill set like web development, email marketing, media placement, social media and digital media.
My dad joined the business ten years in. He focused on the print production side of the business wanting to transition out of nuclear engineering.
I worked for the family business on and off through high school and college. I had no plan of joining the firm permanently, let alone taking over. However, my senior year of college, there was a coup and two senior employees took a third of our clients and started their own firm.
I had a couple part time jobs lined up when I graduated. I received my BA in Theatrical Design from Appalachian State University and I was starting to design sets and costumes for local professional productions in Atlanta. It was a natural fit for me to help out during this period to help us all get back on our feet.
I told my mom I would work for her for a year. Twelve years later I am running the company.
A lot has happened in the last twelve years with the recession here in Atlanta and the marketing industry being turned on its head as technology has taken over. So needless to say, I am not bored.
I started as a project manager and helped innovate our web development and social media products. Over time, my role shifted to art director. I have worked on projects for Cabbage Patch Kids, CDC, Swoozie’s, Discovery Point Childcare Centers, Pigtails & Crewcuts, and Carry-On Trailers, just to name a few.
In 2012, we were struggling in the recession and decided we needed to do something different, so we hired a business coach and it made all of the difference. It shifted us away from thinking like a small business to getting our lives back and growing our business. We worked with this coach for a year and it was one of the hardest and best years ever.
Unfortunately, at the end of the year, my mom was diagnosed with uterine cancer and had to have immediate survey and treatment. She went from being at the office 50+ hours per week to medical leave. At this point, I stepped in as Creative Director to keep things going.
Had we not spent the previous year with our business coach, we would not have made it through the next challenge. We ended up with one last, amazing year with my mom before she passed away. She was able to step away for the treatments she needed, as well as have time to spend with friends and doing what she loved. My dad and I were also able to leave as we needed so that we could be with her.
In 2014, I stepped in officially as CEO and Creative Director. I have also since been certified as a business coach so that I can help other owners get their lives back as well.
My mom started this business for both a creative outlet and so that she could be home with me. So in 2016 when I had my own little girl, I have carried on the same tradition. She came to the office most days during her first year and now a few half days a week as well.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We are a full-service creative agency with our specialty in branding and marketing. We focus on our client’s client experience. Branding is not just a logo and a flyer, it is every connection that a customer makes with a company: the website, your office/store, phone calls, email and everything else. We work with our clients on the big picture so that we are helping them create a cohesive experience for their customers.
I previously noted my mom’s background in economics. This has greatly shaped us as a creative firm because we also know how businesses work. We will talk with our clients about finances, sales, production, management and more, because it all works together.
We do more than just make pretty brands, we create brands that are a reflection of our clients that also blend with their culture.
We have had some of our clients for more than 15 years. We have done this because we seek partnerships with our clients, not just projects. When we first start talking with a prospective client, we tell them that we want to start with something small – we want to date to see if we are a good fit. There are a ton of marketing firms out there and we want our clients to be happy.
What were you like growing up?
I was very involved in the arts. I did ballet from 3 – 22. My parents designed theatrical sets when I was in middle and high school so I tagged along, and eventually started doing this myself. I played the cello all through middle and high school.
I was so busy with all of this stuff that I did not have much time to get in trouble. So I worked hard at school and got all As and left in the afternoons to do what I loved.
Contact Info:
- Address: 178 E. Crogan Street
Suite 220 - Website: 123shoot.com
- Phone: 678-442-1825 ext 103
- Email: amanda@123shoot.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amandatsutt/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.sutt
Image Credit:
Rick Jerry
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