N9NE Agency
Tuscaloosa, AL
Based in downtown Tuscaloosa, the N9NE Agency is a full-service marketing and creative firm, with a concentration in innovative online marketing. The N9NE Agency offers traditional marketing development services and more innovative internet marketing services.
The CEO of the N9NE Agency, Robby White, first came to the Small Business Development Center for a SBA loan because they were 'lightly bleeding' money. They had 14-16 employees and had grown quickly in a short amount of time. Admittedly, they had been hiring workers in order to bring in more clients to the business. Also, the N9NE Agency was producing all work within the office, so that the final product would be completely controlled by the agency. In addition to being heavy on employees and labor, they were too heavy on costs, experiencing consistent losses and could not understand why. They had plenty of business, as much as the competitors, and were still losing money.
Instead of allowing the N9NE Agency to borrow more money to cover their losses, the SBDC suggested that Robby downsize the number of employees in his agency for more efficiency, and outsource some of the basic functions that they were trying to perform in-house. The outsourcing would give the N9NE Agency quicker turnaround on projects, cut the unnecessary employee hours and therefore reduce internal costs.
After talking with counselors and the SBDC director, Paavo Hanninen, Robby realized that they were under-pricing according to previous models from the business, 9th Street Creative, they had purchased, and may have made some previous errors. Robby states, 'the SBDC nudged us in the right direction,' while his Vice President is quoted as saying, 'Paavo rescued us.' The N9NE Agency now operates in the black with upwards of $250,000 gross revenues per year. They handle around 10-15 projects on any particular day, with a 2-4 week turnaround on their projects, shortening this turnaround time from 3-4 months previously.
In looking toward the future, the N9NE Agency plans to expand their presence past Tuscaloosa to Birmingham and eventually Nashville. N9NE Agency presently employs 14 individuals.
N9NE Agency
Robbie White, CEO
2315 9th Street
Suite 2
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35401
(205) 344-4413
Email: sales@n9neagency.com
Website: http://www.n9neagency.com/index.php