Michael, age 3.
As a child, I always knew I wanted to own a business one day. From standing in front of the local liquor store with my first shoe shining kit, to mowing neighbors’ lawns… I was always trying to make a buck. I even told my Sunday School teacher I wanted to become a ‘bachelor millionaire’.
Michael living his best Dad life, age 29.
But, in my young adult years, real life kicked me in the butt and I had to work jobs I hated like shelling shrimp, and selling knives... that’s when I realized I didn’t want that kind of life for myself.
Kathryn graduating from seminary with her MDiv
Kathryn worked boring corporate jobs where she had plenty of time to beat her Tetris high scores, and always came home irritated and unfulfilled…
She had a seminary degree and for a time worked as a pastor, thinking that to be her life-long vocation. She never would have guessed she’d become an entrepreneur.
First office in the guest room.
In 2000, while earning my degree in Instructional Technology, I was at a stop light on 2nd Street, and had a moment of divine inspiration. Starting a marketing and consulting business was going to be my next move. That’s when Kathryn and I took a leap of faith. The ‘leap’ was much larger for Kathryn!
We launched Half a Bubble Out Marketing in the guest bedroom in 2002. Our big break came when we produced a full length documentary about Bidwell Park that aired on PBS and Fox. This boosted our name recognition, opened many doors, and allowed us to take on larger clients. Although making documentaries was fun, lucrative, and used our skill set at the time, we knew we didn’t want to be filmmakers for a living.
In 2005 we got our first real office space! Business was going well... but we didn’t realize how bad it could get until the money started pouring in. Thanks to a wildly successful marketing campaign over (of all things) a toenail fungus treatment, we became the go-to agency for podiatrists across the country. We grew 400% in a matter of months... and it was a nightmare!
We hated coming to work and our employees became unmotivated, lining up at the door to leave by 4:50pm. There were many sleepless nights and we nearly threw in the towel several times. We even secretly resented some of our clients. During this painful period of financial success we realized it was possible to run a profitable business, and yet, be emotionally unfulfilled.
It was this strategy that led us to expand Half a Bubble Out’s services to include a training arm called HaBO Village, and write our #1 best-selling book, Fulfilled: The Passion & Provision Strategy for Building a Business with Profit, Purpose and Legacy, because...
Community
Don’t go it alone- in business or in life.
Trust
Trust is made up of both competence
(you’re good at what you do) and character
(you’re a good human).
Kindness
Thinking of others more than yourself. Loving well, through encouragement, correction and hospitality.
Fun
We enjoy our work and the people we work with.
Authenticity
This is a no BS zone. Just be yourself.
Because you deserve both financial success and fulfilling work.
Score your Leadership today! It’s FREE and will take less than 1 minute.
Half a Bubble Out
Marketing, Advertising and Consulting
680 Rio Lindo Avenue, Suite 40
Chico, CA 95926
(530) 345-8295
info@halfabubbleout.com
