Podcast highlights:

03:28 - Fun versus authenticity

04:57 - The story behind Design Pickle

08:33 - What you can build when you solve your own needs

11:10 - Defining “agency”

13:39 - Focus on these customers

15:36 - A smart business model

16:15 - Who do you target?

18:35 - The retention numbers

21:19 - For those who “aren’t creative”

25:08 - Touched on so far

27:12 - Some smart advice

29:39 - Russ’s number one funnel filler

32:26 - Where the traffic goes

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Transcription:

James: James Schramko here. Welcome back to SuperFastBusiness.com. Today, I'm speaking with Russ from Design Pickle about creativity, and also I think we're going to go a bit deeper and talk about business strategies, because there's a real story behind this. So welcome to the call, Russ.

Russ: Hey, thank you so much.

James: Russ, it's strange talking to you when I'm used to seeing you in a pickle costume.

Russ: [laughs] I'm actually a retired pickle now. I've since hired folks. That's sort of the initiation here at Design Pickle as you must become the pickle.

James: That sounds tremendously motivating. So we're doing this interview. You know those guys in the side of the road dressed up as a hotdog. You're going to be able to do that.

Russ: It is, it is. It really tests the culture really fast to see what they respond.

James: I think one thing from a creativity aspect is that I do see little snippets of you on the social media. I don't think I've actually met you, but I have seen you online with Ezra's feed, and that's one of the reasons we're talking. I'm interested in finding out how can someone who's got their own business step away from the computer and actually get known to their audience. I mean it's a big question, and I'm going to guess that a lot of my audience are not going to strap on a pickle suit or whatever variation of a pickle that they might have for their business, you know, slightly different, perhaps a gherkin. They could be design gherkin, design onion. Do you think once that spot is taken that it's harder for someone else to come and do their own thing?

Russ: Well you know, the pickle is really a reflection of me. Not only do I love pickles, I basically wanted to do something with a brand with my next business that was just simply fun and light-hearted because that's sort of my personality. I'm a fairly, easy-going person. So that's where I would always direct people to look. Like what is your vegetable or pickled item of choice? Maybe it's not a cucumber, maybe it's a mushroom or something, but being able to find that and extrapolate that, that has been why we've been successful, not because we're super creative. It's just because it's really authentic to who I am and then the team around me who all sort of share this fun personality.

James: Does it have to be fun? I think that's a great articulation by the way, how you ended up with a pickle. It's a representation of you, your character. I'm guessing it's a way in my brand, it's a representation of me and my character. Silv...