In February 2009, Keith DuPuis and Kent Perrin launched Adrenalign Marketing LLC, a Wausau-based full-service advertising agency serving central Wisconsin. In business for just over a year, the Adrenalign owners feel like their business is about a year ahead of where it should be, thanks to the help they received from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Small Business Development Center (SBDC).
 
“The SBDC gave us the confidence to know that what we were doing was the right thing, and we were able to hit the ground running when we opened the doors,” states DuPuis.

With prior experience working together at a larger agency, DuPuis and Perrin knew they wanted to start their own agency. And they were on a fast track to do it. The timing of the SBDC Entrepreneurship Training Program (ETP) didn’t fit their timeline, so SBDC counselor Mary Wescott offered one-on-one counseling with the Adrenalign team. Starting in December 2008, Wescott met with them twice a week until they opened their business just three months later.

“Mary took the lead. She broke it all down and kept us on track,” recalls DuPuis. “One of the big things that Mary did was connect us with QuickBooks trainer, Sue Restum. Sue had knowledge of how an agency works and was able to design our QuickBooks accordingly.”

Ultimately Adrenalign hired Restum to handle its accounting on a regular basis. “Kent and I are creative. We are not accountants. Having another resource like QuickBooks and Sue was very helpful,” says DuPuis.

Having taken the proper steps to start the business and offering a high-quality service to its clients, Adrenalign was able to thrive despite a tough economy. As a small agency, it delivers a big agency product with a hands-on, personal approach.

“We get to know our clients. That is our niche,” states DuPuis. “We work a lot with smaller start-up businesses. We can work with any budget. We don’t have the overhead that bigger agencies have.”

Adrenalign has a diverse mix of clients including retailers, manufacturers and even political campaigns. It handles Web site design, graphic design, electronic media, radio, television, public relations and event planning.

The company currently uses a number of freelancers, but DuPuis expects it will hire a full-time employee before the end of the year to best serve its growing clientele.

For more information on this successful business, check out www.adrenalignmarketing.com