This week on Own It we’re talking to Michelle Nardi-Marlo and Trista Countryman from Efficiency Media. The Chicago-area firm specializes in strategic media planning and buying that makes every dollar work harder. Their road to ownership is a little different from most. Amy Abrahams founded Efficiency Media almost 20 years ago and, when she was ready for what’s next, transitioned the agency to employee ownership with Michelle, Trista and a few others.
This week on Own It we’re talking to Michelle Nardi-Marlo and Trista Countryman from Efficiency Media. The Chicago-area firm specializes in strategic media planning and buying that makes every dollar work harder.
Their road to ownership is a little different from most. Amy Abrahams founded Efficiency Media almost 20 years ago and, when she was ready for what’s next, transitioned the agency to employee ownership with Michelle, Trista and a few others. Michelle was the agency’s very first employee. Trista came aboard after being laid off when she was seven months pregnant, and Amy showed her you could be a mom and still build a career. Now Michelle leads planning and client strategy, and Trista runs the numbers as the one handling the firm’s finances.
We talked about the role models who showed them what was possible, how it feels when ownership comes as a call out of the blue, getting comfortable with being uncomfortable, and their plans for what they’re jokingly calling Efficiency Media 2.0. Oh, and they both have twin boys, so we compared notes on fencing meets and tackle football, too. And of course, we got their thoughts on closing the gender gap in agency ownership.
I love that the first thing they want to do with this opportunity is pass it on to someone else. You’re going to enjoy this one.
You can find links to the LinkedIn profiles for Michelle Nardi-Marlo and Trista Countryman and the agency website for Efficiency Media in our show notes at untilyouownit.com.
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Also, if you’re a female or non-binary agency owner, or you want to own an agency someday, join our growing community at that same address … untilyouownit.com.