Tangible Strategies | The Village of West Greenville | Blog Series
The Village of West Greenville is the hottest and fastest growing micro-community in Greenville. Don’t believe me? I listed a home there last month and had five offers on the table within 24 hours. The area is booming and the market knows it.
Because of that home I decided I wanted to do a special blog series specifically focusing on the Village of West Greenville. So, my next few pieces will be featuring the businesses and entrepreneurs that are located there. My goal is, as always, to bring attention to the entrepreneur and their story. I will also give you a glimpse at the history and ups and downs that Village of West Greenville has faced as a community through the past century and a half.
To kick things off, I went with the closest connection that I had in the area: Tangible Strategies. I've had the privilege of attending the networking events that they have hosted. Eventually I became Facebook friends with the owners, Joanna and Anthony Reese, a glowing and high-spirited married couple.
Anthony and Joanna were high school sweethearts. They dated through college and got married two days after graduating.
Joanna Reese
Before venturing into entrepreneurland, Joanna began her career in a corporate setting. She was able to obtain a highly coveted apprenticeship where she had two years of intensive training. The ultimate goal was to get into corporate leadership. “At the conclusion of the two year apprenticeship… I hated it with a burning passion,” Joanna told me.
Anthony Reese
Anthony had a love for web development and graphic design. When he was in middle school, he initially started teaching it to himself. Over the years his skills developed, and it went from a hobby to a side job, with friends and family being his primary clientele. After he graduated, Anthony’s took a job with a marketing firm.
When they had their first baby, they took a year and lived in Honduras. They both taught at a bilingual school during the week and did mission work on the weekends.
Anthony went into corporate and did grad school on the side when they returned home, meanwhile Joanna began teaching. During this time of life is when Tangible Strategies began taking on it’s full form. Running it as a side job became virtually impossible for Anthony, so he quit his job to run it full time.
“When we both quit our jobs and started this full time, it was incredibly scary.
There were weeks where we worked sixty hours and didn’t have a pay check.”
They both recognized the demand in Greenville for website development.
Tangible Strategies began to experience significant growth. They brought in full time employees which, naturally, meant that they needed more space for the extra desks. So on January 1st of this year, 2016, Tangible Strategies moved to the Village of West Greenville.
Anthony and Joanna are the most approachable and realistic marketing company that I have ever come across that caters to the small business owner. If you don’t have ten grand to fork out into a marketing plan (who does?), then they will cater to what you can afford. 75 dollars? How about a bomb two hour strategy session.
What garners a lot of my respect for Anthony and Joanna is their outreach towards local Artists. When they moved into their new space in the Village of West Greenville they discovered they didn’t quite need all of it, so, in the front of their office space they showcase art from local art students.
“The most passionate artists we met were students.”
“Often Artists have no practical knowledge of the art business. So we offer an mentoring process alongside of giving their art exposure. We draw up a contract and help them to be aware of wording that they need to look for in the future, what to avoid and what to do. We want to give back to them.”
“The Village of West Greenville is also known at the Art District”
Anthony and Joanna have become a staple of the community in the Village of West Greenville. They regularly host networking events and are looking to provide as much value as they can.
“When we talked to businesses about marketing we quickly learned that the majority of them were frustrated with marketing. They felt that they were wasting money because it simply didn’t work. Or, on the flip side, they found something that worked, but were spending a ridiculous amount of money that made it almost not worth it.”
From the get-go, Joanna and Anthony wanted to focus on small businesses and bring something *tangible* to the table. They strive to have a marketing plan that is tailored to each business and to the personality of the business owner.