Voices of experience: Entrepreneurs give tips on how to be successful

by Dianna Borsi O'Brien

May 5,2007

The words "nine to five" mean nothing to Tony Richards and Ann Marie Quertermous, owners of Word Marketing.

Sometimes, the husband and wife find themselves on the couch at 10:30 p.m. working on their laptops and talking business while watching television.
Quertermous laughs as she relates their obvious passion for their work. The two have tried putting limits on themselves: no talking about work at home, no talking about work after 6 p.m. Still, the couple says, sometimes they find themselves talking about their work after 6 p.m. anyway. "I'm the big violator," admits Quertermous.

Now, they have even more to talk about.

On April 2, 2007, Word Marketing effectively doubled its size by buying Horizon Research, an independent research firm started in 1991 by Kathleen Anger.

Horizon Research's clients have come from a broad range of industries, including banking, finance, health care, insurance and education. Horizon's four full-time and five to six part-time employees conducted numerous research efforts, including surveys and focus groups.

Now this research work will be brought to bear for Word Marketing's 25 clients in four states–Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and Arkansas, and its business interests in Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas and California.
Not bad for a company that started in 2005 and operated with four employees.

The company's slogan, and the origin of its name, is "Turning words into profit." To do this, Word Marketing creates marketing plans for its clients using a five-step plan: research, strategy, creative, media, measurement.

The couple works as a team. Quertermous focuses on the artistic and creative side while Richards focuses on strategy for the clients and the company. Two other Word Marketing members manage the finances and media buying and assist on the creative side. The new purchase, says Richards, will help the company go deeper and provide more scientific research for their clients.

Like most "overnight" success stories, Word Marketing's started long ago.
A Kentucky native, Richards has spent 26 years working in radio, television, the Internet and newspapers, while Quetermous, from North Dakota, has 16 years of experience in media, including nearly four years in sales and marketing at KOMU.

The couple met in Cape Girardeau while working for Zimmer Radio. They married in 1998 and moved to Columbia in 1999, continuing to work in radio and television. In 2002, Richards and Quertermous wrote a business plan, and in 2005 Quertermous left her job to start Word Marketing. A year later, Richards left Zimmer and joined her.

Quertermous said having her own marketing firm allows her to be more involved in all aspects of her clients' marketing plans.

Success requires more than passion; it also takes hard work. The couple keeps an updated business plan, checklists and systems for what they do. They also maintain an emphasis on three steps: preparation, focus and execution. "We stay in the three stages all the time," said Richards, explaining that the best idea in the world doesn't matter if it isn't executed.

As for the creative side, Quertermous said she draws inspiration from everyday life—poetry, biographies, old Seinfeld episodes, Clint Eastwood movies. For business inspiration, Richards draws on books such as Blue Ocean Strategy, E-Myth Mastery, and Good to Great.

But that's not the key to their success and increase in business. The key, says Quertermous, is their motivation. "We help people. We help entrepreneur's dreams come true," she said. "We do the right thing, and we do it well." Sometimes that means talking business late at night. And Quertermous and Richards are all right with that. v

Word Marketing
2415 Carter Lane, Columbia, MO 65201 | Wordmarketing.biz
Owners: Tony Richards and Ann Marie Quertermous
Start date: 2005
Business: Marketing

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