Dogwood is made up of a group of people who are passionate about what we do and who love being able to help organizations in our community succeed. This is the story of us!
Brian Harris is one of the co-owners of Dogwood Media Solutions. He and Thomas have built an incredible business together. Brian is the Business Manager of Dogwood and handles business development, our social media marketing team, and MUCH more! Brian is the brains that keep Dogwood pieced together just right. He is always dreaming up the next big project and looking for ways to go above and beyond for each of our clients. Brian is passionate about his job, the company as a whole, and the community that he gets to serve each day. We are so thankful for his leadership!
Here is Brian’s Story:
Brian started Harris Media Solutions, LLC in late 2010 while serving on a local church staff. Its purpose was to help other churches with their marketing and communication needs. The goal was to supplement his family’s income after the birth of their twins.
After leaving his position at the church he went on to a large state-wide role with the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions which enabled him to continue to grow his contacts. It wasn’t long before his side income surpassed his full-time income. After speaking with the SBOM leadership about taking his business full-time, they agreed to be his client!
Brian started working from home, continuing to grow his clientele. He began hiring freelancers to help with graphic design work and website building. One of those freelancers happened to be Thomas Jones.
Thomas and Brian had met at church several years earlier, both serving on the tech team. Brian knew he was a super smart guy and Thomas had even coached him on some of his design work.
In September of 2018, Brian approached Thomas about coming to work for him. He learned that Thomas had also started a business – Dogwood Designs. It opened up the discussion about merging the two businesses and really having a go at it as a full-service marketing agency.
In January 2019 it was a go and here we are now!
Starting a New Agency
The cool thing about starting a new agency was that it allowed Brian and Thomas to decide what the first impression of the company would be. Each of them has made it their goal to be super intentional about hiring, pay, benefits, and culture to ensure that they create a business sure to impress.
One of Brian’s greatest focuses is making a good first impression on each of his employees. He believes in paying a fair wage and providing health, dental and vision insurance for free to all full-time employees. Vacation time is unlimited, allowing employees to care for their families when needed. Dogwood has a saying that family is always first. However, it’s more than just words, they actually mean it.
Over the past 2 years, Brian Harris has learned a lot about himself. He’s made mistakes and admits that he will probably make more in the future, but in his words, “it’s what we decide to do after mistakes and how we use those lessons to grow us that counts.”
Don’t be afraid to fail or the fear of failure will ultimately hold you back from some really great rewards.
Brian Harris
If you were to ask Brian, he would say that the most valuable service that Dogwood offers is knowledge. Dogwood has a super knowledgeable staff over a wealth of marketing subjects, and many times you will see that on display in the form of blogs right here!
In three words Brian would describe Dogwood as “Unexpected, Unique, Upbeat – because the focus is always on “U” right?”
The Dogwood team is as young as the agency but the amount of work done in a short amount of time makes it feel as if each employee has been doing this their entire lives. And that’s a good thing. He can honestly say the people that he and Thomas brought into Dogwood love what they are doing.
Funny Brian Story
There are more funny Brian stories to share than we can count, but his favorites are those that have been turned into signs, like “Oh…” – Beth. This was the moment when Beth realized that WP Engine is not WPenguin.
Or when he misspelled “designed with purpose” to “designed with porpoise” somehow – he blamed autocorrect. There’s a sign for that in our office now with a porpoise on it.
One of the most famous ones was Matt’s first task after being hired. He was told to add himself to our website. He misspelled “Employee” and instead put “Empolyee”. He is now known as the Empolyee of the Millennium because let’s admit it, there will never ever be another Matt Wheeler. Thank the Lord.
Last Words from Brian Harris
We talk all the time when meeting with clients that we build relationships versus quick sales because of these few points:
- Relationships lead to authentic interactions.
- Relationships help to develop mutual respect.
- Relationships are personal.
- Relationships lead to recommendations.
Recommendations to us are the best way to say we are doing a great job. If one of our clients tells a friend about our services – it’s the ultimate compliment and truly our goal.”
We hope this gave you a better look at the heart of Dogwood. If you get to know Brian, you truly get to know Dogwood. Give us a call to get started on your project, and see for yourself the difference a different sort of creative agency can make for your business!
