Julie Courtney and Jackie Roberto, Co-founders, friends, and partners at Madison Design go way back — like, first-drawing-class-in-college back.What started as a bond among two aspiring graphic designers at UC DAAP evolved over the years. Today Julie and Jackie have been business partners for over 20 years, serving clients big and small in brand-centric strategy and identity.

When your phone is ringing off the hook and sales are rolling in, it’s easy to bask in the glory of dollar bills and new customers, neglecting the nitty gritty of your business.Growth is good.But intentional growth is better.Here’s why:Growth isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be. Maybe sales are soaring, but have your costs gone up, too? At the end of the day, who cares how much your top line is growing if your bottom line is stagnant (or worse, diminishing)?

Readers of Untamed have written me to share so many of their imaginings for truer, more beautiful lives. I marvel at how wildly different they all are. It’s proof that our lives were never meant to be cookie-cutter, culturally constructed carbon copies of some ideal. There is no one way to live, love, raise children, arrange a family, run a school, a community, a nation. The norms were created by somebody, and each of us is somebody. We can make our own normal. We can throw out all the rules and write our own.

The US economy balances in an uncertain position entering the second quarter.  In certain respects, the economy is on solid footing; the consumer is in good shape.  The labor markets are tight with the unemployment rate, at 3.6%, close to historic lows.  Jobs are plentiful and wages are rising.  While households have burned through the COVID-stimulus cash, their savings rate continues to be elevated, currently at 6.3%, which adds a level of cushioning should the economy turn south.  On the Corporate front, profits recovered quickly and are now well above pre-pandemic levels.  Business investment is continuing to accelerate and, with a growing trend to bring business operations back to the US, implies US economic growth should continue.    

Talk about a wild ride.If you’re a business owner or leader, you likely feel as if you’ve been put through the wringer. We certainly feel that way.The world came to a screeching halt on March 12, 2020. Everything changed with zero warning: ever since it’s been wave after wave after wave of difficult decisions to make.

Hi, I'm Mackey McNeill, and today I'm going to talk to you about changing your focus. As I've worked in my own business and with thousands of other business owners in pursuit of prosperity, I have learned that there are five critical mindset shifts that help a business owner, not only profit but prosper. Build a Better toolbox. Change your focus. Use data as a convener, a unifier. Stop being a fulcrum. And build a wheel and bring your head and your heart to work.  

65% of small businesses won't make it to their 10th anniversary. And I think that's just bananas, and I kind of want to change it. So here at Mackey, we came up with five ways that small business owners could change their habits and their behaviors to create enduring businesses. First is balance your head and your heart. Next, use data as a convener. Third, change your focus. Fourth, stop being a fulcrum, i.e. get out of the way. And five, which we're going to talk about today is build a better toolbox.  

Hi, I'm Mackey McNeill, and today I'm going to talk to you about balancing your head and your heart at work no less. As I've worked in my own business and with thousands of other business owners in pursuit of prosperity, I've learned that there are five critical mindset shifts that help a business owner not only profit, but prosper. Build a better toolbox. Change your focus. Use data as a convener, a unifier. Stop being a fulcrum. And build a wheel and bring your head and heart to work.  

Hi, I'm Mackey McNeill. And today I want to talk to you about using data as a convener. What if by simply measuring the right things, and sharing those measurements with your team in a specific way, not only will your company bottom line improve, you will create more time freedom for the most important person in your life, You.  

65% of small businesses will fail within 10 years of starting, which is just crazy. And we don't want that to happen anymore. So, at Mackey, we've developed five key ways for people to change how they are in their business, to hopefully build an enduring business for years to come. First is balance your head and your heart. Next, change your focus. Third, use data as a convener. Four, stop being a fulcrum, or get out of the way. And five, build a better toolbox. Today, we're going to talk about stop being a fulcrum, or again, get out of the way.  

Sally Ream and her sons are on a mission to make the world a little more beautiful, one outdoor space at a time.Families across Boston start every morning by stepping out into yards brilliantly designed by Sally, a trained horticulturist, and her son Marcus, a landscape architect. To some people, this might be considered a luxury. But to Sally, exquisite outdoor spaces are an essential part of life. 

Like so many of you, we are consumed by the war and desolation happening in Ukraine.It is hard to wrap our minds around such loss — of life, of family, of home, of safety and normalcy. We know that we cannot understand what it is to be a Ukrainian right now.But we can use our own prosperity to support their needs.

Another quarter, another Covid variant emerges.  This time Omicron, which is more infectious but less severe than previous versions of the Covid virus.  While there are nagging concerns, continued vaccination (and boosting) progress has thus far mitigated any new issues that could arise with the continuing evolution of the pandemic.    

Building a healthy work culture is hard. Especially in our current climate.Businesses around the world are struggling with culture for a variety of reasons:Hybrid and remote work models create communication challenges.The Great Resignation has created significant turnover.Scaling quickly leads to rushed onboarding.

Who doesn’t love a good podcast? Recently, Mackey’s been seriously digging The Moth and she thinks you’ll like it, too.The Moth: 25 Years of Humanity One Story at a TimeSince its launch in 1997, The Moth has presented thousands of true stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. Moth storytellers stand alone, under a spotlight, with only a microphone and a roomful of strangers.The podcast version of this international storytelling phenomenon first launched in 2008 and features some of The Moth’s “best” live performances from stages around the country.Each episode serves as a reminder that our stories, when shared openly and honestly, carry great power.Think of it as “People of New York” for your ears. Each story honors and celebrates the diversity and commonality of the human experience.  

It’s a new year, so we’re feeling both optimistic and ambitious. As a result, we’re reading TWO drastically different (but equally awesome) books this month.

Breaking News: Now’s the time to raise your prices!And it’s not just because we’re at the top of a new year (though it is, generally speaking, a good time to rollout changes in pricing structures with your customers).No. We’re saying it’s time to raise prices because in this economy, your livelihood depends on it.Inflation is the highest it’s been since the 1970s. For many in the workforce, it’s the highest they’ve ever experienced in their adult lives! Everything is going up.As a result, the tolerance for price changes is high — your clients simply expect to pay more these days.“Be proactive and not reactive right now about raising your price,” says MACKEY’s Director of Client Engagement Adam Reynolds. “Pricing is the most powerful tool in a business’s toolbox — so use it.”

Niching is a risky business. We’ve heard the arguments against niching time and time again:But if I narrow my focus, won’t I miss out on potential customers? I don’t want to limit my opportunities by focusing on such a specific segment of the market. What if I get bored?What if my niche dries up? MACKEY’s very own Sarah Grace is ready to bust some myths about niching and get real: nowadays, niching is necessary. It’s also a tried-and-true strategy to boost your profitability.

Dennis Devlin’s committed his entire career to understanding why people buy.As a self-proclaimed “non-shopper,” he’s never related to the people who enjoy spending time at length perusing the shelves. “I’d rather be in and out in 15 minutes,” he says. “These days, I don’t even need to go into a store. I can just go to a website, pull up my shopping history, and click ‘buy again.’”Dennis has a personal passion for improv, which isn’t surprising when you learn his story.With saying, “yes, and” at the core of an improviser’s philosophy, Dennis knows there’s an element of fear in moving forward, but with that fear, he’s also found prosperity.

Winston Faircloth’s on a mission of redemption.  “For Love of Team came out of my own painful experience as a founder of a technology organization,” he explains. “I really prioritized my clients and my products. I was always taking the side of my clients, which meant I had a pretty horrible culture inside.”