Waxing Nostalgic After Celebrating 25 Years

Waxing Nostalgic After Celebrating 25 Years
Author:
Edward Estipona
News

Edward Estipona, President of the Estipona Group, talks takeaways
after spending the last year reminiscing about 25 years in business. 

I’ve spent the better half of this year in front of the camera. This is unusual for me; I’m usually behind the scenes, directing and creating. But I felt it was important to have some important conversations this year, shining a well-deserved spotlight on those who have been so instrumental in Estipona Group’s 25 years of success. And perhaps needless to say, I really enjoyed talking to everybody from the past and present. (Some have accused me before of being a talker. Not sure why.) 

When I was young, I was very driven, and so much of my energy was spent on the next big thing. Now that I’m a bit older and wiser, I really wish I had done a better job celebrating those accomplishments with the people around me. I guess I would have to say that doing these videos was a blessing in that I was able to get that chance to celebrate those moments, and for that I’m very thankful. 

While looking back this year, I have chosen three fundamental takeaways from the last 25 years.

1. There is no way I could’ve built this business by myself; it was a combination of the talents and efforts of so many wonderful people along the way. Unfortunately, we were not able to do videos with everyone who contributed to our success. There are just too many people who were very instrumental in getting us to the 25-year mark and beyond, and interviewing them all would have taken longer than a year. While I could take the time to thank everyone in this post, I’m afraid that would become the never-ending blog. I do, however, want to call out a few more people who have been personally important to our business.

Nickie Price, if it weren’t for you, the Estipona Group would not exist today. You gave me my first design job while I was in college, and you later referred clients to me when I started EnVision Design. So: Thank you. Plus you’re a wonderful mother-in-law. (I should probably have mentioned that first.) 

Mike Vialpando, my first partner in crime: You joined me eight months after EnVision was created, and we went on to build a great agency together despite the unwieldy name of Estipona Vialpando Partners (EVP). I appreciate your friendship and brotherhood, and I know you were crucial in helping build this agency.

Martin Amba, you were our first creative director and one of my favorite creatives to work with. Together we won a ton of plastic statues and launched a little known agency toward success. Again, without you, I’m not sure we could get to where we are today.

Lynn Atcheson, you showed me how to become a community leader. Having started my business at a young age, I never really had a mentor. You taught me how give back to our community. Your selfless example of all your great community work still stands out today. I consider myself a lucky person to have been around you so I could learn how to lead with grace and class.

Finally, I do have to take this chance to acknowledge the contributions of those truly behind the scenes: my family. Mom and Dad, besides bringing me into this world, thank you for loaning me the start-up money to start this business. To my wife of 21 years,Shannon, thank you for being there for me each and every step of the way. I doubted myself many times, and you were there to pick me up and support me. My kids Jared and Haley, thank you for teaching me patience. It’s interesting: Before having kids, I thought there was only one way to do things, and that was my way. Kids have a unique way of taking your plan and throwing it out the window. I needed my kids to teach me this so that I could be a better manager.

2. I’m proud of our consistency. Twenty-five years is a long time, and a lot can change and happen in that time. While much has changed, the things I heard consistently from the folks we highlighted in our videos were an appreciation for our strategic and creative work, our passion for the work and our love of our community. At 23 years old, I’m not sure I was smart enough to predict this would be our brand. But I’m awfully proud of  what we’ve become.

Related Story: Estipona Group’s Third Annual Diaper Duty Collects Record-Breaking 14,180 Diapers

3. Change is inevitable. Throughout the 25-year process, we have experienced many changes in personnel, clients and environments. I’m proud that our team has been flexible and resilient enough to change with the times. Not only were we able to embrace change, but in some ways, we initiated these changes, which lead to even better outcomes for ourselves and our clients; initiatives like being one of the first agencies to undertake start-to-finish work on computers and creating a virtual work environment are just a few examples. 

So, what’s next for the Estipona Group? Well, it’s fitting that “change” was my last observation. In 2019, the community can expect another change from our group. We believe we can do so much more than we’ve done in the past, so we will be introducing something new in the earlier part of the year. While I’m sure you would like to know now, I think this new focus is better suited for another blog. I think this is what they call a cliff hanger, so I’ll just leave that right there for now.

Except to say this (Editor’s Note: Do you see why we say he’s a talker?): In closing, I want to thank everyone in our community for supporting the Estipona Group over the last 25 years. I want to especially thank the current team of Estiponies. While I’ve had the pleasure of working with some great teams in the past, this is my favorite. I think this group is very special, and I look forward to building the next 25 years with you.

Happy New Year, everyone. And in case you missed them, here is the complete list of EG Rewind videos we produced last year to celebrate 2018 — our 25th anniversary. 

Edward Estipona is the President and Founder of the Estipona Group. Watch him wax all philosophical here. 

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