Today we’d like to introduce you to Allison DiRienzo.
Allison, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My current success and happiness in Co-Founding Wolf Dog Marketing, I owe in large part to my very majestic wolf-looking Alaskan Malamute. Just kidding (sort of) but he is the genesis for our company name and representative of our loyal, competitive spirit.
My passion for creative storytelling, writing and branding definitely started when I was young.
I was always captivated by the commercials and print advertising that my father was working on. When I was nearing the end of my tenure in college, despite my Dad’s rational attempts to steer me towards Law School, I was set on pursuing a career in Marketing (guess it was in the blood!). After graduating from Tufts University, I went to work at a few advertising agencies and then transitioned to in-house brand marketing.
I was fortunate to help build and grow big brands including an online gaming property of Turner Broadcasting, Maybelline, and T.J.Maxx. At this time the digital landscape was rapidly changing for brands/businesses and I could see my passion shifting to a greater focus on digital marketing. Working on social media content and e-commerce platforms for the retail brand I was working at solidified that for me.
The leap to start my own boutique digital marketing agency came about when I met a fellow hyper-competitive woman who worked in the digital marketing world. She agreed to partner with me on a website and branding project for my husband’s martial arts school and fitness program. Working late nights and weekends in the dojo’s office people would come by to say hi and pet my two large wolf looking dogs.
Those conversations spurned project after project as we connected with business owners and entrepreneurs. We quickly saw there was a real need for what we were doing! Small to medium-sized business owners were looking for the quality level of big digital agency branding and strategies but through a more accessible experience. That’s when I decided with my now business partner to create Wolf Dog Marketing and dedicate our work to helping businesses build their brands online and find successful growth through digital marketing platforms.
This path has led me to another passion, which is to support and connect with other female business owners & entrepreneurs. I now sit on the Board of Directors for the MetroWest Conference for Women and work on an initiative to bring this platform to an impactful next level.
Has it been a smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been smooth or easy but I feel very lucky to have an amazing business partner and a great network of entrepreneurs. Being married to a business owner I saw the amount of dedication, time and sacrifices that come to running your own business as well as the rewards from those efforts. I knew it would be a lot of work but nothing truly prepares you for owning your business!
One of the first fears I faced was starting the business with a good friend. I’ve heard horror stories about friends mixing business and everything going south but we had clear communication on the really important topics early on and continue to address any potential concerns head-on.
We work as best we can to leave work talk or stress at the office when we’re socializing with friends but it is definitely hard to separate the two sometimes! A challenge we faced early on was acknowledging when a potential client or partner wasn’t a good fit. When your business is new, you’re so eager and excited to work on projects that you want to say yes to everything.
However, sometimes you have to listen to your gut that this might not be the most productive partnership. We’ve gotten much better at that over time and have learned to communicate expectations in the initial conversations.
This makes sure our projects are a win-win for everyone and we focus on doing the very best work possible. Learning the art of “no” while staying open to opportunities has become an invaluable lesson!
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Wolf Dog Marketing – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Wolf Dog Marketing is a one-stop digital marketing shop, which is one of the things that sets us apart from other digital marketers or designers. As a boutique agency, we are dedicated to creating meaningful web design, professional branding and digital marketing solutions for businesses. We help companies at various stages of their business, including start-ups, established brands and those going through business transitions.
Our services include professional branding, logo design, graphic design, website design and development, social media content marketing, email, print marketing, and digital marketing solutions. Our clients really appreciate having a true team behind their brand efforts and our competitive drive definitely makes us unique. We invest in getting to know a business and helping them to succeed.
We are proud that many business owners consider us an extension of their team and were often included in bigger business conversations or asked for our thoughts on decisions for the future direction of the brand. We truly feel that when the business wins, we win.
The mission at Wolf Dog Marketing is to create digital design that performs in order for companies to fulfill their online business potential. I’m very proud of how many times we’ve heard a business owner say “they just get me and they understand my business.”
We operate on the belief that the key to any successful branding and marketing is being authentic. Authenticity is at the core of everything we do.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Can I say nothing? In all sincerity, I would have done lots of things differently, but I believe all of the failures and mistakes along the way have been invaluable in growing our successful business. We’ve been able to stay true to who we are while we’ve grown and I feel that is largely in part to the bumps along the way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://wolfdogmarketing.com/
- Email: allison@wolfdogmarketing.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wolfdogmktg
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wolfdogmarketing/
- Other: https://www.metrowestconferenceforwomen.org/
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
