Slice Communications 14th Anniversary
Every year on February 8th, I take a second to reflect on the journey that has been Slice Communications. February 8th was the day that my co-founder and I earned our first client, and I’ve been riding the ups-and-downs of this crazy rollercoaster ever since.
The first client was a tech startup in northern New Jersey that had been referred to us by a friend. On the train ride back from closing the deal, we realized that now that we had a client, our company needed a name. We brainstormed lots of different things and ultimately realized that we wanted to help companies cut through all the media clutter out there in order to get their messages to their targeted audiences. That’s how Slice Communications came to be. The domain name www.SliceCommunications.com was available, and here we are today.
Over the past two years, I’ve learned more about the agency and myself than in all the previous years combined. The most important thing is that when faced with challenge after challenge after challenge, our team rises to the occasion.
On March 11, 2020, we made the decision to go virtual, and we were lucky to have all the technology and tools to do so without much interruption. We started virtual happy hours pretty much right away and found laughter and joy in a combination of Jackbox games, powerpoint presentation parties, and fun surprises that arrived in the mail.
During that same time, we lost a good number of clients that just weren’t able to operate or market as they had been. It was a tough time for business, but instead of getting defeated, we decided the best way to spend our time was to help others. We started posting communications strategy and crisis best practice videos a few times a week. We hosted webinars on communicating through crises for our clients and nonprofits in our communities. And we focused on keeping our account teams in place so we could continue to serve our clients.
Our clients have also inspired us and taught us so much as they navigated the past few years. We helped them through crises, including store closures, mistaken identity, workplace harassment, and a whole series of other challenges. Their resilience taught us to stay focused on what matters most and that every company in every industry is different. They continue to be the reason we do what we do, and we’re very fortunate to be able to help them.
In December 2021, I met with each member of our team individually. Some of them have been with us since before 2020, but many are new. They joined us without ever being in an office or having a traditional onboarding experience. But person after person, they told me that what they like most about being part of the Slice family is the culture we’ve built together. It’s one of generosity where everyone will do whatever they can to help each other. It’s one of discipline where we have clear expectations of each other and live up to our commitments. It’s also one of deep caring for each other where we value mental, emotional, and physical health.
Despite all the challenges of the external world, our team had our best year yet at Slice in 2021. We got to do really meaningful work, we created new things together, and we had a whole lot of laughs. I’m extremely lucky that I get to continue to ride the rollercoaster and that I have great people riding along with me.
