Aviatra of the Week: Stacy Koenig

What exactly is your business?

Zeal40: the creative agency
We partner with HE institutions & businesses to Elevate Your Brand through a variety of creative services.

How did you come up with your business idea?

I was the Director of Creative Services at Hobsons for 18 years and they decided to stop offering marketing/creative services to their clients and focus the technology side of their business. When they made that decision, they offering to divest the creative business to me. The Director of Sales was interested so, we moved forward and started Zeal40!

How did you find out about Aviatra?

My husband suggested I look into it after seeing it on LinkedIn.

What is your inspiration?

There isn’t a specific business I aspire to be like but, I really want to run a company everyone wants to work WITH and work FOR!

What has been your biggest accomplishment with your business so far?

We celebrate our 4th anniversary on July 1st and we’ve worked very hard to get here! What was the most valuable thing you gained from your experience with Aviatra?

So far, meeting some really great people that are so invested in helping each of us in our businesses.

What was the biggest challenge you faced when starting your business?

When starting Zeal40, there was quickly the realization that I was not only the ‘creative authority’ but also bookkeeper, IT, HR, sales support, the cleaning lady, travel agent and many other things. I’ve actually loved the challenge and learning – maybe some more than others!

I believe our biggest challenge has been cash flow. We are very fiscally responsible and have no loans. We are changing our contract & terms which should help us out.

Where do you hope to be in 5 years?

I would like our business to [at least] triple revenue + staff. We’ve stayed pretty level and we are ready to take Zeal40 to the next level.

Any advice for future Aviatras?

This is a commitment but, the information and help you receive is priceless!

Where can we keep up with you?

Facebook: @Zeal40Creative
Instagram: Zeal40creative
LinkedIn: Zeal 40: the creative agency
YouTube: just set this up. More to come!
Pinterest: just set this up. More to come!
Website: www.zeal40.com (relaunching this summer)

Come meet and hear from Stacy and the rest our Summer Aviatra Participants as they pitch their businesses LIVE to win prizes at Flight Night! Get your tickets here.