Highly innovative and passionate with a dash of sass, Logan Rae is a spearheading marketing professional whose underlying mission is to help businesses achieve new levels of scalable growth. As the founder of a leading marketing resource Argon Agency, Logan has an extensive background involving social media demand generation, brand/product strategy, SEO, customer engagement, and revenue optimization, and knows how to creatively foster cutting-edge executions that allow businesses to advance above their competition.

Can you tell our readers about your background?

Born and raised in one of the toughest areas within Miami, Florida (Carol City), I discovered early on the true meaning behind commitment, resilience, and a strong work ethic. Furthermore, I grew up in a home with a mother facing mental health challenges and an absent father, which ultimately became the catalyst to leverage education to leave my home environment.

Upon graduating high school at 15, I proceeded with my undergraduate studies at Cornell University and Florida Atlantic University, all while simultaneously becoming emancipated at 16 and becoming a teen mom at age 17.

In 2015, I chose to branch into the world of entrepreneurship, founding the Bacon Boxes brand. My marketing efforts and business plans were effective enough that the brand became nationalized in less than 20 weeks from product conception, we won notable awards (SCORE American Business Championship, Inc Magazine’s Coolest College Startup, etc) and entered an accelerator program (FAU Techrunway).

From that point, I shifted my education merging behavioral sciences with technical marketing. I worked across many industries both freelance and holding various positions from Digital Marketing Director to Chief Marketing Officer until founding Argon Agency.

What inspired you to start your business?

I started Argon Agency after being disappointed in the company I was working for at the time. I left a 6 figure c-level position in the middle of the pandemic and everything just fell into place.

Traditional digital marketing was a series of smoke screens, empty promises, one-size-fits-all cookie-cutter campaigns, and charts and graphs that look pretty, but don’t actually mean much. There had to be a better way. There had to be a way to provide clear, customized marketing campaigns that provided results, not just pretty charts and vague answers as to where your budget went. From that realization was born Argon Agency.

Where is your business based?

Argon Agency is based in downtown Lake Worth, Florida.

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

Due to my prior company (Bacon Boxes) and notoriety from self-branding, it was easy to walk into my new industry. I immediately had support and I had clients before I had processes. The universe really came through and helped uplift my efforts.

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

I believe your network is your net worth. I do for myself the same thing I do for my clients. I tell my story and I build genuine relationships. My goal is to be in as many rooms as I can at the same time.

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

My biggest challenge has been finding the right employees. I have been trying to build an environment that we look forward to being in - work that doesn’t feel like work.

I have made the mistake of hiring friends. I have hired people with fabricated resumes and portfolios. I have overpaid and invested months with inexperienced people to get their skill set where it needed to be. I have hired people that took my processes and ideas then started replications.

All of these situations weren’t good for my business. I wasted a lot of time and finances trying to make situations work. On a personal level, it hurts to have people I invested in, trusted, and respected take from me with no regard. However, it validates my structure, processes, and ability to mentor.

The biggest way to overcome these challenges has been to focus on the bigger picture, never stop looking for the right people, and keep my mindset on what I need to improve on in order to support getting the right team in place.

 How do you stay focused?

I love what I do and have built my company with the goal of it fitting my dream life. Most people work to retire and enjoy life. I built a life I don’t want to retire from. Staying focused is easy.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

Most marketing agencies offer a service, but not a strategy. You can go to a marketing agency and say you have “x” dollars to spend monthly and you want a specific service yet that budget could be more effective in a different type of campaign. Most agencies won’t care enough to tell you and most freelancers don’t have a diversified background to evaluate it beyond what the client is asking for.

We are different because we offer full strategy support. We evaluate EVERYTHING you are investing in your marketing and help businesses take action through our campaigns but also in-house to optimize their scalability. It is our goal to act as a knowledge bank and chief marketing officer for every company we contract with.  

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

Results and being accessible. Ironically we are a marketing agency that has not marketed itself yet. We have no social media presence. We only have a website because we needed it to obtain a merchant account. Yet, we are overwhelmed with business and actually have a waitlist for our services and companies that have paid a deposit to hold their place.

 What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

Believe in yourself and always maintain your integrity. It is so important to stay true to yourself, your team, and your clients. When you cut corners you lose value. It’s okay to go at your own pace. When you give yourself the time you’re less likely to burn out and more likely to build a stable brand with longevity.

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

 This is a hard question to answer. I would have to say I’m a big fan of Simon Sinek. I was introduced to his books while taking a leadership course in college and have kept his teachings integrated into everything I do.

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

Another hard question. I would be lost without my mentor Ron Cocquyt. I met him through an accelerator program I won entry into with my first startup, Bacon Boxes almost 5 years ago.

Mentorship, accelerator programs, and boot camps are a godsend. If we’re talking just software I would say Teamwork - it manages my life.

Who is your business role model? Why?

I admire so many it’s hard to just pick one.

I find myself checking in on Reshma Saujani who founded Girls Who Code. I find her story and motive inspirational and I love the goal of her company. She is facilitating an environment where women can become inspired, obtain resources and learn valuable skills that put them in a predominantly male industry.

I also admire Shannan Monson. She’s a mom and entrepreneur on a mission to change the statistics for women in leadership. I can’t wait for my obligations to calm down a little bit. One of the first things I plan to do for myself is sign up for her CEO School.

How do you balance work and life?

I integrate them into each other. I find it's best for my whole team.           

We have a leisurely 9 am start time. The goal is for everyone to come into the office between 8:30-9:00 am and not stress if there's extra traffic or jeopardize their safety if they’re running late. We take the first 15-20 minutes after everyone has arrived to get personal chit-chat out of the way, make a cup of coffee and grab a snack.

I found that if I order everyone’s favorite caffeinated beverage, snacks, and lite lunch items for the office every week it keeps us in higher spirits and balances us. Whereas before I did that I would often be too busy to leave the office and end up not eating all day.

I implemented team building into our routine. Monthly we do something different than the group votes on whether it be yoga, a company-paid lunch, or a two-day stay at a beach club for example. This allows us some leisure and bonding time to just relax and decompress. What’s your favorite way to decompress?

I like the gym. It's a place I enjoy when I’m in all moods. No matter what I end up leaving feeling motivated yet relaxed.

What do you have planned for the next six months?

Growth, education, and fun.

I have been tightening up processes and implementing new services. We’re going to be recruiting additional talent and working on new ways to exceed our clients’ expectations of us.

How can our readers connect with you?

www.instagram.com/thatmarketingbitch

www.instagram.com/argon.agency

www.argonagency.com

logan@argonagency.com

561-867-0027

11 S. J Street, Lake Worth, FL 33460