VANCOUVER, Wash. – Brenda Alling and her business partner, Betsy Henning, tell their story in a company booklet aptly called “Our Story.”
In it they explain that out of a shared love of writing, their Vancouver enterprise, Aha! Inc., got started 10 years ago in an upstairs bedroom-turned-office in Henning’s home.
“Words shape the world’s perception of people, companies, products and services,” they write. “Words bring forth an idea and generate a response. Words crafted into stories communicate. Pure and simple.”
From this vision, Alling and Henning have built a creative writing services business that now employs 30 people and this year expects to generate billings of $3 million. The firm offers marketing and strategic communications services.
Aha! staffers write everything from brochure and Web content to annual reports and merchandising copy.
Among its clients are Hewlett-Packard Co., the Charles Schwab brokerage firm, technology companies such as Wacker Siltronic Corp., and cosmetics giant Estee Lauder. Closer to their homes, First Independent Bank and Cardinal Nutrition are on the roster.
In some ways Alling and Henning seem surprised by their company’s success.
“We’ve never had growth goals in terms of numbers of people,” said Henning. “We’ve hired based on client need. When a team gets over-loaded, we say, ‘Hey, we need some help.’”
The business has broken a few rules: No business plan, no annual budget goals, no quarterly income statements, no employee handbook and no mission statement.
“We don’t want any unintended consequences that might result from plans and goals,” Henning said adamantly. “We want to stay focused on doing the very best work we can do. We believe if we do what we love and do it well, the money will follow, clients will reward us.”
Aha! (which takes its name from Alling Henning Associates Inc.) seems to fill a business niche with few, if any, competitors. Typically, advertising agencies and public relations firms have writers on staff, but also do other things.
“Our (writing) focus makes it easier to explain what we do,” Henning said. “We’re not distracted by design. We’re not dabbling in things we don’t know anything about.”
The two women, who have worked together since 1989, describe themselves as accidental entrepreneurs who “share a brain.”
Henning, 43, who admits to a short attention span, says Alling “does most of the work.”
Alling, 37, describes Henning as “the gutsy one,” good on her feet, who acts on ideas.
To keep the creative juices flowing, the organization publishes an annual collection of staff-written work, including poems, essays and short stories developed out of weekly “pow-wows.” Every other year, Aha! hosts a four-day off-site retreat to inspire employees and help them hone their skills.
“We definitely have an environment where vulnerability and trust co-exist,” Henning said.
“Really, we’re trying to create an organization that people are passionate about.”
Aha! was recently ranked by a Portland business publication as the 14th largest woman-owned business in the metropolitan area and probably the largest in Southwest Washington. Most of Aha! employees are women. Alling and Henning have tried hard to recognize the needs of their staff.
“The (business) world is still uncertain about life-work integration in a way that’s acceptable to women,” said Alling. “Only now are we beginning to see a shift. The real goal is not balance, but integration.”
For a while Aha! employed a nanny and operated a day care center in its basement for employees’ children.
With more than 10 years of business management experience, Alling and Henning seem confident about the future.
“We like the downtown location, we see signs the economy is improving, and as our name gets passed around, we expect our client base to continue to grow,” Alling said.
Associated Press
Betsy Henning (left) and Brenda Alling chose an historic home in Vancouver, Wash., for the office of their writing business,
Aha! Inc.
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