Tips from a Creative-Type Entrepreneur with Sue Grabowski

Doors Open: 5:00 p.m.
Program Begins: 5:30 p.m.
Q&A Session: 6:10 p.m.
Networking: 6:30 p.m.

Sue Grabowski left corporate America in 1997 to start her own freelance writing business in her two-bedroom home in Kenmore. Today, Grabowski & Co. is a 25-person creative agency serving organizations of all sizes. In January 2015, she launched a second business, Squawqr, a mobile media company. She will share lessons learned along her 25-year career journey, as well as insights on starting a creative-focused business today versus years ago. Bring your questions for Sue, who remains a writer at heart.

ABOUT SUE GRABOWSKI
Sue Grabowski leads a talented team of marketing strategists, writers, art directors, and web professionals who serve Fortune 500 companies and nonprofits alike. The firm’s philosophy is “message first,” and its team members are adept at understanding audiences and developing content that resonates.

Prior to launching Grabowski & Co. (www.grabowskiandco.com) in 1997, Sue worked as an associate editor for Babcox Publications, an account executive at Covington Communications and a senior communications specialist at Progressive Insurance. The firm’s clients include Employers Health, The Timken Company, TimkenSteel, Akron Children’s Hospital, Malone University and 40 other small businesses and nonprofits.

In the past nine years, Grabowski & Co.’s work has garnered more than 80 local ADDY® Awards, including four “Best of Show” and six “Judge’s Award” honors. The company has been included on the 2012-2015 Weatherhead 100 list of fastest-growing businesses in northeast Ohio. Grabowski & Co. also won a Business Excellence Award from the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce.

In 2015, she launched Squawqr Mobile Media (www.squawqr.com) with business partner and the platform inventor, Rob Kemmer. More than 150 Squawqr mobile media channels are in use by companies and nonprofits. The company has resellers in five states and is growing its footprint rapidly.

Sue is a Canton native who graduated with a Communications Arts degree from Malone University. She serves on several community boards and committees, including Pathway Caring for Children and Women’s Impact. She was honored as “Ad Person of the Year” in 2013 by the Canton Advertising Federation. Sue and her husband Leonard are parents to Abbi, 18; Mitch, 15; and Zane, 11.

Questions? Please contact Katelyn Gainer, Founder & Director of Creative Cog at Hello@CreativeCogAkron.org.