By managing a business from his dorm room at LSU and holding client meetings in the student union, Brian Rodriguez began his career at a young age building websites for local companies finally ready to embrace the digital age.
While some clients were initially hesitant to hire someone so young, Rodriguez’s work ethic—if not his web development skills—eventually won them over. Others embraced him immediately due to the fledgling nature of the tech world.
“I was this young tech guy, so I kind of played it to my advantage,” Rodriguez tells Business Report in its new Entrepreneur feature.
By the time Rodriguez graduated from LSU in 2006, he realized his true passion: business development, not web development. So he set out to assemble a creative team that allowed him to focus on expanding services and growing his client base. After nine years, Gatorworks has grown into one of the only full-service digital advertising agencies in Baton Rouge.
Competing with numerous traditional advertising agencies in the market, Rodriguez intentionally positioned Gatorworks to be more web-focused than other creative firms.
“When it comes to digital, we have that expertise in house,” Rodriguez says, explaining that it is often harder for a traditional advertising agency to maintain that type of talent as part of its core team.
Rodriguez says his favorite part of the job is learning about new industries and business plans each day.
“One day I’m meeting with Rotolo’s, and they are telling me how they are going to grow their restaurant business,” Rodriguez explains. “The next day I’m meeting with New Schools for Baton Rouge, and I get to learn about their world.”
With a spectrum of clients ranging from MasteryPrep to Associated Grocers to Louisiana Economic Development, Rodriguez must capture different stories everyday and develop creative solutions for his clients to help them meet their goals. As both Gatorworks and Rodriguez have matured, he and his team have mastered the art of managing expectations.
“I do not tell clients what they want to hear,” he says, adding he has learned that the key to a good partnership is to be realistic when it comes to determining the right type of service, timeline and budget.
Read the full Entrepreneur feature on Rodriguez. Send your comments to editors@businessreport.com.
