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Valley marketing firm built on trio of values celebrates five years in business
CANFIELD
When Jeff Ryznar was a child, his grandfather asked him to pick three numbers to play in the lottery.
Ryznar selected eight, nine and eight.
Later, Ryznar learned his grandfather planned to purchase a truck and lawn-care equipment for him so Ryznar could start his own business when he turned 16.
That plan took an unexpected turn, but decades later, his grandfather’s impact is reflected in the business that Ryznar went on to build.
“Four days before I turned 16, he passed away. I never got the truck or the lawn-care equipment, but I knew from that moment that I was going to own my own business, and it was going to be 898-something,” Ryznar said in a recent interview at his Canfield office.
This month, 898 Marketing marked its fifth anniversary. The name serves as a reminder of one of the first people who believed in Ryznar.
How did Ryznar turn that long-held dream into reality?
Ryznar’s story starts on Youngstown’s West Side, where he grew up. He graduated from Ursuline High School in 1998 and from Miami of Ohio University in Oxford in 2002 with a degree in marketing. From there, Ryznar’s work took him across the country. He worked at agencies in Detroit, New York City and Chicago before landing a job in Cleveland as the Cleveland Cavaliers’ director of strategic marketing.
When Ryznar and his wife had their first child, they decided it was time to move back home to Youngstown. A few months later, Ryznar struck out on his own and launched 898 Marketing in January 2014.
The marketing firm’s approach to business is unique in more ways than one.
First, Ryznar has no plans to drastically expand his clientele. He generally sticks to no more than seven clients at a time and has no plans to change that model.
“I didn’t want to grow it into a large agency,” he explained. “I like the small feel. I like doing the work.”
Each prospective client goes through a survey process to determine whether 898 is a good fit. If 898 does take on a client, Ryznar doesn’t want to do the same work for them forever.
“You want them to graduate,” he said. “That’s where I think agencies become complacent in just accepting what they have and not taking the risk of showing individuals and companies, here’s how you can do this on your own, and now we can grow and help you with something else.”
898’s clients have included Mill Creek MetroParks, Burgan Real Estate, Greenwood Chevrolet, Drund, JAC Live and numerous others. 898 still has its first retained clients, MVI HomeCare and Steel City Anesthesia.
The firm specializes in strategic business planning, brand development, sales and leadership training, as well as social and digital marketing and video production
Ryznar believes his unique approach to business benefits his clients, who get the agency’s full attention. It also allows Ryznar and his employees to prioritize other areas of their lives. Ryznar is a big proponent of balancing work with family time and community involvement. His wife is a doctor and chief of staff at a local hospital, and Ryznar makes sure he is available for child care of the couple’s two young daughters.
“There are other things I value in my life outside of my [work] that I won’t sacrifice for anything,” he said.
Community involvement is another priority Ryznar has embedded into 898 Marketing. Employees – which currently include an office manager and an account manager – have eight professional goals to meet each year, as well as nine community goals and eight personal goals. Progress on those goals is tied into salary raises.
898 Marketing employees must volunteer at six events per year, for example. Their personal goals can be anything they want, from taking a dream trip to getting into shape.
“Those types of goals help them understand they’re here to become better, not just better at their career,” Ryznar said. “I fully believe we’re here to serve. We’re here to serve our clients, we’re here to serve ourselves, and we’re here to serve the community.”
Ryznar walks this walk himself through an extensive list of community involvements. He serves on numerous boards for local organizations, leads the Ursuline Booster Club and is a lector/eucharistic minister, to name just a few examples.
As someone who cares deeply about the Youngstown community, reaching the milestone of being in business here for five years is special to Ryznar.
“There was a part of me that didn’t think I would succeed,” he said. “To see where we’ve come over five years, not only for the clients who trust us but the community I was born and raised in and I love, means more than any accolade I’ll ever receive.”
And he doesn’t plan to go anywhere.
“As long as that balance is there between our professional lives and our community achievements and our personal lives ... we’re confident we’re going to be able to keep helping clients for a long time, and keep helping clients here in Youngstown – because we love it,” he said.