Follow along during the early days of 7C's and its founder Timothy Corey. Learn about both the difficulties and early success he faced.
The early months of the year 2020 were filled with uncertainty. Rumors of an impending pandemic gave way to the harsh realities of life on lock-down. Business closed, causing the economy to crash; panicked people stormed grocery stores, picking the shelves clean; toilet paper was nowhere to be found; and the stock market plummeted, causing one of the worst economic recessions in United States history. It was during this chaotic time that 7C's Marketing was founded.
The Idea
At the time Covid-19 hit, Timothy Corey was finishing his Junior year at the University of Texas at San Antonio and was working as a waiter at a restaurant in San Antonio called Cover 3. His days were spent working on his Business Marketing classwork, and his nights were spent running back and forth between tables and a kitchen. Working as a waiter payed well, he was working with good people, and he was staying on top of school well enough. Life seemed to be going just fine.
Going just fine, that is, until the restaurant Tim worked at was shut down and he was furloughed. Covid-19 had hit and, all of a sudden, millions of people across the country found themselves out of work. Many companies went out of business, but most promised to re-hire their employees as soon as they were allowed. Tim was officially unemployed.
As soon as his semester finished up, Tim took the opportunity to fly to Washington State to spend a few months with his sister. It was during his time in Washington, between the backpacking trips, filming of you-tube videos, and photography, that Tim decided he was going to start a printing and marketing agency (it was either that or spend all of his money on a sailboat). The idea had been twirling around in the back of his head ever since he ended his sales job at Alphagraphics, another print and marketing agency in San Antonio. The idea was a long time coming.
The Legal Stuff
In the months that followed Tim came up with a name for his first company (thanks mom for the name suggestion), spent hours designing and publishing a website, and spent many MORE hours trying to figure out all the legal details of starting a business. DBA's, EIN's, LLC's, C Corps, S Corps, Taxes, Accounting, Mailboxes, Addresses, Credit Card and payment processing, it was a LOT. After days of research, Tim finally settled on the simpler approach: a Sole Proprietorship (as opposed to filing for a LLC), and a DBA (Doing Business As).
Since Tim was still outside of San Antonio and couldn't file the necessary paper work in person, he filed for his DBA and EIN (Employer Identification Number) through the online services of Legal Zoom. A decision that still haunts him to this day (please, just file the paperwork yourself). Despite the seemingly simple nature of filing for a DBA and an EIN, the process took quite some time. After a few online notaries, a few hundred extra dollars, and many a frustrating phone call with Legal Zoom, though, Tim was in business and 7C's Marketing was born.
7C's Marketing was now legal, but a whole lot more work still needed to be done before 7C's could take on its first client. Partnerships needed to be made in San Antonio, interest needed to be fostered, and many many more minute details still needed to be hashed out.
Back To San Antonio
All the ground-work was now set. The rest of the details, though very important, could be figured out as he went. Timothy and 7C's Marketing were ready to find their very first client. It was now August, and the Covid 19 Pandemic was beginning to die down. People were being careful, but starting to go back to their everyday lives. Business were opening once again, and 7C's Marketing was just getting started.
The Future
Today, Tim and 7C's Marketing are providing graphic design, printing and marketing products, services, and advice to numerous businesses, startups, nonprofits, and individuals all across San Antonio.
7C's Marketing was born in uncertainty. This uncertainty, necessitated unique challenges that were (and are still being) overcome. Despite the questions, despite the challenges and the uncertainty, 7C's has made it this far and will rely on its cherished clients, partners, and lessons learned from overcoming these challenges, to face anything that the future brings.
No matter what happens, 7C's will strive to live up to its pledge "To provide you with the very best in customer service while meeting your deadlines, requirements, and exceeding your quality expectations."