Black Meetings and Tourism

HESTER CLARK BY SHEA SCOTT Who says you can't have it all? As a wife, mother, and busi- ness owner Hester Clark is the founder and president of Hester Group Advertising PR Agency based in Jacksonville Fl. Coming from a family of hard working women, Clark is filled with wisdom on balancing both career and family. She has slowly and steadily achieved her career goals describing her business as "the little engine that could." Clark decided to become an entrepreneur out of her frustration with the traditional work place and desire to use her creative gifts while being independent and able to manage work and fam- ily. The company that began out of her home with one small contract is now a $2,000,000 business coming up on its 10- year Anniversary. The Hester Group Advertising PR Agency does copy- righting and comes up with creative concepts, having the mis- sion statement: "to reach people where they are just as they are." Starting her business from scratch, Clark believes it doesn't cost to have ideas and started with merely a comput- er, printer and paper supplies. As a frugal business owner, she encourages young entrepreneurs to remain humble by keep- ing expenses low and to grow out of need not appearance. After 10 years, she now has 10 employees and an office suite. However, she did not begin to hire her team until the con- tracts were in place to support them. Being that Hester is great at establishing and maintaining relationships, she has a wide range of clients, including retail accounts such as McDonalds, healthcare organizations, non-profit groups, out- reach projects including Medicaid reform, as well as a num- ber of public roadway transportation areas and educational programs. A visionary who sees opportunity on every corner, Clark strives to work with clients who she can creatively reach. It is her company's aim to be the best creative multicultural agency in the market able to provide top quality services. When it comes to combating adversity, Clark maintains grace under pressure. In terms of her competitors, she believes there is infinite opportunity for everyone. She aspires for the Hester Group to simply be the best it can be and trusts God to do the rest. Furthermore, Clark combats the economy by making the proper financial preparations. Due to the credit crunch, banks are tight- ening credit and are sometimes slower to pay. However, her busi- ness continues to flour- ish because of her awe- some clients and long- term contracts. Clark believes much of her success comes from her talented team and their ability to pro- vide top-of-the-line customer service by meeting all deadlines and maintaining daily contact with people. She attributes much of her company's success to her cousin Gregory Bruce, the firm's vice president, who she hired right out of college. Clark describes him as being her opposite. He handles the numbers, keeping them on the cutting edge of technology, while she handles the words. It has been very rewarding for her to watch him grow as a man and a profes- sional over the past six years. Clark is proud of her entire hard working staff and often stands in awe of their individual brilliance. In the midst of deadlines and pressure she is able to exhale knowing it isn't all about her. Aware that she has been able to provide an opportunity for her staff to blossom keeps her going. Most of Clark's employees are African-American and bi-racial. Never too shy to work a room, Clark has mastered the art of connecting with people and turning her vision into action. In the company's early years, she sacrificed the pace of her company's growth in order to keep her family first. Now that she and her husband have been able to watch their children go on to matriculate at HBCU's, she is able to work around the clock. As of October 2008, the Hester Group branched their offices to Washington, DC Clark's advice to women is, "There is sequencing in your life. Sequence things that are vital – hard times don't last forever and kids grow up quickly, get up and go to work when everyone else is off, and never be afraid to try something new." Black Meetings & Tourism February/March 2009: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 23

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