My dad and me in my first office on Midvale Blvd, 1989. He didn’t even know I had started a business until I’d been up and running for a few months. I bought my first MacPlus on a credit card. A friend gave me a desk. The office was in the basement of a building that’s since been torn down. Today, The Creative Company is located in a brand-new building on West Washington Avenue—just six blocks from the Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin.
Dear Friend,
This week, during our Monday staff meeting, I looked around the table and realized that nearly half my team is younger than the 36 years I’ve been running The Creative Company.
How do you even explain what it’s been like to have a front-row seat to the dawn of the internet, smartphones, e-commerce and digital marketing, broadband and video conferencing, email marketing, and a hyper-connected, always-on world, as well as the demands that come with one?
In the beginning, I went to the library to research leads and followed up with a letter. I used the actual phone book, for goodness’ sake! Now, we work with two clients based in other countries (Ireland and the Netherlands), and it’s just like they are right next door. We use Zoom, chat, and text in real-time. Amazing.
When I began, I was 21 years old. I started this with little more than a shoestring budget, a prayer, 21 books from the Madison Public Library on how to start a business, and a vision. I had a few college friends and a consumer behavior professor who helped me get it off the ground. I had one large enough client to create lift off. I wanted to build something special—a culture of caring and winning, a place where stories shaped worlds and made people and places better than before. Back then, I had almost no connections and no money though, just youth and determination. I was courageously curious, and I still am. And you know what? That turned out to be enough.
Thanks to you—every client, every team member, and every friend who’s believed in us—we’ve survived and thrived. We made it through a couple of economic downturns, a Gulf War, Y2K, 9/11, and countless other mishaps and mistakes. Today, we stand among the top 2% of women-owned businesses in the United States. We were Dane County’s Small Business of the Year in 2022. The U.S. Small Business Administration honored me in 2019 with the SBA's Women in Business of the Year Award. We've won countless creative awards, learned many lessons, and there's still much more to come! Together, we’ve moved mountains and made a real difference for companies and nonprofits. I couldn’t have done it without your encouragement and trust, and the people who chose to join us on our mission at the firm. It took a long time to get here, though. There's no overnight success story here—just hard work and showing up every day, working to figure it out for everyone's sake.
So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for taking a moment to celebrate this milestone with me. Thanks for giving me a chance. I’m an ordinary person who keeps showing up, and it’s made all the difference in the world.
Here’s to 36 years of grit, grace, and impact—and to many more ahead, together.
Laura Gallagher,
President and Founder of The Creative Company
2021 Governor's Business Plan Winner, 2019 SBA Women in Business Champion of the Year, Wisconsin Trailblazer, Author, Speaker
The Creative Company is Rated A+ from the Better Business Bureau.
The Creative Company is the 2022 Recipient of the Dane County Small Business of the Year Award.
Becoming a Scientist of Your Brain
We hosted an inspiring VIP in-person event with clients at The Creative Company, led by Dr. Niraj Nijhawan, M.D., founder of the LEO Program. Dr. Raj shared powerful insights on how to unlock the brain’s untapped potential.
Dr. Niraj (Raj) Nijhawan is a practicing physician. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin Medical School in 1992, and completed a medical residency in Anesthesiology/Critical Care. Dr. Nijhawan received a National Institute of Health Scientist Training Grant where he acquired a Master’s Degree in clinical research. He has spent nearly 30 years cataloging, practicing. teaching, and helping people integrate the latest knowledge from the realms of medical, social, and neuroscience into their lives.
Dr. Raj provided practical strategies to enhance leadership, resilience, and performance, leaving attendees with actionable takeaways to make more effective decisions in their personal and professional lives. Here are three key takeaways from Dr. Raj's talk:
Top Tips to Harness Your Brain’s Full Potential for Leadership
🧠 Use Your Brain’s Higher Functions to Lead with Clarity
Engage your brain’s executive thinking capabilities to make decisions that are not only thoughtful, but also grounded in long-term effectiveness. Pause before reacting—especially in high-stakes situations—and tap into your ability to reflect, plan, and prioritize.
🧬 Boost Your Resilience with Brain-Based Strategies
Resilience isn’t just emotional—it’s neurological. Strengthen it by practicing techniques that regulate your nervous system, such as deep breathing, mindfulness, and reframing stress as a challenge rather than a threat. It will help you to be more resilient.
🔍 Rewire Unhelpful Thought Patterns for Greater Success
Identify recurring negative self-talk or limiting beliefs and challenge them. Replace “I can’t” with “What’s one step I can take?” Small mental shifts can lead to big results in your leadership performance.
Just sending out a follow up thanks for hosting and the invite to yesterday’s lecture. It was a great session and left me with a lot to think about. I will definitely be giving the concepts a deeper dive. I also really enjoyed chatting with the folks I was paired with. Just all around good group and experience.
Rethinking the Narrative: Cassandra DeGuide Shares PR Wisdom
At last month’s Social Media Breakfast event, Creative Company Account Executive and PR pro Cassandra DeGuide shared how narrative-driven storytelling is changing the game for marketers and communicators. In a world overflowing with content, Cassandra offered a refreshing take: ditch the traditional “inverted pyramid” structure and start leading with heart, not just headlines.
Drawing on her broadcast journalism background and PR expertise, Cassandra showed attendees how to elevate their content by embracing story-first techniques, building thought leadership, and using their authentic voice to connect with audiences across platforms. Her message was clear—when your content tells a compelling story, it becomes memorable, meaningful, and effective.
Staying Ahead of the Curve: Insights from the PRSA Counselors Academy Conference
This month, I had the opportunity to attend the PRSA Counselors Academy Conference in Charleston, South Carolina—a national gathering of senior-level public relations professionals who lead agencies across the country. The experience was energizing, insightful, and directly relevant to the work we do for our clients every day.
One of the most compelling sessions centered on crisis communications and featured firsthand insights from the public relations strategist who led the response to the Springfield, Ohio, crisis. Hearing directly from the professional on the front lines of that crisis reinforced how critical preparation, clarity, and compassion are in high-stakes situations. It was a sobering and powerful reminder that the work we do can make a meaningful difference when it matters most.
The conference also offered a deep dive into emerging technologies, including how artificial intelligence is reshaping the public relations landscape. From real-time media monitoring to content generation and predictive analytics, AI is becoming an essential tool for staying responsive and relevant. I left with fresh ideas—and actionable strategies—for using AI to enhance storytelling, crisis readiness, and client impact.
At The Creative Company, we believe in lifelong learning and staying ahead of trends so that we can bring the very best thinking and tools to our clients. This conference was a valuable reminder of why that matters—and how it benefits the brands and organizations we serve.
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