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Steady growth without compromising ideals on working with the right clients
Palio Communications opened operations in 1999 with a handful of people working on card tables in a cozy office of 400 square feet. The agency, owned by inChord Communications, now employs 115 and has taken over the entire building it occupies in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Palio last year hired about 15 staffers, promoted 20 and was voted one of the best places to work in its area. Revenue exceeded $17 million in 2004, up from $15.5 million the year before, and president Ed Mitzen expects 15-20 percent growth this year. It's "highly probable," he says, that Palio will look to build an even larger space in the next two years to accommodate its growth.
"Managing this growth has been our biggest challenge," Mitzen says. "I don't want to run faster than our legs will carry us. You start getting calls from everybody, which is flattering, but not every client is a client you want to work with. A lot of agencies try to go after everything and catch lightning in a bottle, and they flame out."
Last year,...