Community Highlights: Meet Kriste Goad

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kriste Goad.

Hi Kriste, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I come from a family of builders; my father and his brothers were all home builders. Growing up around their small businesses, I learned about entrepreneurship and hard work from an early age. Starting out my own career, I studied Journalism at Auburn University and spent the first eight years of my career covering government and politics, everything from the local city council to the state Legislature to presidential elections. That developed in me a great interest and curiosity about the people and policies that shape the world we live in and how it affects my own community. This opportunity and curiosity early in my career, combined with that intrinsic journalistic notion of being part of the Fourth Estate, laid the foundation for my understanding of the importance of giving back to the world.

While I used to dream of winning a Pulitzer Prize, I never envisioned myself on the path to owning a marketing agency. But as opportunities presented themselves, I took them. I jumped out of journalism to become a speechwriter for the Governor of Tennessee, then led in-house corporate communications for what was at the time the country’s largest publicly traded disease management company, and that then led to public affairs and working on the agency side of the house, including helping open the Nashville office of a national healthcare B2B specialist agency out of Santa Barbara.

I left that company after it was acquired, and going back to the corporate side didn’t seem like a good fit anymore. Knowing that I had helped a lot of other companies grow by leveraging my own relationships and reputation, I thought I should try it myself. Starting my own company was exciting, and soon clients needed more than I could deliver on my own. Within 2 years, I went from an independent contractor working with a network of freelancers to an agency owner. Now we have a great team of people, which includes 14 employees and a strong bench of freelancers and contractors. Five years after starting fuoco, I like to think of myself as a builder, much like the rest of my family. Only instead of building homes, I’m a builder of my company and a builder of brands.

I feel very fortunate to have a successful business. My community has given me so much, and part of our mission at fuoco is doing good work that’s meaningful. To me, that means we’re giving back to the community as much as we are doing good work for clients. I have been able to be successful only because of the success of my community. I care about giving back to the world. I’ve long been active with JDRF of Tennessee, and two years ago I joined the Board of Directors for the national non-profit Can’d Aid.

Diana Ralston, Can’d Aid executive director, is a close friend and sorority sister from Auburn University, where we attended college together, and when she asked me to join the board I was all in. Over the years I have been so proud of her, and I’ve loved seeing her success growing Can’d Aid, which is building a movement of giving back in communities nationwide. Can’d Aid has a variety of programs that encourage healthy outlets for exercise and volunteering. Our team provides bikes, skateboards, instruments, and art supplies to students in underserved communities, donates emergency drinking water to communities in the wake of disasters, works to protect the environment and clean up outdoor spaces, and so much more.

When I joined the board, we facilitated our first bike build and donation event here in Nashville, and soon Nashville became a core city focus for the nonprofit. Since I joined the board, we’ve donated more than 2,300 bikes and skateboards to local youth helped clean up trails and implement recycling programs, and given instruments to music classes in the area. Next year (2023) marks Can’d Aid’s 10-year anniversary, and I’m excited about where we’re going as an organization and about all the cool things we have planned for Nashville.

We have such a giving and civic-minded community here in Nashville. So many of the things that Can’d Aid is about, especially bringing people together to give back in meaningful ways – through healthcare and music and the arts – are core values of our city. It is exciting to watch Can’d Aid’s presence grow here, and see local volunteers get excited about it, too. There is so much we can do together.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I learned a few years ago that if you put off doing things because you feel like you’re too busy, then you’re never going to get to them. We all understand the feeling of being busy, whether it’s with your day job or raising kids. But if you want to be involved and give back you need to prioritize your time. Like anything else in your life, whether it’s working out, dinner with friends, or family time… you make space for it.

Being intentional about creating time is the first step to making it happen. There’s never going to be a better time, and there’s never going to be more time. You’re always going to be too busy. By being intentional and figuring out what you want to say yes to, then you can also figure out what to say no to and get it done. As a business owner, that also means building a great team around you, a team of people who share your values and who also want to make room for doing good in the world and in the community.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
fouco is a boutique marketing agency that specializes in helping healthcare B2B brands tell their stories through messages that resonate and channels that reach and engage each client’s target audience. It’s that simple. We’re also hell-bent on exceptional results, an exceptional client experience, and, as I’ve said, doing good work that’s meaningful.

As a business owner, I am able to put myself in my client’s shoes, and I try to help them weigh all the competing priorities they have to consider when putting their trust in an agency. I know first-hand what a big decision it is to dedicate the money, time, and energy to PR and marketing efforts and the pressure that exists to make sure there’s a return on that investment.

This has been a big investment year for fuoco in a similar way. We know that what got us here won’t get us to where we want to go. So we have been working with several consultants to level up our foundation and our core processes to help us scale and grow, including hiring an EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) implementer, a fractional COO, and a couple of consultants who are experts in WorkBook, which is the system we use to manage our agency’s projects, people and finances. The EOS process guides our way and keeps us focused and on track with our agency’s mission, culture, goals, and rocks. I’m incredibly excited about the foundation we’ve laid and about our next stage of growth.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
A couple of my favorite books and apps right now are Rocket Fuel and Ninety.io, both of which are essential to the work we’re doing with EOS. Rocket Fuel is part of Gino Wickman’s Traction library, and it details the roles and relationship of the Visionary and Integrator.

It’s like a pocket guide to success, and I’m constantly referring back to it. Ninety.io is this amazing software that we use every single day to implement and fully leverage EOS across the agency.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.growwithfuoco.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristegoad/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kriste.goad
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoadKriste 

Image Credits
fuoco and Nick Rau