Meet Robbie Hall of Useful Group

Today we’d like to introduce you to Robbie Hall.

Hi Robbie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

My name is Robbie Hall. I am a web-developer, producer, filmmaker, and photographer. Personally, I see the world through the lens of color, light, personal stories, and art. Professionally, I use that perspective in the visual and digital space to help give brands a singular voice in an era filled with noise and distraction, but it’s been a journey to get here.

I’ve always wanted to get into creative pursuits, but I began pursuing it professionally back in college. I got my degree at Austin Peay State University in Marketing thinking that meant Advertising. I learned pretty quickly that those are two separate fields. Prior to graduating, I was offered an internship at Centresource, a digital agency in the heart of Germantown in Nashville, TN. While working there as an intern for the sales department, I shadowed meetings, learned strategy, and had to exercise creative problem solving on a regular basis. After graduating from APSU, I moved to the project management department at Centresource and learned from some of the greatest project leaders I’ve ever known. During that time, I poured into learning why and how everything in the digital agency world worked. I was inspired by a book on the developers’ reading list called Execute, which was all about executing on your ideas in the moment of inspiration.

At the time, I didn’t relate to most of the book—app/web development, UI/UX, strategic consulting, photography, and building a product for yourself all seemed so foreign. But I still learned a lot of useful principles in that book. For example, it’s never too late to learn a new skill, and sometimes being an “uber builder” is one of the best skill sets to have. I focused my next few years on learning how technology worked, even down to how the internet worked. I entrenched myself in a world of saying yes to as many opportunities, freelance jobs, and PA roles as possible. I asked questions, studied night and day, and I built my first website while also diving deep into design. I bought a camera, carried it around everywhere I went, and learned the rules of photography and videography. I took thousands of photos every month, just to try and replicate the art that inspired me in life. I started selling my own projects and learned how to manage expectations, and I developed skills to sharpen scope, timeline, and budget. I opened up my own freelance agency called RH Creative, (rhcreative.co). I built something for myself.

Throughout my career at Centresource, I ended up building relationships that changed my life, many of whom are still close friends and mentors to this day. When Centresource closed, we all went our separate ways and found new careers and passions to pursue. I took the years of learning and became a lead technical project manager at another digital agency. I spent two years sharpening my craft and developing new skills. I was outsourcing work as needed, and one of the partnerships that blossomed from this time in my life was with a company called Useful Group (usefulgroup.com).

Useful Group is based in Chicago, Illinois, and is a full service digital agency that cares deeply about finding the right solutions for each client. From day one, they understood what I was trying to do, and they were willing to jump into any project and help any situation simply to be useful. We aligned with our project philosophies and the desire to do good work in service of others, so it didn’t take long for me to join their team. We come along with our client’s missions, and believe that whether you’re a mom and pop business or a Fortune 500 company, we can find a solution that’s right for you. I often tell people I’d be doing the same thing I’m doing right now regardless if I’m getting paid for it; it just happens to be a huge blessing that I am being paid. We don’t have a sales team at Useful Group—our growth has been driven by word-of-mouth, and we work with companies, products, and projects that we believe in.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

It has not been a smooth road at all. I came from nothing growing up. Broken home, poverty, abuse, and everything in between. My parents passed away when I was 11, and I was set as a full-time ward of the state of Tennessee. I bounced between different foster homes and was ultimately adopted by the Halls. I moved out when I was 17.

• I had to get myself through college working 60+ hours a week.
• I’ve had project failures and, unfortunately, burned some relational bridges in my 20’
• I’ve helped manage a holacracy-based company and learned the realities of running a business (it’s about so much more than our individual selves).
• I put in 50 to 70 hours a week, but I do what I love every single day.

What I’ve learned through all of this is that it’s by grace and loving people like the Halls, my mentors, and friends that I found throughout my career and the church that makes my life possible. I could have taken a very different path. I know several people who did just that, but if you put your hand to the plow, work hard and never give up, all things are possible. It consists of late nights, early mornings, hitting Ctrl-Alt-Delete and restarting more times than you’d want to admit. There are many times I wish I could go back to my early 20’s with the knowledge I have now to mend bridges, get a head start on a career, etc. but then I wouldn’t be who I am today. I understand hard times, compassion, grace, forgiveness and struggles because of where I come from. Those lessons have become an integral part of who I am today and help me navigate business, friendships and life.

We’ve been impressed with Useful Group, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?

Useful Group was founded with a simple objective: to help great missions be more effective. These great missions are found across sectors — local businesses, large corporations, nonprofits, individuals. We lead in ways that give the same care to our largest and smallest clients, developing solutions that serve their best interests. That is the very purpose of our daily work. Supporting missions that matter is in our DNA, and we pour our hearts and passion into their projects.

We are more than just a full service digital marketing agency.  We are a team of strategists, creatives, and problem-solvers making your next project more effective.

We are here to be useful—to serve organizations, businesses, and missions committed to making the world a better place. We believe that the most fulfilling life is the one most useful to others, and this drives our individual lives and our work. To us, usefulness means more than just doing good work. We believe in serving the interests of others. Our lives are not ultimately about ourselves, our jobs, or our success—they are about contributing something that makes the world a better reflection of humanity, justice, beauty, and truth.

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?

At Useful Group, we’re always aiming to be highly useful and highly reliable. We find that clients often have quick turnarounds, complex questions and just “need it done” and that is where we step in. I often let those we work with know it might feel like we are in the trenches together but we’ll get through it together. We meet clients and our team where they are and stay with it through the life of the project.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: UsefulGroup.com
• Instagram: Personal: instagram.com/therobbiehall
• Business: instagram.com/usefulgroup
• Facebook: facebook.com/usefulgroup
• Other: linkedin.com/in/therobbiehall