5 Lessons from 5 Years of ORS

By Howard Franklin | PRESIDENT and CEO, Ohio River South

We’re celebrating five years, and there are a lot of numbers to go along with that milestone. We’ve hired more than a dozen professionals, we’ve worked for more than 500 clients across nine southeastern states, and we’ve built an email network connecting with tens of thousands of readers. I started the firm with big ambitions because I wanted to be involved in consequential policymaking, but I never made the trek to live in DC. I saw that there weren’t large independent advocacy shops almost anywhere in the region, so creating one is what I set out to do. And here’s what I’ve learned in our first five years.

Building for scale requires (early and often) sacrifice.
I was invited several times to partner in a firm, but those attempts never got off the ground because no one wanted to make the initial investment that is necessary. Here at ORS, we took whatever clients walked in the door until we built our reputation. I personally didn’t take a salary for the first three years and paid others before myself. Our leadership team had, more than anything, a growth mindset which sometimes meant we worked (nearly) for free and talked to anyone who was interested to work with us.

Look for the gaps when entering a mature industry.
Lobbying is an old profession. We believe in doing advocacy differently. We’ve developed our own clients while teaching them about advocacy in the process. We’ve recruited diversity in a sea of sameness, and have been intentional about branding in a sea of uniformity. We also do lots of things lobbyists don’t do. Innovation isn’t just in the domain of technology; we’ve been innovative and disruptive in several ways that have nothing to do with tech – from sharing our client legislative reports far and wide and hiring diverse talent at every position to expanding into adjacent industries, such as marketing and strategic communications.

Opportunities are everywhere, but sometimes need cultivating.
Opportunities are everywhere, but you have to know how and when to invest in a prospect, or sometimes just an idea. It’s why I’ve always met with anyone who has asked to meet with me. It’s why I’ve served on boards and leadership programs. When we first started, I was the only registered lobbyist on the team, and my time at the state capital was short in comparison to many of my colleagues (it still is!) I knew as the primary rainmaker, there were more opportunities outside the gold dome. So I worked to develop a team of accomplished folks who could not only take over my presence at the capitol, but also could develop our other lines of business.

Being a purpose-driven company can add rocket fuel to growth.
For the first three years, everyone thought we were based in Ohio. ‘Blended influence’ is a growth industry and less mature, but also less stagnant than state legislature lobbying. While lobbying has to remain secretive, ORS can celebrate its client wins and build our own identity and credibility in the process, which can exceed that of a hired gun. We are lobbyists by trade, but change-makers at heart, so our real purpose is to deliver even more than what the client asks for. Since few competitors can offer the mix of services we do, we solve unforeseen problems rather than respond to RFPs. And we have proven that purpose-driven, progressive work will help attract a talented, committed team.

Entrepreneurship requires dreaming the impossible dream.
When we started, no one thought an independent shop (minority-owned, no less) could work successfully across all three levels of government. It was an audacious goal, but why do this work if we’re not going to strive? Operating in multiple jurisdictions has made us better and more effective in each and has allowed us to grow with our clients. Being an entrepreneur is being an optimist and betting on growth and opportunities. It’s about taking risks, which is even more challenging in a secretive industry without easy-to-find benchmarks. We dream the impossible dream, but we also approach it in technicolor, because [some great, final thought!]