YFS Magazine Names Beta Epsilon Alumnus ‘Top 20 Young Entrepreneurs of 2011’

January 25, 2012: Metairie, La.—Shaun Walker, Southern Mississippi ’03, and business partner Reid Stone were named to YFS (Young, Fabulous and Self-Employed) Magazine’s “Top 20 Young Entrepreneurs of 2011” for their success with their New Orleans-based marketing strategy and design agency HERO|farm. The list was chosen by YFS readers and staff members.

Walker and Stone founded HERO|farm in early 2009 after being unexpectedly laid off at the start of the recession.

“We figured that if no one was going to give us a job, we may as well make some ourselves,” Walker told YFS Magazine.

The agency specializes in outreach for small- to mid-sized businesses. The group was founded with a simple philosophy: Do great work for good people.

“Reid and I worked together for two years at a previous agency and always felt like we could be doing more than we were getting to do,” Walker said. “Creating ad campaigns and helping businesses grow was fun, but we felt something was missing. We were itching to make an impact on the world and saw the only way to do that was to simply start making one.”

A cornerstone of HERO|farm is to do at least one campaign per year pro bono for a non-profit, as well as work with clients who have admirable missions of their own.

“We don't want to be the biggest or richest; we're striving to be the most creative that makes the biggest positive impact on the world,” Walker said. “We've come to realize how beneficial and impactful advertising can be for the viewer when it is paired with a client who has a good mission. When you add value to a person's everyday life, you do more than just sell a product; you create a lasting relationship of goodwill and a connection that goes far beyond sell-buy-consume. Our goal is to help evolve advertising into something people don't run from, but applaud.”

In October 2011, HERO|farm, along with the New Orleans Mission, launched the “make a move” event. The event was the largest public assistance event in the history of the city and aimed to help struggling and homeless individuals by providing the resources they needed to jump-start their lives.

“That day we saw kindness and compassion surrounded us,” Walker said. “We were overwhelmed by the amount of people willing to volunteer and help others. We couldn’t have been prouder of how everyone banded together to help the people in our community who needed a hand up. That event and other similar situations truly make us feel something wonderful that no amount of money, power or fame could ever give us.”

Walker and Stone have also developed an online radio show—Brand This—where they give free marketing advice to other entrepreneurs and small-business owners. What follows is frequent advice they give to people looking to start their own business:
  • GO. Just like a fighter pilot, with proper preparation, it’s better to make an incorrect decision and be moving than to make no decision at all.
  • Business today, especially in this economy, is more about collaboration than competition.
  • The value of contracts, even among clients who are friends, is extremely important. All clients should become your friends at some point and a contract preserves that relationship, enforces late penalties, protects intellectual property and clarifies the scope of your project.
  • Be humble but, most importantly, do not doubt the words or recommendations coming out of your own mouth.
  • If you are starting a business only to make money, you will fail. And you will be miserable. Concentrate on making others happy and in turn you'll experience it yourself.

Along with the recent honor Walker and Stone received from YFS Magazine, HERO|farm was selected as the 2011 Business of the Year by the International Association of Business Communicators—New Orleans chapter. The duo will also be featured in a new ebook—“Coming of Age in a Crap Economy,” which asked, “How do you come into your own when your post-grad life is not at all what you had in mind?”

“A quote we frequently use is, ‘In the end, the king and the pawn go back in the same box,’” Walker said. “That is a powerful message to remind us that no matter how much money, power or fame you have, it all means nothing if you aren't making a positive impact on the world People remember the kindness and smiles you share with them, not the money you made.

Learn more about HERO|farm at http://hero-farm.com.
 
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