Making it in the Marketing Industry was written by Becca Neises for her SDSU Marketing Class on 12/10/2019

Before you get to read her paper, here is a little intro from Charles Oreve, C.E.O. of The X Concept

“Becca contacted me through social networks a few months after meeting up in a social setting. She asked if she could interview me on how I got started in Marketing for her class in SDSU. I of course agreed to meet with her and answer to all the questions she had, like an open book.”

Making it in the Marketing Industry

As a college student graduating in 2020, I wanted to get perspective on what a career in marketing could look like.

I chose to interview someone who is established in the marketing industry in order to gain knowledge, guidance and direction for my future. From this interview I will gather information on what it looks like to be an established business owner in the marketing field to be able to set myself up for success in my entrepreneurship endeavors down the line.

I was very passionate going into this interview because I was eager to learn from a self-starter who has an abundance of wisdom and experience in marketing. Charles Oreve who is the founder of The X Concept, a marketing agency in San Diego, was kind enough to let me conduct an interview to ask him questions about his company and journey into the marketing industry.

I sat down with Charles Oreve at The X Concept offices. I spoke with Charles about his story, his business, and about the ups and downs of starting and running a company. Starting the interview off, I asked a few questions about his background, what his first job in the field was, what attracted him to starting his own business, and the history of his business to better understand his story.

Before The X Concept

Charles explained to me that his first job was in France, where he lived at the time. He was interviewing as an intern for an advertising agency for his Business School. But as soon as the owner of the company realized he had experience developing websites, he got hired on as a full-time website developer. After working for the advertising agency, he moved to the United States. He then started his company within the first six months of living here.

Genesis of the Marketing Agency

Charles stated, “I started my company when I moved permanently to the United States in 2001. I was just fresh from an internship at a French advertising agency. The business model for advertising agencies and marketing agencies in the United States was much different. There was a need for an agency with a wider reach that small businesses could afford. So, I created a company that was a one-stop-shop for marketing, where my clients could come to me for web development, graphic design, branding, print marketing, and all traditional marketing”.

Hearing this story was incredibly exciting for me. I realized that I had just given myself an opportunity to pick the brain of a pioneer in the marketing industry. Charles stated, “I saw that there was a need for a market, I applied it and it worked. It was an anti-niche at the time, meaning that there was a broad reach instead of having boutique firms for specific needs”. I enjoyed listening to Charles and learning about his story. Seeing how his background and who he is as a person ties into what his business is today.

I then progressed the interview into asking Charles about the mission of his company, the X Concept. I asked Charles what made his marketing agency stand out between other marketing companies in San Diego. He told me that he loved that question, and proceeded to state;

Business Model

“A lot of marketing companies in San Diego will give you estimates of how much your project is, and give you a fixed price, maintenance contracts for 12 months, and retainers for their marketing services for a certain amount every 12 months. I am the complete opposite; everything is hourly based. You want something done? We will see how long it takes. Some companies will love my graphic designs after two tries. Another company has taken 26 tries to find the perfect graphic”.

He immediately followed by:

“If I was charging a fixed amount, the client who took two tries would have overpaid and it would have hurt his business, the client who took 26 tries and was still not happy about it would have wasted my time because I would have made less for the amount of work I put in. Time is the only thing that you cannot get back in your life. So you have to value your time for something. That is how I work.”

Outsourcing in the Marketing Industry

He also explained how many marketing firms outsource their work and broker out services. Charles said, “I personally do 100% of the development work for all of the projects that I take here. Nothing is outsourced, everything is done right here. My company is not very big, the core of it is myself. Everything that this company does with its clients is taken care of by me, and I work with the client at every step that they want me to be there for”.

Final Thoughts on the Marketing Industry

I learned a great amount of information from my interview with Charles. The most important takeaway I had from him was seeing the passion that he holds in his work. He has the skills, and drive to personally handle over 50 clients and give them an all-around marketing service integrated with digital marketing, business operations, and coaching services. Not only did he radiate a genuine love and passion for his work. He showed me that as long as I truly love what I do and do it well. People will commit to my business services for me and my authenticity. Therefore it is everything that I would want as a business owner.