Medley: More Than a Name
Medley, officially The Medley Project, LLC., came in to view little by little and with a lot of intention.
Karli and I are neighbors and started talking casually at backyard barbecues and Friday night pizza parties about the idea of partnering to create a new business venture that matched our skills and our passions. Naturally, it was exciting to know we shared a desire to take on new challenges personally and professionally, and our talks got more serious as we quickly found a common thread woven through our experiences, interests, and ambitions. We immediately landed on a vision of where we wanted to be one day, the hard part was working backwards from that future view to create a solid business model. So, we set about the less glamorous work, one meeting at a time after kids were asleep and on the weekends, of establishing a vision of what our venture would look like on day one. As much as we wanted to hit the fast forward button, we knew we first had to establish a foundation and articulate our purpose, goals, and identity. Then, we needed to identify our target clientele, conduct extensive research to ensure there was a place for the business model that was slowly coming into focus, and develop our unique approach to help future partners reach their goals. Doing that a purposeful way required some time.
Naming a business is a lot of fun, but carries quite a bit of pressure with it as well. A name needs to convey enough information about identity, without requiring a lengthy explanation each time you introduce yourself to someone. But, we agreed, we also wanted to find a name that evoked a bit curiosity on the part of others. In keeping in the spirit of intentional decision making, we were determined not to move forward with the first idea that sounded good enough. It was more important for us to hit on a concept that got to the heart of why we came together, how our approach is different but, relatable, and what we wanted to project in regards to our brand, than it was to move forward too quickly.
Branding Worksheets
The name Medley didn’t come to us until we had worked through a number of different possibilities during the first few months of ideating; and only after pitching lots of different ideas, sometimes in rapid frequency and often during our commutes home from our other jobs. We would then work through branding exercises to see if the names being pitched could represent our brand promise. A few of the early contenders made some sense conceptually, and may have even had a nice ring to them, but none of them encapsulated the whole picture. “Medley” was the first one that really encapsulated our vision of bringing distinct yet complementary skills, and partnering with our clients in a manner few, if any, other companies have done.
I was waiting for that Ah Ha! moment to come, and maybe Karli was too, but it never really did. Instead, once the name ‘medley’ was put out there, it took some time...Did it sound right when said out loud? Did it have clear tones and a snappy cadence? Would it immediately resonate with people on the other end of the phone or table from us? But the more we considered it alongside alternatives, the more we agreed it captured our spirit and our origins, while leaving future expansion and evolution wide open. The musical connotations struck a personal chord for both of us as well.
Early Offerings Brainstorming
When crafting the business model for Medley, we didn’t set out to reinvent anything; we set out to re-envision what was already there and how it could be applied in new and meaningful ways. As we continued the work of refining and enhancing our message and objectives, the more clear it became that our collaboration makes perfect sense. The songs existed, you could say, they just weren’t arranged the way we wanted them, and that was where we could make an impact. We could create something new and cohesive out of good material, or skills, we both already possessed.
Finding Our Why
Now, the good part about a word like Medley is that it is common enough to be accessible. The challenging part is that it is common enough to be TOO accessible. A practical consideration when naming a company is its current existence in the world. Can your name be a legal entity in your state? Can you get a decent web domain? Unfortunately for us, Medley as a standalone term was unavailable in Illinois. What should we add to it to keep the essence of blending experience and services and not unintentionally standing in the way of future growth, or end up sounding like a bland add-on after we spent so much time and consideration coming up with the most important part. Medley Partners? The Medley Group? Medley Design and Events? They all seemed to counteract the punch we liked about the singular, two-syllable word. We submitted various iterations to see if the name was available to file our LLC under. I would love to say that we came up with “The Medley Project” for some very specific reason. The truth is it ended up being, in our minds, the perfect qualifier because it was a concrete term people could identify with and it spoke a little bit to the newness of our venture as well and our desire to remain real and authentic. And it was available...
Some of Our Core Values
In many respects, the name doesn’t just represent our identity, it represents the promise that we make to our partners. We strive to work with people and businesses who set out each day to make some kind of positive impact in their local communities, whether they are for profit or not for profit, a goods-based business or a service organization. We bring the same approach to everyone we work with, no matter their business model, along with our unending commitment to finding creative and integrated solutions to their challenges. Meaningful engagement is at the heart of our company, and how it brings people closer together and helps organizations enhance their vision and increase their reach. We also believe that our approach and offerings - strategy, branding, design, and event management, actually work better together than they do independently. We’re building something new, and better, out of existing materials, and that’s what we will do for our partners as well. We are committed to designing with intention and execution with attention to detail .