Everything you wanted to know about us, but didn’t ask
Strottner Designs began in earnest back in 2002, when Patrick Strottner opened our doors to pursue his passion for graphic design. For the first few years, Patrick worked out of his home, meeting prospective clients at the nearest Pandera or Starbucks, to discuss their needs. Projects typically entailed designing a logo with supporting point of sale materials like business cards, rack cards and brochures. Sometimes the work would lead to a simple website design. This was the pre-Smartphone age where sites were built on HTML, and you needed a minor in programming to get it done properly.
Patrick at the rollout of the Talons logo that he designed.
In 2008, Patrick officially incorporated as Strottner Designs, LLC and moved into his first office. Right away he noticed that more prospective customers became actual clients, as they felt they were dealing with a real company. It was also during this time that Patrick found himself becoming more and more involved with the local medical industry.
In mid-2014, Patrick began expanding the firm, bringing Michael Carroll on to his team. With Michael’s addition, the company began to deliver projects at a faster pace, because Patrick wasn’t trying to do everything himself. At this time, Strottner Designs also began pivoting in to other areas that were becoming more critical to our clients’ success. That year was our first “SEOctober,” when we began our first foray in to Search Engine Optimization services, and introduced our Concierge program for monthly clients.
One of our early SEOctober graphics…
Since that time, our Concierge program has grown to include website security, social media management, and strategic business services. We’ve continued to add to our team, with Kurt Gardner joining us in San Antonio, bringing a wealth of design experience, social media experience and Google certifications. In fact, Kurt has even been a part of the Emmy’s broadcast, having designed the program in past years. Kurt is also a credentialled media reporter, having spent time at SXSW interviewing directors, actors and reviewing new film. He’s also the proprietor of Art Scene SA, a local guide to arts and entertainment in the Alamo City.
Kurt and bodybuilding legend, Ronnie Coleman. Kurt is on the left.
Everyone on our team is involved in non-profit work, ranging from Habitat for Humanity, to Boy Scouts and coaching at the YMCA, while also raising money for different organizations that survive on fundraising. Because each member of the team strives to have a Servant’s Heart, we introduced the Strottner Gives Back program a couple of years ago, where we build and maintain websites on a quarterly basis for 501c3 groups that rely on both monetary and in-kind contributions to survive.
Try and find Michael in this pic, we’ll wait.
Like many other businesses, Strottner Designs has adapted during the current COVID pandemic. We’ve been working remotely…give us WiFi, and we can do anything. Because so many of our clients are medical practices, we’ve stayed incredibly busy keeping sites updated for the various changes that everyone has experienced. We’ve seen daily updates regarding in-patient visits, and helped integrate telemedicine for almost every practice we work with.
As the business environment continues to shift, we’re here and ready to adapt to the needs of our current and future clients. One of the best parts of being a small business is that we can be responsive…for some companies, adapting to change is like stopping an oil tanker; you need a lot of room and time. For us, it’s like stopping a jet ski; we can make a decision in the morning, and have improved our service to our clients by the afternoon. Today, that is more important than ever as we never know what new challenge and opportunity is going to present itself.
One of our greatest sources of pride stems from the fact that we still have clients that we work with, that Patrick brought on board in 2003. Last month Patrick turned 40, and his goal today is the same as it was when he began. Strottner Designs is a boutique firm, without boutique prices. We view our clients’ success as our success, and no one is ever just a transaction, each transaction is another chance for us to build a deep relationship with someone that is trying to survive and succeed.
