Today we’d like to introduce you to David Masters.
Hi David , we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Oh man, how to begin? I hope you have an editor ready to go.
The journey into our current business was anything but linear.
We moved to Southern Oregon from Cleveland, Ohio, in September 2014. It was never the plan. In fact, we were planning to move to New York before we found out we were expecting. After finishing graduate school at Kent State University (Go Flashes!), we were living in Shaker Square and trying to figure out what was next for us. My wife, Jennifer, was the Event Director for the Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall, and I was painting and working at a coffee shop while I looked for work opportunities.
When we found out we were expecting, we prayed about it and said that if I didn’t have a job by the time our apartment lease was up, we were going to move to Oregon to be closer to my wife’s family to help care for our son. God called our bluff, and our lease notice came the very next week. Long story short, we aimed for Portland but ended up buying a home in Medford. When we first moved to the region, we didn’t have jobs and were living off our savings, which quickly ran out while trying to pay the mortgage. When we were near the end of our rope, I was offered a job in the design department at Lithia.
The job was a job, and there was a lot to learn in humility while working for a large corporation. But all the while, I was building a business on the side and freelancing.
In 2017, exactly three years to the day after I started at Lithia, I was offered a position as Creative Director for a growing supplement company. It was an amazing opportunity, and I had the privilege of building and leading a team after being thrown to the wolves. We designed two six figure trade show booths, went to Expo West in Anaheim only weeks after I started, and were awarded a NEXTY for our work, only to be laid off 10 months later when the company was acquired and relocated.
But I wasn’t about to give up. I started a marketing agency with two friends, and we grew the business into a midsize team with large national accounts, only to be faced with the unexpected arrival of COVID-19. Because the vast majority of our clients were in healthcare, and because the medical industry was shuttering, we were forced to lay off our staff and close shop. It was a hard day, and I won’t pretend I wasn’t bitter. Once again, I was ready to leave Oregon. I was done being here and ready to move back to familiar territory, convinced I could work anywhere. My wife, once again being the wise one, suggested I pray about it.
I did, and then decided to start freelancing at what seemed like the worst possible time: the middle of a pandemic. I said, “If we can land one client this month, we can make our mortgage.” And we did. One client turned into a few. A few turned into a retainer. That turned into six years of building a business that we started because we had to and because we believed deeply in what we were doing.
My wife and I co-founded the business and decided to run it as a husband and wife team. We would do one thing only: build brands. We would take on only four clients a year and focus on large, long term, strategically rich engagements. We were never driven by the bottom line, and we still aren’t. We are driven by an insatiable desire to solve complex problems.
Brand, for me, is so much more than visual. It is **who**. When a person, or in our case an organization, understands who they are, it fundamentally changes everything. When they see clearly, they think differently about how they present themselves, and the money they spend on outreach becomes far more effective. It is contagious. I like to tell people that everyone has a great story. The only problem is that unless it is expressed in a language people can understand or placed on the right shelf, no one will ever read it.
Our other aim was to live an integrated life. We are a husband and wife team who, until recently, homeschooled all three of our children. We built our studio on the back of our property because we believe creativity and inspiration can arrive at the most unexpected times. When they do, we want to be ready to create our best work for both our clients and our family. I still paint and make artwork.
More recently, I was offered a publishing deal with a good friend after working on a book project that has spanned the better part of my adult life. I developed two characters in high school that stayed with me through college and into my professional work. I had been praying for an author to help give the story words, and I was fortunate enough to meet my writing partner. Our book will be released in 2028 through Blackstone Publishing. I’m happy to share more, but for now I’ll simply say it’s a children’s book (for adults, too) about authentic friendship, told through the most unlikely of characters.
We are planted here for now. Though I cannot say what will happen next, I am learning to be okay with that. I recently started restoring an old car. I’m using it as a conversation piece. There is a lot I know that I don’t know. It makes me afraid, but the people I’ve connected with through the process have been incredible.
Which brings me to my last point: people. As a designer and artist, I’m often asked about fonts, colors, and all the other details. I’ll be honest, and this may sound odd: I don’t really care about those things. I care about people and how the work impacts them and the moment they finally see themselves the way the world sees them. If it happens to be set in a beautiful font, that’s just the cherry on top. But I don’t always need dessert.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road has not been smooth. Since starting this journey there have been so many ups and downs. We have been on food stamps, laid off employees, gone without insurance, and had our share of burnout. The thing is resilience isn’t a plan it is a process.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
My wife and I founded David Masters Group in 2020. I did not plan to name it after myself, and in the beginning I was a freelancer who needed a quick name, so there it is.
In its simplest form, translate compelling stories into remarkable brands. There are a lot of branding firms out there, though, so I’ll go a bit deeper.
We founded David Masters Group on a simple belief: when organizations clearly understand who they are, everything else becomes more intentional. What they put into the world must first begin with a fundamental understanding of who they are. Most of us know who we are, but we lack clarity in how we communicate it.
Our model is boutique, and our process is slow. I often tell people it is like the Oregon Trail. We’ll get you where you need to be, but we may or may not have to ford a river and shoot a buffalo or two along the way, but the journey will be life changing.
The process is partnership. We work alongside our clients and get to know them as if they were our own company. Only then can we truly discover the problem, and only after that can we hope to prescribe the right solution.
I tell people our client relationships are like friendships. This is true because if you don’t know someone deeply, how can you ever hope to share them with the world?
Mentorship and sharing are huge components of what we do. We love to speak and share knowledge. Knowledge is cheap. Perspective is rare, and guidance is what people are truly seeking. The reason people work with us is not because information is hard to find. It is because they want someone willing to invest in them and help them see what they cannot yet see.
We have never advertised. Every opportunity we’ve ever had has come through word of mouth and has been the result of incredible conversations.
As a brand, we are most proud to be different today than we were yesterday. If you aren’t learning, you are dying, and that is true in every sense. Character is just as important as the work, and many times it offers the hardest learned lessons.
What are your plans for the future?
We are remaining planted. We hope to open our work to more fractional partnerships, investing even more deeply in our clients by integrating into their organizations, building their teams, and creating long term value. We are doing some of this now, but there is always more to learn and more ways to serve.
I also want to see mentorship become one of our primary outputs. I love working with younger creatives and dreamers. I’ve taught on and off at various colleges for this very reason. I love students, especially when you see that moment where something clicks and they begin seeing the world differently.
I’m also working with a local school that has partnered with George Fox University on a business incubator. Last year, I developed coursework that guided four student led businesses through the entire growth process, including building their brands and developing products before pitching to real investors for real funding. It was incredible. I hope to continue to build the program for years to come.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://davidmastersgroup.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thedavidmasters/
