Interviewer: Here are some things that did not exist 30 years ago. Febreze, disposable contact lenses, social media, YouTube, streaming.

One thing that did exist 30 years ago is WSI. And today, we’re marking 30 years of WSI with some of the most important faces, voices, and dare I say influencers in the organization.

Today I’m joined by Ryan Kelly from beautiful San Francisco, California. Ryan, how are you today?

Ryan Kelly: I’m good. Northern California’s in the house.

Interviewer: What’s up? In the house. You’re going to have some competition. There are a lot of people joining in from some pretty cool places. We’ll do a ranking at the end of all of these. How about that?

Ryan Kelly: I like it. But I know for a fact you’ve got Ireland, France, Canada, maybe even Budapest, Hungary. So you know, we’ve got good wine.

Interviewer: You do have very good wine. Very good wine. And a great ballpark with the greatest view in all of sports.

Ryan Kelly: Very nicely said.

Interviewer: Ryan, take me through your origin story. You’ve been with WSI for 18 years, but let’s go back. How did you get to where you are today?

Ryan Kelly: Oh man. I was a nerdy kid selling the Yellow Pages, but I was killing it with the Yellow Pages. Remember what that was?

Interviewer: I do.

Ryan Kelly:Ink on paper, right? When I started WSI Smart Marketing, I actually used the Yellow Pages for my daughter to sit on at the kitchen table. So I was a nerdy kid selling the Yellow Pages. I bought my first two homes off the Yellow Pages. It was a fantastic career. The Yellow Pages were dying, and at the same time my mom and dad were retiring from their careers. I asked them if they wanted to go into business together, and through a series of conversations, we started WSI Smart Marketing 18 years ago. You know what else didn’t exist 18 years ago? My son, who is now 18 years old. I can always gauge the age of my business by the age of my kid.

Interviewer: You must have seen so much change over the years. How have you adapted during your time with WSI?

Ryan Kelly: I’ll give you two sides of the coin. The first is sales. We built websites. Then websites for mobile. Then search engine optimization. Then social media management. Then reputation management. And now we’ve added artificial intelligence optimization. That’s one side. We adapted through innovative product development. The second way we adapted is this. I was the young, zit-faced kid calling home office every day saying, “I need help with this. I need help with that.”

The home office and the community were incredibly giving. Now, 18 years later, it’s my honor to answer those questions and mentor the next generation of agency owners. It’s been incredible to see the full circle, not just as a business, but as a person and an owner.

Interviewer: Why do you think WSI has been able to adapt so well over time?

Ryan Kelly: I’m not going to overshare, but my wife loves Friends. I grew up on Seinfeld. One of the best Friends episodes is the pivot episode. WSI is great at the pivot. The home office reads the landscape well. They understand what was, what is, and what is to become. Watching them adapt to the digital marketing industry has been spectacular.

Interviewer: If you had to share one lesson, what would it be?

Ryan Kelly: Stay relevant. And the only way to stay relevant is to stay flexible. Be willing to learn. Be willing to adapt. Never stop learning. Be willing to innovate. Be willing to have conversations. Don’t get stuck in a rut.

Interviewer: How do you define flexibility?

Ryan Kelly: Flexibility hurts. It’s like the good pain at the chiropractor or the gym. Flexibility is recognizing that pain and knowing it’s good pain. With AI, a lot of agencies were nervous. But if you’re willing to innovate, ideate, and look at what your customers need, it’s all positive. Flexibility is about bold moves, but also micro-adjustments. Like steering a big ship one degree at a time until you’re headed in the right direction.

Interviewer: Was there trial and error along the way?

Ryan Kelly: Trial and error is a nice way of saying failure. We saw the need for local search optimization. We launched a product line too fast without enough testing and fell flat on our face. That taught us to slow down, test better, and involve clients in the process. Those conversations became incredibly valuable.

Failure leads to success if you’re willing to study, learn, adapt, and stay flexible.

Interviewer: What role do you see AI playing going forward?

Ryan Kelly: AI touches every industry. Architecture, construction, manufacturing, hospitality, law. It’s changing everything. We’ve integrated AI into every part of our business to be more efficient, smarter, and more effective. Search engine optimization is becoming search everywhere optimization. Understanding how AI pulls signals and answers is critical. Good digital marketing companies are learning how to adapt.

Interviewer: If you had to describe WSI in one word?

Ryan Kelly: Collaborative.

The collaboration between home office and consultants, and consultants with each other, creates a unique strength. It makes our performance stronger.

Interviewer: Any final thoughts?

Ryan Kelly: Home office, WSI Corporate, thank you for my 18 years in this organization. They’ve been successful and meaningful years. It hasn’t been without hard work, but together we’ve had a great partnership.