Clarity · Insight · Support | CREATE UPLIFT

By KATHY WEBBER | Photos by JENNIFER GOETZ

Topeka native, Tobias Harvey, has a passion for music production. He has traveled all over competing in music competitions and working at music studios in cities such as Los Angeles, New York City, Memphis and Miami. Harvey’s musical experiences eventually led him and some of his closest friends to start a creative agency called Create Uplift in 2016.

Harvey, a Topeka West graduate, headed to New York with some friends to compete in a music competition for audio producers in 2008. That’s when they came up with the idea to start an online magazine called CULT, which stands for Create, Uplift, Learn and Teach.

“We were in the creative scene, and we knew lots of other creative type people. We wanted a space or one platform for all of us to exist, kinda like an online magazine,” Harvey said.

CULT was active for a while but because of several circumstances, including losing a close friend and business partner in a car accident, CULT eventually lost traction and closed operations. Soon after, Harvey moved to Miami where he worked at Interscope Record’s Studio 26 fine tuning his music skills.

Harvey moved back home and hooked up with high school friend Marcelino Gonzalez III, whom he had previously worked with on CULT. The two took a deeper look at CULT and, with some creative changes and a fresh outlook, the two formed a new business called Create Uplift.

“My music production experience set the groundwork for what our company is today. As a musician, you have to have things like a website, logo and social media platforms. I built all those things for myself and other artists, and that was where I developed the tools and knowledge to do that for other businesses,” Harvey said.

Create Uplift focuses on helping clients accomplish their marketing goals through websites, graphic design and promotional video work.

“We intend to be a one stop shop for helping our clients. An organization will approach us and say, ‘hey, here’s what I want to do but I have no idea how to do that,’ and then it is our job to take that idea and run with it to help accomplish the results they want,” Harvey said.

BUILDING FROM GROUND UP

When Harvey and Gonzalez decided to start Create Uplift, they had no special education in the field, and neither of them had worked for an advertising agency before. The two creative young men built this business from the ground up with only public education and experiences to launch them into success.

“We built the business from nothing — no education, no past experience, no connections, really from out of the dirt. I’m thankful that a city like Topeka has made that possible by being accessible. I think a lot of people get on social media and become infatuated with immediate stardom or immediate success and fame, and it just doesn’t work like that at all,” Harvey said. “It’s just getting up early and working as hard as you can and going to bed and getting up and doing it the next day. We have always had tunnel vision like that, and that is how we have built the business piece by piece.”

GROWING DEEP ROOTS

It wasn’t just hard work that has made them successful today, it was also good business practices.

“Our goal for our clients is to put them in a stronger and more confident position through their work with us. We aim to give them better tools to run their business, more clarity and insight on things that involve marketing by providing support for operating things they are not familiar with,” Harvey said.

According to Harvey, this is best done through long term relationships. Harvey said branding and identity building is best done when he can take the time to really know his clients and fully understand what their personal goals and direction are for their individual business.

“I like to partner with organizations long term, get to know them, get to work deep within their business and build those relationships with our clients so we really get to know the people we work with,” Harvey said.

STAYING FOCUSED & IMPACTFUL

Create Uplift’s team is comprised of five employees. Harvey says he has no plans to expand his small business because he wants to be a focused and impactful agency, not the largest.

“We are smaller, so when you are working with us, you are working with us,” Harvey said. “We are dedicated, committed and work hard for our clients and genuinely just want to help them. That’s what makes us different. We don’t want to just check off a box or cross off a deliverable. We want to make sure we are helping you in every way that we can.