Just Strictly Business marketing agency was founded by Ashtabula, Ohio natives Abby Pete and Holly Bland in October 2023. First meeting as teenagers while working at the Ashtabula Dairy Queen, Abby and Holly quickly bonded over their strong work ethic, music, and their shared love for social media.
In 2015, Abby moved to New York City to pursue her marketing degree at the City University of New York. During her time in the Big Apple, Abby worked for some of the largest music industry companies and artists in the world, spearheading marketing campaigns and developing artists from the bottom-up beginning at the young age of 20. Concurrently, Holly moved to Cleveland to pursue her journalism and promotional communications degree from Cleveland State University. In the years that followed, Holly gained 9 years of experience between Ohio and Wisconsin working with national nonprofits, small businesses, and political clients on award-winning campaigns, focusing on development, communications, marketing, and graphic/web design.
Just Strictly Business has been a decade in the making, as this dynamic duo has always dreamed of putting their talents together to help grow people’s brands and small businesses in their small, rural hometown. The time was right in 2023, as Abby and Holly both found themselves happy to be living in Ashtabula together again. Just Strictly Business is proudly women-founded and run, aiming to bring world-class experience and talent back to Ashtabula, ultimately creating jobs for the area in a sector that usually has a large barrier to entry.
