Equity Creative has received the 2013 Kenosha County Small Business of the Year Award at the Kenosha County Business Excellence Awards. Presented by the Kenosha Area Business Alliance and the Kenosha Area Chamber of Commerce, the award honors a business that has fewer than 30 employees and has been in business for more than three years.

Equity Creative was founded in Dean Helmke’s basement in April 2007 and initially consisted of two employees – Helmke and co-founder Charles Skendziel.

Today, the marketing and communications firm is based in a recently expanded 5,200-square-foot space in the Business Park of Kenosha. “We’ve added more work stations. Employees now have the space to perform photography and video production,” Helmke said.

The business has gained large southeastern Wisconsin clients like Summerfest, Alverno College, Yamaha and Chrysler through hard work, a compelling creative product, and a relentless focus on customer service.

Equity offers strategy/planning, design, advertising, brand identity, content, motion, interactive, digital/social, photography and event services. It doesn’t limit itself to one industry, but seeks out a diverse client base in Wisconsin and elsewhere, Helmke said.

The company has doubled its revenue since 2011. It has also hired about six employees in the past year, one of which manages internal technology.

Helmke has strengthened the digital side of the company to provide more website and online advertising applications for clients. “More companies are looking at adding mobile marketplace and social media services to their digital suites,” Helmke said. Equity has led the way in building custom applications for clients and encouraging digital innovation.

“The core of what we’ve offered has been the same whether we were two employees or 30,” Helmke said. “We approach each assignment with a sound strategy in place and then execute at a very high level creatively.”

Continuing to grow is one of the company’s key goals. “We’d like to continue providing value to our current clients while diversifying our client base,” Helmke said. “To be honored by our local community for what we’re doing is very important to us. There’s a certain sense of pride, for myself and Charles, in doing business locally.”