In Cade Hart and Nikki Hatfield’s history as business owners, they have learned that one is often so intimately linked that the owner and business become synonymous, or more truly, one in the same. It becomes difficult to separate the individual from the work they do. Being a business owner may be the hardest job they have had, but it may also be the most rewarding.

Nikki began her marketing career in 2018 at Diamond C Trailers, where she started as a generalist handling various tasks and gradually took on more specialized roles in graphic design, social media, and email marketing. She successfully grew Diamond C’s social media following from 5,000 in 2018 to over 100,000, eventually progressing to the role of Marketing Manager; starting with two direct reports and ultimately managing a team of ten, which allowed her to gain experience in the various facets of marketing and team leadership. Cade began his career in marketing working with IFI, then on to Diamond C where he met Nikki. He worked for a few other companies in his career where he expanded his abilities and honed his skills, giving him over 11 years of experience in the field.

While working together at Diamond C, Nikki and Cade started traveling to dealerships to understand the challenges they faced with marketing, and they quickly realized that marketing services in the trailer space were lacking and that dealers were often being taken advantage of. Cade suggested starting their own company to help dealers and Nikki was immediately enthusiastic about the idea. Cade characterizes their partnership as dynamic, “the yen to each other’s yang,” highlighting that their individual strengths and weaknesses perfectly complement one another. Cade handles the financial side while Nikki lets her creative side flourish; Nikki notes that this arrangement creates a peaceful work environment where they can both excel in their natural strengths, making them both feel like starting the business was the right decision. The most challenging part of the startup was that the two eased into it while still employed, focusing first on what services to offer, pricing, and deciding on a company name. They say they went into action mode, immediately buying a domain and email, and started planning their target market. With a small initial investment from each of them and a lot of time and energy, H & H Marketing Team LLC was filed at the end of July 2024, and the two of them left their jobs and began to work full-time in the business in October of that year.

Staffing is a significant factor that impacts how an independent business owner thinks about the business. Most likely during the start up or inception stage the focus will be on the founder’s areas of expertise. The owner’s main efforts will hinge around creating, promoting, and establishing the product or service.

With growth and success, tasks become more extensive and more complicated. Outside influences start to take greater effect. Competition becomes more intense. The financial aspects of the business become more critical. The need for more formalized processes and recordkeeping arise which the owner may not have the skills or simply the time to handle, but are business needs that require additional staff. As the size of the staff continues to grow, there are additional pressures and demands on the owner’s time which is consumed with managing. As staffing changes occur, the business owner needs to progress to a role more strategic in nature which focuses on the big picture and planning for the business.

Despite initially planning not to hire anyone in the first year due to financial caution, Nikki and Cade quickly had to re-evaluate that decision due to workload. Their first hire, Avery, was someone that Cade had wanted to recruit previously, as he worked with her at a prior company and knew her talent; she came to work for H & H in November of 2024 as their first, full-time employee. With the business continuing its rapid growth, Nikki and Cade went on to hire two more employees in 2025, Alli and Katelyn. The team culture values high motivation and talent, and they each embrace the importance of what H&H offers their customers.

Local involvement has been limited in the first year to small sponsorships due to financial caution about growing too fast. However, Cade is heavily involved in the community through non-monetary ways, such as coaching and church activities, while Nikki recently volunteered to teach fifth graders how to edit videos. For industry networking, Cade says they have significant involvement in the trailer industry, specifically by attending and speaking at one main show for trailer dealers, which has generated good contacts and customers; Nikki also serves as a mentor for the North American Trailer Dealers Association (NATDA), mentoring a marketing manager at Delco Trailers.