Our mission
About Mettle: Marketing built by small business people.
Our mission is a world where everyone can be who they want to be, and make a living from it. We aren't for everyone, and that's fine. If we're not a fit, we'll point you toward someone who is.
Our values
Three things we don't bend on.
Shoot it to you straight.
We tell you what's working, what isn't, and what we'd do if it were our money. No hedging or jargon.
The golden rule.
Most things in life aren't that complicated. Treat people the way you'd want to be treated and the rest tends to sort itself out.
Pride.
In who we are, in the business we've built, and in who we work with. We don't take on work we wouldn't recommend to a friend or family member.
Who we are
We know what it takes, because we grew up in it.
Mettle is a marketing agency for small businesses. We're straightforward about what we can and can't do for you, and we don't sugarcoat it.
Our history
It started at Monica's Country Kitchen.
Our founder, Lance Wagner, started working at nine. He woke up at 5am with his mom, a waitress, to open the restaurant, bus tables, and wash dishes for the blue collar crowd, filling their canteens with fresh coffee.
He worked there all through middle school and high school. He knows the work ethic and tenacity it takes to run a small business, and the craft it takes to proudly put your own name on the sign.
His family later opened their own place, and that's where Lance cut his teeth: pricing things out, developing the logo, designing the menu. It was a particularly special day when they got to call the local radio station to record and broadcast the daily meat and three. As Lance puts it, he grew up with a greasy spoon rather than a silver spoon.
That background still shapes the work. We give small business owners a straight answer, a practical plan, and experienced people who stay involved.
Let's see if we're a fit.
Tell us what you're working on. We'll tell you straight what we'd do about it.
Schedule a time