Hidden Gems: Meet Lance Beaudry of Avalanche Creative

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lance Beaudry.

Hi Lance, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Sure! My story really starts with curiosity and a love for figuring out how people find things online. Back in college, I built a few websites for fun and started to notice that some of them got traffic from Google while others didn’t. I wanted to understand why. That curiosity turned into an obsession with SEO and content strategy.

After a few years working in marketing roles and freelancing on the side, I started Avalanche Creative out of my basement. I wanted to build an agency that didn’t just “do SEO,” but actually helped businesses create content that answered real customer questions and earned trust online.

It started small — just me, a laptop, and a few local clients — but we kept growing as we focused on doing great work, being transparent, and building real partnerships. Today, we’ve got an amazing team in Grand Rapids working with clients across the country. We help organizations connect their website content to measurable business results, and I still get excited every time we see that happen.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely not a smooth road — and I wouldn’t want it to be. The biggest challenges have usually come during growth. When it was just me, things were simple. But as we added people, clients, and complexity, I had to learn how to lead instead of just do.

There were times when I was stretched thin trying to sell, manage projects, and build a business all at once. We’ve had to navigate hiring the right people, saying no to the wrong clients, and learning how to build healthy systems and culture instead of just hustling harder.

Another challenge was learning to trust others with the work. Letting go is hard when your business started as your baby. But every struggle has pushed me to become a better leader and to focus more on purpose, values, and people — not just performance.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Avalanche Creative is an SEO and content marketing agency based in Grand Rapids. We help businesses grow by turning their websites into their best salesperson — creating content that attracts, educates, and converts the right customers.

We specialize in connecting the dots between SEO, content strategy, and user experience. A lot of agencies focus on rankings or traffic, but we care most about outcomes — leads, conversions, and long-term growth. Our approach is grounded in research and data, but also in empathy. We spend a lot of time learning about our clients’ customers — their questions, language, and pain points — and then we build strategies around that understanding.

What sets us apart is that we treat SEO as a blend of art and science. We combine technical optimization with storytelling. We also educate our clients throughout the process, so they understand what’s happening and why.

Brand-wise, I’m most proud that Avalanche has become known for being transparent, helpful, and people-first. We’re not just chasing clicks; we’re helping businesses build trust online. And we genuinely love working with local Michigan companies that are making an impact in their communities.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
For me, success has evolved over time. Early on, it was about growth — more clients, more revenue, more visibility. But as Avalanche has matured, my definition of success has shifted toward impact and sustainability.

Now, success looks like building a business that gives our team meaningful work, helps our clients grow in ways that genuinely improve their businesses, and still allows me and my family to have a healthy, balanced life.

If our team feels fulfilled, our clients feel cared for, and our work is making a real difference — that’s success to me. It’s less about chasing numbers and more about building something that lasts and contributes positively to the people around us.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://avalanchegr.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lance-beaudry/