SNELLVILLE --- He can do most anything -- creatively speaking. Moye Colquitt is truly a self-made man. He has taught himself the business in which he works and trained himself as an artist to be able to accomplish his goal of starting his own business.
Growing up in Columbus, Georgia, Moye was constantly surrounded by creative minds. His mother was an interior designer and his father was an antique and jewelry dealer. There was no escaping his creative genes. He began his creative career as a model. He jokingly states that he has modeled for everything from advertising, magazine covers, and runway shows to "standing on the sidewalk dressed as a clown."
Modeling gave Moye the chance of a lifetime. He traveled the world with his camera always in his hand. He fell in love with photography while touring the globe. On breaks from modeling, he took pictures of his surroundings and other models.
When Moye met his wife, Kara, she instantly became his favorite subject. Kara is also a model and a former Mrs. Georgia. A family is expensive, so Moye decided that he either needed to find a way to make money doing the things he loves, or he needed to find "a real job."
Moye describes himself as a passionate "creative spirit" and the idea of a "real job" is not very appealing to passionate "creative spirits." Moye wanted to make a living doing what he enjoys the most -- creating. His already deep interest in photography led him into the advertising business.
Moye found his niche fairly quickly. Using his beautiful photographic images and naming his business AdTaste, his focus became fine dining establishments. He began producing AdCards which feature sharp, eye-catching images on one side to promote a restaurant. The other side is sold to an advertiser which could feature anything from a car dealership to a brand of vodka. The restaurant gets the cards at no charge to them, and then distributes them with customers’ bills. Moye is very selective about what ads he will place with which restaurants. He feels that the two should "make sense" together, creating "synergy," or a more powerful presentation by joining the two messages.
Moye’s idea seemed fail-safe for two reasons. First of all, it is difficult for a restaurant owner to turn down the idea because it is free advertising for them. Secondly, advertisers find it difficult to turn down an opportunity to communicate with a very targeted audience.
This highly innovative idea may soon launch Moye to the national level. He has a deal in the works with two national brands that will earn him much credibility and much success. If he succeeds, Moye’s AdCards may soon become a staple in fine dining restaurants across the country.
Moye has several new projects in the works. These projects include a publication that features up-scale restaurant menus called Atlanta Menu Collection, and The Private Reserve which will be a collection of stock photography. Also, he is working closely with a very stylish Golf Club, Bear’s Best Atlanta, to produce brochures about the facility’s offerings.
Moye does not feel that he has "made it" just yet, although it is obvious that he is well on his way. He has big ideas and a passion to develop and execute them. He says he is "just scratching the surface," and with the ease with which he dreams up his fresh ideas, he is sure to have many more creations up his sleeve.
