Well, here I am, I am going to write a blog. I always told my friends, ‘I’m going to write a book one day.’ Well I guess the times have changed and I’m going to write a blog. It’s kinda weird though, sharing my innermost thoughts and insites with people I don’t even know. I mean, if my friends and family doesn’t care about what I have to say, why should some ‘cyberspace stranger? ‘ But they tell me you do and if you don’t ‘the spiders do’, so here I go…
I am a self proclaimed Marketing Diva who started my career in New York City, fresh off the farm in Amish County (that’s good old Kutztown, PA). After ten years working for all the big ad agency’s in the city, I decided to move to Tampa, FL in 2001. Currently I own my own integrated marketing boutique and everyday is a new adventure as marketing has surely changed through the years. Blogging didn’t exist when I started my career and don’t ask me about an online marketing campaign because I had never ‘surfed the net.’ But if there one thing I could count on through the years, it was change! I look forward to sharing these experiences and my marketing knowledge with you as I continue on this journey through cyberspace. They say, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks well, I suppose I will have to change the definition of old! Hey, I’m a Marketing Diva, so I can do what I want to!
Well now I’m blogging on the beach. I’ve decided to visit beautiful Ana Marie Island for a weekend getaway to clear my mind and refuel. I’m so glad I did because I have a townhouse overlooking the beach and it’s a beautiful sunny day in paradise. Funny, I still can’t get over it, if this is work, I’ve definitely made the right decision to go into business for myself and start an advertising agency. I guess I should tell you how I actually came to the decision of starting an integrated marketing company as it has been a long road and while I just won the biggest website project of my life yesterday (the other reason I decided to come to the beach), I have a feeling the journey has only just begun. I’ve always loved marketing, and developing advertising strategies has come fairly natural to me. The time I spent in New York City really provided me with the insight into the advertising world and has been the reason for my success in many ways. The other driving force is my desire to want to help people. Sometimes this has not been in my favor as I’ve learned the hard way people are not always honest and if you’re going to go into business for yourself, unfortunately you can’t always trust people. (This will be another blog…why get signed estimates? why ask for a 50% deposit before starting a project, why have your contractors sign confidentially agreements? etc.)
Anyway, getting back to the story of why I started my business. I left NYC in 2001 as I was burned out from the cut throat advertising world and wanted a change. I loved the beach, so Tampa, Florida was where the dart landed on the map. Off I went with about one months savings and a few freelance writing jobs. In a new town with no friends and no family, I decided to look for a full time job so I could meet some people and start to get to know the community that I would call ‘home.’ By the grace of God, the perfect position appeared in the newspaper, ‘Director of Marketing/Sales’ for a local chamber of commerce. Incredible. I could not believe it. I applied and was told ‘You have a great tranferrable skill set that will serve you well in this position and we would like to offer you the job!’ Was he kidding? A dream come true (at the time). But I had arrived. After a few years, the dream had changed and it was time to wake up. One of the local businesses in town, whom I got to know through the chamber, asked me to provide him with marketing consulting services. So I did. Then I decided to look for another client, and I got one! Then I decided to look for a graphic designer because I was a marketing diva, not a graphic godess. I found one. Actually I found a few. Then I decided to find someone who could build a website and I found him too (he’s now a she…yes, another blog).
So here I am, Victory & Associates. We represent a savvy group of marketing communications experts whose mission is to help you survive…and thrive in these competitive times. We provide a variety of integrated marketing services including: marketing consultation, corporate branding and logo development, graphic design, public relations, direct mail, list management, printing and fulfillment. I’m looking forward to sharing my views, opinions and expertise in the world of graphic and website design, as well as some of my experiences working in corporate America and being self-employed. Hope you also enjoy the journey!
Posted on July 12th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: General