I love marketing, and business, and my wife and kids…and bacon. Maybe not in that particular order. Almost everyone loves bacon, but it doesn’t mean they’d be any good at butchering the pig to produce it. When it comes to marketing and me, that’s a different story. It consumes me, it’s a part of me and I can’t escape it, and I’m great at it.
I knew I was going to be marketer by the age of 14. It sounds strange but it’s true. In 1995, when I was just 14, I begged my father to buy me a book about careers in advertising. I was fascinated with TV commercials and printed ads, and I was determined to work in the industry. I thumbed through that book reading about copywriters and media buyers, art directors and account planners. I badly wanted to be in marketing, so I just started. I got an internship at a local advertising agency, cleaning up graphic files on Corel Draw – remember Corel Draw?! I painted billboards and made signs, swept the floors and made coffee – I loved it.
Only 2 years later, I started designing and developing websites for whoever wanted one – my band, my bestfriend’s dad, the small store on the corner. Everyone needed a site, and everyone needed a Flash Intro! I built a small business helping early adopters get online. It was the dawn of the Internet, and looking back today am I proud to say I got a front row seat.
