The new gig

For those of you who were following earlier posts, I decided to merge my company with another to help weather this economic snow storm. The month of February was spent moving, meeting and greeting, and learning a new environment. The new agency also has a ping-pong table, so we've all become interested in that as well (I even have my own paddle).

So far it's been a positive experience. There are parts about my own gig I miss, and likely will pick up again once things smooth out. But for now we are content meeting new people, learning new clients, and feeling how marketing and advertising co-exist. I've never been in advertising. It has always been pure marketing. But I see how the two work together. Advertising is about creating demand. Marketing is about communicating value. They are both salesmanship. Done well, marketing picks up where advertising leaves off. And both should really be about selling. Which brings me to my next point.

Someone once told me that every business is like a three-legged stool. You need 1. Sales, 2. Operations or fulfillment, and 3. Finance. After 15 years in Operations, I'm beginning to see the value of 1 and 3. My goal for this new gig is to learn sales. Perhaps I can leverage my consulting skills in this, but in reality before starting my own business I'd never really sold before. Hindsight is yelling that sales might have been important in starting your own business. Yeah well...

So, I'm excited. 2009 is going to be year of movement for me. Selling a house, learning business development, and getting my two credit cards paid off. So far the year is starting off well!