Most of my important professional work is connected in some way to entrepreneurship and marketing. I received my formal business training at Babson College, graduating summa cum laude from the MBA program. This program has for many years been ranked # 1 in Entrepreneurship by US News & World Report. At Babson, we were taught to see marketing and entrepreneurship as entwined skills. While the entrepreneur’s first task is to seek new opportunities for products and services, the second, and equally important, task is to communicate the value of these products and services to the customer. In other words, the entrepreneur must be an adept marketer.
My most significant work as the founder and owner of Bayside Runner was a particularly exciting way for me to bring together my interests in marketing and entrepreneurship. Bayside Runner was a true start-up business, an idea that I developed and financed from scratch. The real driver for the store's success, however, was the marketing strategy. At Bayside Runner we made use of a full range of marketing channels, including social media, email newsletters, radio ads, road race sponsorships and appearances at gyms and fitness fairs. We coordinated numerous promotional events ranging from Pub Runs and group runs to educational in-store speakers and contests (like our Winter Warrior Challenge). And we relied on a network of referrals from medical professionals, fitness instructors, and track coaches.
The majority of referrals, however, came from the customers themselves. For that reason the in-store customer experience was the most important marketing tool. I developed a proprietary three-step, ten-category shoe fitting system that combines traditional fitting tools with modern video gait analysis. The staff made sure to treat each customer with a high level of respect as they helped them to select the best running or walking shoes. Click here to check out the video!
Finally, perhaps the most meaningful part of my work at Bayside Runner was the chance to give back to the community. In partnership with South Shore Race Management, I founded six new charity road races, including a brand new marathon called the Myles Standish Marathon. Through this work I was proud to raise thousands of dollars for great charities such as Boston Bruins Foundation, Rising Tide Charter School, The Kurt Giessler Foundation for Youth Achievement, Toys for Tots of Cape Cod, the Polycystic Kidney Foundation New England Chapter, and the Arc of Greater Plymouth, to name a few. In 2013, Bayside Runner supported over 100 different charity road races.
I successfully sold Bayside Runner to Marathon Sports in 2014.
My most significant work as the founder and owner of Bayside Runner was a particularly exciting way for me to bring together my interests in marketing and entrepreneurship. Bayside Runner was a true start-up business, an idea that I developed and financed from scratch. The real driver for the store's success, however, was the marketing strategy. At Bayside Runner we made use of a full range of marketing channels, including social media, email newsletters, radio ads, road race sponsorships and appearances at gyms and fitness fairs. We coordinated numerous promotional events ranging from Pub Runs and group runs to educational in-store speakers and contests (like our Winter Warrior Challenge). And we relied on a network of referrals from medical professionals, fitness instructors, and track coaches.
The majority of referrals, however, came from the customers themselves. For that reason the in-store customer experience was the most important marketing tool. I developed a proprietary three-step, ten-category shoe fitting system that combines traditional fitting tools with modern video gait analysis. The staff made sure to treat each customer with a high level of respect as they helped them to select the best running or walking shoes. Click here to check out the video!
Finally, perhaps the most meaningful part of my work at Bayside Runner was the chance to give back to the community. In partnership with South Shore Race Management, I founded six new charity road races, including a brand new marathon called the Myles Standish Marathon. Through this work I was proud to raise thousands of dollars for great charities such as Boston Bruins Foundation, Rising Tide Charter School, The Kurt Giessler Foundation for Youth Achievement, Toys for Tots of Cape Cod, the Polycystic Kidney Foundation New England Chapter, and the Arc of Greater Plymouth, to name a few. In 2013, Bayside Runner supported over 100 different charity road races.
I successfully sold Bayside Runner to Marathon Sports in 2014.
|
My entrepreneurial work also includes:
|
My marketing work also includes:
|
