I am a solopreneur marketing consultant – I know what it means to have to do your own accounting, sales and marketing without the benefit of a big staff and huge budget.Most of my clients are small to mid-sized businesses and I recommend strategies and tactics tailored to their needs. It’s not helpful to create a plan that needs more time and money than you have, so I meet you where you are and help you improve from there.I love helping small organizations and individuals with self promotion so you can thrive doing the things you love. No cookie cutter recommendations, it's all about identifying your goals and crafting a plan to get you there.Additionally, as I offered marketing coaching to self employed entrepreneurs, I began to see how inextricably linked questions of business and personal goals are. We couldn't talk about what kind of business a client wanted to build without also digging in on what success and happiness look like to them. I pursued formal coaching training with CTI, the largest and most established in-person professional coach training organization in the world. I built on my CTI training with certification through the Ethical Coaching Collective. While my original intent was to supplement my marketing consulting with better marketing coaching, this practice evolved to support clients pursuing a wide range of life changes. Most of my coaching clients come to me with a big "What's next?" question ahead of them.Now I offer strategic marketing consulting and life coaching, as well as a blend of the two, where we tackle both business goals and personal goals, recognizing how they're intertwined.

For several years, I managed Stylebook in addition to other responsibilities at the AP, and in 2011 moved into a part-time marketing role focusing on improving and growing the Stylebook business.In this role, I have:* Increased revenue from six figures to +$3m via our e-commerce platform.* Added new products including automated style checking plug ins, a Merriam-Webster Dictionary integration, AP Stylebook Study Guides and the AP Stylebook Workshop.* Launched Stylebook's social media presence on Twitter, @APStylebook, the AP's first corporate-branded social media account; we're also on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.* Introduced the Stylebook's email newsletter, sharing AP style tips and product news with fans of the Stylebook, signed by me personally.AP Stylebook has been called the journalist's bible. It is a respected resource for writers and editors who want guidance on spelling, punctuation, grammar, word usage and more. AP selected Stylebook for its companywide Gramling Award in 2011, for innovation with a well-established, beloved product and revenue growth.

I worked with business leaders throughout the company to better understand their needs and the ways that market intelligence might help them make more informed decisions. Once we established their needs, I conducted primary research, collaborated with outside vendors or reviewed available data on our subscription services, depending on the nature of the question. Projects included:* consumer research to understand news consumption behavior and attitudes toward the AP, including facilitated online interactive chats and focus groups* testing concepts for revamping AP's member product offerings, including online surveys and a focus group* exploring news consumption behaviors and preferences on the then-new iPad* evaluating the potential to expand Spanish-language services in Latin America, via an online survey and interviews by phone and in person* directing strategic report creation, introducing a monthly performance metrics dashboardAdditionally, as part of AP's global marketing department, helped create a companywide social media leadership group. We established AP's first social media policies and provided assistance on beginning new accounts and managing them with best practices.

In this hybrid marketing/sales/strategy/customer support role, I managed our department's use of SAP CRM as a repository of customer data, as well as order-entry functionality and work flow. I trained staffers on how to make best use of the SAP tools.I advocated for timely, accurate completion of orders, including reaching out across departments to identify and solve problems on behalf of our member newspapers and our bureau chiefs.I worked closely with senior management as we transformed our content product offerings for newspapers and communicated those changes internally and externally.I helped lead the business analysis of AP's breaking news for our company's strategic retreat in 2007. Our team advocated for several transformational changes that were implemented.

provided strategy and implementation of public relations for several schools and colleges at one of the nation's premier research institutions; duties included pitching stories, conducting media training sessions and advising on crisis strategies

helped guide marketing and media plans, produced press releases, marketing materials and web site copy, led web site redesign, member of leadership committee setting goals and direction of internationally known, privately held technology consulting firm. Argus folded in 2001.

provided direction for daily business coverage, managed two full-time reporters and several freelancers, split time as editor and reporter covering such topics as real estate and manufacturing, contributed to daily meetings on content of newspaper.

launched monthly HomeTown Communications publication providing news and features on business in the northwest suburbs of Detroit; defined editorial direction including copy, graphics and photos, advocated on overall publication strategy, produced majority of content, supervised contributions of freelancers and part-timers