SmartSocial.com helps 2 million parents and educators to keep students safe on social media so they can someday shine online. We provide memberships and online workshops to schools/districts to train students how they can use social media as a positive portfolio, instead of a pastime. Our programs teach on TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Youtube, Linkedin, Pinterest and 100+ apps that students are using.

Santa Monica Airport is 100+ years old and serves the west side of Los Angeles (and has a huge background during WWII)For about 5 years I led a crew of volunteers who inspired kids to learn about aviation. I used my internet marketing skills (and pilot friends) to host 200+ person "Kids in Planes" events. Over the years we were able to put over 3,000 kids in planes to teach them how each one of the controls works, and what it's like to feel like a pilot. Kids from 1-18 years old were inspired to talk with pilots, learn about aviation and it inspired their stem education learning.I got so inspired by this cause that I wrote a kid's book about the Santa Monica Airport. Check it out on Amazon by searching for "Santa Monica Airport"

Unfortunately, I was shy about 350 votes to win a spot on city council. I lost to the incumbent Mayor (a great guy)!----In May of 2009, I made a decision to run for Hermosa Beach City Council. After living there for several years, I knew we needed to make changes to help businesses & residents in these tough times. My decision to run was not an easy one. At the start, I was relatively unknown by community leaders. I was up against eight year incumbents and candidates with experience in three past races. Essentially: all of them were well known.I set out with three campaign goals:1) To be honest and positive2) To listen to the needs of residents and businesses3) To work harder than any other candidateOn November 3rd, 2009, we proved that you can make a positive impact in a community following these three rules. HERE’S HOW MY CAMPAIGN MADE A DIFFERENCE:- Every afternoon and evening I walked door-to-door in Hermosa and spoke with 50+ voters per day; getting to know their concerns and giving them a copy of my goals for the city. Voters thanked me every day for taking the time to shake their hand on their doorstep.- I met nearly all of the 3,000 key voters in the city on their doorstep (If they weren't home, I left a brochure that says “Sorry I missed you, visit my website.”)- My campaign team followed up with phone calls to almost every voter reminding them that “We are voting for Josh Ochs and here’s why you should too…”- My campaign signs are the OPPOSITE color scheme of our competitors (Most people agreed, ours are way more visible and memorable)- Our campaign website had 70+ endorsements from local community members. No other candidate in this race has such an extensive site that involves the community.- We made social media easy to use for residents and included it on our campaign website and Facebook page.This campaign became the foundation for my bestselling marketing book "Light, Bright and Polite"

Gordon Brothers Group is a 100+ year old private equity firm that purchases & restructures over $50B in troubled assets and retail brandsWhile working at this company and traveling to their Long Island, NY and Boston offices, I learned the importance of cashflow. Many of our clients were over-extended on their leases and their retail performance was dropping quickly. We helped very large companies to negotiate out of their lease and to help improve cashflow by closing unprofitable stores. This taught me how to look at real estate as an investment and showed me the value of a good retail location for a brand.

Babystyle (a division of Estyle) was an online & retail merchant of baby clothes, maternity clothes, kids clothes, toys, furniture, gear & gifts for growing familiesAt Babystyle I was given the chance to learn a deep understanding of data analytics while also tasked with compiling marketing decks to pitch our board-of-directors. This was a very detail-oriented job that needed a lot of concentration and a tremendous amount of time to crunch spreadsheets and transfer graphs to powerpoint to tell the cashflow story. One of the most fun projects was when I created "heat maps" of all zip code spending behaviors from online customers and then translated the data into visual maps that outlined the best places we could open our new retail locations. Two of my superiors were Harvard Business School Graduates and I was honored to get the chance to closely learn from their business acumen.

Marcus Buckingham is a British-American New York Times bestselling author, researcher, motivational speaker and business consultant best known for promoting what he calls "Strengths." I first met Marcus in October of 2002 when I won the opportunity to assist him at a business leadership conference at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. I told Mr. Buckingham "While you're prepping for your speech, perhaps I should get your number so I can alert you if your speaking time changes." He reluctantly recited his 10 digit cell number and I left him to his practicing. Two weeks after the speaking engagement I left him a voice mail..."Hello, Mr Buckingham, I'd love to buy you lunch and tell you more about some of the ideas that your competitors are writing in their books. I've read all their stuff and I have tips for your next book to set it apart." I never got a returned call, but I was persistent. I kept leaving voice messages for Mr. Buckingham, every two weeks. Three months would go by, six, then 11. "Mr. Buckingham, I'm not looking for a job, in fact, I'm working full time at Disney Studios and things are great. However, I'd love to buy you breakfast someday near your office. I have ideas for your next book. In one of your books you said the world's best managers are persistent. It's been almost a year since we first met. You know my name, you know my number. I'd love to buy you lunch."That same afternoon (almost a year to the date that we originally met) Mr. Buckingham called me back with news that he left the Gallup Organization. He was looking for a new team member...and there was my voicemail. We met for lunch and began to discuss some marketing projects that he needed help with. While working for Mr. Buckingham, I traveled with him and watched him speak to crowds of almost 15,000 people. His speaking fees were in excess of $40,000. I helped him to develop his marketing materials and assist with some of his newest books that he was writing.

Disney is the largest media and entertainment conglomerate in the world with revenues of $65.4 billionAt Disney/Buena Vista Home Entertainment I worked closely with seven departments and managed all areas of DVD projects from start to finish. My boss would set the stage for production, and I would assist in all meetings to track creative, operations, financials, promotions and media. I negotiated with outside vendors and had a blast winning over people in other divisions. Disney was a wonderful place to start my career and I often refer back to this job in my public speaking.Here's an excerpt from my boss at Disney:“Josh is eager, persistent, positive and, well, people just like him. Even now, when Josh drops by for a visit employees of every level pop out of their offices to say hello. Josh’s people skills are awe inspiring. And best of all, like Superman he uses his power for good, not evil. He has renegotiated deadlines, coaxed extra effort out of vendors, wheedled talent into extraordinary PR – and always, the people who work with Josh feel lucky, happy and relaxed. That’s the magical part. Josh’s attitude is relentlessly sunny. Throw him a moody executive, harsh feedback, an insurmountable “No” and Josh rebounds effortlessly. His refusal to respond personally to professional setbacks helps to keep the entire team focused on the business objectives during tense and potentially contentious negotiations.”- Lisa Clements, Director of Marketing at Walt Disney Studios