Grad school by far was the hardest thing I ever did.  No one can prepare you for the amount of time and dedication that is needed to get through it.  However, I was blessed with a great team and together we helped each other push through it.  Although Corporate Finance just about put me over the edge!

I’m not sure what 2012 will bring for our economy, but majority of people are predicting better times.  2011 was hard, but it was definitely better than 2010 and if each year just gets a little better than the previous year, I’ll take it.  As we say in running, it’s the baby steps that allow you to make it up the hills.

Reflecting on the final days of 2011 I’m taking the time to count my many blessings and to give thanks for all I have.  Are there still numerous things I wish I had- of course, but all I have to do is look around and see how lucky I am.

My hope and prayer for  2012 is that it will bring happiness, good health, financial security and love to all.

Cheers & Happy New Year!

Last week I had my first Managerial Accounting test and I’m happy to say I got a 99!  Although this is great I can’t get too excited because I still have 2 more exams to go, but can I tell you how much I wanted to do the happy dance when I got this score!

The one thing I have learned with this whole MBA process is that no matter how hard the challenge may seem, I can do anything if I set my mind to it.  There may be days when I am ready to scream (or cry!), but somehow I pull through it.  It also helps knowing I have only 5 more classes for this summer semester before my next break in August!

Till then…

Back in January I began a Professional MBA program at Georgia State University after being out of school for a long time.  I never thought I would go back to school and honestly after a certain point I just thought it was too late.  However, after being unemployed in 2009 and majority of 2010, I knew I never wanted to go through that again without an MBA degree.

I really always looked at an MBA as 3 letters, but I have learned so much and my brain has been so enriched.  There have been classes where I felt as if my brain could explode from overload  I think what surprised me the most was the bond that has been created with my fellow classmates that will be with me for life.  Now don’t get me wrong, it’s been a little tough getting the “school brain” back in action and figuring out how to deal with the tremendous workload- not to mention my full-time job, but it has been worth every painful minute!

Never again will I say “It’s too late” because it is NEVER too late!  Don’t ever stop believing in yourself.  The trick is to surround yourself with people who think the same way.  There are many “naysayers” out there and it is so easy to fall into that trap, but luckily I have had some great mentors and inspiring friends, family, and former colleagues who have all supported me.  Each of them have given me the power to believe in myself and realize, “It’s never too late”!

Since October 2009, I ended a relationship, moved into a temporary home, got a new job and moved back to the loft I own.  To say it has been a tough year would be an understatement, but with the help of friends and the love of family and my trust and faith in God, I survived.  Additionally I decided to go back to school for my MBA, which I will start in January 2011.

Never a dull moment in my life, but that is what I love.  Life is a mystery and just when you think you have it all planned out, it takes a crazy twist.  However, no matter what life throws at me, I know I’m being guided and everything I wish for will happen when the time is right.

I hope and pray that everyone has a very happy, healthy and successful New Year in 2011.

The video below really sums it up.  As cliche as it might sound, remember this quote:

“Yesterday is history.  Tomorrow is a mystery.  And today?  Today is a gift.  That’s why we call it the present.”  ~Babatunde Olatunji

Let’s all try to remember that.  We worry so much about the future.  If we would all just slow down and take a minute to be thankful for where we are right now- it might just give us a little peace.  As I’ve said before, I truly believe I am being guided and every day I need to remind myself of that because I too have my panic attacks about where I should be in life, what am I doing next.  Another quote that helps me when I am feeling this is:

“You can tell the size of your God by looking at the size of your worry list.  The longer your list, the smaller your God.”  ~Author Unknown

When I was at ING I managed our U.S. sponsorship platform, which was running.  The challenge our sponsorship group had was incorporating running into the marketing mix (i.e. the advertising & digital campaign, diversity marketing, etc).  In the end there were some good examples of what we did to integrate, but for the most part each of our marketing disciplines had its own agenda and I think that played a big part in the decline of sponsorship dollars.

The days of companies sponsoring numerous platforms or sports are fading.  There is too much competition out there, so every time a brand is shown, there better be a message that is sticking with you (i.e.: As noted in the AdAge article, P&G “Proud Sponsor of Moms” campaign incorporated advertising and promotion for 18 brands).   I realize not all of us are lucky enough to have a P&G budget, but regardless we can all learn a lot from this example.

The most important thing to remember is don’t forget who your target audience is.  By that I do not mean your target audience at a football game you are sponsoring–although a key to why you chose to sponsor football, I’m speaking of your brands target audience.  You may think that sounds like the same thing, but take the P&G example.  If P&G just looked at the target audience for an olympic sponsorship, they could have been all over the board.  However, they specifically targeted moms and then incorporated that message into their sponsorship & advertising campaign.  At ING we knew the demos of the ING New York City Marathon, but we specifically targeted the 45-65 audience who would be interested in financial planning and created messaging and activation around that.

Face it, we can always learn from other companies, agencies and specific individuals.  That’s what keeps us going, so let’s continue to share great examples and keep sponsorships alive!

For any of you that read my posts, you know that I have been in job search for longer than I wish to admit.  Therefore, rather than enjoy the July 4th holiday like the rest of the country, I felt I did not deserve to slow down–not even for a day.  However, as the morning of July 4th ended and I finished up my volunteer duties, it was like the flood gates opened.  Not only was I physically tired, but it also came crashing in that my life is completely different than it was 1 year ago.

Last year on July 4th weekend I was moving in with my now ex-boyfriend.  I certainly did not think that a year later I’d be single, on my own and still unemployed.  I had all these hopes and visions of where my life would be.  However, life happens and things change.  As hard as it has been for me, I absolutely know that I am being guided on this path of life and although I am in a different place, things will work out.

Right before I went into the hard mental week of July 4th, 2010, I did something I never thought I would do…I adopted a dog!  Her name is Daisy.  I had been volunteering at Adopt a  Golden Atlanta for months and long story short, I signed up to be a “Foster vacation volunteer” and yes, that lasted 2 days before I adopted Daisy.

Daisy has been one of the best things I could do for myself.  Instead of sitting in my loft and working all day on the computer, I am now forced to get out and walk the dog.  I’m also a runner and now have a new running companion!

Additionally I decided that I am going to take more time for me because one day –SOON– I will have a job and I will not have this much spare time.  In 1 weeks time I picked up 2 books that I started throughout this year and finished them.  Also, although I still stick to my workout routines as if I’m working (meeting my friends for runs at 5:45am or 6am),  instead of struggling through those mid-day slumps, I allow myself to dose off for a quick nap!  For any of you that know me I’m sure you’re shocked to read this, but I feel as if I have been transformed just by allowing myself to relax, giving myself mental breaks throughout the day.

We cannot always be the super humans we think we are.  Taking time for yourself is ok–it does not make us any less of who we think we are.  Actually, I’m discovering that it is making me a better person!

I ask this because I have a little pet peeve—people not responding!  We all get busy in our worlds, but I honestly have a new appreciation for responding ever since I was laid off last year and now find myself working on more and more projects that are requiring me to go after something from a company.

Lets face it, whether in the business world or our personal lives, we expect people to respond to our calls or emails.  When they don’t we try again, and again.  Obviously, no response usually means one thing—not interested.  However, is it so hard to respond and say that?  We are all grown ups and can take no for an answer, but help us out people–just tell us.

It may take a few seconds to hit the “reply” button and paste some canned response (i.e. “not in the budget this year”, “does not fit within our strategy “or best case–”I’m sorry for not responding, but I’m still waiting for my senior management to get back to me.  I’ll get back to you as soon as I hear.  Thanks for your patience”).  Honesty goes a long way and actually saves you time by getting people to go away or have a little patience.

Look, I’ve been on both sides and most recently I was the one getting the phone calls, so I understand.  I’m just hoping that if you are the person to get a proposal or request sent to you and you know it does not fit–tell the person.  If the proposal or request is of interest, but it is just taking longer than you expected—again, tell the person.  In the end we will all appreciate the honesty.  As your mom probably told you growing up, “a little manners goes a long way”.

Now, I’m not saying that sports marketing agencies should also become social media agencies or claim to be social media experts.  However, there is no way that an Account Director at a sports marketing agency is not developing a program, promotion, event, etc for a client that doesn’t include social media or at least recommending it to clients to get the most bang for the buck.  So to see the majority of the sports marketing agencies not having their own facebook or twitter accounts is shocking.  I applaud the employees within these agencies that have their own accounts or some of the senior staff that have blogs related to the business or divisions within the agencies that have set up social media accounts.  However, I still see majority of these agencies not promoting social media accounts off their home pages.

Back in February 2008, AdWeek did a story on agencies not getting social media http://tinyurl.com/2cojp5.  Fortunately I think most agencies now “get it” and thankfully most have come a long way, especially PR agencies.   I realize each agency has their own specialty, but sports marketing agencies really need to get in the game and start promoting themselves and show their clients that they too see the benefits of social media.  Just saying!