My American Dream Story Growing up in Iran, I came to the United States at age 16 to pursue a better life. Without finishing high school, I was blessed to be accepted into Northeastern University. But without a penny to my name, I had no choice but to work 120 HOURS per week to pay my way. I often went …

“I Guess We’ll Start A Business” Remember National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, when Clark Griswold was expecting his big Christmas bonus but got a Jelly of the Month subscription instead? Yeah, that was me. Working as a one-man tech support department in 2004, so my fat Christmas bonus replaced with a $20 gift card for a sandwich. Rather than wait for …

Frustrated By The BIG Promises Yet LITTLE Results From Most Marketing Programs SymTec consists of three partners: myself (Robert Christian) as well as brothers Trevor and Wesley Bradford. Since opening our doors 10 years ago, we’ve always seen value in marketing. Problem was in finding the RIGHT marketer or agency. We tried hiring a marketing person. But he was basically …

Lack Of Marketing = Lack Of Results David’s story: As president of Pacific Computer Consultants, I was one of Technology Marketing Toolkit’s original Producers Club Members. Since 2015, I’ve benefitted from great advice from my accountability group, Robin Robins and also her idea-rich presenters. Only problem was that we struggled with implementing consistent marketing campaigns that resulted in new clients …

There’s Nothing More Powerful Than A Single Mom Wanting To Be There For Her Kids I started my own IT services business in October 2000 for ONE reason…my two kids! Owning my business gave me the freedom to be their mom, take them to school and attend every game and concert. I didn’t miss one. More motivated and determined than …

 Firing My Share Of Marketing Managers Kelly’s story… Founded by my father and brother, Opti-Vise IT has been serving Eaton, Ohio, and the surrounding area for 15 years. As our director of sales and marketing for 10 years, I got Robin’s Toolkit years ago (though it sat on the shelf for far too long) and have worked to implement many …

From A $13M Business To Considering Closing Shop I was what most business owners strive to become. A $13 million business with some high-profile clients. But they say the bigger you are, the harder you fall. Boy, did we fall hard! We went through more ups, downs and pivots than a roller coaster. We were the tail and never the …

I Knew The Importance Of Marketing But Just Couldn’t Make It Work Since I founded CloudFirst Technology Solutions in 2010, I always knew the value of good marketing. (At least, I THOUGHT I did.) In the early days, I put together a small marketing team and focused on building a website. We made some flyers and canvassed offices throughout Las …

Running 20 Years WITHOUT A Marketing Plan As husband-and-wife cofounders, we just celebrated our 20th year in business this July. My husband, Page, wears both the tech and sales hats while I have always donned the business administration hat. In 20 years, we have evolved from an e-mail delivery firm (2001) to an IT networking break-fix company (2003) to an …

Sabotaged By My Ex-Wife And Then Fired My Mom And Dad I started consulting back when our years started with a 19. I quickly built a client base through word-of-mouth and absolutely no marketing. I was a tech trying to be a business owner, but also juggling HR, payroll, operations, EVERYTHING. Sound familiar? As a result, not only did I …