Suzanne wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to “be when she grew up”, but she knew she wanted to help people. Suzanne started of in nursing school, but quickly realized that it really wasn’t for her. After getting the required basic courses under her belt, the time came where she had to choose a major. At that point, she searched her heart for what she was passionate about what she wanted to do rather than what she thought she was suppose to do. It was then she realized that she was suppose to do. It was then she realized that Marketing 101 was her favorite class, and wanted to study business.
“My father wanted the best for me; and, I know to him that meant the “security” that college diploma, and the good job it would provide me. After college, I found good, entry-level positions, gaining valuable experience in the hospitality, travel, and real estate industries. I did what i knew to do: work hard and help my employers the best I knew how”, explains Suzanne, an educator and advocate for her clients.
“I think the entrepreneurial spirit runs in my family. My grandparents and their siblings owned and operated restaurants and bakeries; my father owned his own architectural firm; my mother was a licensed Realtor; and, my siblings have created their own opportunities with design and construction firms, restaurants, and the legal profession. There has to be something coursing through our familial veins that make us yearn to be the one responsible for the success of a business. But, I also saw the uncertainty, and blood, sweat and tears that often accompany the journey of the entrepreneur. And, that frustrated me. I hated seeing members of my family struggle, doing what they loved and were called to do, because they just didn’t know any other way to do it. I wanted to help.”
Fast forward a few years, and I found our family (my husband, Pete, son, Jake and I) facing our own uncertainty. Although he had a very good job as a commercial airline pilot, after September 11, 2001, the world changed (for all of us!) In 2003, the employees of Pete’s company took about a 30% pay cut. And, while God is, and continues to be, our source, we knew He had planted in us dreams to be a part of something bigger. So, we chose to look at this pay cut as an opportunity to push us to act on our dreams, and we stepped out in faith and decided to start our own company.”
Suzanne got together with several colleagues who were also very concerned about the health and growth of local businesses in their communities. Soon there were almost 100 of them. They established standards and best practices and created a Code of Conduct.
That’s how the Local Marketers Association (TLMA) came to be. They wrote curriculum for training newcomers to the industry and continuing education to keep all of them at the top of their game. They took the additional step of establishing a credentialing process for their members so business owners can rest assured that the consultants they are working with are endorsed by them. Small businesses are the life-blood of our communities so they wanted to make sure they were doing everything they could to grow them in a healthy way.
“As important as that is”, explains Lori Snyder, President and Co-Founder of (TLMA), “We realized that all of the most successful businesses we had worked with had four things in common…four supporting “pillars” that were working in perfect harmony to drive growth and sustain it over the long term. These pillars had been tested by time and proven to work so we built a system to optimize them and taught it to all of our members. For the business owners we work with, it’s almost like having a crystal ball that shows them a step by step plan for reaching it. It creates the most consistent results I’ve seen.”
Suzanne went on to say, “There is a Proverb that says, “Without counsel plans are frustrated, but with many counselors they succeed.” We needed to implement what Steven K. Scott refers to as “The Great Accelerator,” the key to maximum success in minimum time – Partnership. We needed to make absolutely sure that we were finding the experts in our field, professionals we could like and trust to work as diligently as our clients had come to expect. Through a series of mutual business relationships, we are very fortunate to have found a group of like minded marketing professionals who make up The Local Marketers Association. With a subject matter expert in every area of inbound marketing strategies is handled by association-certified professionals.”
Suzanne’s visions has come full circle. Every day, she is living her dream of helping people, interestingly, not with their medical needs, but in creating opportunities for the health and growth of their businesses. She gets to share strategies and introduce them to knowledgeable professionals who genuinely care about their success.
To contact Suzanne call 817.637.7016 or email her at info@mainstreetusamarketing.com or visit http://tlmaonline.org/