| 31 December 2008
My career began in the yellow page industry as a sales representative for an independent yellow page publishing company called Data National. This fortune 500 company, at the time owned by Volt Information Sciences, was my life-changing introduction in to the print media sales game. In my first year, I won three significant awards: Rookie of the Year, Top Salesperson in the Carolina Region, and Most New Business Sales.
I then left the company in 1998 to work and train under a guru in the industry who brought radio to the Charlotte area in the 1950s. His name was Stan Kaplan and he owned the Leader Newspaper. The training I received from this icon in the print media industry was priceless. Unfortunately, this newspaper was not a good fit for me, but I took the knowledge and experience I’d gained back into the field I felt I knew best, the yellow page industry. I decided to work for Yellow Book USA, another independent yellow page publishing company, and found great success. Out of an office of over sixty sales reps, I was in the top three in most of the monitored sales categories. I had the pleasure of working with thousands of small business owners in publishing their yellow page programs. I found that many of them had great success with not only the yellow pages, but in direct mail programs as well. The flexibility of this medium really piqued my interest. In 2001, I chose to pursue a career with Valpak, an industry-leading direct mail company based in Largo, Florida. At the time, Valpak mailed to over 50 million households monthly, and again provided a tremendous opportunity for training and growth in the business. I worked in the Charlotte franchise, which was owned by the national Valpak franchisee president. Our office manager also had many years in the direct mail business. I immersed myself in this priceless training environment. I won “Sales Rep of the Month” in 16 of my 24 months there, and received many other interoffice sales awards. I soon realized that despite being on a straight commission pay structure for six years, I never had a week without a paycheck. I wondered how I would do in this business on my own.
In October 2003, the entrepreneurial spirit kicked in and I left Valpak with plans to succeed or fail on my own. I formed a company called Premier Publishing, Inc. My plan was to deliver to the Lake Norman area a direct mail magazine, The Premier Magazine, that was second to none in quality. I had no understanding of the necessary software used to build such a product, so I stayed up most nights until the wee hours of the morning reading instructional materials. I taught myself in detail the industry-leading graphics software needed to create my magazine. The first issue, released in February 2004, contained 71 small businesses. I personally sold and assisted in the design of each of these ads, and the response was incredible! My clients were amazed by the quality of this product and its ability to bring in new business. I successfully published this magazine for five years, and developed wonderful business relationships as I assisted in the growth of a multitude of businesses in the Lake Norman area.
In October 2005, I took on an even more ambitious project. I joined with two of my former colleagues, Kevin Germain and Shane Alexander, and formed Premier Publishing Group and Premier Graphics Services. In addition to publishing our own versions of these direct mail magazines in Lake Norman, Raleigh and Prince William County (VA), we built a system to publish this type of product in markets all across the US. We recruited other publishers and provided graphics and fulfillment for similar magazines in their areas. In just under three years, we were publishing 36 quarterly magazines per year in nine markets. We represented almost 400 large and small businesses and distributed 330,000 magazines quarterly. As we grew, my responsibilities accelerated and I transitioned into managing the technical aspects of our exploding endeavor. I needed a much broader understanding of the computer applications and software used in our business. Once again I immersed myself in acquiring a new knowledge base. I taught myself Microsoft Office, Microsoft Excel, Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, QuickBooks, as well as content management systems for website building and other necessary softwares. I also developed and managed a variety of other proprietary systems needed for the flow of information in our business.
In December of 2008, I decided to step away from what had become a tremendous workload and focus on a more balanced work/family schedule. I left PPG and PGS, and started Lake Norman Link. In this new venture, I perform services for businesses in the Lake Norman and Charlotte markets using my broad technical skill set. I help link businesses to their customers through a variety of print and web-based promotional products, and fill in any technology gaps that will allow them to achieve their business goals. I have developed a love for the technical aspects of the computer and related programs, and plan to remain at the forefront of the rapidly-evolving technical landscape. Using my extensive experience marketing businesses through a variety of media, I can provide any business with quality and timely assistance on multiple tasks at an affordable rate. Lake Norman Link is a one-stop shop for marketing, technology, and business development. I am capable of performing almost any media or computer project that you or your business needs. Driven by a strong work ethic, and the desire to perform to the best of my ability on every project, I will deliver professional products and services on time, every time. I live in Huntersville, North Carolina, and have been in the business of bringing buyers and sellers together through an array of media products since 1997. Please visit my contact page and allow me the opportunity to meet you and discuss how I can become a valuable asset to you and your business.
Dana C. Phillips - Publisher
| < Prev |
|---|