I went to a seminar yesterday by Gair Maxwell, put on by the Charlottetown Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by the Property Guys, called the Branded Networker. I thought he displayed a diverse and interesting array of business acumen during his presentation and the satisfaction that he derives from helping businesses with their brands was clear.

A breakthrough moment occurred for me when Gair asked what the word listen really means and put on a recording of The Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkle… the answer - SILENT - which is listen spelled in a different way.

He covered everything from basic marketing concepts and classic books such as:

• the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (which is where I got my “maven” name)
• and the Purple Cow by my hero, Seth Godin

to using very appropriate case studies from the Fundy Group. He managed to know everyone’s name in the room - approximately 30 of us - by the end of the two hours. I think he studied the sign-up sheet ;-).

I really enjoy Gair’s style and enthusiasm. He reminds me of Pete Luckett. I emailed Pete (and blogged about him here - I think it was my very first blog entry!!) after his last presentation on PEI through the Chamber, down on the waterfront. I sent Pete a link afterwards to who I thought HE remineded me of, which, ironically is the author - Seth Godin - of the above book that Gair talked about. A brilliant bald, marketing guru (Seth’s blog here).

Recently I won the $7500 advertising package from the Chamber of Commerce and in the spirit of what Gair talked about yesterday, “telling your story” … mine is:

I had to borrow the money to join the Chamber in March. I’m boot-strapping my small business, Kerr Consulting, and am also a stay-at-home single parent to my two boys and we live in the country - money is tight. After the collapse of my career a couple of years ago and the diagnosis of three close friends with breast cancer, I decided that my biggest priority was to spend time with my family which I am very fortunate to have lots of on PEI. What that takes in my opinion and based on hundred of hours of research, is working from home by way of the internet.

A lot of my blog is my story of boot-strapping my business and the marketing tools that I’ve used. I’ve collected great resources along the way. The learning curve has been pretty steep however I gained experience working for a tech company for seven months last year and then combined that with what I learned from starting and growing my first business, Island Tee Times, and this collection of experience and knowledge allows me to offer up-to-date marketing and business solutions for my clients.

I began my first at-home career in 1999 when I was expecting my first child and started with a website offering golf package services. This grew quickly, too much in fact. After winning BDC’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2003 and Progress magazine’s third fastest growing company in Atlantic Canada in 2004, my company was forced to close in the spring of 2006. My ex-business partner and client continue the business under another name.

Full circle, but with an expensive and humbling education under my belt, my two friends as guardian angels and third currently fighting breast cancer, my children and family close by, and back at home working from my kitchen table, looking out on my backyard and Pownal Bay, my goal is to help businesses in Atlantic Canada with affordable marketing solutions, mainly for the internet.

I have awesome clients (the majority I call friends) and feel tremendously rewarded by their satisfaction and business success. My other hobby is blogging about things that Gair talked about - products, events, services and people that I find remarkable and who’s stories I think are worth sharing.

So please check it out sometime or sign up to my RSS feed. I’ve got dozens on my reader and am involved with a great online network of virtual marketers like me.

I’m so grateful for the advertising package on number of levels and I look forward to sharing what I learn about buying advertising and marketing with all of my clients.

Many thanks to the Charlottetown Chamber of Commerce and to all of the sponsors for the $7500 advertising package that I won:

CBC Television
Foulkes Productions
The Guardian
Magic 93
Spud FM
CFCY
Kwik Kopy Design & Print Centre
Results Marketing

Maureen Kerr
902-388-1800
kerr.maureen@gmail.com
www.YourMarketingMavens.com
www.YourMarketingMavens.com/blog

E-marketing and training for small business owners.