LFW - advertising / marketing / new product development... o
Discussion
Hello everyone 
I have spent a few days reading through this forum and there seems to be a huge pool of ideas and good solid advice. If I may, I would like to tap into this valuable melting pot of experience and professions within our PH community.
History:
I have worked in mainstream advertising (agency, not sales) for over twenty years on the client services side. I even managed to reach the heady heights of Head of Client Services for one of the Manchester agencies a few years ago, until the powers that be decided to close it down and use a more "cost effective" big name London agency (yes, they regretted it).
I recently did three years looking after the marketing and new product development for a mid-sized manufacturing company supplying the garden centre industry. This was a great opportunity in that hey had little marketing knowledge so I could make a real difference and, as I have a fairly creative eye, being involved in new product development, from the initial scribbles, right through the whole production process to market was really involving and pretty good fun. Another bonus was, that as we used several factories out in China, I was popping out there every five or six weeks for a week at a time, both sourcing factories and quality control. I loved it.
It is just a shame that this company was my ex-wife's family business and, when she decided she didn't want to be married anymore, it put a serious spanner my career.
I have spent just over a year working on a retail re-branding project for an agency which was really involving, but that ended a few months ago.
Now:
I would love to find a job with a small to medium sized business like I had a couple of years ago - a business that maybe needs a bit of marketing help, a bit of new product development, someone to keep an eye on quality and suppliers. Basically a safe, reliable, trustworthy pair of hands with enough business sense and experience to be an asset to someone.
I have thought about what I could start by myself, looking about to see if I could start anything with say £10k, but I keep drawing blanks, or find that hundreds are already doing the same. I have even looked at the ionic water window cleaning systems!
I know it's a long shot but if anyone knows of, hears of or has any bright ideas, I am open to suggestions.
Thanks for taking the time to read
al
I have spent a few days reading through this forum and there seems to be a huge pool of ideas and good solid advice. If I may, I would like to tap into this valuable melting pot of experience and professions within our PH community.
History:
I have worked in mainstream advertising (agency, not sales) for over twenty years on the client services side. I even managed to reach the heady heights of Head of Client Services for one of the Manchester agencies a few years ago, until the powers that be decided to close it down and use a more "cost effective" big name London agency (yes, they regretted it).
I recently did three years looking after the marketing and new product development for a mid-sized manufacturing company supplying the garden centre industry. This was a great opportunity in that hey had little marketing knowledge so I could make a real difference and, as I have a fairly creative eye, being involved in new product development, from the initial scribbles, right through the whole production process to market was really involving and pretty good fun. Another bonus was, that as we used several factories out in China, I was popping out there every five or six weeks for a week at a time, both sourcing factories and quality control. I loved it.
It is just a shame that this company was my ex-wife's family business and, when she decided she didn't want to be married anymore, it put a serious spanner my career.
I have spent just over a year working on a retail re-branding project for an agency which was really involving, but that ended a few months ago.
Now:
I would love to find a job with a small to medium sized business like I had a couple of years ago - a business that maybe needs a bit of marketing help, a bit of new product development, someone to keep an eye on quality and suppliers. Basically a safe, reliable, trustworthy pair of hands with enough business sense and experience to be an asset to someone.
I have thought about what I could start by myself, looking about to see if I could start anything with say £10k, but I keep drawing blanks, or find that hundreds are already doing the same. I have even looked at the ionic water window cleaning systems!
I know it's a long shot but if anyone knows of, hears of or has any bright ideas, I am open to suggestions.
Thanks for taking the time to read
al
Edited by burriana on Wednesday 30th January 02:01
There may be plenty of 'bright ideas' offered, but this may not add any real value to your unique circumstances. You find yourself in a not unusual position that many others have successfully negotiated; so you should draw strength from that. What is required is a sensible review of your core competencies (if you don't wish to retrain) and link those to your ambitions and financial aspirations. From there, a number of options will be apparent. If you're happy to retrain, then again, your career and financial aspirations would guide the options appraisal process. If I can be of any further help, just PM me; it's what I do. Good luck!
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