DOM Wins Entrepreneurial Success of the Year Award

This morning the West Virginia Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that I won their Entrepreneurial Success of the Year award.  It’s exciting in that it validates the quality of our work as we’ve helped hundreds of clients over the years grow their organizations through digital marketing.  And that we’ve had success in creating and sustaining jobs here in Wheeling, WV and the surrounding area.

I debated posting this award at the risk of looking like Barry Horowitz (i.e. the greatest jobber in WWF history), but this award is only partially about me.  It’s truly about all the people who have helped make Direct Online Marketing a success.  So allow me to pat some other folks on the back.

Folks Who Deserve Credit & Praise

• My Wife.  It’s hard being an entrepreneur. Really, really difficult.  But it’s just as if not more difficult for spouses.  They have to deal with much of the same stress, including the times you couldn’t pay yourself while you paid everyone else – all without being able to directly impact the company’s fortunes.  My wife Kristin has been so incredibly supportive.  I love you, honey.
• My Folks. My folks have done more for the company and me than I could fit into a blog post. Their support came in many forms and the company would not have survived the early years without it.  Many thanks to the rest of my and my wife’s family, too.
• Our Team.  Any entrepreneur, owner, or manager will tell you the single most important aspect of any company is its people.  We have an incredible team here who all deserve direct, immense credit for where DOM is today and where it’s heading.  Growing from 3 to 12 employees may not sound like a big difference, but operationally, it’s huge.  Thankfully the rest of the team – especially our managers, Heather Campbell and Kristen Perko – are waaay better at process than I am, allowing for scale.
• Our Clients.  We’ve been so blessed to work with an amazing group of clients, all of whom have their own amazing stories of success.  And we’ve made some great friends along the way!  Thank you for letting us help you.
• SBA.  If you’re a small to medium sized business (definition: under 5oo employees), you need to get in touch with your local SBA agents.  They offer so many resources: educational across the spectrum, even financial.  They are there for you and want to help.

The above is just a partial list as the band has started playing me off stage.  So many people – advisors, government agents, teachers, past bosses, mentors, friendly news outlets – deserve credit, too.  So please excuse me for not being exhaustive.