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Q: What brought you to Atlanta?
I
was raised in Wellesley , Massachusetts, but decided to come
to Atlanta in 1995 to go to college at Emory. I never thought
that I would stay in Atlanta after college but I was offered
a position in a sales and marketing training program at Coca-Cola;
the opportunity was too great to turn down. Over the years,
Atlanta has really grown on me and I couldn't imagine living
anywhere else. The climate ö both for business and the weather
ö is fabulous here!
Q: What do you do at West 44?
Recently,
I started my own company, West 44, LLC. My company provides
marketing and sales tactics to small businesses. Essentially,
I act as a part-time, contract based, marketing department
for small businesses who have marketing needs but don't require
a full-time, dedicated employee. In the sales arena, I help
businesses that need assistance in creating or modifying an
account management system, sales planning, and motivating
salespeople to meet their goals.
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Q:
What major changes have you made in your professional life
and how do you feel about making changes?
After
working at Coca-Cola for four years, I decided to leave to
attend the full-time MBA program at the Goizueta Business
School. Going to business school was stressful, but it was
the best thing I ever did. I always knew that I would go back
to get my MBA but leaving a great job with incredible benefits
was tough. I did not know anyone at Goizueta, and I did not
take a lot of the math courses in college (including calculus)
that might have helped prepare me for business school. Thus,
the economics, finance, and accounting classes were challenging
but I learned a lot about the content as well as my own ability
to get the work done. Having an MBA and good work experience
on my resume has given me a lot of confidence, but I am also
definitely willing to take risks.
About
a month ago, I decided to leave my job as the Director of
Business Development at Westwood One to start my own business.
This was a bit scary for me but in the end, I knew that I
would only be happy if I could create and develop my career
path on my terms. I love helping people create ideas to grow
their businesses but my real passion lies in helping them
make these ideas come to life.
Making
change is hard at first, but I am better at it now. I was
averse to change as a child, but now embrace it. A lot of
this stems from my experience at Coca-Cola. At Coke, I witnessed
a major company reorganization when I was only 21. This experience
helped me realize that change is okay, plans are made to be
broken, and you can't expect to work at one company for your
entire life. I learned that I needed to depend on my own network,
not my company's network, and to do that I had to leave Coke
and make my own connections. I learned that I had to continually
push myself to get outside of my comfort zone and continually
learn and grow. In the end, you are the one in control of
your life and you control your destiny.
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Q:
Do you have any mentors?
Yes, I have many mentors. I have mentors from school and work
as well as community organizations with which I am involved
I believe that you can't have too many mentors. One of my
most treasured mentor relationships stemmed from a client
that I worked with at Coca-Cola. It is truly the best situation
when your client is your mentor.
Q:
What do you value about being Jewish?
Being
Jewish is a central core of my life. The Jewish principle
of tikkun olam [usually translated as "repairing the
world"] is extremely important to me. Thus, my work in
the Jewish community is a priority. I am involved with the
young leader's group of the American Israel Public Affairs
Committee (AIPAC), The Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta,
and I serve on the board of directors of the Breman Home.
I grew up in a family where I was taught to give back to the
community ö both in time and treasure. My long-term goal is
to make a true difference in the Atlanta community. My husband
and I want to leave a legacy that we are proud of.
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