From a Friend to a Stranger

A Not So Obvious Problem
I don't how it happened after I lost my job mid summer last year. But somewhere along the way I got inspired about what was going on. How could I not know? How could I not see? Something that was probably more obvious than I ever imagined, and it was right there all along. Here in Orange county. And there in San Diego county. And definitely, in Los Angeles county. That something was and is, hunger.

I didn't see it because it is hidden. It is hidden because it is an ugly truth, and we don't want to see it. With all the beauty and wealth in this area,
why would we choose to see something so scary?
I didn't think it existed. How is that possible?

Until it arrives in your own backyard, or you read a compelling human interest story about it, or experience it personally, how could you know about our hunger problem? I didn't know until I started digging to learn more about it. How many people were affected by hunger. How many people choose to pay a bill instead of feeding themselves a meal. How many people don't have enough to eat every day. Startling numbers that impacted not only adults, but innocent children affected daily by not having enough to eat. Also I learned sadly enough, San Diego county has one of the least utilized food stamp programs in the United States, with the lowest enrollment percentage nationwide. Why? This insanely debt ridden state has dollars going to waste because of a lack of program use due to administrative hassles, making it difficult for those applying. The food stamp program was developed to feed those that can't afford to pay for food and to incite economic activity. Fair to say with a categorically low usage rate, the mission of the program has lost the focus of the original charter.

Startling Local Numbers on Hunger
Locally, estimates range from anywhere from 300,000-480,000 out of an estimated 3,000,000 in San Diego county fall into a category created by the USDA designated as "food insecure". In San Diego county, this directly affects 180,000 children. I wanted to know what does that mean? Does that mean sometimes they have enough to eat and sometimes they don't have enough to eat? The answer is basically. There is a reluctance to identify this as "hunger" anymore, because we are the United States and we don't have those problems that affect the rest of the world. Certainly not hunger. After all, the United States helps the rest of the world fight hunger. But, oh yes, we do have this problem, and it's a crisis. I guess the saddest part is that even though there are amazing collaborative efforts and organizations out there to help and resources focused on this, the problem exists and remains a crisis. For example, to break down the food insecure population in San Diego, 2/3 affected are head of household women and 1/2 are working families. Surprisingly only 12% are homeless and 10% are elderly. So this means that people for the most part are working, and working hard, and still don't have enough to eat on a regular basis. In our own backyard.

The Woman Who Came To My Doorstep
I was startled at my home earlier today when a woman was at my doorstep. I don't live in an urban area. The people on my street have owned their property for decades. It's a blend of owners who have old wealth, or had some good luck and timing, with many folks renting in between. Solicitors don't sell door to door in this neighborhood as a rule. But this woman today was selling tamales for $1 a piece. At first I was taken aback. I didn't stop to think for a moment why she was selling tamales door to door in Dana Point, just steps from the oceanfront, amass million dollar homes and views to die for. No, I bought her tamales and thanked her and sent her on her way. I didn't see that she might be hungry, but I could tell she didn't have much. And after all she was selling tamales, so she must have food. But after she left, I stopped for a moment to realize she was selling tamales door to door to pay for something. What would it take to get to the point where you were going door to door to sell tamales? The answer is very simple. Not having enough. In my own backyard. At that moment of that encounter, I was a friend to a stranger, buying tamales from her, exchanging money for food. This perfect stranger who came to my doorstep to sell me what she had made in her kitchen. And after I closed my door, it was only then, I began to wonder what was her life like. This woman was doing whatever it takes to get by.

As tears welled up in my eyes, I had a very spiritual moment and while I'm generally thankful for all the goodness in my life, at this moment I was ever more so. I wanted to go find her and talk to her. But the moment had passed as quickly as I shut my door after my purchase and our transaction. I thought, my life is not always not perfect or easy, but it's highly unlikely that I will ever have to sell tamales door to door to feed my family or to pay my bills. Or at least I think that is the truth. The image of her burns in my head like a photograph.

A Crisis In Our Own Backyard
And I think, in reflection, because we don't face that woman everyday or see her around our corner, or maybe we do see her and don't want to admit that image is what not having enough looks like... this is why we have a hunger crisis going on in this country. Amongst all this beauty and wealth, success, ambition and drive and having more than we ever thought possible as children, there is a dirty local secret. Hunger exists and it's in our own backyard. I didn't know about hunger. And now because of research and learning, coupled with personal experience, I do. I am inspired to share this message because how can you be expected to know about something, that isn't so obvious? I have to share the message and pass it along- I hope you do as well. And that is how ultimately we all can make a difference for a cause. The more people that know about the hunger issue we have between Orange and San Diego county, the better. It's a problem that will affect all of us in ways we can't quantify unless we stop and think about the impact hunger has on our communities in every aspect socially, financially and physically.

Meals4Hunger Mission: Eradicate Hunger Locally
I am consulting with Meals4Hunger, a non-profit organization, that is trying to make a difference in a socially conscious way. We invite you to learn more about Meals4Hunger. The organization is committed to sharing the most current information on this crisis and educating and creating awareness about it. Founded by surgeon Sunil Bhoyrul, MD, the mission is very simple, Eradicate Hunger Locally.

Let's face it. Hunger does exist in our own backyard. And it really shouldn't. There's plenty to go around. Or at least, more than we realize.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic.


-Jenn

Jennifer M. Cook







Office: 949.218.0958
Email: jenn@rejuvenatemarketing.com

What Defines You Becomes You

To Make a Difference
For my second blog, I spent a lot of time thinking about what I wrote, and accomplished or didn't, in my first blog. Did I do a good enough job of explaining how important it is and how relatively uncomplicated it can be to build your own personal brand? My goal for this blog is to help, inspire, and to assist and educate. Marketing for decades has been viewed as "making things pretty" or "advertising" or "logos". But really, I've come to appreciate that marketing has morphed into an appreciated skill-set and most importantly, often something that is inherently born in you. Maybe it's time to tap into what is inherently you...

In my career, with the exception of the big brand Intel, I have spent most of my time learning and then educating about marketing. I didn't really mean to teach it, but it turns out I always knew, inherently more than I thought I did. I think this is in part, because of my roles as an oldest child, being a leader in sorority in college and benefiting from working some cool jobs in college that exposed me every single day to marketing. But I didn't know that was marketing back then.

Back To Where You Come From
You think I'm kidding? As a child I would market what I wanted. For example, I put a "campaign" together to get my parents to take us to see the autumn leaves in Ohio. Yes, we held march in the livingroom supported by signs that promoted what we wanted our parents to do, and when, "now". Not the brightest of ideas, but it worked. This pattern continued throughout college, and I found myself in various leadership roles that required marketing. As Vice President of Sigma Kappa sorority, Vice President of Panhellenic Council and later President of Sigma Kappa, there was quite a bit of campaign building and marketing to do. Recruiting members, pushing projects forward and selling stakeholders on the plan. I never realized that marketing was something I was, and not something that I became.

After college and having only a general BS degree, I found myself starting out as an executive assistant. From two of these roles I was fortunate enough to learn more about strategy and "rejuvenating" tired brands. From another role, I learned more about membership recruitment and driving change through awareness, education, and branding. As I continued my career, the roles became clearly defined marketing roles. I wiggled my way into the club.

Researching, Practicing and Failing- Figuring Stuff Out
My point is that, I never knew I was doing marketing, but I've done it all my life. It is in my blood and courses through my mind every single day. I have marketing campaigns for myself to accomplish a goal. The big one being this year turning 40 and putting the plan together to be in the best shape I could be in a certain amount of time, and tracking milestones on my calendar. All my life, I learned marketing through experimentation. While I have a BS and MBA, most of my greatest experiences in marketing have come from researching, practicing and failing until I figure something out that is new to me or a challenge to me.

I woke up a few days ago with a vision that I needed to do a video to market my brand and business. In true Jenn-style, I had no idea how to do it, and no one to teach me. Just some time on my hands to learn. So 35 hours later, I produced my first marketing video. I'm ready to shout my brand out loud and proud. And, I did it 100% by myself and was able to incorporate photography of "rejuvenating" travel I've experienced. It was a challenging but rewarding project!

Give Me Something to Believe In
Ironically, losing my job was perfect timing for this transition in my life. Going back to my roots, I'm at that point of my life where it's time for me to transition from the business world and get into the business of making a difference in the world. It's something I've grown up watching in my family every day starting with my mother, and it's something I believe in. I'm hoping that this new video and my brand represent the very best of what I am now, but also demonstrate how much better I will continue to strive to be. What defines me is now truly becoming me.

Change Will Do You Good
In the words of Sheryl Crow, "a change will do you good". Try something new! Take a risk! Step out of your comfort zone! You might be surprised with what you are able to accomplish and how much you enjoy that sense of figuring out whatever it is that challenges you.

I can help you with your personal brand. Feel free to contact me. Happy branding!

~Jenn

Jennifer M. Cook
Rejuvenate Marketing
LinkedIn Profile
Twitter
Office: 949.218.0958

Rejuvenating Enterprise You!

You Are Your Brand
I thought I would begin my first blog post with a discussion on personal branding. The dreaded exercise we've had on our "to do" list for years. But have you stopped to think about or consider the value and importance on what a personal brand can mean for your career? If you are in marketing, I'm not sharing with you something you don't already inherently know. And you know it's not a difficult exercise for the most part, because you do this everyday in your job for someone else that is not your company. You have to do the work and dig a little within if you do this yourself and there are good resources out there I'll share in a moment. Or hire someone you can trust to do this for you. The goal is for that person to be able to channel what you think your personal brand is enough for you to be able to quickly differentiate yourself from many that might seem to be the same, or equal in value to you.

In a competitive workplace where layoffs are more common than ever (personal experience I can attest to), the minor amount of time it takes to invest in building your own personal brand is something Enterprise You can transport with you everywhere and anywhere during the course of your career. It's an investment in YOU.

You Can Easily Build a Brand For Yourself
You can do it! I'll share with you my story. My first layoff in 2006 was a subtle shock, but not a total surprise. I thought about after spending 6.5 years working for a Fortune 100 company, who was I, and what did I represent outside of the company brand I represented everyday internally to colleagues and externally to customers? It was a big brand (Intel Corporation) and likely a little too arrogantly, I associated myself and who I was professionally with the brand. Yes, even the "bom bom bom bom"! But when I lost my job, I realized that I didn't know MY brand and who I was outside of that tight association with the mega brand that I became to represent more than myself. During my research on branding, I was especially captivated by the word of Tom Peters (personal branding and marketing guru) and I give him credit for my personal brand transformation inspiration. Tom's online video will easily guide you through the exercise and this is an excellent short term investment for your long term career. I pretty much did what he advised to do, and the resulting brand I developed I have decided to carry onward into my career-regardless of where I land. I invested very little in the exercise other than probably about six hours of thought and strategizing, which ended up being very simple in the end. I also invested less than $300 on personal enterprise logo. Finally, I supported this brand by easily purchasing the corresponding URL, Rejuvenate Marketing, and in doing so very quickly and easily created a simple profile that is easy to update and has become a permanent fixture for my enterprise, Jennifer M. Cook.

Today I was at a networking meeting, in a room of 45 job seekers and very few had a personal brand I could pick up very quickly. There were many business cards, and many phrases, but not much that put a story together quickly. We are all aware that the market today and marketing in particular is very unpredictable. It's very fair to assume if you are a marketing executive that you will be out searching for a job every 2-3 years if you are lucky. Averages differ based on who you believe, but most recently the buzz is anywhere between 18-23 months. Yikes. That being the case, you have to consider yourself as your own enterprise all the time. Who are you? What colors represent you? How do you want to people to remember you? Do you have a quick phrase that represents what you do (outside of the standard elevator pitch)? How do you stand out in the crowd?

Your Brand Extends Beyond Where You Work
During my layoff the first time around, these were the considerations that I quickly focused my time on, and resulted in establishing who I was as an enterprise. Over time, I've found this branding exercise to be invaluable to me. I reinforce it easily with the color of the car I drive, the clothes I wear, the handbag I carry, the accents in my wardrobe. Everything I do and wear represents my personal brand when I need it to in business. Of course, I happened to choose my favorite colors, shades of violet and emerald. So for me, it's easy to make my brand "pop" when it needs to. I chose what works for me and what "rejuvenates" me daily.

When interviewing, I can tangibly demonstrate through my own enterprise, that I understand what it takes and means to build a personal brand. I do my best to represent my brand. Do you?

If you don't have a personal brand, I would seriously recommend that you take the time to think about who you are and what you represent. I guarantee you will stand out at some point, either in an interview or business opportunity, amongst the many folks that don't have one. And, marketing is all about differentiation. You do it every day as a function in your role at your job. Why wouldn't you do it for yourself?

I can help you with your personal brand. Feel free to contact me. Happy branding!

~Jenn

Jennifer M. Cook
Rejuvenate Marketing
LinkedIn Profile
Twitter
Office: 949.218.0958