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Happy November! Can you believe there’s only two months left before 2010 is behind us? Looking back at the uphill battle of starting a business amidst the Great Recession, I’m glad I can say time flew while I was having fun.

Milestone Marketing Associates is gearing up for the New Year, and while we’re certainly pleased with our progress to date, we have plenty of room for growth. So if you’re working on your business plan for 2011 and you need some help with marketing, please let us know. We want to help!

SAVE THE DATE

Speaking of the New Year, don’t forget to mark your calendars. On Friday, December 31^st Milestone Marketing Associates will host our second annual New Year’s Eve Party. If you like listening to great live music in a beautiful waterfront home amongst family, friends, and business colleagues, then make sure you plan to attend. Look for more details in the coming weeks.

In addition to announcing our biggest party of the year, I’d also like to let you know about a couple of major events coming up next week:

On Tuesday, November 9^th from 5:30 to 7:30pm the Suncoast Technology Forum will host a Healthcare IT event in the Keiser University Auditorium. Please go to www.suncoasttechnologyforum.com for more information and to register online.

And on Wednesday, November 10^th from 5:00 to 8:00pm the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce will host the annual Tri Chamber event in the Sarasota Bradenton International Convention Center. This year Milestone Marketing Associates will be exhibiting to be sure to stop by and say hello.

Until next week,

Matthew Anderson, President
Milestone Marketing Associates, Inc.

Last week’s update must have touched a nerve. It provoked more emails and comments than any previous post. Of course the solution to “Time devouring challenges” is to maintain balance, which was the general theme of each response.

And while that reaction was no surprise, I believe the increased number of responses reveals two interesting points. First, we all carry the weight of the challenge – so much so that it prompted many people to write. And second, it effectively ends the debate about the nature of this blog. The bottom line, more readers are engaged by personal insight than business information.

Of course my goal is deliver both – to continue blurring the lines between business and personal – because after all, they are one and the same.

By far the event highlight of last week was the Suncoast Technology Forum Techbyte Luncheon when City of Sarasota CIO Chance Craig addressed The Sarasota Broadband Question. We had a record attendance that included a number of elected officials, including Mayor Kelly Kirschner, who was quoted along with yours truly in a Sarasota Herald Tribune article covering the event the following day.

Based on the high turnout and the general level of interest in this topic, it is clear to me that high speed internet access is a technology trend that STF will focus on 2011. Stay tuned for follow-up STF events that will continue this important economic development issue.

Looking ahead to this week I anticipate the event highlight to come from Monday’s Business Ethics Alliance luncheon at the Hyatt. If you haven’t yet checked out this relatively new networking forum, then I urge you to take note. This month’s topic is “Does Journalistic Truth Now Mean Something Different Than It Previously Meant?” and includes a who’s who panelist of local media leaders.

Until next week,

Matthew Anderson, President
Milestone Marketing Associates, Inc.

Now that we’ve entered the best weather of the year, it should come as no surprise that 2010 is rapidly coming to a close. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and News Years are barreling towards us with barely enough time in between to catch your breath.

The good news is the top and doors are off my Jeep. Next we’ll turn off the AC and open up the house. Fall in Florida really is my favorite time of year.

Despite the lack of time remaining in the year for business, I am encouraged by the steady increase in new opportunities for Milestone. New leads keep coming in, and old leads keep popping up. Current work continues at a slow and steady pace, and the 2011 business plan is taking shape.

The unfortunate reality of this growing business is its negative impact on two things that are near and dear to my heart. The first is my volunteer time. Over the last twelve months I’ve met hundreds of people and made dozens of friends through my participation in various business organizations.

Of course I’ll do my best to maintain those relationships, but the reality is that I must shift my focus to paying clients. As our revenues grow to support the business we will begin to bring our freelance associates on board as fulltime employees. That may free up some time for more volunteer work, but I doubt it. The opposite is more likely as that level of growth will bring with it a new set of time-devouring challenges.

The second negative impact is more personal. My father was a workaholic. And while I don’t resent that aspect of my childhood, I do regret the fact that we weren’t able to spend more time together.

With each passing week I have a growing fear that my commitment to the success of this business is having an ill-effect on my family. Of course it’s easy to argue that I am doing this for my family, but that’s hard to justify when it severely limits the amount of time I can spend with my family.

Until next week,

Matthew Anderson, President
Milestone Marketing Associates, Inc.

On Sunday, October 10^th my wife and I celebrated our 12^th wedding anniversary. A few weeks ago I reported that it would be our 11^th anniversary. I can tell you my error was not well-received. Fortunately, we’ve had so much going on between birthdays and anniversaries, and family visiting from out of town, that my mistake was overshadowed by bigger emotions.

For the last three weeks we enjoyed the company of Dana’s twin sister, Linda, and her (now 9-week-old) son, Jack. I’m pretty sure the kid grew about three inches before our eyes. It’s truly been a pleasure having a newborn around again.

On the Milestone front, the fourth quarter is off and running with no signs of slowing down (unless you pay attention to economic forecasts). We’re knee-deep into next year’s business plan; anticipating sales growth, extending our marketing reach, and fine-tuning our business processes.

Last week I helped produce an Ad Fed event – our Fall TV Preview. Thanks again to Alex Stafford, Ad Fed events chair, for pulling this together and a special shout out to Violeta Huesman for hosting our event in the Keiser University Auditorium.

Of course the big event coming up on Friday of this week is the LWRBA Car BQ out at the Polo Club followed by the big 15-year party for Lakewood Ranch. For more information about either event, please go to www.lwrba.org. Looking forward to it!

Also on Friday is the Sarasota Chamber’s 90^th anniversary luncheon at the Ritz. I’m looking forward to showcasing the three 30-second commercials that we’ve been working on over the last few weeks with the Amendment 4 task force.

And coming up next week on Tuesday, October 19^th is a very special STF Techbyte Luncheon. City of Sarasota CIO, Chance Craig, will present his report entitled The Sarasota Broadband Question. Sign up at www.suncoasttechnologyforum.com.

Until next week,

Matthew Anderson, President
Milestone Marketing Associates, Inc.

Last week was a whirlwind of activity that culminated with our anniversary party at Hyde Park Steakhouse. It’s official. Milestone Marketing Associates is one year old.

Over the next 90 days we will revise our business plan. While I don’t expect any earth-shattering changes to come out of the process, it’s time to update our financial projections and we need to refine our marketing plan.

Unlike last year, we have 12 months of historical data to factor into the plan. We also have real clients that represent real revenue. And we have known projects that will carry us into 2011. Armed with this information and the confidence that comes from a year of experience, Milestone is ready to grow.

We started this business during the worst economic climate since the Great Depression. Now we have a growing roster of paying clients coupled with a reputation for getting things done. As I look to the year ahead, I am excited about our future and remain confident in our ability to succeed.

Until next week,

Matthew Anderson, President
Milestone Marketing Associates, Inc.

This is a very special week for Milestone Marketing Associates. On Friday, October 1^st we will celebrate our one year anniversary. Looking back, I am amazed by a couple of small but important details – like the fact that I’ve been writing this weekly update for 59 weeks (the first one was on August 17, 2009). Another interesting number is my list of contacts which grew over the last twelve months from about 200 to 1,000 people.

That’s a lot of networking. I would like to thank everyone for their interest in Milestone, and especially all the loyal followers of this blog. Each week I only receive a couple of email or comments about the blog, but just about every week I run into someone who says, “I love your blog and look forward to reading it every Monday.” I can’t tell you how gratifying that is to hear.

On tap this week is a special project. For the last couple of weeks I’ve been involved with a Sarasota Chamber task force on Amendment 4. While I’d rather note use this forum for politics, I am excited to share that we’re working on a series of testimonials videos featuring local politicians and community leaders expressing their stance on this important issue.

I also have a number of interesting events on the calendar this week including today’s Business Ethics Alliance luncheon at the Hyatt, the Manatee Chamber’s T.I.P.S. – Tech In Plain Speak session on Wednesday morning, a networking event with AdFed and the FPRA on Thursday evening, and of course, the Sarasota Chamber golf tournament on Friday afternoon.

Until next week,

Matthew Anderson, President
Milestone Marketing Associates, Inc.

This weekend I’m playing golf not once, but twice. On Friday, October 1^st I’m playing in the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce golf tournament. And this afternoon at the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance events committee meeting, it’s time for me to rally the sub-committee so we can start planning next year’s tournament.

Over the next few weeks we also have quite a bit to celebrate. This Saturday is my wife’s birthday, and since her twin sister is visiting from New Jersey with her 8-week-old son, it’s going to be extra special.

Also on Saturday the Siesta Key Kiwanis Club will install new officers kicking off our tenth year of serving children in our community.

Also on October 1^st Milestone Marketing Associates will celebrate our first year in business.

My oldest daughter turns eight on October 5^th, and my wife and I are celebrating our 11^th anniversary on October 10^th.

On October 15^th the Chamber will hold its 90^th Annual Membership Meeting, and Lakewood Ranch will celebrate 15 years since the first lot was sold.

That’s a lot of celebrating. Hopefully we’ll find time to get some work done!

Until next week,

Matthew Anderson, President
Milestone Marketing Associates, Inc.

Milestone Marketing Associates is working on a fun project for the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce. In exchange for sponsorship exposure and two registration fees, we designed the flyer for this year’s golf tournament. We also designed a matching tee shirt, and here’s the ad that’ll run the chamber newsletter:

Are there two golfers out there who might like to round out a foursome?

Don’t forget about next week’s STF Techbyte Luncheon on Tuesday, September 21^st featuring the president of Ringling College of Art + Design, Dr. Larry Thompson.

Until next week,

Matthew Anderson, President
Milestone Marketing Associates, Inc.