Advertising and Promotions: Fanfare Promotions Robert Bauman, Owner, Entrepreneur
MCTC offers a Business Speaker Series for students to learn from industry professionals. Robert Bauman is the owner of Fanfare Promotions, an advertising and promotions company. He decided to go into business with a close colleague when he was laid off from GE as a safety inspector in the nuclear and steam turbine industry. A mentor encouraged him to take this path and he got a master’s degree in Marketing. It wasn’t easy to go back to school at age 46, but he said it definitely worth it and made a huge difference for his business. Fanfare has been very successful creating “long-lasting” media (on pens, cups, shirts, etc.) for companies and creating brand recognition. Bauman offered business students an informal question and answer session as he shared some of his wisdom about the industry. These are some of the things Bauman shared:
Starting a Startup: The company struggled immensely in the first years because they never made a business plan. Bauman says you’re cheating yourself without a plan and you might not make it. He learned the hard way and advises to always have a plan. The plan changes, but you have to have one.
Work ethic: -Courtesy: always be polite and open doors. Anytime you can make someone’s day better, do it. -Attitude: he loves his job and gets to his desk by 6:30 a.m. every day. -Enjoyment: having fun at work is important. -Altruism: give back, share yourself, and get involved in community (Rotaries, etc.). -Image: DON’T look like you have $ signs in your eyes. -Value: he says that he makes sure his customers don’t waste their money. People think they are marketers because they are in business, but they are not. It’s his job to make sure their companies are properly promoted without wasting any money. -Generosity: Fanfare doesn’t charge money for consulting. They don’t want to be exclusive with information. -Honesty: ask clients what they want. Don’t try to convince them that they want something. Just ask.
Other notes about running a small business: -Be prepared for times of great paychecks and times of no paychecks. -You make the rules, you set the schedules. -Know your limit. Fanfare takes on 150-175 clients at a time. They are serving companies all over the country. Part of what makes them successful is they know how many clients they can take at once and still do a great job with integrity. It was important for them to stay small as a company, so that limits growth. -Get into a networking group. He regularly networks in a group of six professionals. He does marketing while another person is does printing, etc. They constantly refer business to each other because they specialize and do not provide all services. -Diversify your businesses for security. -Hire out or outsource what you can’t do well or what takes away your precious time. For example, Fanfare hires someone to do bookkeeping. It is important to find trustworthy help. Hire someone to do $20/hour work for you, so you can focus doing the $50/hour work.
Robert Bauman, Owner, Entrepreneur
MCTC offers a Business Speaker Series for students to learn from industry professionals. Robert Bauman is the owner of Fanfare Promotions, an advertising and promotions company. He decided to go into business with a close colleague when he was laid off from GE as a safety inspector in the nuclear and steam turbine industry. A mentor encouraged him to take this path and he got a master’s degree in Marketing. It wasn’t easy to go back to school at age 46, but he said it definitely worth it and made a huge difference for his business. Fanfare has been very successful creating “long-lasting” media (on pens, cups, shirts, etc.) for companies and creating brand recognition. Bauman offered business students an informal question and answer session as he shared some of his wisdom about the industry. These are some of the things Bauman shared:
Starting a Startup:
The company struggled immensely in the first years because they never made a business plan. Bauman says you’re cheating yourself without a plan and you might not make it. He learned the hard way and advises to always have a plan. The plan changes, but you have to have one.
Work ethic:
-Courtesy: always be polite and open doors. Anytime you can make someone’s day better, do it.
-Attitude: he loves his job and gets to his desk by 6:30 a.m. every day.
-Enjoyment: having fun at work is important.
-Altruism: give back, share yourself, and get involved in community (Rotaries, etc.).
-Image: DON’T look like you have $ signs in your eyes.
-Value: he says that he makes sure his customers don’t waste their money. People think they are marketers because they are in business, but they are not. It’s his job to make sure their companies are properly promoted without wasting any money.
-Generosity: Fanfare doesn’t charge money for consulting. They don’t want to be exclusive with information.
-Honesty: ask clients what they want. Don’t try to convince them that they want something. Just ask.
Other notes about running a small business:
-Be prepared for times of great paychecks and times of no paychecks.
-You make the rules, you set the schedules.
-Know your limit. Fanfare takes on 150-175 clients at a time. They are serving companies all over the country. Part of what makes them successful is they know how many clients they can
take at once and still do a great job with integrity. It was important for them to stay small as a company, so that limits growth.
-Get into a networking group. He regularly networks in a group of six professionals. He does marketing while another person is does printing, etc. They constantly refer business to each other because they specialize and do not provide all services.
-Diversify your businesses for security.
-Hire out or outsource what you can’t do well or what takes away your precious time. For example, Fanfare hires someone to do bookkeeping. It is important to find trustworthy help. Hire someone to do $20/hour work for you, so you can focus doing the $50/hour work.