Gold Leaf Strategies LLC Launches New Marketing and Consulting Company and “Referrals for Rescues” Incentive Program
A rare look into the other side of my life with Dan – sans leopard and the cat ears!
Many eons ago in an uncivilized world, I had another life. A life that involved cats, but only in the sense they were beloved household family members and I had a different job. A job that entailed executive administrative and marketing work, but it was long before AOL dialup was introduced to the mainstream public, emails, iPhones, Internet, Google, blogs, and Facebook. Thankfully I did live in a world with running water, electricity, cars, air conditioning, televisions, telephones with long black cords, and computers with the ability to create endless excel spreadsheets to save on what was called a “floppy disk,” or I don’t know how I would have survived under such archaic conditions…
I worked for a body armor manufacturer back then and it was also then that I met Dan for the first time in 1999. I happened to be married at the time and our relationship was strictly one of co-workers and I did not give it much thought other than that. Completely unrelated to Dan, I went through a divorce in 2003 and it was shortly after that time that we realized we had a great friendship developing and started dating. Eventually we became engaged, he moved in, 8 cats later, we have been an inseparable team ever since.
While you know Dan for his stunning photos of the Zee/Zoey gang and the incredible videos he does of them interacting, he is a brilliantly creative man outside of that and has a marketing background a mile long of successfully branding and positioning companies to unprecedented levels. When he and I were both laid off in 2009 on the same day, from the same company (another armor company), we dabbled with the idea of starting our own marketing company, but the reality of an upstart hit us hard and we were forced to find outside employment to make ends meet.
Well, as happens in life, times have changed again and we have decided we really want to make a go of our talents and have taken the plunge to start our own marketing and consulting company called Gold Leaf Strategies, LLC. We have combined our 30 plus collective years of marketing, administrative, and advertising talents with the simple goal and premise of developing and implementing powerful marketing and advertising solutions across an ever-changing range of marketing channels and media to deliver maximum results for our clients. We think it’s incredibly exciting, but here’s where it can get even more exciting… or at least I hope so.
As you well know, making the world a better place for cats and animals is my true calling and anything I can do to help is a joy for me. As a way of giving back to the animal advocacy community, we are pleased to offer a referral incentive program called “Referrals for Rescues” and it really is quite simple. For any prospective client that you might know who could use our services that you refer to us, any income that is generated in the first 6 months, we will donate 10% of the profits to a rescue or shelter of your choice. There are no strings attached. No expiration dates. Nothing complicated. We welcome business from any genre – from new upstarts to established businesses looking for a new and fresh image. We are trying to build our business and are quite proud of what we do, but we also want to give back in ways that are most meaningful to us and this is our way of doing that.
Please take a look at our website to see some of the projects we have worked on throughout the years so that you can become familiar with the quality of our work and our integrated marketing style. We realize you might not know someone right off the top of your head and that’s fine. All we can ask is that if somewhere down the road, if an opportunity pops up that you think would be a good project for us, please keep us in mind with the understanding that you would be able to help out a rescue or shelter at the same time!
Thank you all for listening, I know this isn’t my typical Zee/Zoey type of post, but if we can make a go of it, it really is all about Zee and Zoey because all I’ve ever wanted is the ability to live my life with a passion for what I care about, which happens to be helping cats and immersing my talents into a venue that is best suited for my creative personality. As I said last week, it’s time to think like a cat. The only way I will truly know if the grass is actually greener on the other side, is if I dare to believe in myself and take a look.
Thank you again all and have a wonderful weekend.
Congratulations on the new initiative…..sounds exciting and it’s always wonderful to redirect energy into something new that still supports your passions in life. Wishing you every success!
Pam (and Sam)
Thank you so much, Pam and Sam! The whole Zee and Zoey team appreciates your support and kind comments so very much!
Congratulations on the new business! I really enjoyed reading this not only because I love your writing but I I love you and I am happy to call you my friend. Now I know what Mr. Dan looks like and I will say ,he is quite handsome. I know he has a heart of gold like you. I am definitely sharing this post and I wish you the best in your adventures.
Carma – so glad you enjoyed reading the post and learning more about Dan. I am truly blessed – yes, he is quite handsome, but he also is such an incredible man and it is wonderful we can share our dreams together. Thank you for sharing and for your kindness – I am just so happy that we met as a result of blogging and I am also happy to call you my friend.
Congratulations to you both and I know your passion will drive you to success and your talent will be your GPS!
Brian – thank you and I love the GPS analogy!
Congratulations on your new venture! I’m so excited for you. It’s been a joy following your journey since we first met four years ago. I know you will be super successful, and the “referral for rescue” angle is brilliant!
Ingrid – coming from you, that is such high praise and I thank you so much for your words of support. I truly hope we can make a difference for the rescues and it makes me so happy to be able to share an offer like that to help out such a worthy cause.
Congratulations! Ill have to announce this on my other websites. So happy for you both! Let the adventure begin!
Thank you Riverfront Cats – if there is anyone I know who can help us in this regard, I know it is you!!! 🙂
I started my own organizational development consulting practice and made it successful until I closed it in 2011. You both have way more experience and creds than I ever had at the beginning and I know you will be a smashing success. What a marvelous venture to begin together. Wishing every success! Savannah’s Mom Linda
Thank you so much for sharing your story, Linda. I always like hearing how others have explored independent ventures of their own. Purrs to you and Savannah for the kind words of support.
Oops….meant to include I started the business 1988…
Congratulations, Deb & Dan!!! This is so exciting and I’m wishing you the absolute best in this new adventure! I looked at your new site and the projects you’ve highlighted…your work is simply stunning. I’m so very, very impressed. And of COURSE, I will keep it tucked in my back pocket in case I think of someone who could benefit from your expertise.
xo, GG
Thank you Glogirly and Katie – considering the enormous talent you have, I appreciate your compliments and support so much!!!!!!! xoxoxo
That sounds like a terrific endeaver especially it will help some rescue cats. We sure will check it out. We sure will keep it all in mind.
Thank you Marg – anything I can do to help rescue cats would be so wonderful!
Wishing you the very best in this new adventure! And how wonderful it is that you guys are beginning right from inception by giving back. Congratulations! If we hear of any company that seems a good fit for your talents we will most certainly steer them your way!
I appreciate that so much A Tonk’s Tail. What’s the point of it all if we can’t give back to what matters to us most…
Congratulations on your new venture, and I wish you much success! I am sure it will come, because where there is passion, success just can’t be denied. I love the referrals for rescues idea. I had to lol at aol dial up, floppy disks and phones with cords. What kind of planet were we on back then? 😉
Julia… it was simply barbaric back then!! LOL… thank you for the congratulations and kind words!
Congratulations Deb and Dan on your exciting new venture. You have all the ingredients for a winning formula and I wish you every success!
Thank you Layla – I do hope you are right and I appreciate the congratulations!
WOW – your website and past history of work are very impressive. If I hear of anything I can send in your direction, I’ll be happy to do that. I wish the both of you the best of luck and hope you are both successful at it.
Thank you so much, Mariodacat!!! We are so happy to hear you like our history of work and appreciate you keeping us in the back of your mind!
Congratulations! And we wish you all the best in your new endeavor!
Thank you so much, Island Cats!!
Concatulations on your new venture! We will keep fingers and paws crossed for you!
Oh Spitty! We surely can use all the crossed paws and fingers we can get… thank you!!!
I am grinning from ear-to-ear and am just thrilled for you both! I also visited the website and it is just exquisite!! I have no doubt that you and Dan will enjoy enormous success!
I also will keep you in mind and you know I will definitely pass the word to whomever would benefit from your services!
Best of luck and love!
Thank you Caren – being that you have a background in this sort of endeavor, it means the world to me that you liked the website and our portfolio of work!! Thank you so much for your endorsement and support!! xoxoo
Deb, this is huge! This means you’ve left the unrelated day job and are fully into this? That’s excellent! I’m so happy you and Dan can work together and finally do something that’s meaningful to you both, and including your love of cats is the gravy on the mashed potatoes. I’ll keep you in mind for certain! I hope to hear wonderful things about Gold Leaf Strategies in the next few months!
It is huge, Bernadette, but I have not made the full plunge from my day job as of yet. Still keeping it low key until we can get our feet wet, which I am hoping will be a reality soon!! Thank you for your support and your enthusiasm for what we are doing!!!
That’s a nice story, Deb. Anyway, that’s a great cause. I hope you will prosper in that endeavor. I wish there will be more people like you and Dan. 😀
April – thank you for your kindness. I hope that Gold Leaf will be able to help a lot of rescues and I appreciate your support.
Deb & Dan…wishing you both the greatest success in your new endeavor; hope to see you both on the cover of Forbes next year….all the best and continued success well into the future !~~~~~~~~ laura
Oh my goodness, da tabbies…aspiring for Ellen and Forbes!! Wouldn’t that be something!! Thank you so much for your support!
Congratulations on your new venture. I know you and Dan will make this a huge success. The website looks fantastic.
Since I work closely with a couple of organizations that could benefit from this I will keep my eyes and ears open for some referrals.
Hugs,
Judy
Squirrel Queen – I know the rescues are very important to you and I appreciate you keeping us in mind…