We’re looking forward to introducing you to Dana Gordon. Check out our conversation below.
Dana, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What do you think is misunderstood about your business?
Such a great question. A common misconception that I’ve seen throughout the years is that marketing is a “nice to have” instead of a “need to have”. That goes hand-in-hand with the idea that marketing is a cost center, not a revenue driver.
Many organizations view marketing as an expense that doesn’t directly generate revenue. This perspective is outdated and can be detrimental to a company’s growth. Instead, companies should approach their marketing strategy as a long-term investment with a measurable return.
Even with more conceptual initiatives like brand awareness, thought leadership, and public relations, the end result is improved brand loyalty, better customer experience, and streamlined sales.
In today’s business world, marketing is crucial, not optional.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hello! I’m Dana Gordon, the President and Captain of Pirate Marketing.
I’ve been navigating through the stormy waters of marketing for over 25 years. I’ve steered amidst the economic doldrums of the early 2000s, the intricate tidal shifts between traditional and digital marketing, and ventured between Fortune 200 corporations and micro-agencies before launching Pirate Marketing in 2019. My favorite part of marketing is helping clients build their brand and chart their course to success.
Pirate Marketing provides full-service strategic marketing, communications, and advertising to B2B companies throughout the state of Florida. We’re unique because we understand how marketing and communications taps into every aspect of a business. We build deep partnerships with our clients to understand their business goals, and build achievable marketing strategies to support those goals with a manageable budget.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
At the age of 19 I moved to Florida to start anew. I was working a full-time job for $10/hour which seemed like a fortune to me. I had my own apartment (housing was much more affordable back then), a vehicle (that broke down constantly, but I was still thankful to have), and a new city that allowed me space to thrive. This experience taught me that I was capable of figuring things out on my own, and that I could trust myself to learn and grow and adapt.
What’s something you changed your mind about after failing hard?
I spent decades trying to climb the corporate ladder. Always willing to take on new projects and responsibilities. Chased promotions and pay scale increases. As expected, work got more demanding. I went from 50+ hours a week (which was fine, I’ve always been a hard worker), to 60+ hours a week, to 70+ hours a week. At which point I started to develop health issues from the stress. I eventually had to make the painful decision to walk away from my position. I was convinced that I had failed myself and derailed my career.
But after some time of reflection and seeing how many other colleagues and friends were also struggling, I realized that I didn’t fail at corporate America. It failed me. It fails most of us. I realized that corporate America isn’t the golden dream that was promised to us, and that we have to take the helm to navigate our own path to success.
That’s when I started my journey towards entrepreneurship, where I would not just survive but thrive by blazing my own trail, building my own circle, and giving my energy to people and projects that deserve my time and attention.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
I’ll always be committed to self-improvement.
For the rest of my life, I will do what I can to continue to grow as a person. There are many ways I consistently prioritize this goal: support the people around me, constantly learn, try new things, be open-minded, push myself out of my comfort zone, meditate and reflect, and always be grateful for what I have.
Ultimately, the only person in the world under our control is ourselves. Might as well make the most of it!
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Are you tap dancing to work? Have you been that level of excited at any point in your career? If so, please tell us about those days.
Yes! My work genuinely brings me joy and satisfaction. Even when working for some truly terrible companies and toxic bosses/coworkers, I’ve always loved what I did. Marketing/communications/advertising provides such creative, interesting, and challenging projects.
A perfect example of this is when years ago I worked at a start-up agency. It was chaos… no operational setup, all new employees, no direction or guidance or strategy or timelines or goals. But there was so much energy and passion – we were all flying by the seat of our pants. I loved every second of it because it was 100% what you made of it. A blank slate to build from scratch. It was incredibly exciting, and I loved going to work.
Thankfully nowadays there’s not as much chaos and disorganization. And I have such wonderful clients and colleagues, I look forward to each new day! It’s always different and it’s never boring.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://PirateMarketingPartners.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/Pirate_Marketing
- Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/DanaGordon
Image Credits
Credit: Dana Gordon
