My Story...
I founded The Houlahan Group to help small businesses grow. I've been interested in sales and marketing since I set up my first lemonade stand. Actually, I tried to sell just about anything from my driveway.
I was definitely a budding entrepreneur.
Not long after I graduated from the University of Ottawa I got a lucky break when I landed a job at one of the largest advertising agencies in Ottawa and spent the next 12 years in the incredibly creative world of advertising & design - doing everything from quality control and media buying to research, strategic direction and account management for clients like Export Development Corporation, The Canadian Dental Association, The Petroleum Products Institute, Mitel Semiconductor and Texar Corporation.
Then I took what seemed like a logical next step…I moved over to the “client side” and spent the next 5 years as a marketing communications specialist in large and start-up high tech companies. It was my short stint at GotMarketing (a company on the cusp of on-line marketing) that ignited my passion and fascination for email marketing. They created an email marketing tool – one of the first. And it was groundbreaking.
It was around that time that I was beginning to feel like I needed to chart my own course and work with my favourite people - small business owners. I knew how powerful permission-based email marketing was and I wanted to share this amazing tool - and the amazing growth potential - with them.
I launched The Houlahan Group in 2001 so I could work with small businesses on a contract basis to act as their part-time marketing department...to help them improve relationships and build trust with their customers, reduce stress, improve and grow.
The Houlahan Group evolved from a purely email marketing service and expanded to include marketing strategy, content creation, website development and social media strategy as these channels proved to be interdependent.
I was definitely a budding entrepreneur.
Not long after I graduated from the University of Ottawa I got a lucky break when I landed a job at one of the largest advertising agencies in Ottawa and spent the next 12 years in the incredibly creative world of advertising & design - doing everything from quality control and media buying to research, strategic direction and account management for clients like Export Development Corporation, The Canadian Dental Association, The Petroleum Products Institute, Mitel Semiconductor and Texar Corporation.
Then I took what seemed like a logical next step…I moved over to the “client side” and spent the next 5 years as a marketing communications specialist in large and start-up high tech companies. It was my short stint at GotMarketing (a company on the cusp of on-line marketing) that ignited my passion and fascination for email marketing. They created an email marketing tool – one of the first. And it was groundbreaking.
It was around that time that I was beginning to feel like I needed to chart my own course and work with my favourite people - small business owners. I knew how powerful permission-based email marketing was and I wanted to share this amazing tool - and the amazing growth potential - with them.
I launched The Houlahan Group in 2001 so I could work with small businesses on a contract basis to act as their part-time marketing department...to help them improve relationships and build trust with their customers, reduce stress, improve and grow.
The Houlahan Group evolved from a purely email marketing service and expanded to include marketing strategy, content creation, website development and social media strategy as these channels proved to be interdependent.
