switching careers — what are some of the first things to address?

Posted on August 15, 2011 by admin

(PICKING UP WHERE I LEFT OFF— Sorry it took so long to return and  add to my post, but here goes…   I describe somethings that can and should take place if you are planning on switching careers successfully)

More to smile about these days: "Doing what you love makes life more fun"

So, I began “LIFE– PHASE II” with about 20 grand in regular savings and I thought with such a small cushion I would have to work hard and fast to get my business running before I ran out of money. This has proved so true.  Twenty grand barely stretched out for about 9 months.  I gotta live. It pays to have your vehicles paid off and very little debt other than house note and monthly expenses when you decide to hang out your own shingle.

If you are going to make a big career change, and especially if you are going to start your own business,  get your ducks in a row.

As you may recall I  am switching careers: shifting gears from a National Marketing Director and former Advertising Agency Creative Director to a New Business Owner.  My businesses are marketing and entertainment support services. One features voice over talent under the brand of CrayonMouth Colorful Voice Over Solutions; I do 100′s of colorful voices for tv, radio other media.  The 2nd, and what is proving to be the more lucrative venture, features music for marketing and entertainment under the brand name of REDHOT JINGLE COMPANY. We do much more than jingles, but that is our hallmark.

Brother and Sister team has stared a new music production company featuring music for marketing and entertainment

Marty Morgan and Recording Artist Lorrie Morgan are the co-founders and owners of Nashville Jingle Service: REDHOT JINGLES

These are two things I not only do best, and do well, but two things I really enjoy doing.  Much more so that updating pivot tables on spread sheets for marketing budgets, planning exhibits for trade shows and helping to manage a million dollar campaign for Google Adwords.  These things are challenging and the pay is ok, but they don’t inspire me and they don’t make me feel self-actualized.

So following the advice of Apple founder, Steve Job, I set out to prove that “if you really want to be successful, do what it is you love to do”.

Me? I love making music and creating; voices, sounds, ideas, slogans, characters and stories.

So my big career switch is now on about 20 months in the making and here are few things I have encountered. ( I chose encountered versus learned for a reason.)

Lesson 1. What I thought would take 3 months took 18. Be patient. Real patient.

I needed to build my business platform: websites, sample reels, logos, letterhead, stationary, operating equipment, technologies, software applications, computers, audio equipment.  Nothing. Absolutely nothing happens fast.

I used 2 different website developers  for my two different brands.  It gave me points of comparison in dealing with both vendors and measuring sticks by which to gauge both team’s performances. A wise choice I think.  I took forever selecting the right teams and I even had to start over when a first-choice vendor proved less than reliable and less than original.  But I ended up with two great sites that work extremely well and rank incredibly good in the search engines despite a low number of inbound links.

If you have site that needs development, take your time and explore your options. From Go Daddy’s do it yourself templates to high dollars design firms, the options are endless. So set your goals, find some one you can trust, and some one YOU LIKE to work with.

I chose 321 Design Studio and The Horton Group: both out of Nashville.  Easily recommend them without reservation for jobs larger or small. They are 1st class at what they do.

The www.321designstudios.com  service is owned by Kirk Johnson. Honest, Hardworking, Diligent, Flexible and a Visual Guy with a razor sharp focus building brand. He built my CrayonMouth Voice Over site.
While www.hortongroup.com is owned by Ned Horton. This is a bigger shop with a few more people, but Ned only hires  the tech savvy and out of the box creatives.  Their sites are top of the line and created using DRUPAL Content Management so customers can add, edit and modify content on their own. They do great SEO as well, and built my REDHOT JINGLES site.

My businesses rely heavily on online visibility to attract customers so this was critical to my plan to have exceptionally strong websites that rank well.
But before this could come full circle, I needed names for company and those names had to have distinctive logos and brand imaging.  For CrayonMouth, I turned to my old buddy and one of the greatest visual artists I have ever had the privilege of working with: Illustrator Ernie Eldredge out of Birmingham, Alabama. He hit the nail on the head (after only 20 attempts) when he created the  crayon-mouth character “Bonkers” who become my logo art.
Bonkers the CrayonMouth Logo

The Logo Created by Illustrated Ernie Eldredge for my VO Business

Lesson #2.  Branding is not an exact science.  Trust your gut instincts to let your BRAND BE DIFFERENT. But make it relevant.
Boy o boy!  The old adage, opinions are like assholes…everybody’s got one.  Sure does come to life when you are creating a brand name and a brand image.
No way in hell are you going to pick something that every single person (your mom, your wife, your doctor, your son, your niece, your neighbor) is going to like.  So ask the pros.
I turned to people in the business and people with business savvy: My old creative director, Chuck Bua, some  marketing pros, a designer or two, a professional recording artist and celebrity (the know image), and yes a few close family members.
I especially rely on the very strong and candid views of my photojournalist son, Nathan Taylor Morgan.  It is always good to have a sounding board that challenges  practically every assumption you make.  It causes you to balance your perspective and avoid be totally one-sided.  As a respected Los Angeles photographer, I know Nathan has a qualified viewpoint when it comes to communications, visual design and eye appeal. As an upstart young entrepreneur, I know he is often in the same boat as I am.   But in the end, I made the final decisions.
REDHOT is how I want people to think of my Jingle Business and since  I offer COLORFUL VOICE SOLUTIONS, CrayonMouth is how I want people to remember my voice over service.
My REDHOT logo is a bit more sophisticated and was designed by Nashville senior graphic designer Sara Stanley.
Some people argue that the "O" is singing. What do you see?

Designer Sara Stanley with Horton Group designed this logo for our jingle and audio production service

She gave it that modern touch with it’s recognizable o-umlaut “O” that makes it so easy to spot and easy to remember.  Sara is another top of the line designer with a tasteful eye and a brilliant portfolio.

Once the decision is made, basically don’t look back.  Go forward.  And start thinking like a Guerrilla Marketer and begin to develop your personalized approach to customer acquisition. I have training in all of these maters but I begged,borrowed and stole from everybody and every source that offered insights and proven tactics.
We will get into that in the following post, but let me wrap this one up with a couple of key ingredients I have found to be essential in making a BIG CAREER SWITCH, like OPENING YOUR OWN BUSINESS. And, be certain, the life of an entrepreneur is not for everyone. But if you do decide to put out your own shingle, here’s a few handy tidbits.
  • Nothing difficult was ever achieved if you first must overcome every obstacle.
  • Don’t worry so much about the goal or the end result. You will miss out on all of the fun and exhilaration if you don’t stop enjoy the journey and the challenge of  getting there. I realized this at about 9months and now I get up each day glad to be moving forward instead of worrying about getting done.
  • Leap and the net will appear. (magnet on my refrigerator)
  • Surround yourself with positivity and positive people. One hour with NSAI Membership Director Sheree Spoltorie and you will BELIEVE YOU ARE BOUND TO SUCCEED.  She doesn’t just blow smoke.  She raises self confidence and helps locate the action items to move you to the next level. Optimism born of faith IS contagious!
  • Be your own best ad.  WIth a smile and an upbeat attitude announce to the world your new ambitions deliver your elevator speech with enthusiasm and confidence.
  • Networking has become the ladder to the stars.  Stay on it.
  • Every day may not be stellar, but any given day could be best day of your life. So count your blessings,not our setbacks.

This post was created by Marty Morgan of Colorful Creative.  Marty is the owner of a professional jingle service and does colorful voice overs for tv, radio and documentary features.

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The Spirit of Volunteerism — Alabama Tornado Relief Effort Truly Inspiring

Posted on May 18, 2011 by admin

On Thursday May 5th I headed south to Birmingham to lend a hand with the Tornado Relief effort around Tuscaloosa and Birmingham.  I own my own Jingle Production Company and Voice Over Acting Service in Nashville,  and did not have any client commitments or big plans for the weekend, so I thought why not go and see where I could help clean up and help people begin to put their lives back together again.

I brought chainsaws, ropes, trailer, 4 wheeler, wench, hand tools, yard tools, trashbags and crowbars  and my strong back and hands, along with a desire to make a small difference in someone’s life.  My family in Nashville chipped in gas money, food, blankets, clothes, flashlights and batteries. And, as always, prayers of support and protection.

When I saw first hand the destructive power of these amazing storms, I was awestruck and thought would my little contribution really matter in the scope of things. But I worked at two devastated neighborhoods during my 3 day visit and saw clear land where the was only rubble.  We cut wood and cleared debris in Holt and in Pleasant Grove.  A homeowner in Pleasant Grove named Mary who was an elderly school teacher whose house was in shambles, called us angles and said she was certain it was a miracle that me and my team of 16 volunteers showed up at HER house. Miss Mary’s closing prayer at the end of the first day: “Lord, we know that what we make with our own two hands last but just a short time, but what we build with the hands of God last forever.”

She also commented numerous times during the hours we worked picking through her belongings and sorting through the remnants of her life, “when you get served lemons, MAKE LEMONADE!”

Here is my favorite part of the story: Along side of me lending a hand were people from Colorado, Cincinnati, New Orleans, Dothan Georgia, Clanton , Huntsville, Hoover, and Birmingham plus other parts of the  country. That’s right, from as far away as Colorado and Ohio, people came to help.

Is that not cool? People are moved by compassion to work in the rubble and the heat for days without pay just because the human spirit has an underlying need to show love. Not just to be loved.

You can view some of the brave folks who helped and some of the incredible carnage at my Picasso Photo Share link: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=martymorgan615&target=ALBUM&id=5607742909965334193&authkey=Gv1sRgCNOxuovX-ciX6wE&feat=email.  If you cannot click on it, try to cut and paste it into your browser.

I know this doesn’t have anything to do with my Nashville jingle business or my voice over talent service, but it really isn’t ever about worldly matters anyway, its about doing things that matter in people’s worlds. Right?

Always with hope.  Tomorrow’s another day.

Marty Morgan

Creative Director/Vice President at RedHot Jingle Company — www.redhotjingles.com

Voice Talent at CrayonMouth Colorful Voice Solutions — www.crayonmouth.com

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The best Ad Lines of All times Continues

Posted on December 29, 2010 by admin

HERE ARE FEW MORE GREAT ADVERTISING SLOGANS THAT NEVER SEEM TO GROW OLD…

Oh students of advertising, Can you come up with better, more memorable slogans and tag lines than these? Go ahead, I dare ya. I doubel dare ya.

1. I’m coo coo for Cocoa Puffs

2. In the Valley of the Giant, Ho, Ho, Ho….Green Giant

3. Takes a licking and keeps on tickin. Timex

3. Aren’t you glad you use Dial. Don’t you wish everyone did?

4. Avis…we try harder (almost 50 years old)

5. Taste great. Less filling.

6. The best part of waking up…is Folger’s in your cup.

7. I’m a pepper, he’s a pepper…if you drink Dr. Pepper, you’re a pepper too.

8. Is it live…or is it Memorex?

9. When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.

10. You can trust your car to the man who wears the star? (Know the client?)

Would love to see other great ad lines you recall. “Betcha can’t eat one!”

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greatest ad lines of all times

Posted on October 5, 2010 by admin

drop your favorites in the colorful little box:

  • a kiddle eat the middle of an oreo first and save the chocolate cookie outside for last
  • we will sell no wine before its time
  • see the USA in a Chevrolet
  • wait’ll we get our Haynes on you
  • weekends were made for….

I am going to roll with this for a while

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CAREER SWITCHAROO – Colorful Creative Director Launches Second Career as Colorful Voice Over Artist and Music Man

Posted on July 29, 2010 by admin

Did you ever wake up one day and say to yourself: “Hey, wait a minute. This is not what I like to do or what I want to do.”

I did. Several years ago. Unfortunately it took a little longer to make the big switch than I wanted. I had been itching to make a move for several years.  Then I finally got the chance. And of course, getting laid off did not hurt either.  Spring of 2009 was big job-ender for a lot of us.

I was about 3 months away from resigning with enough funds set aside to give it a go when I got a visit from the executioner (code name for the HR Baricuda who handled “letting people go”).  So I took my pittance of a severance and began to craft my new battle plan.

Marty Morgan, past copywriter and creative director was about to become Marty Morgan Voice Over Talent and Marty Morgan Jingle Producer whether anyone liked it or not.

So began the months of preparation and the long tedious road to launching new side by side and parallel careers geared toward what it is I love to do — writing, making music, creating characters and acting with my voice.

I have always had strong pipes. I have always been able to captivate an audience.  Always writing and producing music with catchy hooks.  So why not build my wealth that way? Absolutely.

Several years earlier, someone sent me a commencement speech that Apple Founder, Steve Jobs gave to an Ivy League graduating class. His message was clear cut, simple and straightforward.  “You want to be successful — do something you love to do.”

Well it’s high time I once again follow my passion. So today I am.

Coming soon: More about what’s going on and a bit of how I got here.

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