Leila Maidana-Holen

                                               “My faith demands–this is not optional—

                                              my faith demands that I do whatever I can,

                                                             wherever I am, whenever I can,

             for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference. “

– Jimmy Carter

What is a Mission Statement?

For me, when I see that question, the first thing that comes to mind is that I want to be the best person I can be.  I want to accomplish many things in the rest of my life and I want to be successful in school, work and life.  I excel at getting the most out of life, and I never say “no” to a challenge.  I would love to visit Egypt and the pyramids, and Paris in the spring.  Beyond that, I want to be happy, always a smile on my face, and to be considered a good friend.  The quote above by Jimmy Carter is one that I embrace, because I too want to make a difference.

I try and treat people fairly, but sometimes I need to have a connection with them first.  I would like to be treated like an equal, but I know that sometimes people tend to look at you differently if you are not one of the regulars.  I was raised that you are put on this earth to be a helper, be respectful and try your best.  I feel I have done that in my life.  And I want the world to be a better place for those who follow us.

I know that everyone has a bad day, but I do not want their frustrations to flow over into life, and affect me.  I try and make others feel better, but that is not always possible in life.  I have walked away from my share of “messes” but at least I tried.  I never tell a person “no” if they ask me for help and it is a reasonable request.  If I do not get a good vibe, I will refuse and hope that they do not take exception to my refusal.  One has to do what they feel is best. I desire a job in the non-profit sector because I feel that there is where I would serve the community the best.

When I graduate from school, I hope that I will be working with a non-profit in a marketing management role, raising money for their causes.  I am an introvert, but when I am passionate about things, I am fierce in my commitment and I am extrovert when I need to be one.  I feel that some days I will fail, but as the days pass and I am closer to my dreams, I feel that I will do well.

My goals short term are to finish school and obtain a job.  Long term goals include working for five to seven years in the dream job and walking away with the feeling that I accomplished something and made a difference.  I want to make a difference and I want to leave a mark in the world.

I do not feel that this is a final draft, as I feel that I am a work in progress and will never be truly done, as it is liking opening your eyes in the morning, you never know what life is going to throw your way and you need to go with the flow.

Life is best enjoyed and no matter where you land, you should make the best of it and bloom.  I once saw a dandelion blooming between the concrete sidewalk cracks, and to me, it was a person trying to bloom and grow somewhere you never would expect to find someone blooming.  Life is about taking chances!

My final thought is that in searching for my motto to live by, I found a website with inspirational quotes and readings, www.Beliefnet.com, which inspires a person to be their best.  We should all have that motto in life.

In the video, “I am Tyler”,  a video about a cerebral palsy young man, my first emotion was sympathy, which lasted less than ten seconds!  If Tyler was sitting in front of me, I am positive he would loudly proclaim, “Do not pity me”.  And I would not.

In high school, I had a friend, Gayle, who was in a wheel chair but not affected like Tyler.  We did not attend junior high school together, and I am not aware of the difficulties she may have had prior to our meeting.  She was a twin, and her twin was not affected.  Is that the correct word, or should it be “afflicted”?  She commanded interaction just by her personality, and she never lacked friends.  She even attended the junior prom, along with her mother and her date!  Gayle was something else, because she did not give up on life, nor did she feel she got the raw end of the deal.  And we did treat her like one of us!  Movies, the beach, the mall, and going out for pizza.  The wheel chair made it difficult at times, but we managed. Either we did not think of her difficulties or we let her lead the way, and if she was feeling up to it, then we were good to go.  Her parents encouraged her to do what she wanted, and we never did anything risky.  I remember there was a roller coaster ride we wanted to go on, but since not everyone could ride, none of us rode to be fair to the rest of the group. By attending college and obtaining a degree, she was able to life the life she wanted, on her terms.  It was rough, and while it may have taken her longer to graduate from college, she did graduate

My daughter, Shaynan, and I attended a wedding a couple of years ago, and there was a local couple with their daughter who was in a wheelchair and non-verbal.  Her parents took her out on the dance floor every time  the disc jockey played a dance with a peppy step, and spun her around and danced with her.  She even had a place in line when the bride threw the bouquet!  She did not catch it, but she did not leave empty handed, as my daughter gave her the bridesmaid flowers she herself had for the evening!  A smile is worth a thousand words and she just beamed!

Do I treat people differently if they are different?  No, my mother taught me that those who are different could be in your family, and you need to help others every chance you get.  And I have a maternal cousin who is mentally challenged and a cousin who has a daughter that has a severe form of cerebral palsy and is non-verbal.

I do not treat people differently, but if they need help, I step up and help in any way I can.  It pulls at my heartstrings because while I do not know personally what they are going through, I can imagine what they are experiencing, and may only be ten percent correct.

According to an article on the website www.thebalance.com, direct mailing is defined as a form of direct mailing in which letters, postcards, or other marketing material  is sent to past, current and future customers in the hopes of obtaining their business.  In many of these cases, the mailing is to a specific, identified,  target audience.  The audience includes consumers, as well as other businesses.

Advantages of direct mail campaigns:

• If the piece is well written and targeted, there is a good chance you will receive a positive response in return;
• Bulk mailings are cost effective in that they are less in the per-piece cost versus the United States Postal Service mailing costs.

Disadvantages include:

• Direct mail is perceived to be “junk mail” and thrown away once received;
• Expensive if no response in the form of a purchase is made.

Using Kent’s Camera Castle, the AIDA concept is shown:

What might be mailed out to the targeted market?  Those items include discounts and specials, useful items (calendars) or tips, reminders (a tax preparer may send out the upcoming tax year tax credits), samples and announcements.  Another form of direct mailing may be a newsletter announcing the upcoming events in a business and may include discounts and coupons for services.

How do you determine what a business may need to do in a mailing?  The steps are as follows:

1. Decide your goal of what the receiver will do once they receive the mailing.
2. Determine what type of mailing will be mailed out.
3. Create your mailing by writing directly what your goal is.
4. Have your mailing professionally designed and printed in order to get the customers in your door.
5. Identify your target market audience for your mailing campaign.
6. Contact your local post office about using bulk mailing, which is the most inexpensive way of mailing a direct mailing.
7. Do a test run of your mailing by sending to a select number of your target customers in order to evaluate the message that is being mailed? If you receive the response you would like, send to the remainder of the target customers.
8. Prepare your mailing and take it to the local post office.
9. Track responses to evaluate if direct mailing is effective in reaching your market.
10. Are we done now? No, to be effective, you need to hit a customer more than once with your direct mailing campaign. And what better way is to start planning the day after you get a mailing done!

The Costs for Direct Mail:

Design Costs $0-$100

Marketing Copy Costs $0-$100

Mailing List Costs $0-$.30/record

Printing Costs $.03-$2.00 person

Distribution Costs $.25-$2.00/piece

In using this information, I feel that the cost involved is worth a mailing to several target markets for Kent’s Camera Castle.  The primary group would involve the professional photographers and the secondary  group would entertain the photography buffs who want to enter the professional market. What would be my message?  A camera, information to gain interest and a possible discount to get the customer in the door.  While the project would prefer to not utilize a discount, I feel a small one would gather enough interest to get the target audience in the door. A picture is worth a thousand words and this sample would garner interest.  And once in the door, what else might they purchase?

The misconception I had about this assignment was that for such a small budget, a direct mailer would inspire 60% of the recipients to take action.  As this is over 50%, it would be worth looking into. And according to huffington post, 41% of those over the age of 65 do not use the internet and they would benefit from the direct mailer.

According to fitsmallbusiness.com., “Among U.S. respondents, 59% said that they enjoy receiving postal mail from brands and 70% feel that mail is more personal that the internet.”

Sources:

“Direct Mail Defined”, http://www.thebalance.com/direct-mail-defined-1794410, Retrieved 11/2/2017.

“Direct Mail Marketing-The Ultimate Guide for Small Businesses”, fitsmallbusiness.com/direct-mail/, Retrieved 11/2/17

Taylor, Scott., ’Why Direct Mail Marketing is Far From Dead”, www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-taylor/why-direct-mail-marketing_b_10627116.html, Retrieved 11/2/2017

Bruce, Jenna., “How Much Does Direct Mail Marketing Cost”, www.mediaspacesolutions.com/blog/how-much-does-direct-mail-marketing-cost, Retrieved 11/2/2017

Tonight, our Marketing Career Preparation class premiered our own websites, plus our instructor, Jennifer Nettell, allowed us a glance of hers.  In some ways, it was a learning experience for those of us who have not previously created a blog or our own website.  For me, it was a learning experience, but one that I embraced.  I am open to learning new things and while it was a challenge in the beginning, it was fun after I was able to connect the dots.

In the viewing of other websites, I enjoyed the ones that had a lot of personal information and the creativity and talent in construction of the websites.  In looking at my own website, I feel that I need to add more photos, and add a number of my favorite quotes.  It was suggested that we add a page of our favorite links, and I feel I should add a page of the books that I have found helpful, both on life and emotional health.

When I attended Western Technical College in the late 1990’s, I was enrolled in a Friday morning class similar to this one, where we created a map of where we came from and where we wanted to eventually be with our life and career.  We did not have a website of our own that included our blogs, pictures, quotes and reflections.  We did have a form that we filled in with our dreams, and who we wanted to be when we grew up, or where we wanted to go at that particular stage in our life.  I remember thinking at the time that life is what you make of it, you bloom where you are, and each situation you are in is a learning opportunity, to strengthen you or to help you become the person you should be.  In this class, we are learning to better ourselves, to give us confidence and utilize those tools that are available to us to better obtain the goals we have set for ourselves.  In returning to school, I hope to have the employment that will fulfill my needs in this stage of my life.