Welcome to mind your own marketing business podcast, where we explore marketing trends and technology, gaining insider knowledge from the industry's best Fjord is proud to present mind your own marketing business with host Joe Barsness.

Thanks for joining us on the Mind Your Own Marketing Business Podcast. I'm Joe Barsanus from  web and software development team, Fjord. And today in  our show, we'll be talking with Dan Bauer from Bauer and Associates. Welcome to the show, Dan. 

Joe, thanks a lot. Real pleasure. I'm

excited to be with you.  

Absolutely. Uh, you know, as always, I like to start off with  a little bit about you, Dan. I know you have a, a, a   background  in  the advertising marketing area. How did you get into that industry and kind of what different steps have you taken throughout your career? 

Well, I got to go way back, Joe. Uh, it started when I was about

16.    

Wow.  

yes. So I visited an ad agency with my best friend. The agency was run by his uncle and I became  fascinated, mesmerized by the vibe and the energy   of this agency. This was in Cleveland. And, uh,  I left, he gave me a big stack of Advertising Age magazines.  

Sure. 

my summer sort of pouring through those and it just seemed like the right place for me. I always I also grew up as a  media junkie.  There was always a radio or  a TV on.  And so those things kind of converged. And I felt like. The ad industry and the ad world  back then was really a calling for me.  So I studied, uh, journalism and advertising, um, at Ohio university. They had a really good program in that, fortunately for me.   and, uh,  that  confirmed my passion for it. Um, and, uh, I was determined that that would be my, at least the

start of my  career.

Wonderful. And so you, you did, uh, maybe a few, a few stints at larger advertising agencies. 

I did, I was really fortunate. I was again, very determined. And I got a job at  a, uh, Great agency in Pittsburgh,  uh, called Ketchum McLeod and Grove. It's now part of the

Ketchum

Sure. 

world, but I was really fortunate, very hard field to crack into. And,  uh, I just, uh, was determined to get it, got that  job right out of college.  uh, about three and a half years in Pittsburgh  with that.  Uh, then one night got a  late night call from a mentor who told me about a job at another agency. Sounded  really good. Great clients. Part of the DDB   Needham world. And the agency happened to be in Honolulu,

Hawaii.  

Oh, wonderful. 

uh,  you know, I was a Midwestern kid and, uh, that was pretty foreign to me.  Something said that was, that would be a good  move. And so I  it out. I flew out from  Pittsburgh to Hawaii for,  two days and one night and fell in love with it. And, uh, 13 years later, left

Hawaii. 

Oh, wow. And and how was coming back? Was  it?

it was great. it was

great.

Yeah.

you know, I had done it all, seen it all. I had gone from the agency side to  the client side and I was head of marketing for bank  of Hawaii. Those last, uh, let's see,

last six years   uh, um, decided   that what I needed at that point was an MBA education. That  same  I had for advertising  and journalism had meant that there were not a lot of numbers in

my education.

Of    course. Sure. 

side of my brain that really appealed to me at that point. So, um, I had been exposed to enough  of the banking world that I realized that I  needed both. I needed the strategy marketing side and I needed the, you know, core business numbers side.   And so, um, with two young children   and a wife who had a great career and friends in Hawaii, I figured it had to be a good school for me to leave to  get that MBA.  so I applied to Harvard  business school and voila was lucky enough to get admitted and, uh, never looked

back.  

Wonderful. And then I know, um, I don't know if there are a couple other stops, but then I know you started your own organization. You want?

were a    couple of other stops,

corporate  stops.

Okay.

out  of, out of Harvard, I went to Citibank, uh, back to banking, but on a,  on a national level now I was VP of national marketing,   uh, with Citibank in Chicago, uh, then recruited to  MasterCard from there where I got now my global  experience, senior VP of global marketing for their debit business.   and, uh,  that point, uh,  decided to become an entrepreneur. Um, city, I'm sorry, MasterCard  wanted me to relocate to New York. And at that  point, family, I'd move them from Hawaii to Boston to Chicago and,   know, by a vote of three to one,  uh, we stayed in Chicago. And so, uh,  at that point I decided, you know,  what are my passions?

What are my interests? Where can these  things converge? Marketing, strategy,  and then the higher ed piece  of  student  was phenomenal.  life changing and mind

altering. It    

Sure.  

So, um, along the way, I have been an alumni interviewer for Harvard business school and enjoyed that very much. And I said, okay, I'm going to start  a business advising and counseling   somethings about their careers and their education. And that led me to start my business over the next 20 years, which was named the MBA

exchange.  

Oh, cool.  Wonderful. And is that, is that now transitioned into what you're doing today? 

Yeah. So I sold that business in 2016. We had made the Inc 5,  000. I had grown it to about. 90,  uh, consultants, um, around the world. And I  loved it, but I had an opportunity to exit,  which all good entrepreneurs think about and dream about. And so I did  that. And, um,  then, uh,   since 2016,  could pay full  time attention to what I had started before the  MBA exchange, which was marketing consulting. I had started  on my own with that.  my network,   and did, uh,  you know, marketing  consulting projects for a variety of companies.  So  retired for a weekend in 2016   and then and and and returned to marketing consulting  with Bauer and Associates Which I continue to

this day.  

Wonderful. What a, what a cool story. You've had all the different things that could happen in.  📍

love the corporate chapter

the  early

Sure.  

I love the education part of it, which was you know, a real intellectual  boost and then   the consulting side which is You know,   on myself and, and, uh, uh, immersing myself in  an infinite number of industries and companies where

I knew nothing  

Yeah.

able  to, you know, get some traction and then the entrepreneurial experience of  launching a brand and launching and growing a business. 

Uh,  yeah, I've, I feel very fortunate to have had those

chapters.  

And, and now that you have all of this experience and you're doing this consulting style,  Of, of, uh, of employment, I guess you could  call it right now or business ownership,  what,  why would you want to   like, do that? Is it about   sharing your experiences? Is it about, uh, like kind of like a, a simple way  to have your own schedule?

Like what makes a  person like you kind of maybe start to close out a career with, with that sort of an experience? 

Sure.  know, a number of things. One is I love the flexibility of it.  day is really an adventure and

something new.  

Sure. 

I love the breadth of it  appeals to me, frankly, from the Harvard  MBA  studies, which was a case based  model where every day I was  know, the protagonist in a unique, challenging,  complex business situation  and  with limited information and limited data, had to make some hard decisions, uh, and support them, uh, and gain  buy in for them.

And so I love that,   again, the sort of breadth and latitude of working that way.  and, uh,   You know, the freedom of being able to do this remotely,   you know, when COVID rolled around, frankly, I had no trouble with that because I had been working remotely and, um,  at my own pace, um, you know,  feeling very disciplined

about it and focused, so I just kept rolling.

And so, uh, probably those things, um, I think,  uh, you know, lead me to feel that this  current chapter is one I'm going to stay with. As long as I can, but I don't want to, you know, I don't want to cut it off at that. There's another  venture that I launched in 2019   adds a lot of satisfaction to what I do. And that was founding an entrepreneurship summer program for high

school students  

Oh, cool. 

that started in 2019. And that continues to this day. And that's a real source of passion for me. And I'm happy to, you know, answer any questions I can

about that.  

Yeah. Well, I would love to hear about that because as you know, one of the reasons that we connected was from the American Marketing Association in Chicago, um,  which you have so many accolades, but I believe  you had told me that you were the president of, of that organization, um, a while back and I'm involved in that organization now. 

I was, yeah, I was the chapter president in

Honolulu.     

Ah, cool. Yeah, 

And so, uh, that was, you know, a highlight of my career as well.   You know, not only enriched my  knowledge of marketing, but it also  my  network  nationally. I was  able to go to conferences and, uh, meet a lot of folks and   really was an important chapter.

So I, I'm,  I really value my, uh, AMA days, uh, very

much.  

yeah, yeah, absolutely. So I do want to jump back to, um, the, uh, kind of the mentorship   that you're, that you're, that you're doing.  I want to hear about it kind of from both sides, you know? Um, I know that it sounds like you kind of have that from your days  of doing the consulting business and now you have it through this high school  program.

You know what?  Like from your side.  What, what drives you to  do that? And I guess from the side of  the person looking for a mentor, like what's the best way to get value from that experience? 

Um,  you're really into something near and dear to my heart here. So a  lot of the motivation for this. Was the incredible good  fortune I had.  I've had to have amazing mentors   in my career from day one.   Um, these were,  you know,   typically older people who I was, I was the rookie  and they were the sage. And so they were so gracious to me and,   giving and challenging to me.   Um, I, they became friends and inspirations and   role models and all that rolled into one.   And so this had such an impact on me that I  You know,  it and   that when the time came in my career, when  perhaps enough  gray hair and enough experience would be,  uh,  that someone might listen

to me as a

Sure. 

um, that I would do that.

And it was kind of a promise I made to myself.  so, uh,  um, I find it, it, it, it,  it satisfies.  The same   needs and passions as my, you know, paid business consulting because I'm  contributing ideas and I'm assessing,   you know, doing a SWOT on   a person and or their activities, uh,  and, and, uh, advising them, always giving them actionable feedback, never  judgmental feedback, but always actionable.

And it's very satisfying  to do that.  you know, a pat on the head, a pat on the head or a kick on the butt doesn't mean much unless.  The person receiving it knows what to

do with it.    

Yep. 

And so that, that mindset was there. So from my standpoint, intellectually, emotionally,   know,    ethically, it feels really good and I enjoy doing it. Now from the mentee's standpoint,   again, I understand and relate because I  was that  mentee and  it again made all the difference in the world for  me. It added to my confidence. to my knowledge, to my  skills, to my exposure, um, all those good things. So, um, a,   especially now during the summer program,   um, with the high school of students, um, when I see that sparkle in the eye of a student  that wants to learn,  wants to  do it the right way, instead of the easy way,  may not be able to define   ultimate goal, but they know. It's,  you know, advanced and elevated from where they are today.  That's the traction  that I need. That's all I look for. And  so, um,  um, I'd love to engage with them. One of the things I do with the summer program, which  I'll, I'll tell you more about it in detail in a moment, but one of the things I  do as sort of.

Entrepreneur in Residence and Lead Mentor is provide what we call office  hours. So near the end of the session when the  students are  crafting and refining the business idea, they're going to be  pitching  a  panel of  CEOs on the last day.  I'm  Sort of the grim reaper there on the  day before firing them, firing  questions and giving advice and,  know, probing below the surface so that they'll be prepared to   advocate and defend and convince  the panel of the merit of their idea. And so this sort of intense back and forth   with these students is, is,  uh, fun and gratifying. And again, I look at it from their standpoint.   And they're just a sponge, you know, sucking  all this in. Then the next day during the pitch, when I see some of that, not all of it, but I see some of it being reflected  in what they're doing. Um, it's very gratifying  for me and many of them keep in touch and I track their, you know, through LinkedIn,

track their,  

Progress.

Educate.

Yep.

or educations. Um, and, uh, that's, that's the ultimate

payoff for me.

Yeah.  I remember something sounds similar. I don't know that we had mentees, but we certainly had teachers. And, um, I was in Deca when I was, um,  in high school and we did that kind of a thing and got some feedback.  And then we went in front of a real, you know, a panel at the event where we presented and did, you know, I did a couple of different, I don't know what you call them now, but events and, and that was, yeah.

was   judged

for DECA  

Sure.  

during my Hawaii days. So,  I get it and it is a lot of fun and it makes a big difference for both the mentor and the

mentee.  

Yeah. A hundred percent. It was like for me who didn't really know what I  wanted to do  when I was, or where  I wanted to go to school, like going through the DECA thing and figuring out that it was definitely  a business related field that I wanted to  be in. And I ended up doing a marketing degree and, and, and,   and spending a lot of my time in, in that world, not  necessarily as a day in day out marketer for all of my career, but definitely there's   pieces of it.

Um, every day. And so,  yeah, thank you. And to everybody else who's, who's mentored, um,  you know, certainly there are impacts beyond what you can even see.   Uh, so Dan, I want to talk about a  little bit about what you're consulting on  these days. What, what sort of challenges are you    seeing or best and or best suited  for?

Helping solve what, what, what's, what's in your world right now? 

So the focus of my Uh, consulting these days is primarily on, uh, branding, uh,

projects.  

Okay.  

I collaborate with a branding agency based in Chicago named Monogram  Group.  and  this is a long time friend, uh,  is the CEO. He was a former client of mine,  uh, back in the day. And, uh, we've been collaborating, uh,   Uh, since 2016, uh,   extensively.

So these are branding projects typically for private equity owned   portfolio companies,  uh,   middle market,  um, and typically B2B some B2C, but typically

B2B,  

Okay.  

um, and  my, I I'm sort of the forward observer. I I'm, I'm, uh,  Jumping out of the plane and landing behind the battle  lines. Um, and my focus is on really two things, um, stakeholder research and competitive

analysis.  

Okay.  

for the stakeholder research, I'm interviewing, uh, senior managers and client facing   managers  the client organization  to get their take on the company, the industry, the market, the competition.  And then I'm interviewing,   uh, key customers, um, who are  representative of their customer base. And, uh, and their prospect base, frankly. And    as an objective third party, I'm able to ask questions that  perhaps the client company could not ask to learn about preferences, satisfaction, alternatives,   um, you know, uses unmet  needs.  loyalty, things like that.  I'm gathering all this data   it  give actionable   inputs to the branding process. So working in alliance with the  branding agency, I'm feeding my  observations, recommendations, Into the process for, uh, messaging, targeting,   uh, that sort of thing. Um, because I,  I, I'm, I'm a true believer in that. If you ask the right people, the right questions,  you'll know what

to do.  

Sure. Yeah.

branding is far too important to a company to rely on, uh,   you know, a roll of the dice. And so by asking  stakeholders, um, uh, you know, and understanding   the strengths and weaknesses and opportunities and threats.   From their eyes, my inputs to the branding process can  be a real world and actionable, right?  So then I remain with the project, uh, and I do competitive analysis.  I'm looking for gaps and overlaps in how the competitors   are serving the same market  as inputs again to the branding  and messaging process. Uh, for my client,  um, if there's, uh, you know,  three  competitors that are saying the same thing,  in  slightly different ways, um, rather than jump into that fray and be the fourth,   identify ways to differentiate  and, uh, rise above the, the noise. So that sort of thing. So I'm feeding

those inputs  

Yeah. 

process as well.  

Got it.

so.   And then from that point, I'm the voice of the marketplace and the voice of the client, uh,  throughout the branding and creative process,   I'm  reminding and reinserting my observations and  recommendations from the research and the, and the competitive  analysis  that those remain relevant. in the forefront of what the branding content   and strategy  will be. And  so that's, that's the, you know, that's the overview of the projects that I'm doing these

days.  

And it  in, in the short time I've gotten to know you seems like something you probably really enjoy. 

Totally love it. Totally love it. It's I'm back in the, you know, it's back to that Harvard case study world, except these are  real world cases, you know, real world  businesses, but it also allows me to tap into that mentoring and coaching. know, side of me that I, uh, had mentioned earlier   because I'm not just dumping a written,   stack of notes into the project, but I'm there advocating and presenting and defending and, you know,   reinterpreting the findings and the  analysis and the recommendations along the way. So it's that interaction. That's just a real kick for me and makes me look forward to

each day.  

Oh, that is awesome.  That is so cool. And,  uh, and you're doing that, uh, mostly in the  Chicago area and do you guys have an office or anything like that? 

so the client it's, it's generally remote.  I split my time between Chicago

and Nashville.  

Okay, 

And so, uh, but the

clients are everywhere.  

sure. 

are including international. So, um, again, with most of it happening  remotely, but the occasional client visit,  um, you know, it's, it's, uh, not anchored to anyone, uh,

geography.  

Got it. Got it. Perfect. Perfect. Well, Dan, it's been wonderful speaking with you  today. So cool to hear about your background,   where you came from, how you got to, to where you are and, and the impact that you're, that  you're driving today, both with young people and  business and brand. Um, seems really fulfilling from, from my  perspective.

So thank you for sharing your story.   Unfortunately, that's all the time we have on our show today. Um, and 

give one plug,

yes,

to.

absolutely. 

Okay. This is, this is, uh, important. This is the summer, uh,  Entrepreneurship

program for    

Yes, absolutely. 

hopefully there are listeners out there that, uh, you know, are supportive   of this kind of thing, either their own kids or  neighbors or relatives. Um, and, uh, I'd love  to have their, have them check it out and, and consider  it.

So, the program is called Business and Entrepreneurship,   powered by Inc. Magazine.  are the sponsor who I recruited. Um, the  curriculum is provided by another terrific organization  called the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship.  the camp  partner that, uh, administers and markets this  is called the National Student Leadership Conference.  Um, so for more information, that would be  nslcleaders,   nslcleaders. org   slash inc, I N C, business. 

Wonderful. I will also add that to the description.   Of the show so that people can easily find that  link. Is there any location associated with that or is it somewhat of a national organization? 

so the locations are incredible. We're gonna, we are on top college campuses every  summer. Uh, and this summer we'll be at Yale,  Columbia, Duke, Cal Berkeley, Michigan, and UCLA.  

Wow. 

And I made it to all of them last summer, got the t shirt, I've been there, and, uh, looking forward  to it. This happens between, uh, late June and  early August. Um, so, uh, I, we'll have probably a thousand students

from around the  

Wow. What an accomplishment and what a, what a way to, to, to bring it full circle. That is so cool. I had no  idea that it was that involved or that national. I figured it was  some local thing that you were doing and just like everything else you're, you're driving at home. I'm sure. 

This is, this is, the scale of it, the scope of it, and the quality of it are top  notch. And, uh, I hope folks will investigate it.   The, the students that come out of that program are ready to do some big

things.  

So cool. Uh, and if people want to learn more. About Dan   and Bauer and associates,  you can head to bauer inc. com. That is  for those of you not familiar with the hockey industry and the  big brand Bauer, like I am in Minnesota, it's B A U E  R D A U N C. Um,  and that will be in the show notes as well. So thank you again so much for joining us, Dan.

Thank you, Joe. I really enjoyed it. 

All right. And thank you listeners for joining us. You can download episodes  📍 of our program by going  to fjords. com slash mind your own marketing  business or subscribing to the show on iTunes, SoundCloud, and Spotify.

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