Maddie Hayes provided career and fashion inspiration
About the Founder
I founded Hustle Marketing in January 2016 but my passion for marketing started in the 80s. I knew that I would go into advertising. I memorized all of the best cereal ad jingles and recorded my own commercials via cassette on my pink boombox.
Inspired by Maddie Hayes fashion sense from Moonlighting (played by Cybill Shepherd), I modelled big shoulder pads and Scotch taped red Lee Press-On Nails to my fingers. This small-town girl from Minnesota was going to wear red lipstick, have long fingernails and serious business meetings that required a briefcase.
Fast forward a few years…I needed glasses at a young age and was soon wearing a classy pink 80’s frame with thick coke-bottle lenses. Desperate to afford contact lenses, the owner of our local optical store kindly hired me at 16. This was my first customer service experience and it taught me how important it was to “do what you promise”.
In a few short months, the owner and optometrist allowed me take over their advertising. They had a monthly advertisement in our local newspaper and I took pictures of my dog in glasses and wrote catchy titles for the ads. Clients talked about it, they called, they laughed, they looked forward to more funny pictures. My dog became famous and my thirst for marketing continued.
Making Moves
I finished my Bachelor’s Degree in record time in Minnesota and couldn’t wait to grow up and have a real job with great clothes. After graduation, I moved to Florida and started working at a Direct Marketing Agency. I worked harder and longer than anyone else (a trend that continues to this day) and quickly moved up the ranks.
America’s economy was waning but Europe’s was booming and I needed a new challenge and that came in the form of a new country. It is impossible to not fall in love with Ireland. I soon found myself with a series of roles in marketing that helped me polish my skills and confidence. I began helping friends to market their vet clinics, their private physical therapy and occupational therapy practices. I loved it – I was using marketing to help doctors and business owners find patients and to help patients find the doctors that they needed.
But I still wasn’t wearing the fancy clothes or making enough money to justify my school loans. So I took an opportunity in another country; Australia. Such a wonderful place. I became the head of marketing for a publicly listed veterinary group. It was love. It was animals and marketing strategy, and 100+ veterinary clinics, and loyalty programs, and crisis media (ok so maybe I didn’t love that part), and a team of six. We worked hard, we had fun and then to keep myself extra busy I did my MBA. And then opportunity started knocking.
Sally Kenny, Founder and President
Hustle Marketing is Born
I was approached with multiple offers. Offers that were so good, I decided to start my own my company and began consulting for doctors and business owners.
And then we welcomed two babies. And then we moved back to America.
My world tour is over but the fun continues. Since returning to America I have been consulting for veterinary clinics, CPA firms, Wealth Management firms and non-profits to name a few.
I have built a network of talented marketing experts to support my clients. Each expert has been carefully chosen because they excel in their field, just like our clients excel in theirs. Our clients receive international marketing experience, proven marketing strategies, sound business sense, and motivating marketing support to help them find and keep their patients.
Hustle Marketing has been a lifelong passion and I am so grateful to love what I do. We are open for business and look forward to working with you. And I promise to leave the shoulder pads and fake red nails where they belong – in the 80s.
Cheers,
Sally
