Celebrating 15 Years ????
Reading Time: 3 minutes
By Robin Brogdon, MA
I am not very good at recognizing my own success. I have this irrational fear that if I acknowledge it, it will somehow go away. Perhaps it’s because I just know there is always more to do and to truly succeed you must continue to evolve. Regardless of the why, I encourage others to embrace their success, so I’m going to try to follow my own advice here.
BluePrints Veterinary Marketing Group is now in its fifteenth year. As someone who’s always felt like an accidental entrepreneur, it seems unlikely I would have an opportunity to celebrate this milestone.
I can assure you, however, that the reason BluePrints has experienced this longevity is not because of me. My vision and industry knowledge (call it curiosity) may have set things in motion, but the honest reason is my ability to surround myself with exceptional people and inspire them to use their talents to our clients’ benefit.
Sure, over the years we’ve helped countless organizations in the animal health sector launch, merge, brand, rebrand, pivot, grow, expand, sell, and so on…but what I would like to think we’ve really done is ultimately reach more pets and pet owners in a positive way. By helping our clients professionally promote what they do, more pets and their people become aware of and gain access to their services and products, and ultimately live better lives. This was the premise for creating BluePrints and it remains our ‘why’ today.
I’d be remiss if I did not call out by name some of the individuals who’ve made a significant impact on my journey along the way. Some are not even in the animal health space and will never read this, but I feel compelled to state, for the record, that their input mattered to me.
Starting with my team:
Linda Kaplan, MHA (President) is the steady, hyper-organized, creative, client satisfaction driven leader that has become my work spouse and carried us all through multiple evolutions, supporting me without hesitation.
Emma MacMillan (Art Director), one of the first to join me, has been a rock-solid, always available, committed team member that not only designs beautifully and is a production guru, but has been instrumental in building our cloud-based infrastructure in a way that makes us all feel uber talented.
Denise Acosta (Finance Manager) – is a team member that many of you may not know personally, except when you receive an invoice, but let me assure you we would not be where we are without her three decades of advertising agency experience, attention to detail, and ability to make us all turn in our timesheets!
Deanna Hendrick, MCM (Director of Digital Marketing) – Nimble, able to juggle more things at one time than anyone I know, she is deeply embedded in all things analytical, driven to see conversions, and propel our clients into the 21st century and beyond. No doubt, BluePrints’ digital success is a testament to Deanna and her team.
Jaime Bochet (Account Manager) – is our newest addition, but not new to me. When I met Jaime nearly 10 years ago, I spotted her and knew one day she was someone I wanted to work with. She brings a fresh perspective, a keen sense of pragmatism, a commander of words, and is undyingly enthusiastic.
To William, Becky, Renita, Roxanne, and Jennifer, you all are contributors to BluePrints’ success in ways I can’t even express adequately – thank you.
To those who have come and gone in my work life prior to this moment and who I’m sure are not reading this – Jerome Pudwill, for telling me I was onto something and believing I could build an agency as you had done; Sue Kim, thanks for helping launch the BluePrints digital division; Alice Nathanson, for being my career cheerleader; Bob Allison, for showing me there is a much more expansive view available to me if I just believe; any mostly to Tim, my husband, for making me feel safe enough to take the risks necessary to reach this incredible milestone.
May you have the courage today to acknowledge your own success. For a moment, this feels great. ❤️
Now back to putting one foot in front of the other and tackling the next item on my never-ending to-do list.