Ad Manager

If you’ve spent anytime with me or reading this blog, you are probably well aware of my passion for all things Porsche.  Starting last fall, I took on a new role with my local chapter of the Porsche Club of America; Advertising Manager.

The Pacific Northwest Region chapter has some 1500 members; all of whom receive a copy of our monthly magazine, Porsche Spiel.  The largest responsibility of the advertising manager of the club is to manage sales and billing for ads in the magazine.  As such, the position is heavily responsible for sponsor relations.  Beyond advertising, I have had the opportunity to work with sponsors to help them better understand the club, find activities and events where they can better connect with our members, and find ways for the club to be of greater interest to like-minded sponsors.

This has been a wonderful position for me.  This year, I am seeking to be more entrepreneurial in my career (more on that in future posts).  The ad manager position has essentially given me an opportunity to play business man.  I have had the opportunity to work with dozens of small business owners in the area and learn QuickBooks.  Next up for me are sales.  One of the biggest challenges the role has presented to me is time management.  I have a fairly limited amount of time to devote to this volunteer position.  So, I have developed systems for handling the most common tasks.  These include invoicing, accounts receivables, renewals, and introductions to new sponsors.  The hope is that the skills I build here will be applicable in my real career.

The biggest benefit of the position is the opportunity give back to a truly great community.  I used to joke with my friends that I managed to volunteer for the least benevolent non-profit ever.  And from the outside looking in, the club probably does just seem like a bunch of snobs fussing of their expensive cars.  But this is the club that took me in when I was a twenty-something that barely knew how to drive stick with a car in desperate need of major repairs and encouraged me to pursue my dream of driving it on the track.  It is also an organization that contributes a sizeable portion of its time and dues to supporting local health and children’s non-profit organizations.  And it is a group of people who have routinely done everything possible to help their friends make it through some grave personal situations.  I hope I server them well as ad manager.