Tony ODonnell 174 connecties

Name: Tony O'Donnell
Age: 38
Schooling:
FSU class of 1991 - Bachelors in Media Communication with a Minor in Music.

Name of business and contact information for business (including Web site if you have one):
Tony O'Donnell Promotions 850.559.5820 tony6451@yahoo.com
Web www.tonyopromo.com (currently being rebuilt)

What does your business do?
We are a full service promotional marketing company.
We help businesses and associations grow by branding themselves effectively.
One way this is done is through the use of logo imprinted ad specialties and apparel. We imprint anything from low cost tradeshow giveaways and golf tournament goodies to high end corporate gifts. The promo product industry is 2nd only to TV advertising in annual revenue, because it works… well. The advantage ad specialties have over other media is that they often have a practical use, in addition to being effective advertising and branding tools. Recipients often keep them and the advertiser benefits from repeat exposures. Your client will actually thank you for advertising to them!
We also provide logo creation and other graphic design services, as well as custom bed music or original jingles for commercial applications or any “outside of the box” uses you can imagine. My musical compositions have been featured to promote syndicated TV shows, online commercials, Government PSA’s, and even political campaigns.

When and why did you start the biz?
I have only recently gone off on my own. I spent four great years with Awards4U here in Tallahassee before taking a regional position with Imagemark, a huge online company based in Wisconsin.
I like living and working in Tallahassee and have always liked everyone I meet both in the private sector and in government and statewide associations.
I like people to feel good about their ideas and I want everyone to be successful in what they are trying to achieve, whether it be growing membership or beating last years sales goals. Some of my ideas have yielded greater than 25 to 1 R.O.I. for my clients. (I slipped that in for you marketing types)!
How did you end up in Tallahassee?
My father was an attorney who came to Tallahassee frequently for business. He basically brought me along one sunny spring day to tour the campus of Florida State. I soon realized that calling FSU a “girls school” was not at all a put down and I promptly made my intentions to attend the school known to all!
What are the advantages and disadvantages of being a young professional?
I always laugh at this subject after reading the Tallahassee Chamber’s definition of an “emerging leader” as being someone aged 40 or under. I had better hurry up and become a leader because I only have two more years to “emerge”! I will answer this in terms of what most of us would consider the target of the question, the 25 year old entering the business world for the first time. The obvious answer is the advantage of youthful energy and idealism versus the advantages of experience and a sage-like practicality of someone much their senior.
As I fall in the middle of this spectrum I think I am in the best of all positions. I have worked long enough to recognize the natural pitfalls of business, from timelines to budget issues to “problem” clients, but I am still young enough in mind and spirit to try anything under the sun to help my clients grow.

How and why are you using Tallahassee.com?
I have always loved the Tallahassee Democrat since my college days and have enjoyed watching them grow online as all business and mass media has had to do to remain viable. I use many social networking sites and recommend the practice to anyone who will listen. I have even gotten orders from these types of sites Myspace.com/tonyopromo and hope to gain more clients through the Tallahassee online site. You can never have too many ways to be contacted, and the blogging feature can help anyone establish credibility within the industry they represent.
Plus it is fun to jab back at those who dare to criticize my brilliant letters to the editor that the Democrat is so gracious to publish from time to time!

What's next on the horizon for your biz and yourself?
We are working on a more interactive website that will better illustrate what we can provide our customers and clients. I love to compose music in every style imaginable, and it is in this area that the most growth is possible. I would one day like to have my work in national ad campaigns or in the movie industry. I know I know, wouldn’t everybody? YES!

What advice do you have for other young professionals in Tallahassee?
People should not limit themselves in life and in business. I tell recent college grads and people first entering the workforce that you probably won’t do the same job for your entire career; most of us have 3-4 different lines of work! So they should not fret one minute about “what they are going to do with their lives” or any such large notion. Rather they should be true to what they do best and what they enjoy doing.
We are truly a global economy and the world gets smaller by the day. America is a wondrous creation of ideas and vision and we are truly blessed to live and work here. To that end remember that our economy expands and retracts, but over the history of this country it always continues the upward trend, surviving the Great Depression, WWII and September 11th. We are riding on this economic train and the more you can provide the world in the marketplace of ideas, innovation and solutions, the more opportunities you will ultimately have.

Is there any one person or event in your life that led you to go into business for yourself?
There are many – Sam Varn at Awards4U taught me the business and encouraged me to “have my own business in 5 years” – Danny Shrine at Full Press Apparel inspired me to take each day/issue/problem as it comes and to keep things in perspective – my parents remind me that in the end you need to look back and know that you were true to yourself – my girlfriend and future wife Elisa supports me and helps me focus my talents on there proper place in the business world.