My real name is Martin but all my life I’ve been called Marty. My first grade teacher told me once that one day I would want to be called Martin since that name was more “grown up” and she refused to call me Marty.
Well, I suppose then, I’ve never grown up. I refuse to do so! Instead I’ve done my best to capitalize on my name: Marty Marsh. It has become my brand and people know me as Marty.
The combination of my first and last names seems to amuse people, some disbelieving that my parents would actually name me that, others saying that it’s a great radio name. No matter what you think of it, it has taken me far.
The entrepreneurial bug bit me when I was about 13 years old even though at the time I hadn’t realized what was happening.
“Daddy, can I sell hot dogs to your workers?”
My dad was a cattle man and a watermelon farmer and when it was time to harvest the melons it was pretty much a non-stop, get-it-done operation for about two weeks. Workers would often leave at lunch time and not come back in the afternoon, and so my dad liked my idea for selling hot dogs.
So I set up my stand and we were all surprised at how much business I did. It helped my dad, it taught me some valuable lessons, and I had a ball. Best of all, I earned enough money in those two weeks to buy a printing press. I loved printing then and I love it today although I’ve not personally touched a printing press in decades. But the smell of ink still sends me.
From a book about printing I taught myself how to set metal type by hand and that lead to my first real paying job at the local weekly newspaper. The owner and publisher of that paper, Walter Wilson, was the best teacher I ever had. I learned so much from that man — not only about printing — but about being in business and about life in general. He gave me opportunities that lead to other greater opportunities and I guess I kind of owe my career path to him.
School calls
He encouraged me to go on to college, to get my degree, and I did just that, earning a B.S. in Printing Management and Technology from the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York; one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself because not only did it open my eyes to the world and set the stage for my life-long love of learning, but it opened doors for me in the corporate world that might otherwise have been closed.
After graduation, I enjoyed a fabulous 13-year career with USA Today during its formative years and look back on those days with fond memories. USA Today revolutionized the newspaper production world and I was a part of that. I still think of it as “my newspaper” and am so glad that it’s still around today.
After a series of job and business missteps — although valuable learning experiences all — including ownership of an ill-fated under-capitalized printing company, I returned to USA Today/Gannett for a brief stint before going out on my own again in 1995. For years I had done graphic design work and typesetting and layout jobs for printers using my Macintosh computer, all on the side, all from a spare bedroom, even then not realizing that I was growing a business.
I just knew I was having a lot of fun as I always had with any business enterprise I undertook. That little printing press followed me everywhere I went and I always managed to make money with it even when I was going to college.
Even though I was making more money in that spare bedroom than I ever had at any job, I really wasn’t doing it for the money. I was doing it because I was doing something I loved, for people I genuinely liked, and I would have done it for no payment at all. The money was just gravy. Pure gravy.
Side Note to Would-Be Entrepreneurs: Follow your business dream but keep your “day job” for a while. Having that job security allows you to really build the kind of business you want while working with just the people you want, and when the time is right to go full-time, you’ll know it. (That’s exactly what I did.)
More and more I discovered that I had an interest in marketing and my graphic design work always started with an understanding of how what I was doing fit into the overall marketing plans of my clients. As I learned new things I would pass this information along to my clients and little by little more and more of them turned to me first for marketing consulting and then to graphic design.
Soul Proprietors
Then, I began to realize that the kind of people I was working with were a lot like me. They approached business more from a spiritual standpoint than they did a profit-motive and while I fully support that all of us are in business to earn a living and make a profit, business can hold a lot more satisfaction than just that. I dubbed these people “soul proprietors” because the work they were doing touched not only their own soul, but the souls and spirits of their own clients.
For a soul proprietor, being in business is a way to connect with people in a kinder, more gentle way in every area of our business dealings from marketing and sales to delivery of the final product or service. Soul Proprietors build relationships first.
We’re all healers
Ever since then everything I’ve done has been from a spiritual — not religious, mind you — approach. To me, no matter what kind of business we are in, we are all in the business of solving problems which in turn helps people. So we are all healers in our own special way.
When I was a kid I loved the idea of being a teacher. Many times I’ve wondered if I missed my calling by not teaching at a school somewhere, but as technology started changing not only the way we do business but our very lives, I realized that I could teach people what I knew that worked for marketing and I wouldn’t even have to be in the same room with my students.
I soon discovered just how much I loved teaching teleclasses. And that’s what I started to do. So for the last few years, I’ve been attracting new clients, making friends and helping people succeed in their own businesses all through teleclasses and the things I write. It’s a great way to make a living and I’m still having lots of fun.
Part of my many reasons for building this MartyInk site is so that I can work more on providing good content and great valuable information to the many people I serve and yet not have to be so physically present all the time. So I’m exploring the many options we have available these days for doing that and I will share everything I learn with you here so you an do the same thing if that is your goal. And from what I know about most business people today, they are all looking for ways to have a business and have a life, too.
Hitting the road
In mid-2006 I started doing something that I had been thinking about doing for years: I sold everything I owned, bought a 5th Wheel Trailer and a truck and hit the open road. I’ve been living (and working) on the road and traveling the highways and byways of these beautiful United States ever since. As of this writing, 44 states (many of them twice and three times) and nearly 70,000 miles including some brief jaunts to Mexico and Canada.
Everywhere I go I meet the nicest people and often I get to meet some of the wonderful people who have taken my classes or who have worked with over the phone as a coaching client. It is always great fun to get to meet someone face-to-face. I am so blessed to know so many fine people. They all enrich my life in ways beyond any money they’ve ever spent with me.
Balance
The hardest part of living this way, though, has been trying to balance my love for my work and the time I want to spend on my business with time spent being a tourist. I love the beach and when I’m at the beach I want to be in the sand not sitting behind my computer. But alas, I still find myself at this computer a lot more than I would like. So I’m working on finding that balance. In the meantime I’m just going to keep enjoying my fabulous life every single day.
I travel with my life partner, Bill Harrison, and up until mid-October 2008, I was also traveling with my Bichon Frise. Barkley was nearly 17 years old when he left us and although he’s left a huge hole in my heart for now, I will always love him and cherish the many memories I have from his long dog-life. He was a good companion and a great and tirelessly loving friend and I’m ever so grateful that he chose to come live with me. (Oh, I’m pretty crazy about Bill, too.)
All of my family — from the youngest to the oldest — live within about a mile of each other in the state of Florida so I spend a good deal of time there. Living the life of a gypsy allows me to see the country, spend some time with my family, and still get my work done. What could be better than that?
(If you’re interested in following my travels, you can keep track of me at my Marty’s Web Kitchen blog, currently undergoing renovation.)
My desire is that you achieve exactly the kind of success that you want and if I can help you get there, then that’s what I’m here for.
I look forward to getting to know you better, too. I’d love to hear from you. You can send me an email by using the form on the Contact Us page of this site.
All the best,
Marty Marsh
Soul Proprietor and
Chief Clarity Officer
P.S. Why “Chief Clarity Officer”? One thing I pay attention to is my intuition and I’ve always had an intuitive knack in getting to know people and I’ve found that I can often help people gain clarity about their business when they can’t readily see it for themselves. That’s what my private coaching practice is all about. Clarity. So if you need some, get in touch and let’s see if we could do some great work together.
P.P.S. Ever since my first hot dog stand — and I sold hot dogs to my dad’s workers for several seasons in a row — I’ve longed to sell hot dogs. So one day I suspect that I’ll fulfill that dream with a nice little hot dog stand on a beach somewhere. I think that would be the perfect way to spend the rest of my days when I’m ready to give everything else up. Trouble is, I’ve got way too many interests and not nearly enough time. Sigh.