My wife, Wendi, and I are preparing to head out for the Bloggy Conference, which is being held at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. It is primarily geared toward women, though organizer Tiff Noth and the other attendees have always made me feel welcomed. I have no problem being in the minority because I was raised in a family with many strong women, like my mother, Carmen Mercuri. As I am getting ready for the conference, I cannot help but to reflect on the women who have helped drive the success of my company, Wooster Media Group LLC.
Carmen Mercuri, my mother
It all starts with my mom, Carmen Mercuri, the woman who gave me life. I could not ask for a better mother. She always encouraged me to get an education because “they’ll never be able to take it away from you.” She motivated me to learn and explore the world around me.Â
My mother is the most selfless person I know. Wendi often comments about my generosity, and I owe it all to my mother. She will do for others, even if it makes her life a little more challenging financially. She has demonstrated to me what unconditional love and sacrifice are.
She always told me I could do whatever I wanted. She never wanted me to see the limitations, but the possibilities. Because of her encouragement, I had the courage to leave a very good job at The Daily Record, a newspaper in Wooster, Ohio, to start my business.
Wendi Warren, my wife
Where do I begin? I love Wendi so much. She loves me, trusts me, and supports me no matter what. She supported me when I started my first business back in 2000, a desktop publishing business. The central focus was a free, ad-supported newsletter geared toward improving the lives of families. The business never took off. I estimated between lost wages and equipment and supplies purchased for the endeavor, we lost about $16,000 … a lot of it carried on a credit card. Despite things not working out, Wendi never held it against me. She never complained about the debt. She was excited when we paid it off.
I am a dreamer. Perhaps I get it from my mother. I always see the possibilities. Despite having been given a chance to own a business, the desire to start another one never died. I don’t know what it is about entrepreneurship, but once you get a taste of it, letting go becomes difficult.
Wendi ended up starting a blog, and because of that, we went to our first Bloggy Conference in 2016. I attended a presentation about search engine optimization, and I was intrigued about it. Wendi realized it was right up my alley, and she encouraged me to learn more about it. Well, I did, and I am here writing about my company, Wooster Media Group, and the women who have helped it be successful.
Wendi encouraged me to pursue a path toward starting an SEO business. She had no hesitation about me dipping my toes into entrepreneurship again. So, in late 2016 I earned a certificate in search engine optimization, but it would be another year before I actually started the business.
Before I moved forward with forming a limited liability company, Wendi crunched the numbers and calculated how much income I needed to bring into the family each month. She was behind me 100 percent. Without her, there would be no Wooster Media Group.
Jeanine Kendle, my former ‘boss’
Jeanine Kendle was the editor at The Daily Record who hired me as a reporter back in July 2003. I would often introduce her to others as “my boss,” and she always interjected, “We work together.” Jeanine was a wonderful “boss” and editor. While at The Daily Record, I felt I had the freedom of a freelance writer coupled with the security of a full-time job.
As long as I did my job, Jeanine was fine. She tells people I gave her more than a few gray hairs because of how I always had deadline issues with special projects. There were times when Jeanine had to put her foot down, but she was not one to micromanage.
But, Jeanine (and former managing editor Lance White) gave me a shot. She was the one who paved the way for Wendi and me to come to Wooster. Jeanine gave me greater responsibilities over the years. I served as business editor and city editor along the way.
Working at The Daily Record, covering business, city government, county government and more, provided an incredible opportunity to meet and network with business and community leaders. Without Jeanine taking a chance on me, Wooster Media Group would not likely be possible.
Claudia Pennington, my mentor
It was Claudia Pennington’s presentation on search engine optimization at the 2016 Bloggy Conference that set the wheels in motion for what has become Wooster Media Group. In trying to boost traffic for Wendi’s blog, I started learning about this thing called SEO. I was picking up bits and pieces of what it was, and Claudia did a great job explaining how it improves websites and how it can be a lucrative side hustle.
I was intrigued by Claudia’s presentation. When we spoke after her talk, she immediately understood how my skills as a journalist could be leveraged in order to take a career in SEO even further. At the time, I could not see it. I had no clue what she was talking about. However, she offered an online course in how to conduct SEO audits, and I enrolled about a month after the blogging conference.
Claudia has been my mentor, guiding me through every step of the journey. She has helped me understand digital marketing at a greater level, and she has sent business my way. I write blog posts for her websites, and I will do some social media work from time-to-time.
Claudia helped demystify SEO audits and digital marketing, making it possible to launch Wooster Media Group.
Who has helped you along the way?
While I have focused on these four women, there are a lot of other men and women who made this possible. I am grateful for all the love, help and support I have received.
As I head out to Sandusky to attend a conference full of Bloggy Moms, I wanted to pause and reflect on the women who have helped me reach this point in my life … and career.
