My consulting career didn’t exactly start off so perfectly in December of 2007. It would be easy for me to blame my tardiness that day on the snow storm that rolled through the DC area, causing major traffic in my neighborhood.
But the truth was that I overslept. The snow, and its inevitable ability to turn bad Maryland drivers into absolute commuting nightmares on wheels, just made it worse.
I showed up at the Mortgage Bankers Association headquarters about an hour late, fully expecting them to send me packing.
Fortunately, it appeared that they actually valued my skill sets and really needed me to get started immediately on “telling the complete story” before the you-know-what hit the fan.
Or something along those lines.
At this point, I should tell you that despite my marketing background, I was about to be thrown head first into the unfamiliar territory known as public relations.
This “forced” career change would actually turn out to be a blessing down the road.
Little did I know that the housing crisis was about to create a niche in the public relations world that had never been seen before. And once again, I was in the right time at the right place with the right people believing in me.
The problem was that I knew nothing about the issues. I may have marketed myself as a “10” when it came to writing, but I was a total zero when it came to actually understanding the issues, the players or the politics.
Luckily, I was in the club now, so I was getting a free crash course.
Footnote: The lesson learned here is that skills such as marketing, writing and generally being a good bullshit artist transfer seamlessly from job to job, if you are really good at them.
This will be an important point to remember as this journey continues…
Housing Journey 