Episode 9: Don’t Swim in the Sea of Sameness, with Lori Jones



Lori Jones has recently started her own podcast series: Integrate and Ignite. Integrate & Ignite is a twice-weekly podcast for entrepreneurs, fast growth, movers and shakers, marketing gurus, and anyone who is motivated to grow their business and their brand.

As a marketing integration guru, Lori has knowledge and experience in all aspects of branding, marketing, advertising, PR, and digital and social programs. Where Lori truly shines, however, is her ability to bring each of those areas together. She participates in strategy development and big picture program planning with her team at Avocet Communications to bring a real-world vision that increases customer count for some of the nation’s leading brands. She is a co-author of Secrets of Ad-Agency Owners: Our Best Marketing Advice and Secrets of Ad-Agency Owners: The Biggest Mistake I’ve Ever Seen. Lori publishes the Integrate & Ignite blog and podcast, both of which focus on integrating marketing, leadership, and entrepreneurialism. She is a member of the Forbes Agency Council and serves on the board of several nonprofits.

Lori became president of Avocet Communications at age 32. She was in charge of strategic planning and new business development achieving steady growth thru 2012. Once she was able to have all of her children in school, and spend a little more time at work, explosive growth was seen throughout the agency. Under Lori’s strategic leadership, Avocet was given 2014 and 2015 Northern Colorado Fastest Growing Business accolades, as well as making her mark on Colorado’s Top 50 women owned business. The agency’s program consistently creates double-digit customer count growth for its clients.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • The “sea of sameness” that plagues businesses
  • Lori’s background and how her career led to her owning an agency
  • What Avocet Communications does differently to increase customer counts for their clients
  • The changes Lori’s seen since she joined her industry
  • Inbound vs outbound marketing: what you need to know
  • What changed in Lori’s senior year of college that led her to pursue marketing instead of her planned career of broadcasting
  • Lori’s Integrate and Ignite podcast
  • The lessons Lori learned the first time she had to worry about money after her dad’s security was no longer there
  • What Lori learned after maxing out her first credit card
  • The best and worst financial decisions Lori ever made
  • Why Lori doesn’t lend anyone money anymore
  • The wonderful story of how she met and fell in love with her husband
  • The extracurriculars that Lori is involved in with her children and what her family always does over the summer
  • What Lori teaches her kids about money

Ways to contact Lori: