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Today we’d like to introduce you to Paula Chiocchi.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
After spending 11 years in corporate America I decided I was not happy in that environment and that I needed to be able to have control of my fate in the business world. I decided to start my own business literally at my dining room table in 1998. I wanted to be my own boss and provide a working environment that would be safe, challenging and place where employees can grow to their maximum potential. The business has evolved from pre-internet days of providing direct mail programs to today where we provide email marketing expertise that includes database building utilizing our data we compile and strategies for email campaigning as well as execution of the campaigns. Our goal is to assist Fortune 2000, midsize companies and start-ups in acquiring new customers in this low cost channel while supporting other channel marketing efforts for a multi-channel approach.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Running a business is never a smooth road. What an entrepreneur needs to focus on is solving problems along the way and to potentially look at a problem as to where an opportunity may arise For OMI we focused on developing Fortune 2000 customers and needed to find a way to differentiate ourselves from much larger competitors. Getting the first large customer resulted from accessing relationships to get in the door. From there you can build on your success to get more customers. Growth can be messy for small companies as when to add resources and talent is a challenge financially as well as from an infrastructure standpoint. Building a cohesive team that is aligned and can execute on the company vision is also critical. Hiring the right employees is probably the biggest struggle.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Outward Media|OMI – what should we know?
OMI builds and owns databases on all the businesses in the US as well as maintaining data on over 200MM consumers. We specialize in new customer acquisition in the email channel. What sets us apart is the breadth, depth and accuracy of our email data, we have 40MM + business contacts with email and 100MM+ consumers with email. We are especially known for our B2B data and our ability to deliver email resulting in achieving substantially higher ROI for our clients than our competitors. I am most proud of the quality of the data we have in order to be able to deliver the significant results that we do year in and year out.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I personally am a member of Vistage International over 15 years and have a chair that has coached me during this time. He helps me see the business from a different viewpoint as do the members of our group. We meet once a month as a group to solve member issues which is like having a personal board of directors. I meet with my coach once a month in order to work on my business issues one to one.

I have 2 close friends that have their own businesses as well. One has an HR company and supports us for all of our HR needs and the other friend is an executive coach that I get feedback on issues that arise as well in dealing with executives and team members we work with on a day to day basis.

Contact Info:

    Address: 9229 Sunset Blvd Suite 410, West Hollywood, CA 90069
    Website: outwardmedia.com
    Phone: 310 274-5312
    Email: paula@outwardmedia.com
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OutwardMedia
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/OutwardMediaInc
    Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/outward-media-inc./