Originally in a former lifetime I was an art director/marketer who worked at advertising and marketing agencies of all sizes from small and local to large, national firms, until I created my own agency and ran it for 22 years. I had two areas of specialty - high tech and hospitality. My niche was traveling the (sadly) untrodden path of bringing producers and consumers together by simply determining what the consumers needed and wanted, and how the producers could communicate to their target audience that they could meet those needs. Sometimes consumers do not know their needs or wants until they see a solution that speaks to them. In this way, my work was consumer-driven. I believed that any business that attempted to function otherwise was simply an expensive vanity project for somebody.

Typically my clients came to me with a problem... they had created this wonderful product or service and had yet to sell it to single buyer after months of efforts and expense. Yet they were convinced it was exactly what the consumers needed. They were usually correct. They simply did not know how to operate within a consumer-driven model. I would educate myself on their consumer profiles and needs and re-design their marketing efforts, often re-training sales staff and re-designing collateral and advertising efforts. My success rate was about 97%. That was pretty high for the industry.

In all, my agency worked with approximately 80 clients over the years to design, re-design, and roll out products, properties and themes. The ultimate value of these projects to the owners represented almost a $2 billion increase in value or equity.

My credentials within the hospitality sector include working with restaurant and hotel theme designers to renovate or re-imagine properties into new themes and physical formats. You can see references to my former clients and projects on the Gallery Page.

In 2005 I launched my own business-to-consumer company that eventually became Len's Coffee. My passion for coffee and the desire to work in a field where my personal ethics could make a huge difference to a large population and change the world a bit for the better has been my guiding force. Over the years the company has imported over $10 million of coffee using Direct Trade practices and garnered a loyal following including consumers and restaurants, hotels and coffee shops.

In my Blog I will touch on many of the things I have learned and my philosophies in regards to business and the place of coffee in the world as a force to do good while enriching those who understand its revenue potential in their business model. I hope you enjoy these posts!