Top 10 Most Inspiring Women 2016
Nancy Dibert
Epic Marketing Consultants Corporation | CEO | Visit Website
Why We Chose Nancy Dibert
“I digitally met Nancy on twitter back in 2009. Everyone on #netde knew her and looked to her as an authority in the twitter universe. If you’re an entrepreneur in Delaware, you have most likely seen Nancy’s diligent social media outreach on Google Plus, Twitter and even Facebook. Every post is thoughtful, relevant —and for me, enlightening. Every day I learn something new, which in the marketing industry is basically a necessity. I met Nancy in the flesh at the last Mascara and Mimosa event. When she approached me and introduced herself, I could barely speak. I was surprised she knew who I even was!”
“Before I could stutter out my words of praise and adoration, she told me something that I will carry with me always: she loved my work and she said it doesn’t go unnoticed. Nancy is a true gem. I was humbled that someone as successful as her was building me up and took notice. I look up to her immensely. Find out how it all started for her below.”
Jane Clark, Co-Founder of BrandSwan
The Story
Tell us how it all started. Why? What’s the story?
I’ve been active on the Net since its infancy, including writing HTML code for Netscape. I managed a solo website design practice from 1993 to 2002 when my husband fell 15’ out of a ceiling and suffered major head trauma. He was life-flighted to Christiana Care where he was in the neuro-critical care unit for eleven days. When they discharged him, he required around the clock care. He didn’t know who I was for several months. Finally, after multiple surgeries and therapies, he began to recover.
Having lived through such a traumatic experience, we knew we never wanted to waste a moment apart and decided to form Epic Marketing Consultants Corporation to build on our expansive experience of working with credit unions to meet their marketing and advertising objectives. Don, my dear husband, came up with the name as a nod to Einstein’s E = mc 2, along with our tagline of “theory that is relative to your marketing needs.” As I’m a member of Mensa, he knew that I would see the humor.
It’s now nine years later and we’re going strong! While our niche is credit union marketing, we serve a diverse set of clients across almost all industries including non-profit, government, education, private industry, and more.
Biggest Success
What is your biggest success so far?
We’ve been very fortunate to have many successes so far with the business. I would say that what I find the most satisfying is that employment with Epic Marketing has allowed our employees to collectively purchase seven homes. For a small company, that’s a lot! I couldn’t be more proud of our team and the effort they put forth day in and day out. We’re more than associates – we’re family. Seeing them build a future and be able to purchase homes has been a great joy for me. I’m certainly grateful for the successes we’ve had with landing great clients, contracts, and industry awards; however, the personal success that Epic has brought to our employees means more to me.
Biggest Challenge
What is the biggest challenge in your industry? What are you doing to deal with that?
The budget – the dreaded marketing budget – that’s the biggest challenge for marketers, whether in-house or at an agency. Sometimes it’s difficult for clients to realize that setting a reasonable budget for marketing activities is as important as the budget for insurance, equipment, or anything else. What’s worse, when the economy starts to falter, marketing can be one of the first cuts. It’s exactly at that time that marketing is even more vital to the longevity of a company.
When we are approached by a potential new client, one of my first questions is to ask about the project budget. I usually get a response along the lines of asking us to give our best estimate. This doesn’t work out too well. I then explain to the potential client that we work with clients that have a variety of budgets – everything from $500 a month to $600,000 a year, and that it would behoove them to give us as much guidance on what they were thinking as possible. We certainly don’t want to come back with a barebones quote with minimum impact when they had planned to spend a significant amount – or, conversely, quote them a package with all the bells and whistles when they really only wanted something economical. Once we get over the budget issues, things go well. There’s a perception that agencies will try to sell a client on the most expensive and labor heavy option there is. At Epic, we don’t operate like that. We’ve found that working with our clients as collaborators to save as much expense as possible while getting the most advertising bang for the buck is a winning combination.
Advice
What advice would you give to a business owner starting out in your industry that you wish you would have known going in?
I would advise anyone looking to start a business to surround themselves with the best team they can assemble. This isn’t just for employees, but also includes attorneys, accountants, bankers, and other support organizations. Not only do you need to have each of these important team members on speed dial, you need to have a relationship with them. That’s where networking comes in nicely. When I call my attorney, he knows who I am, what my business is, and what our objectives are. That familiarity is priceless during a crisis (and there will be a crisis at some point).
Surprise Tidbit
What don’t most people realize about you or your company?
Most people don’t realize that, for the most part, our employees work remotely and live all across the U.S. Working digitally has its challenges, but it also comes with lots of perks. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I do travel almost weekly to be on-site for clients, but the majority of my time is spent working from home. We now have a print shop with full offset and digital print capabilities. That was a big decision for us to move into that arena mainly because we’ve spent so many years working digitally. In our home office, we also have a full-fledged production room, along with a professional sound booth for doing commercials, voiceovers, jingles, etc. We made those investments to support the business and to keep the costs down while providing new services to our clients.
Tomorrow we’ll post another #bossbabe. Don’t turn that dial…
More 2016 Most Inspiring Women
Day 10: Jennifer McMillan — Inspiring Women 2016
[Jennifer] has made enormous leaps and bounds as a woman business owner. Just last month she was invited to Amazon headquarters in Seattle, WA by senior management. They chose several women-owned companies who have been successful on their site — and Jennifer was one of them. They also wanted to know more about the launch of her new brand, JennyGems. Wow! This girl knows how to market her products and I’m so thrilled and honored to be apart of the journey.
Day 9: Stefanie Roselle — Inspiring Women 2016
From her animal fostering, amazing new office design to the rockin’ women’s organization she co-founded along with Amber Shader, she motivates me to grow on both a personal and professional level. She has a killer team of fellow #ladybosses for her company Social Butterfly. On top of all of this, she’s amazing at what she does. I had the opportunity to sit with her on a social media panel… this girl knows her stuff! I love love love how she supports other local businesses — even competitors. Her collaborative and embracing real life and online persona makes her a joy to interact with.
Day 8: Angela Kovall — Inspiring Women 2016
Angela is a ray of sunshine. Always beaming, she makes it her mission to know and help the people she meets along the way. (Apparently we went to the same high school!) She is is the inspiration for changing how I approach marketing — think not what people can do for you but how you can people. She is an excellent teacher on spreading feelings of goodwill and increasing others self-esteem. Angela genuinely wants to see people succeed and I find that energy to be absolutely contagious. She is wonderful to have in your corner. I can’t say enough positive things about her. Simply, she makes you feel good.
Day 7: Anne Green — Inspiring Women 2016
What impresses me most about Anne is that she moved from Canada to Delaware and totally started what no one else has here in Newark: a very popular, resident-owned news page. With over 7,000 likes on Our Newark Delaware’s super active Facebook page, Anne has quickly become known for knowing what’s going on in our local hood. I first met her at a Wonder Women Tea event at the Blue Hen Bed and Breakfast, so we already had something in common. What I love most about her is that she builds people up. Always supportive of local businesses and meeting new people, she is a genuine joy to be around and I’m proud to know her. As a client, she is absolutely delightful to work with. Read on
Day 6: Vicki Lam — Inspiring Women 2016
[Vicki] is reliable, always professional, and present. Seriously, she is everywhere. Vicki is my go-to resource for new and awesome networking groups and events. I personally use Vicki for all my promotional products because she gives you awesome ideas and the best advice. She understands branding and so she is an awesome partner for me. I am also very proud to call her a friend.
Day 4: Robyn Odegaard — Inspiring Women 2016
Robyn is not only kind and caring, but she wears herself on her sleeve and has no problem sharing her amazing life stories. I highly recommend you get to know this super smart gal who I’ve had honor of meeting. Oh — and she’s really good at what she does.
Day 3: Mona Liza Hamlin — Inspiring Women 2016
[Mona] has a very calming and warm presence. Yet at the same time, she is a gal who knows her stuff. As a mother of 1 bulldog and 2 cats, I’m often in awe of moms who have it all: running their own business and raising their children! Not only is she a lactation consultant, but also a pediatric nurse. That alone makes her an authority in her industry and increases my adoration of her 10 fold. I love that she uses a real, holistic approach with her customers and in her life.
Day 2: Donna Duffy — Inspiring Women 2016
[Donna]’s a bit of a local legend when it comes to marketing. I hear her name on everyone’s lips — and always positive things. I know she’s a marketing guru who offers boutique, personal attention to her clients. She’s a huge resource to Delaware.
Day 1: Jessica Barnak — Inspiring Women 2016
[Jessica] is lovely, bubbly, inviting and always composed. She continued to impress and inspire me as managing director for the networking group Polka Dot Powerhouse. Her positive energy is absolutely contagious. The biggest reason Jessica is on my list — her brand is absolutely on point: the perfect amount of professional, modern, and as creative as her interior designs.