"I think being punctual sends the right message."
Paige Arnof-Fenn is the founder and CEO of Mavens & Moguls, a global marketing and digital branding firm whose clients range from early-stage start-ups to Fortune 500 companies including Colgate, Virgin, Microsoft, and The New York Times Company. She was formerly VP Marketing at Zipcar and VP Marketing at Inc.com. Prior to that she held the title of SVP Marketing at Launch Media, an Internet start-up that was later sold to Yahoo.
Arnof-Fenn has also worked as a special assistant to the chief marketing officer of global marketing at The Coca-Cola Company and held the position of director of the 1996 Olympic Commemorative Coin Program at the Department of Treasury.
Check out more interviews with entrepreneurs here.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO GET FEATURED?
All interviews are 100% FREE OF CHARGE
Table of Contents
Before we begin, our readers are interested to know about how you got started in the first place. Did you always want to be where you are today or was it something you were led to? Share with us your journey.
Paige Arnof-Fenn: I did not plan on starting a company. I always wanted to go work for a large multi-national business and be a Fortune 500 CEO. When I was a student I looked at leaders like Meg Whitman & Ursula Burns as my role models. I started my career on Wall Street in the 80s and had a successful career in Corporate America at companies like Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola and worked at 3 different startups as the head of marketing. I became an entrepreneur and took the leap right after 9/11 when the company I worked for cut their marketing. I had nothing to lose. Being an entrepreneur provides me a platform to do work I truly enjoy with and for people I respect.
Like most entrepreneurs, I am working harder and longer than ever and I have never been happier. Working for yourself and building a business you started is incredibly rewarding and gratifying. It has been a lot of fun, I joke that I am an accidental entrepreneur. I knew I had made it as an entrepreneur when Harvard wrote 2 case studies on my business a few years after I started it, we were very early to pioneer sharing resources on the marketing front (before my company it was really only done with HR, legal and accounting/finance).
Tell us a bit about your current focus. What is the most important thing that you’re working on and how do you plan on doing it?
Paige Arnof-Fenn: We are storytellers and content creators who help our clients in compelling ways by finding the right words and pictures to create interest in their products and services. Creating content is a great way to build your brand, increase your visibility more broadly, raise your profile and ultimately attract more attention/clients/customers. I have always loved telling and listening to stories since childhood. In early days of mankind, stories were a great way to communicate around the campfire, they are critical to the Bible and they are still effective today. People do not remember facts and figures but if you tell them a story that touches them emotionally you get their attention and they want to hear more. People need to be educated, informed and/or entertained so I love to figure out how best to tell a story in a way that makes people pay attention and breaks through the noise. When you share what you know — your passion, your war stories, the good, bad and ugly — the content will flow and pour out of you.
The stories will be interesting and the lessons will be real, people will remember you and come back for more. Market research is more important now than ever! Whatever my clients thought they knew or understood before Covid about their customers and market must now be checked because the world has changed so much since last March. It is no longer a nice to have, it is essential before you spend anything you need to conduct market research now to make sure your products/services/ messaging are relevant and resonating in the new normal and for clients who got through the pandemic well we are also doing PR to let their audiences know they survived so the mix of work has shifted but we are all here to tell the tale.
Some argue that punctuality is a strength. Others say punctuality is a weakness. How do you feel about it, please explain.
Paige Arnof-Fenn: I think being respectful of people’s time is important so I am typically on time for meetings and appointments. I hate wasting my time or putting myself in a situation where others waste mine. Some people are known for always being notoriously late and I see that as both a weakness and an insecurity. It seems like a power play to signal their time is more important than yours. I think being punctual sends the right message.
How important is having good timing in your line of work and in the industry that your organization operates in?
Paige Arnof-Fenn: Timing matters a lot in marketing. You have to find the right audience with a compelling message where and when they need the information to decide whether to buy your product/service for best results. Reaching your target at the right time is critical so insuring that the outreach, message, and rollout are coordinated can be the difference between a successful or lost sale.
Founder of Virgin Group, Richard Branson, states “Timing is everything in life, and it’s particularly crucial in entrepreneurship. People often equate success with luck, but it usually comes down to impeccable (and carefully mapped out) timing”. Do you agree with this statement? Please answer in as much detail as necessary.
Paige Arnof-Fenn: I agree 100%. There is no such thing as an overnight success. You make your luck by being prepared to recognize opportunities that appear. I call it planned spontaneity when you have invested the time and done all the legwork so when an opportunity arises you are able to recognize it and move quickly as a result. Others may see it as luck but really you made the stars align to be ready for serendipity.
As a leader/entrepreneur/CEO, how do you decide when to put the pedal to the metal and when to take a break? How do you time the key moments in your career?
Paige Arnof-Fenn: You cannot time it in my experience. Sometimes you work more other times you juggle or rest. When I need to be on I work hard but I play hard too when possible. I joined my first startup in ’97 and have learned (and encouraged my team) to measure our productivity by:
Giving yourself permission to say no. Whether it means sleeping in (no to an alarm clock), meditating, taking a walk, delegating more work, or just turning off your phone and computer (no I will respond later on my own schedule), simple acts of letting yourself relax and enjoy the moment are the very best gifts you can give yourself. It is about touching people in meaningful ways which may mean being less busy not more.
Disconnecting from technology periodically and focusing on cultivating human, face-to-face relationships (when not social distancing). Even meeting for virtual coffee or drinks can accomplish so much more than e-mail exchanges, social media posts, etc. I have found that building relationships are what drives my business and technology supports them once they are solidified. Technology helps advance the conversation but it will never replace the human interaction that builds trust over time.
- Taking breaks with exercise — I do something active every day to stay healthy and break up my day.
- Practicing gratitude — I am so grateful we can all work productively in home offices now with no commute.
This advice has also helped me find the silver lining in this crisis which reminds us that we have always needed each other and we have learned that everyone is struggling right now to find a new normal so the key is to show our humanity and compassion while we look out for one another. If we can hold on to the very best parts of this pandemic personally and professionally the world will be a better place for it.
Branson also states “If you’re starting to feel like you’re just going through the motions and losing sight of why you started, it might be time to take a break”. But how do you decide when to take a break?
Paige Arnof-Fenn: As an entrepreneur, you are always on and with everyone working remotely and social media and technology going 24/7 it can be tough at times to stay energized and focused. For me I know when I feel my creative juices drying up or I am often tired or unmotivated it is time to shake things up. The key is to find ways to stay fresh and excited without being able to get away from your job.
Like most small business owners and entrepreneurs there are never enough hours in the day to fit everything in so when something has to give it is usually the time I have allocated for myself to exercise or just relax. A mentor once told me that to be successful “me time” is not a luxury or pampering, it is maintenance! Respecting my time on the calendar and taking myself as seriously as I take my most important clients is the least I can do for self-care because if I am not at my peak performance I am not going to be useful to anyone else either.
“Timing can be everything when starting up. It can be the difference between building a thriving business and not” How has good timing helped you achieve success in your career or business? Are there any particular examples from your career that you would like to share?
Paige Arnof-Fenn: I had pitched a CEO before I ran into her at a networking event where she was the keynote speaker and her topic was about being a woman leader in a traditionally male-dominated business. I had followed up after sending my proposal several times via e-mail and voice mail but the CEO never returned any of my messages or even acknowledged receipt of the proposal requested. I thought I was being pleasantly persistent but I was nervous to see her at the event because I thought she might think I was stalking her. You can imagine my shock when she announced at this event as part of her speech that she believes it is important to put your money where your mouth is and for women CEOs to support other respected & well-run women’s businesses and that is why she has hired my firm to handle all her company’s marketing & PR!
Everyone congratulated me after, her word of mouth was a better endorsement than the New York Times because she was very well known and had the reputation of being very tough with high standards so I got a LOT of business from people in the room that night because they thought if I was able to impress her I must be very good 😉
To think I almost did not even show up maybe seeing me there is what prompted her to pull the trigger and hire us? I sold more business in the month that followed than lever had since starting my company so we really began to scale quickly at that point and got a lot of referrals as a result!
“When you’re thinking of starting up, ask yourself: ‘Is the community I want to serve ready for this idea?’ It could make all the difference!” Would you like to add anything to this piece of advice for all the aspiring entrepreneurs?
Paige Arnof-Fenn: When real customers are willing to pay real money for your product or service, you have a real business. Start with the fundamentals: Who are you and why should anyone care? If you’re not passionate about what you’re doing, then why should anyone else be? There’s a lot of noise in every category, so if you don’t have a unique story to tell and a new approach or idea that excites you, then go no further. Every great business is built on a great story so start telling yours to potential customers and see if they buy what you’re selling.
I used public speaking and networking events to share my story and find my niche market. My tip is that once your story resonates conduct market research with real customers, not with family and friends (who may only tell you what they think you want to hear so they don’t hurt your feelings). Market research will take the risk out of the decision if you let the data drive you instead of emotions.
COVID forced many businesses to adapt fast, some did so successfully, others failed, it was a lot due to good or poor timing. What are some of the big lessons you’ve learned during the pandemic?
Paige Arnof-Fenn: Maybe the silver lining is that this crisis reminds us that we have always needed each other and we have learned that everyone is struggling right now to find a new normal so the key is to show our humanity and compassion while we look out for one another. I remind my clients that whether you are B2B or B2C every business is P2P and connecting on a personal level is what matters most. Best practices for successful businesses include an understanding their product or service is about more than the transaction, they are in the relationship business.
People connect with brands they know, like, and trust and customer loyalty can change but if they have a great experience and relationship with your brand you can keep them by staying in communication. Especially post-pandemic, show them they are respected, loved, and needed. We have all been through a lot so it is a smart investment to make this a priority. I decided to permanently change my routine during the pandemic and I am sleeping more (10+ vs 5 hours per night) so am starting my day much later than before. After a morning workout, showering, and eating breakfast I am at my desk non-stop most of the day now.
I think I am more productive and efficient now than I was before, another silver lining in the crisis! By being organized and setting my schedule in advance I find I am actually sleeping more, eating healthier, and getting more done in fewer hours now. I have always been a morning person so once I start my day it flies until lunch. I always eat breakfast and like to work out in the mornings to get my day off to a strong start. I feel I have more energy all day when my heart and brain kick right in! It all starts with a great night’s sleep though! Nothing beats a great night’s sleep to be an effective CEO, it works for me. We have also learned that technology does not have to be isolating it can be used to build our real-world communities and relationships too!
Your insight has been incredibly valuable and our readers thank you for your generosity. We do have a couple of other bold questions to ask. What fictional world would you want to start a business in and what would you sell?
Paige Arnof-Fenn: It is fun to think about the Jetsons now, that world seems so much closer with drones, SpaceX, etc. I would love to create products and services to help us relax and enjoy time together in space.
Before we finish things off, we would love to know, when you have some time away from business, what is one hobby that you wish you could spend more time on?
Paige Arnof-Fenn: I am a big fan of Tai Chi/Qigong and started learning it >16 years ago. I have gotten progressively addicted over the years and now know the choreography of 2 different forms and I absolutely love it. It is a way to both relax and focus. I even guest teach when the regular backup cannot be there. I have met great people, it has helped my balance, improved my bone density and helped calm my mind. I just love it.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Paige Arnof-Fenn for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Paige Arnof-Fenn or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page
Disclaimer: The ValiantCEO Community welcomes voices from many spheres on our open platform. We publish pieces as written by outside contributors with a wide range of opinions, which don’t necessarily reflect our own. Community stories are not commissioned by our editorial team and must meet our guidelines prior to being published.
