My name is Jeff Copeland, and I am still trying to decide what I want to do when I grow up! I joined the military straight out of high school and spent twelve years on active duty in the U.S. Coast Guard (and I'm still in the reserves).
I left active duty in 2006 with a master's degree in public administration and a bachelor's degree in management and international business from some pretty respectable schools, and landed an executive management position with a local government here in the Tampa Bay area.
But I've always had an entrepreneurial spirit, and when my wife decided to pursue her passion for photography and start Simple Treasures Photography, I fully engrossed myself in getting her business off the ground. I found my passion in marketing and advertising, and have been running with it ever since.
Simple Treasures Photography, and its offshoot Simple Weddings, have grown exponentially in their first few years of existence, (sales approximately doubled from 2008 to 2009, and are on pace to double again from 2009-2010) and we now have about 10 people working for us and are slowing expanding our business model to other markets in the state such as Fort Myers and Miami.
As a small business owner enjoying exponential growth in those first few years of existence (when many businesses lose money or fail), it wasn't long before I started getting requests to help from other small business owners to help them optimize their marketing and advertising efforts.
Tampa Bay Search and The Nifty 150 grew as as a result of those requests. In a nutshell, I'm an independent marketing consultant, and serve as the marketing director for small businesses who don't have a marketing director. I do web design, search engine optimization, press releases, graphic design, commercial photography, and more, and The Nifty 150 is my tribe.
And for those things I can't do myself or contract out, I've developed a network of trusted partners who I refer clients to for needs ranging from credit card processing to vehicle wraps to group health insurance. Learn more at http://www.tampabaysearch.net/.
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog, and feel free to drop me a line anytime.
Sincerely,
Jeff Copeland
