Fatigue is the best pillow.
~Benjamin Franklin
Hi – and thanks for your interest!
I’m Jon Aston – President and Chief Strategist with Marketing Partners. I’m also the Receptionist, Office Manager, and Chief Custodian. In a pinch, I even iron my own shirts.
The short story
I view my purpose in life as affecting positive change in the lives of people: starting with family and friends, then expanding outward to clients, and still further outwards into the community in which my family now resides.
In my professional life, I enjoy working with PEOPLE to build growing, viable, sustainable businesses – and brands. With the aid of extensive network of resource partners, my company provides a full gamut of strategy, marketing and business development services – tailored to meet the needs of each client.
My specialties… Development of marketing strategy and supporting tools and processes for customer acquisition, retention, and growth. Focus on inbound marketing, total customer experience, key account management. Strengths: Creative and analytical problem solver, many specialists in my network, approaching 25 years of experience.
I volunteer with the Children’s Aid Foundation of Simcoe County, where I currently hold the position of President of the Board of Trustees. I donate >10% of my professional time to helping abused children reclaim their childhood and reach their full potential – by funding programs in three key areas: Education, Enrichment and Prevention.
The (yawn) slightly longer, though still madly condensed story
I’m a late boomer…and a bit of a late bloomer.
I grew up in a modest, middle-income Canadian family, in what was then still a small town, north of the ever sprawling “Greater Toronto Area”. We never locked our doors at night…ever. I can’t recall ever seeing a key. Come to think of it, I’m not even sure we even locked up when we went on vacation. I’ll have to ask my mom.
In my youth, I always felt like I should have been born 10-15 years earlier. While I missed out on Woodstock, I think I would have made an excellent “Hippie”. I was idealistic and left-leaning. And I still love the music from that era. I do a mean Joe Cocker.
I had a five-years-too-long career (>18 years) with one (!) company, where I “worked my way up” to a senior position as Marketing Manager. The company started out small and privately owned, grew rapidly, was acquired by the largest company of it’s kind worldwide, which was then swallowed up by their (short sighted, poorly managed) largest supplier. I discovered a powerful distaste for “Corporate America”.
In 2000, I started a family. Well, to be more accurate, I joined a family that was already started several years before, then became a father in 2000. I try (hard) to be a good provider, father, and husband. Occasionally, I feel overwhelmed by my responsibilities.
Back in 2004, I finally left my comfortable little office, struck out on my own…and began reclaiming my soul by working directly with people again…helping (small business) people build better businesses. And I’m pretty good at it. Always improving. Alot depends on picking the right client(s).
Now you know most of my story. I would love to hear yours.
