Welcome, welcome! I am indeed alive and have much to report!

(“Alive” is relative, as I have spent the last three days transferring foulness from my lungs to the outside world via an unwilling throat. But I’m better now.)

About a month ago, I crossed something off my Life List without telling you. Can you spot the change? Go ahead…I’ll wait. (Look for June 2010.)

I didn’t mean to be so cagey about it, but I did need to do things in a certain order to maintain my own sanity and make sure I was ready to talk about it before I started…talking about it.

It is this: I’m now a small business owner, and I’m talking about it.

I’ve done some consulting over the years, mainly for former employers or colleagues with subcontracting needs. What I do best lends itself to consulting, especially now that so many companies are paying more attention to (what I call) their digital doorway. Most clients, customers, and critics will find you first on the web and then, maybe, they’ll pick up your traditional marketing materials and hear your elevator speech. But how many small businesses have the resources to hire a full-time digital communications expert? Who knows how to hire one, what to expect, or how to measure their success?

That’s where I come in.

You don’t have to throw out traditional marketing, and your elevator speech might be the best place to start thinking about your brand in a socially networked world. But it takes an eclectic skill set, a holistic mindset, and a data-driven understanding of how different people behave online.

I’ve got that, and I’m using it.

It started with one client who wanted to know what I could do to help her small business interact in social media. It grew with a much loved colleague who quit her job to start her own (fantastic and inspired!) business. It caught fire when I mentioned consulting to a classmate and she immediately referred someone to me for help. It’s a side business, but it’s my business.

It’s also debuting tonight with some temporary business cards at the premiere event of I Heart Social Media DC. The classmate who sent a client my way also asked me to speak at her first event — how could I say no? I can think and talk about social media and online engagement for hours.

Turns out? That’s exactly what I should be doing, so I am. In addition to manager, web content and e-communications, and grad student extraordinaire, I am also:

Jennifer Gingras
Owner & Principal Consultant
nextJen communications
*communications consulting for the digital age*
(website coming soon…)