Corey Axelrod, Marketing Communications

Tell me about your job/business.

Synergetic Business Solutions is a marketing communications firm that offers cutting-edge, goal oriented business operations and marketing tools for small and mid-size businesses.  Services include website design and development, Search Engine Optimization/Search Engine Marketing, graphic design, and social media design and development.  As the owner of Synergetic Business Solutions, my responsibilities are all-encompassing as I provide assistance to businesses and individuals all across the board.  From website design to social media design/development, my goal is to help clients create synergy through all aspects of their business, hence the name Synergetic Business Solutions.  While we are not equipped to handle aspects other than marketing, our focus is to integrate each component of our clients’ business by aligning business/marketing strategies, messages, and design.

For the past two and a half years, I’ve also worked at Hager Productions, a video production company specializing in the production of promotional and marketing videos.  I originally started out as the Director of Marketing and Sales and was promoted to the Director of Strategy and Business Development.  There, my responsibilities revolve around overseeing the marketing and sales arms of the company.

How did you get into this line of work?

When I decided to go to business school for my undergraduate degree, my plans were to get my Bachelors in Business Management and then go to law school.  Things changed when I was selected to participate in a competition for a ‘dream co-op’ position at ESPN.  Even though I was not selected for the dream co-op, I was selected as a semi-finalist and was charged with presenting in front of ESPN executives and executives from other organizations.  The task revolved around marketing strategies for ESPN with several local Rochester organizations.  This experience was my first true experience with marketing and truly opened my eyes to what marketing really was all about.  I fell in love and decided that instead of going to law school, I would get my MBA (graduated in 2010 with a concentration in Marketing and Sales Management).

What is the best part of your job?

The best part of my job is taking a problem and solving it and then seeing the gratitude from my customers.  Marketing is so complex and it is not like mathematics in which you can take a simple algorithm and solve the problem.  There are unique situations and factors that need to be considered when deciphering the issue at hand.  The best compliment I’ve received is a referral.

What are some of the challenges of your job?

There are a number of challenges with my field – first and foremost, as I mentioned previously, marketing is not simple as you can’t take 1 + 1 and get the results you need.  It takes time to figure out strategy and implementation plans, and this is not an overnight process.  Patience is often a virtue when it comes to marketing.  Another challenge that compounds this issue is that technology is always improving/changing.  It can become difficult to keep up with the changes and advancements – clients depend on me for answers and if I don’t know them, I need to find them rather quickly.

What was it like growing up deaf/hard of hearing?

Growing up hard of hearing really wasn’t much of a big deal to me – I had deaf parents and deaf grandparents (on my mother’s side).  Being a part of the ‘deaf world’ was natural to me.  Being a part of the ‘hearing world’ wasn’t as easy, though.  There were the usual pickings in which I was picked on for having a hearing loss (most often evident while playing sports).  But intellectually, I always knew  that I was equal to my hearing peers – this was a byproduct of family always urging me on to succeed and providing the necessary support system for me at home.

What advice would you give a deaf/HH person who is looking for a career like yours?

The best advice I can give a deaf/HH person who is looking for a career like mine is to reach out to someone who has ‘been there, done that.’  I wish I did this because I would have learned more about marketing before getting into the space.  I feel as if I went into my MBA without much experience and really could have used a true mentor in the space.  While I am happy where I am today, I believe I may have done things differently that could have advanced me further in my career.