Elizabeth Barry is a marketing expert based in Hoboken, N.J., with an impressive range of professional experience in the areas of marketing, sales, publishing and public relations. As an innovator in the field of marketing, Barry has been the originator of several "firsts" including the first strategic marketing firm for the dance niche as well as the first global email magazine for performing arts. Currently, she is the director of her own strategic marketing firm, Elizabeth Barry and Associates, which specializes in brand positioning and consulting. In just a short time, Barry's company has built an impressive clientele network that includes "American Idol," Capezio, "So You Think You Can Dance," Broadway Dance Center and Pilates Style Magazine. When not consulting with clients, Barry finds the time to chronicle her company's experiences and her thoughts about marketing on her blog, The Diary of a Next Gen Marketing Director.

Why did you decide to pursue this career field?
I was a sales rep in NYC for 12 magazines. I was breaking sales records and selling thousands of dollars worth of ad space, but I traveled a lot and saw that my clients did not fully portray their business in the ads that I sold to them for lots of money. I began educating them and consulting them on what they could do differently, and one day I woke up, quit my job, and 12 days after launched a strategic marketing firm. I will have been in business for six years in March 2011.

What type of preparation did you do to get into this field?
I worked in publishing for many years, about four or five before I launched my marketing firm. The experience helped me to understand editorial content, marketing, events, public relations, advertising, sales and personal relationships. I graduated from UMASS Amherst with a degree in marketing, but my experience and passion for wanting to solve marketing problems when I was a sales rep was the real experience that led me to become successful in the field.

What types of classes and projects did you have to do?
I took classes in marketing as well as news, public relations, writing, etc. They were interesting. But my best class was with professor Bevilaqua, whom I adored, in which I studied rhetoric and communication, Plato and Aristotle. That’s the real stuff, it is where propaganda and communication truly began, which is what marketing is today.

How did your education help you in your career?
My education gave me a sense of fulfillment and priorities. I was a nerd in school. I always did my best and turned in my work on time, habits which today make me an achiever in my career.

What was your career path like in this field?
After college I started working in publishing and kept rising. I had the same experience at three different publishing houses. I started as a marketing director and worked my way up to sales. At one job, my boss even fired a sales rep to make me a sales director, a position in which I was able to break records within four months' time. And at the next job, I gained so many new clients in just a year that I hosted my own cocktail parties at their trade shows.

What types of skills is someone required to have to work in your position?
You need passion for sure to work in this position. If you don’t believe in the marketing, the customer’s customers won’t either. You need to be flexible and considerate because when clients come to you, they have no clue what to say or create. You are the consultant and even act kind of like a therapist. Creativity and the will to succeed in each area is something you also must have. Never repeat the same ideas with clients. You must always be original.

What do you do on a typical workday?
During a typical workday, I write campaigns, talk to new clients, create whiteboard profiles for websites, email newsletters and advertising campaigns, etc.

Do you plan to advance to another position within your career field?
I own my own marketing firm and the next step is to gain larger clients and much larger firms. That’s my new goal. I love my small clients too, but I’d like to have at least one huge client that I service all year.

What type of person do you think is best suited for a job in your field?
Someone who doesn’t stop thinking or creating. And above all, no lazy people!

Do you have any advice for those who are looking to launch a career in your field?
Never take no for an answer and keep working your way toward your personal goals. Remember, everyone is out for themselves. If you’re a good person and know what you want from your job, you can achieve it … and then some.