Today we’d like to introduce you to Sheri Colaluca.
Hi Sheri, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
At 49, I found myself in a new place, recently separated from a 20-plus year marriage with empty nesting right around the corner. Like many women in my generation, I gave up a career to stay home and raise two exceptional children. I lived what most perceived as the perfect life; a successful husband, a lovely home, children in private schools, and a large social group of friends. Throughout this life, something was always missing; I wanted to be more than a mom and wife; I yearned to do and be more. I temporarily filled this void with various part-time ventures, including designing, manufacturing, and selling a unique line of children’s clothing, JustAlike. As my children aged out of the clothing line, I moved on to represent a women’s direct sell line called Etcetera, where I dressed a select group of women, including women executives, council women, professional athlete’s wives, and women lawyers. I created solid relationships and trust among these women for over ten years. Though these ventures were a good distraction, I never felt stretched outside of my comfort zone.
So, I made a leap of faith, left my very comfortable life, and moved into a two-bedroom apartment in Addison. It was exhilarating and frightening at the same time. As the days turned into weeks, I contemplated what now? I am 49 years old; how do I re-invent myself and start a career now? Who would hire me? I took this as a challenge! I hired two career coaches to help me take my 25 years of life experiences and part-time careers and turn them into work experiences. I started networking and talking to friends about my ideas and skill set, and in a short time, I convinced a friend to bring me on as their Marketing director.
The one hiccup was that it was in the medical industry. I knew absolutely nothing about the medical industry! I believed in myself! I worked hard and pulled from my past experiences. I looked at the medical field in terms of marketing as not different than any other field; there are needs to be met and choices on who or what meets those needs. What I had always done well in my past careers and volunteer venture was to figure out what/whom I was representing and what was the best strategy for my audience’s needs, and I was passionate and relentless about meeting those needs. Well, this approach worked; my clients listened to my input, trusted my judgment, and we were successful. It shocked me how these brilliant, well-educated clients had little knowledge or experience in marketing, sales, and business development. I was the expert in their eyes. It was terrific; the sense of accomplishment that had been missing for over 20 years was back.
Two years into this venture, I found myself in a dilemma. I was basically a one-woman show: acquiring clients, working the contract, and maintaining the relationships. There was no growth opportunity. I wanted to grow but was not able to without bringing on more people, but I couldn’t afford it. In the fall of 2021, an opportunity presented itself to take on a start-up that would be the most significant account I had ever contracted. A close friend had just made a career change and was looking for a new opportunity, so I hired her, and we began working to build Colaluca Marketing. So in In January of 2022, I left my current position and officially launched Colaluca Marketing Services. Fortunately, my existing clients stayed with me, and we added new clients quickly. We added staff, juggled clients adding and losing, and gradually began to grow.
Each day I look at my small all-women business, it warms my heart. I have four strong, incredible women who have had faith in my vision that we can be better, more creative, and more methodical in the Medical Marketing/Business Development industry. I am excited to see where we go in 2023.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Obstacles are everywhere, and I don’t think there is anyone who doesn’t experience challenges. Once you embrace those obstacles and address them head-on, they seem to solve themselves. My greatest obstacle was starting a new career at 49 after being out of the corporate world for over 20 years. Once I got into this new career and saw the success it was bringing to clients, it became clear to me that this was my calling. The medical industry is challenging and can be fickle and cutthroat. A loyal client of today can quickly become an ex-client of tomorrow. What marketing/business development teams do daily can easily be downplayed and dismissed. It is an ongoing challenge to show your worth and create value. My team and I are constantly looking at ways to give our clients added value and new innovative approaches. We continually re-invent our methods, track our progress, and evaluate our successes and failures. We look at each obstacle as an opportunity to improve, don’t get me wrong, sometimes it’s just a hard smack in the face, but in my experience, something better has evolved from overcoming the obstacle.
As you know, we’re big fans of Colaluca Marketing Services. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about the brand?
Colaluca Marketing specializes in medical marketing and business development. My company’s marketing efforts and strategy bring awareness to a medical practice’s potential referral networks and cultivates an ongoing relationship. We develop specific plans for target audiences, which creates an understanding of their clients’ practice differentiators against the other practices/large systems in their area. In addition, we help build successful medical practices through continual strategy, marketing efforts, referrals, and relationship building with a high-touch and concierge-style service. We are an elite consulting group offering a high level of knowledge and experience—plus an expansive network of contacts. My firm’s proven, unique strategies and solutions help grow medical practices by offering tailored plans based on individual needs and budgets. We won’t provide the same resources and solutions to every client because they understand that no two are alike—you won’t find outdated formulas or tired ideas here. Our goal is simple–to help medical practices grow. We want physicians to have a presence far beyond their specialty.
I operate a forward-thinking firm with Marketing Directors Jennifer Richter and Britt Hemsell, Content Marketing Director Tara Ryan, and Operations Director Laura Holthouser on our team. We want to increase their patient base and satisfaction by creating relationships with other physicians and within their community.
Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I don’t necessarily see myself as a risk taker; however, I am willing to put myself out there. I am eager to express my ideas and way of thinking. Colleagues describe me as a “go-getter,” immensely persistent, and have never-ending energy. I, like most people, can get very complacent and be happy where I currently am, but then it seems like some obstacle or detour in my path lights a spark under me, and I am ready to do more and be more. Going out on my own and dedicating all my time, energy, and finances to Colaluca Marketing was extremely frightening. However, I have an amazing supportive life partner that gives me the courage and strength to believe in myself and what I can do when self-doubt creeps in. I have also been blessed with four great ladies who believe in me and my vision and took a leap to join the Colaluca Marketing Service Team. We are so pleased with our work so far but know there are more medical practices out there that need our help; we intend to find them and provide the highest quality of marketing services so the doctors can focus on providing valuable care to their patients.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.colalucamarketing.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colalucamarketing/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Colalucamktg
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/
company/colaluca-marketing- services/
Image Credits
Bryan Chatlien
