I’m in the middle of planning a move to the Baltimore, MD area. I’ve been visiting the area, making friends on twitter, joining local groups and researching local companies. One of those companies is Under Armour.

I was first introduced to Under Armour roughly six years ago. I was sitting in a rowing shell – moving up and down to the rhythm set by the stroke – my eye was drawn time and time again to an imprint showing through the compression shorts in front of me. While trying to stay in time with the stroke I was wracking my brain trying to figure out what the imprint was, what did it mean, etc… Over the next couple of days I realized that EVERY woman I sat behind had that imprint showing through their rowing clothes. Now I really had to figure it out. Finally after much sleuth work I realized I was seeing the impression of Under Armour’s logo time and again. I had seen it before but hadn’t connected that almost everyone in the boathouse wore at least one piece of Under Armour clothing.

Flash back to the future. Researching my move to Baltimore I stumbled upon Under Armour’s career page where I saw they had an opening in Brand Management for a Women’s Marketing Manager. I applied for the position becaue 1) I’m moving to Baltimore and 2) how cool would working for Under Armour be?? Totally speaks to my Inner Girl Athlete! I haven’t heard back but it set my brain in motion – how to better connect women and Under Armour.

The very first thing that jumped out at me was pants. Talk to any women and they will tell you they have a horrible time finding good pants. Once they find that magical pair they will buy not 1 but 3-4 pairs of that pants (usually 2 in black and 1 or 2 in another color). They finally found IT and want to make sure they always have a pair available. I love my Under Armour Tech pants but they are long – way to long for my 5’3” frame. I actually have to wear clogs with a 2” heel when I wear them or I’ll trip all over the bottoms. I did a little digging and found in the reviews over and over again that this was one of the most often cited complaint women have with Under Armour pants. They’re just to dang long. I – and I think just about any women out there – would love to see Under Armour sell their pants in short, regular and long lengths. Give us a good fitting pant and you own us – seriously!

To carry the fit theme a little further. When I registered with Under Armour I was asked which areas of sports I was most interested in. I would love it if I could also enter my measurements when I register. Under Armour could then take that information and suggest which pieces of clothing would best fit me. Then when new lines were released I could be updated not only by sport but fit as well. It would make my shopping experience quicker and easier – especially when some of the research work has already been done for me. As a busy woman I want to be able to hone in on the most useful information to me as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Back to my UA Tech pant (I currently own 2 pair) – I can never remember the proper name of these pants – in my head they are yoga pants. I have to search and search until I find them again on Under Armour’s site. How happy would I be if I could have my own personal favorite / wish list!! I’d love it to work similar to Amazon’s wish list – it would so simplify the buying process for me and when family are asking me what I want for my birthday or Christmas I could direct them to my list. We’d both end up happy.

Women are social but because of time constraints we don’t go shopping in groups or out to lunch like days past. The majority of our social activities now take place in mobile media or online. Under Armour has a general Facebook Page as well as one for running and baseball. I really believe that Under Armour needs to have a fan page dedicated to women. Make the page appeal to her Inner Girl Athlete. Every women involved in sports has an Inner Girl Athlete – the part of her that feels powerful and sexy. Create a place where she can connect and tap into the feeling – she wants to feel like she can conquer the world.

Along with connecting to a women’s Inner Girl Athlete reward her for being a fan. There are applications now where you can set up a boutique inside a fan page. Release new or special items to your fans first. Give fans a two week window where only they can access the new apparel. Women love exclusivity and being the first to have something new!

I have many other ideas but I’ll close with this one because I feel it’s important. I am Title Nine baby – without all the women who came before me I would not have had the opportunities to grow into the athlete I am. March is women’s history month. Under Armour can spotlight women in sports who paved the way and in their honor donate a percentage of every sale for the month of March to a female sports initiative. The 40th anniversary of Title Nine is June 23, 2012 – if Under Armour starts the planning process now they can have a major celebration of women in sports in June 2012 – culminating in creating their own sports initiative for women. I would love to see that happen!

I’m excited to see what direction Under Armour is going to take their women’s line. I admit my brain is currently locked into exploring the many different ways they can better connect with women. I’ve also have some fabulous ideas on how to make better ties to the rowing community. If anyone from Under Armour should come a calling – I’d love to share what’s kicking around in my head!

Last week I read Chris Brogan’s post “Wiring Yourself for Success”. Chris picks 3 words each year to help guide him in refining his goals and decisions for the upcoming year – a lighthouse beacon to see through the fog so to speak.

The past 2 years I have been using themes to define my upcoming year. 2008 was the year of “play”. I realized I had forgotten how to enjoy all the little fun things I so enjoyed as a kid. I made it a point to play when ever possible. To that end – I finger painted in the yard with one of my nieces, slept under the stars in the backyard (ok I added an aerobed – my back isn’t as forgiving as it use to be!), rediscovered skinny dipping, got lost in a corn maze and made a snow angel. I had a blast but more importantly my creativity was revived – new ideas came – it was a rebirth of the person I had loved and forgotten – me!

2009 was the year of “being bold”. When you get into a rut you forget to put yourself out there, blinders get put on and change becomes a thing of the past. I wanted to break new ground and went bold in many ways. I formed a partnership and new business – Strawberry Road, finally bought the hot red lipstick I talked about doing for years, physically visited the work sites of complimentary vendors to my industry and asked if they would be interested in a collaboration and I made the decision to move to the Baltimore, Maryland area (still putting the pieces together on that). In each case being bold and moving out of my current comfort zone has been a great success which in turn has made being bold something to be excited about and not feared.

I love to try new things or put a new spin on something I’ve done previously so when I read Chris’ post I thought it was the perfect way to revamp the way I do yearly themes. 2 words came to me immediately. The 3^rd one took more thought but I finally found it. As my work and personal life are so interconnected you will see that my words can and do refer to both areas of my life. Here are my 3 words for 2010.

(Before I share – I learned a really cool trick from a Seth Godin post – go to google – type in define: then a word you want the definition of and it pops up an answer – so cool!!)

define:sleek – well groomed and neatly tailored.

To me this means every aspect of both brands – Lil Blu Dragonfly and Strawberry Road – is tight. The message, the look, etc – is so well put together that you know who it came from and it brings certain expectations and emotions before you even get into the meat of it. For me personally it means making sure that I too have a completed pulled together look when I walk out of the door. I tend to fall into that category of working from home in yoga pants and fleece – when people meet me there is a disconnect between what they see and who I am – I need to be sleeker.

define:ownership – relation of an owner to the thing possessed.

This one comes from conversations I had with a particular person this summer. I met a man who is a contractor and during our conversations it always struck me how he took ownership of his gifts, skills and workmanship. He wasn’t afraid to come out and say I am very, very good at what I do and proud of it. It really impressed me and made me realize 1) I am good at what I do and 2) that I literally wanted to be like Mike – be proud and take ownership in myself and skills. In 2010 I’ll be tooting my own horn more. On the flip side I acknowledge that when I mess up I have to take ownership of that as well.

(PS: Mike really is good at what he does – I’ve seen his work first hand. If anyone in the Baltimore, North Shore area is looking for a reputable, reliable person to help with a home improvement project contact me and I’ll pass his contact information on.)

define:remarkable – unusual or striking.

In my industry we are a dime a dozen. There are photographers in every town and street corner now. I know that for me to continue to grow and work with the people I aspire to work with I can’t be like everyone else – be it marketing, style or presentation. I have to find a way to stand out of the pack and be remarkable. But, and here’s the key – remarkable in a way that is completely me and shows my true self.

So now I have my three words to guide me through the year. As a reminder and to keep me on course I plan on doing something that helps me focus when I work on particular projects. I take a dry erase marker and write what I’m focusing on onto every mirror, window and dry erase board I see. So don’t be surprised if you walk in my bathroom this year and see the words: sleek, ownership and remarkable staring back at you in the mirror.

Look up my profile on Twitter (@jenniesjursen) and you will find I predominately tweet about marketing and business. However if you were to follow the original website link in that profile you would have landed on a photographer’s cute child and family portrait site. What gives?

I have been a photographer and business owner since the late 1990’s. First, with the not so successful, Jennie Sjursen Photography and now with Lil Blu Dragonfly and Strawberry Road.

I struggled and struggled with Jennie Sjursen Photography. In an effort to make changes I read books, took countless notes, attended seminars etc and then burnt out. I took a year away from photography – all photography. I put my marketing and design skills to use for a startup company – that didn’t stay started (poor financial plan). I had a decision to make – what am I going to do with all of these skills I picked up along the way?

I decided to go back to photography but Jennie Sjursen Photography was going to stay on the scrap heap. In a very deliberate move Lil Blu Dragonfly and Strawberry Road were created. Visit both sites and you will see there are similarities but other than a link back to each other very little cross over. Each brand was set up to have it’s own feel and identity. Along this very winding road I totally and completely fell in love with the marketing/branding side of the business.

I’m fascinated with small businesses and how they do or don’t use marketing – especially the new communication avenues that are opening up everyday. I want to share what I’ve learned along the way – hopefully make the learning process shorter and less painful for others. So periodically I’ll update this section of my site sharing not only my successes but some failures too. I’ll answer any question as openly and honestly as I can. Hope you join me for the ride and learn something along the way!