As a high performing marketer I, Mellissah Smith, have some high performance days, and some that I could have done a little better by being more focused and better equipped to complete what was set out in front of me.

Who else feels like this? Last night I spoke to a friend in Los Angeles, we discussed our recent performance in the industry. We concluded that if you have 10 percent of the market, there is 90 percent that you don't have.
So how do you get that 90 percent? 

The most amazing thing happened yesterday. I went to a pool party in Atlanta and a guy came up to me very excited at the opportunity to finally meet me. He had never met me before, but had heard things about me. But his real reason for wanting to meet me is that he is a "fan" of my blogs, tweets and really anything I put on social media.

Not the creepy type of fan. The genuine person who appreciates honestly, vulnerability and someone who is fearless in sharing her real life.

So, I thought I might start a few blogs about who I really am.

The mentor

It seems strange to use this word because I feel like I am not old enough or experienced enough to be anyone's mentor, but it just so happens that I am a mentor to a lot of people and that is something I have to take seriously.

Today I read an article that Ashton Kutcher shared on Facebook "8 Fears and Insecurities Everyone Has". 

What resonated with Ashton was:

No. 1 I'm not good enough
No. 2 My work isn't good enough
No. 6 I'm afraid of failing/disappointing
No. 7 If people knew the real me, they wouldn't like me

Interesting. It's got me thinking. What are my fears and insecurities?

We all have fears and insecurities - it's human nature after all. As a woman in her early 40's that is single with a fast growth business, I possibly have more fears than insecurities.

After a bit of soul searching, this is what I came up with:

Well for starters, if everyone is walking in one direction, turn around and run in the other.

That's according to experts, who admit that yes - creatines often do their best work over a game of ping pong.

Mark Held from www.thinksalot.com.au says the key to good advertising is keeping the message simple.

"You're essentially telling a story," the award-winning creative director tells news.com.au.

"So the story should always appeal to its audience, and be delivered in the right tone of voice.

"It's about finding something interesting and truthful about the product or service, then giving it a pinch of wit and charm so it becomes more easily palatable to the people you are talking to.

As an ex-journalist, interviewing people of all backgrounds and walks of life is second nature to me. I've interviewed police officers, politicians and met the Prime Minister, but have never been asked to have a sit-down interview with my former news organisation's owner (who would be Rupert Murdoch himself - eep!).

Today, I'm on day two in the marketing industry and have been given the chance to pick the brain of Marketing Eye founder, Mellissah Smith – it’s a slightly daunting ask, especially when you consider that she was little older than I was when she first branched out and went solo in her first agency.

“I’ve been in marketing for 20-odd years and was 25 when I started my first agency – what inspired me to start was an account opportunity falling in my lap,” Mellissah said.

(BRW, the Marketing Issue, Oct 20-26, 2011)

It needn’t take a huge budget to market a business. All it takes is time and little forethought. Report: Georgina Dent

Many years ago a manager commented off the cut that Marketing Eye Chief executive Mellissah Smith “worked in sales”. Smith was irritated by the description until she decided he’d made a valid point. “I was quite annoyed about him saying marketing was the same as sales but they actually do go hand in hand,” she says. “Marketing creates the forum for sales to occur.”