The show airs live on Thursday, January 25, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.
Melissa "Melicious" Joulwan discusses how all female roller derby leagues share ownership among the skaters in a cooperative business model. She also provides ideas on marketing, promoting, and branding special events. You will learn:
* How a cooperative ownership model works and how it can be successful
* How to market special events for sold out successes
* How to brand a special event to widen its appeal
* How to multiply and continue the success of one event over and over again
A founding member of the Texas Rollergirls, Melissa Joulwan (photo left courtesy: Celeste Danger) gets (and gives) bruises as Melicious, number 11 on the Hotrod Honeys. In 2005, she was voted Fan Favorite and in 2003, she won the Miss Texas Rollergirl title at the annual Whammy Awards.
Her most recent journalistic gig was as the sole writer for You Decide, a syndicated monthly feature that appears on KQED.org, Salon.com, and other public broadcasting station sites. Her work won the Grand Prize at the 2004 Batten Awards for Innovations in Journalism, as well as the 2004 Golden Dot Award for Best Non-Commercial Online Journalism from George Washington University.
Melissa has published articles on fitness and nutrition, music, culture, and the rise of Roller Derby for mainstream magazines, alternative publications, and web-zines, including Paste, Carbon 14, the Austin-American Statesman, Chemical X, ACE Fitness Matters, and others.
As spokesperson for the Texas Rollergirls, Melissa (photo left courtesy: Rebecca Davis) appeared on Good Morning America in August 2004, where she schooled Diane Sawyer on becoming a Rollergirl. She's also been interviewed for other broadcast media, including the Today show, The Early Show, and National Public Radio. Her interviews with print media include The Associated Press, The New York Times, SPIN, Inside SPORT, and Drill.
In 1996, Melissa launched Go, girl!, an online zine dedicated to getting women involved in sports; it had a monthly readership of 17,000. From 1998 until relocating to Austin in 2001, she worked as a copywriter and Creative Director for Organic, Inc., in San Francisco, leading creative teams to extend well-known brands online. Her clients included Sony Playstation, Macys, Nike, Blockbuster, Hard Rock Cafe, and Home Depot. She also lead brand development projects for Internet start-ups, and taught all-day seminars in San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles on Writing for the Web and User-centric Web Design.
Listen Live, Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time, by clicking the media player.
If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.
Let's talk with Melissa "Melicious" Joulwan and learn about special event marketing, promotions, and branding, and how they can boost your business to the next level, on Blog Business Success Radio.
Paperback 288 pages 30 black and white photographs ISBN: 978-0-7432-9715-6 Publisher: Touchstone Paperback/Simon & Schuster
The new wave of edgy women roller derby skaters, and their uncanny knack for business organization and promotion, are served up in punk rock defiance by skater turned author Melissa "Melicious" Joulwan in Rollergirl: Totally True Tales From The Track. In a volume packed with action, photos, and real life thrills and spills, all female roller derby for the new millenium is captured in all of its pain and rolling glory.
All female flat track roller derby is not what tradtionalists in any sport had envisioned for athletic competition. Combining provocative outfits, alternate name personae, and a flair for the dramatic, the women owned roller derby leagues have turned the concept of league ownership and management upside down.
Skating as "Melicious" in the top ranked Texas Rollergirls league, Melissa Joulwan (photo left courtesy: Celeste Danger) is a major part of that women's sport revolution.
The traditional sports ownership model usually involves an owner, an ownership group, or the team owned by a major corporation. Roller derby had a similar history, with the difference that one man owned the entire league, including all of the member teams. When that single ownership ended, the entire sport disappeared along with it. Using a skater owned cooperative business model, the leagues are operated by the skaters for the skaters. With over one hundred similar leagues in business, the loss of one doesn't endanger the entire sport. As Melissa Joulwan makes very clear, the women are now doing it for themselves.
Combining business and marketing savvy advice, and anecdotes about life on and off the flat roller derby track, Melissa captures the essence of being a rollergirl named "Melicious" (action photo left courtesy: Michael Osborne). These athletic and smart women provide the league marketing and public relations, as well as being the talent that attracts legions of adoring fans.
In an industry where the talent is clearly the product, the women of modern roller derby understand that each bout (as they call their games) is a special event. As a result, the book oozes with ideas for special event marketing and promotions.
For me, the importance of the book is the powerful blend of edge of the seat sports action with leading edge business ideas. The cooperative business model is one that is worth consideration for startup businesses; and for employee takeovers of their employers' companies. The multiple ownership spreads risk, provides more financial possibilities, and stronger committment to success. As Melissa demonstrates so clearly, the pool of creative ideas for promotion and marketing are multiplied exponentially.
For a cutting edge blend of women's sports and business know how, I recommend you take a roll around the track with roller derby skater turned author Melissa "Melicious" Joulwan in Rollergirl: Totally True Tales From The Track. You will find the bumps and bruises stylish and great for your business.
PS: My Mom read the book first and she loves it. She is planning to read it again.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
