Meet the Marlins: Jamie Hein, VP of Business Development

Jamie Hein has been with the Big Marlin Group since the beginning. As the Vice President of Business Development, Jamie works to grow the success of both our partners and the Big Marlin team. With her plate full of teaching, coaching, leading meetings, managing accounts, and giving advice, Jamie never has a dull moment at the office.

What is your experience and professional background?

“Finance and management. Project management actually, I started off as an account manager, then moved to employment growth and development and managing people.”

How is the world of finance different than what you do today?

“Even though it was a great foundation, I got bored with finance. Finance was a good foundation though because understanding an entire business plan, and how companies are created, how they work with revenue and expenses, helps me better manage people and time today.”

“At the end of the day, if you don’t understand the big picture, it can be hard to be successful as a company.”

How did you start at Big Marlin?

“It’s really been my only job. Right out of high school, I started as a cashier for the East Valley Tribune and that is what got me into the world of accounting. Next, I ended up doing payroll for the entire company, and from there I became a financial coordinator, doing profit-loss sheets and all that. That’s when I was introduced to John.”

“He was looking to start a new division and needed someone to run the books, doing the credits and debits and billing and profit-loss statements and whatnot.”

“Overall, I just got bored in the financial world, because you are kind of secluded, you only talk to other people in accounting, and I have a big personality. I wanted to talk to other people and grow relationships. I wanted to be a part of something I was passionate about, that was just a natural sale to me because I could just talk about it.”

“So, my responsibilities changed and I became an account manager, and then managing people on top of managing accounts. With Big Marlin Group, I really became that ‘director’ position, I manage some accounts here now, but at a lower level. I really am a resource to help all the other account service teams be the best they can be.

Would you say this is your dream job?

“Yes, this is my dream job, for a number of reasons. I just love to THINK BIG and help clients grow. When they come to us with a problem and we have a solution, I love when our work makes a difference, and you can see it. I love that people come to Big Marlin Group looking for opportunity, whether that is for an entry-level position or just wanting to learn marketing and seeing their journey of getting so much better.”

“We have so many young people here that come in knowing a little bit, and they continue to learn so much and it’s really fun for me to see that development and that growth; that gets everyone here really excited.”

“And even with our clients, hearing anything good that we do or hearing that we are really making a difference, it feels like we’re just down the hall from them, as we are part of their marketing department, and I love that part. So yes, I would say so. And it continues to challenge us, as no day is the same.”

What does a typical day for you look like in your role?

“It’s managing a lot of different moving pieces.”

“So right now, the way we’re structured, we’re kind of moving past that and starting to scale down where I won’t have as many direct reports, as my day is very much so involved with employees - check-ins, being a resource, teaching, coaching, giving advice, looking over emails, sitting in meetings.”

“The other side of it that you guys don’t see is how we continue to grow and push Big Marlin Group to THINK BIG for ourselves and grow our company. Whether that means adding new people, new revenue streams, products, verticals, how we continue to grow each of our departments, as we are fortunate to have everything in-house.”

What is the best part of the job, and the worst part of the job for you? 

“Best is simply growth. I would say that in revenue and in employee development, growth is hands down the best part.”

“Challenge, or the worst part of the day, it’s a good and a bad thing I think for me. The good thing is that we always tell employees we train them for the streets. The bad thing is that because of that, this opens a lot of opportunities, and I hate losing people, especially good people. I think a lot of the time it’s because they feel like they can’t come to us and talk about opportunity, even though we try to let them know it’s there, and they make a decision before they know this probably is the best place to go.”

“Young people especially think the grass is greener on the other side, but it’s not always the case.”

“Most of the time it just takes a conversation. What do you want to do? What aren’t you getting here? And that’s why I try to do employee check-ins as often as I can, because I want everyone to know there is room for growth and you will continue to learn and grow, it is your journey. I want to make sure that I continue to have those conversations, so people know this is the place for them. I’ve been here for 22 years, and I think I am a testament to that, and I want to make sure people know that.”

What is one thing you want people to know about Jamie Hein?

“I’m a super fun person, and I absolutely love the outdoors. I love playing poker, so you can find me at a poker table, it’s really a stress release. And I love being on the water, so being on the lake, camping, boating, fishing, those are my passions.”

“On the funny side, I can out-drink most men. I think that makes me a fun person to be around outside of the office, and I like to hang out and have fun with people.”

If you want to learn more about Jamie Hein, Big Marlin Group, or the culture of what makes us the best digital marketing agency in the business, contact us today!