What IS Flip Cat?

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Original date: 12 Dec 11

So often, while networking for my business, one of the first questions someone asks is, “What’s the story behind the name ‘Flip Cat?’” Here’s a little background to answer that question.

I've been through a few scrapes and have always landed on my feet, so my business is designed to help others and their ideas "land on their feet."

Just how have I landed on my feet?

  • At age 5, I was pushed into the deep end of a pool and almost drowned.
  • At age 7, a deranged man wielding a wooden beam came within inches of my skull (not to mention hitting or hurting others in his way).
  • At 14, I almost died of carbon-monoxide poisoning.
  • In 1988, I was held up at knife-point in my own apartment.
  • Four years later, I was held up at gun-point in my own apartment. (A different one, in a different city.)
  • On a trip to Dublin, Ireland, I was one step away from being hit by a city bus (at my own fault, not the driver's).
  • A year later, an out-of-control SUV narrowly missed hitting me while careening and spinning across the median from southbound I-35 to the northbound lanes in a heavy downpour at 70 mph.

I figure I have 2 lives left.

In 2008, I was comfortably employed, yet some of my friends had been recently laid off or were not in an ideally-suited position. During one morning’s commute on the bus, I was reading Keith Ferrazzi’s Never Eat Alone, a great book on networking. Ideas from the book coincided with my own thoughts about how I might help support and connect my friends. I have long been blessed with a great network of talented people, and that has grown exponentially when I began to pro-actively network for my business. Well, the more I read and reflected, I thought, “I have always landed on my feet, how can I help others do the same?” The initial idea of Flip Cat was born.

The Flip Cat goals are to help new businesses and entrepreneurs land on their feet as they get started, and to help established businesses find ways to leap to the next level as they develop. The more we achieve these goals together, then the more we can give back to our respective communities.

Flip Cat provides business development and marketing strategy, social media strategy, public relations, special events logistics, content writing for online & print, and political campaign support. (Not sure about social media for business? Don’t think you want to bother with it yet? Then recall a time when web sites were born and the development process for that. Social media will become a tool you will use in your business. You should plan for that now.)

I try to support my community through donations and outreach to the American Red Cross, American Stroke Association, Carry The Load, Mercury One, MS Society, North Texas Food Bank, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. I also provide pro bono work for non-profits each year.

Is there a Flip Cat? Yes and no. I have had six cats since the age of 8. Most were named for musicians and most were black cats. The inspiration for the logo is based on my last and smartest cat named for Sam Cooke.