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Ed Bobrow is a builder of businesses
Edwin E. Bobrow lives in the heart of New York City, within a block of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You don't live in this neighborhood unless you are more than a little successful. Ed has been more than a little successful as an agent, as a consultant and as a builder of businesses. In fact, Ed was present at the creation of MANA - he gave the keynote speech for MANA's first national convention, back when the association had national conventions. Ed's books and articles have inspired several generations of agents to not only take the plunge but to build their own strong agencies.
From this description, you might expect to meet someone who now spends more time thinking of the "good old days" than of the future. But, this is not the case. Despite his years of experience, Ed is still very much in business and very much into building his business. That business at the moment is The Bobrow Consulting Group. It's not an agency, but it consults with agencies. It also consults with manufacturers. And, as you might imagine, Ed draws on his considerable experience as an agent to help solve problems in a wide range of areas where his expertise is legendary.
But, Ed was not always on top of the mountain. In fact Ed is responsible for building his own mountain in a way that few people might be willing to do today - hard work! In 1953, Ed started an agency that sold to the automotive aftermarket. But a year later, his father asked him to help launch a small manufacturing firm making automotive accessories. "Working for my Dad just didn't work out," he said. He had a wife and a new baby and had to make a living. A series of jobs in advertising and sales gradually built in Ed a base of experience that was to serve him very well in all his future endeavors. But working for someone else just wasn't what Ed wanted to do. After succeeding as a corporate executive, but finding the experience stifling, Ed did what so many other MANA members have done - he started a sales agency. And, as others...