COVER STORY
From Homeless To The Most In-Demand IT Marketing Consultant In The World :
How This Feisty , ‘ No-Holds Barred ’ Redhead Emerges Triumphant Again And Again
If you had met Robin Robins 30 years ago , you would never have guessed that one day she ’ d lead the IT industry ’ s most successful , respected and fastest growing marketing firm for MSPs . But that ’ s exactly what she did , persisting through extreme adversity and against all odds , forever changing the face of the IT industry with her Technology Marketing Toolkit . To understand the grit and fierce determination she has , you have to go back in time .
Homeless at 12 after her parents divorced , Robins was taken in by her mother ’ s church : a nondenominational , “ fire and brimstone ” religious group that encouraged poverty , faith healing and living by the strict rules of the Bible . For women , your greatest ambition was to serve God by finding and submitting to a husband and raising a brood of children . Education and “ furthering ” yourself were frowned upon , as was saving money , buying a home or taking any initiative to improve your life . A faithful member of the church until she was 21 , Robins scraped by and attended the church ’ s school , which went through 10th grade but only taught to a seventh-grade education level . There was no diploma or career training — just basic math and reading .
After school , Robins cleaned houses , shoveled snow , worked in a flower shop and did any odd jobs she could to help pay rent for the apartment she and her mother lived in . “ I ’ m ashamed to say I stole bread from some of the homes I cleaned ,” Robins confessed . “ It was devastating and demoralizing , but I was starving . I never stole anything in my life . I still cringe when I think about it .” Without a car , she rode her bicycle to her cleaning jobs , even in the cold and often icy Philadelphia weather . “ Occasionally I ’ d give in and buy a bus token , but that $ 1.25 was enough money to buy something to eat or even an ‘ expensive ’ treat : a Dunkin ’ Donuts coffee .”
At age 21 , she finally escaped the church ’ s grip . “ Breaking free of that religion was one of the most terrifying and difficult things I ’ ve ever done ,” Robins said . “ Unless you ’ ve belonged to a cult , you cannot begin to understand the psychological grip they have on you . I had no money , no home , no family to fall back on . The church was the only thing I knew , but deep down , I knew that this was all wrong .”
Triumphing over what many would consider to be insurmountable odds , the struggle was far from over in both her personal and professional life .
Completely on her own , economic hardship was her reality until her late 20s . Initially , Robins took a job for minimum wage as a secretary for a sales organization called Country Fresh Foods . Her big break came when the telemarketing manager was unable to show up for work one morning — and for an untold number of months — due to a “ tax evasion ” problem . Desperate for a sales “ babysitter ,” the manager asked Robins to sit in the telemarketing room to monitor the reps and ensure they showed up on time and made calls .
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