Beyond Success Online

Dana Peloso’s BIOGRAPHY~
In my 18+ years of service in public safety, I have exemplified exceptional leadership while under immense pressure. While my “verbal judo’ has aided me in de-escalating some of the most serious situations in the past, these skills along with my entrepreneurial drive have enabled me to successfully impact public relations and marketing campaigns.
Leveraging my past experiences and my endless desire to educate, improve myself has been among my greatest joys throughout all of my collaborations.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW

BSO: Tell us about the inception of your freelance content marketing work (www.danapeloso.com).

DP:

My  freelance marketing career began a little over a month ago. I had just recently left a career in law enforcement due to a significant on the job injury.

I have always been involved in marketing in one way or another throughout my life in some facet of life so this seemed like a natural  transition from sworn life to civilian life.

In doing so, I was met with some uphill battles.  Marketing and public relations are a tough field to break into.  There are a lot of great people already established here.  I had to learn fast.  So I dedicated nearly a month prior to “breaking out”, if you will, and I studied everything and anything in order to improve my skills.

When I felt that I was ready,  I released my own brand and began to hit the ground running!

BSO: There is no typical day when creating online content for mission-driven organizations. Share with us your a.m. to p.m. schedule.

DP:

There absolutely is no typical day with creating online content!  Thankfully I have a supportive wife and family!

When I was a police officer my phone was always on and ringing at all hours of the night for various things.  Now, it rings nonstop during the day.

I start my day at 5am with a cup of coffee and some household chores.  That allows me the quiet time to be alone and get my mind cleared and in place.  I then will typically read a verse from the Bible.  It is God who got me here and I have to keep God in the forefront of my mind in order to continue to push through and succeed.  Then, I go for a walk around our block for a bit to burn some energy.  When I am done and ready to go for the day, I open up my planner.  I am old school with some facets of life, I keep a written journal of tasks, scheduled items and then some simple reminders and affirmations that I turn to throughout the day.

I try and spread my week out with various things based on their respective deadlines.

Sunday nights into Mondays are content production, Monday will be content production and follow up phone calls and emails and so on.  I am very structured and regimented so a lot of my routine is just that, routine!

BSO: What are your ‘can’t live without’ apps?

DP:

The apps that I can’t live without is a pretty simple list… Hootsuite, Act! and my calendar!  I absolutely can’t live without my day planner, and note book. They travel everywhere with me as well as my Bible.

BSO: What are your proudest achievements, professional & personal ?

DP:

My proudest achievements professionally is what I am living through right now.  If you ask any Cop what the best job in the world is and they will tell you it’s being a cop.  So many of us identify ourselves by our badge that it is unfortunately a difficult persona to escape.

I say escape because it truly is that.  From the moment you cross the threshold into the Police Academy and throughout your career it is beat (sometimes literally) into you head that there is no other career besides being a cop.

It’s simply not true.  There is more to life than the tin on your chest and the patch on your sleeve.  I hung up my duty belt due to complications from an injury that I incurred on the job yet I still had a massive identity crisis thereafter.  My proudest profession achievement is moving on.  It isn’t easy.

My proudest achievement personally has been the number of times that I have ridden in the Pan Mass Challenge (PMC). I have four solid years under the belt of various miles, but what truly matters is the good that it has done for so many.  I continue to fundraise for Dana Farber every year using my PMC fundraising site (Shameless plug! Pmc.org/dp0229  GO DONATE!). The amount of good that the Dana Farber Cancer Institute does every day for their patients battling cancer is truly amazing.  So I have made it my life’s mission to continue to do my part to help DFCI!

BSO: What are your favorite news feeds?

DP:

My favorite news feeds have grown lately!  I have always been a fan of Matt Drudge, so I read the Drudge Report daily.  I recently subscribed and absolutely love Boston Business Journal and I have always been a fan of Boston Magazine since I lived there in 2003!  I tend to read a lot of news articles throughout the day, it would be tough to narrow it down much more than that!

BSO: What are your most rewarding charitable involvements?

DP:

My most rewarding Charitable involvements sort of piggy backs on the aforementioned.

Dana Farber Cancer Institute is by far my top pick.  I did a lot of work as a Police Officer for the CT chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.  They are an amazing organization.  They provide so much for the families of victims of drunk or distracted driving and they push on even through these tough times.  I have helped a number of others, but those two are my go to’s.  I have helped with the Special Olympics on a number of occasions as well as the CT Cancer Foundation, High Pointe Church Youth Ministry in Thompson CT.

BSO: You have a diverse career path of public safety, fundraising and social media content creation. Who has influenced your career the most and what is your vision for your future career path? Also, How has Covid19 impacted your work ?

DP:

My career has been extremely diverse yet extremely focused.

I have mostly always been involved in some form of public safety since I was 16 years old when I started volunteering with my local fire department.  To say that any one PERSON influenced me in particular I cannot.  I have had a LOT of great people who have had influences on me both good and bad and with the bad you have to use that as a learning experience.

Matt Garcia, Jon Cerruti and Mark Divine were three Sergeants whom  I once worked for while dispatching with the CT State Police.  Those three men were some of the most honorable and respectful men I have ever known and ever worked for.  They taught me what it is to be a great leader, to be fair and honest at all times and then some.

I would be remisced if I didn’t mention one of my best friends, Joe Sharkey.  I have known him since I was 18 years old.  I always looked up to him as a kid and wanted to be the type of cop that he was only to realize his more than just a cop.  He was one of the most amazing people I have ever known.  I was like a little kid meeting his favorite baseball player when I finally got to work with him as a cop.  He and I still stay in close contact now and he continues to be an exemplary mentor although he will say he has done nothing….

Last in this list, however foremost in my life, is God.  God has led me in times that I wasn’t aware he was leading me straight through today now that I know he is.  We can’t fight God.  He has the plan mapped out for us, its up to us to see the signs and follow them.  I left law enforcement for a reason at a time that I will never understand and it is not up to me to understand.  I just have to roll with it and make the best of it and hope that I am doing right by God.

COVID 19 (un)fortunately has been a huge help for me.  It has allowed me the personal time to break through the funk that I was in and study.  It allowed me to hit the ground running with the determination and stamina like no other.  I hate that so many people have to go through what they are going and want it to stop but my family has never been closer than it is right now.  Check out my blog where I  wrote about this! I can attach it too for anyone who may want to see it.

BSO: What is your advice for anyone interested in a career in mission-driven content creation ? 

DP:

The advice that I have for anyone looking for mission driven content creation is simple: Do it.

Get out there, make a big splash in the pond and continue to splash around until you are seen by someone.  Then keep going.  Its corny, but I tell my kids all the time, Life’s a Garden, Dig it!