Meet our Industry Person of the Week, Emily Joann Wilkins is the Founder & CEO of Marketing Metal.

Q: How did you get started working in your field?

Emily: I grew up around manufacturing and went to an engineering school for business. Kettering University has a required co-op program. I worked in product development and marketing in the automotive and toy industries, then did my senior thesis project at a small fabrication shop helping them market a new industrial product line for marine maintenance shops. Aside from another short stint in the toy industry and 9 months at GE Aviation, I’ve worked for small, B2B job shops my entire career as the one woman marketing show. After my intestines exploded in 2017 (plus 2 years of recovery), I started “the anti-agency” to help small shop owners build a Radical brand and stupid simple marketing machine that actually worked for them.

Q: What do you love the most about your job? What are you most proud of?

Emily: I love getting to know the humans behind the components needed to make our world go ’round. I love hearing their stories and helping them unlock their biggest visions for the future and unblock their fears, frustrations, and limitations.

Q: What advice would you give to someone considering this line of work or new to the field?

Emily: This is such a hard question because I’ve learned so much over the years by making all the mistakes. I guess my advice would be: know your worth but keep learning and growing from the challenges. When you disagree with someone’s opinion, don’t try to convince them that you’re right, just keep asking questions and empathizing with their situation as best you can.

Q: Can you talk about a project you recently worked on?

Emily: We just completed a new brand for a machine shop owner who was Amish! I never would’ve thought that was a thing, but here we are… We designed Star Machine to show both the 21st century precision and Amish craftsmanship and work ethic. Another favorite was TORQ Manufacturing which features video of the team riding their local dirt bike track (I even got to take one for a spin!) and the husband wife team who own it took me out for dinner afterwards, sharing all about leaving the Mormon church and warmly discussing politics, a potentially touchy subject the day after the presidential election.

Q: Anything else you would like to add?

Emily: I LOVED the Empowering Women Expo in 2023, both as a speaker and participant, and I hope to make it again this year!

Follow Emily and Marketing Metal on LinkedIn and on Instagram.