The story behind Justin Trowbridge

Born in Cincinatti Ohio and raised in Omaha Nebraska Justin is the oldest of 2 boys.  Growing up in a small town (then) outside Omaha he made a choice to go to Creighton Prep High School following his 8th grade year.

 

During his time at Prep Justin developed his love for the arts.  Taking advanced independent study art classes and working on the schools literary paper his artistic side grew.

 

He also found a home working with local charities and even became part of the first "spokes family" for United Way of the Milands in 1995.  Reaching out didn't stop with charitable work.  Justin was also heavily involved with Brothers for Others, a multicultural group at Prep focused on diversity and education.

 

Outside of his academic endeavors Justin started as an offensive tackle and as a defensive tackle all 4 years.  One of three "ironmen" on his senior team Justin was named all division defensive tackle and went on to play in the Down Under Bowl in Australia.

 

Leaving Omaha Justin went to the University of Kansas as a preferred walk on for the 1996 team.  After 3 short weeks in summer training and going from the largest player in Omaha to the smallest lineman on the team he realized his football career was short lived.

 

Originally an advertising major Justin changed his major to graphic design and then industrial design.  The flexability and the notion of a "jack of all trades and a master of nothing" appealed to him.  During his time at KU Justin worked as a bouncer and DJ at local night clubs and bars.  This part time employment gave him a full time lesson in human behavior and a knack for dealing with just about anyone.

 

In his senior year Justin left KU to finish up school at the Art Institute of Colorado in Denver Colorado.  He recieved a Bachelors degree in Industrial Design and Technology in 2003.

 

After moving back to Omaha with his then Fiance he found a home at Nebraska Wine & Spirits as a territory manager.  His territory ranged from South Omaha where his spanish speaking skills helped him bring new products to the hispanic market in Nebraska.  The territory expanded through mid town and north Omaha into some rough neighborhoods where his accounts worried for his safety.  As a former bouncer and someone with a cool head he routinely showed up in accounts where other reps never dared to set foot. 

 

His territory continued further north reaching all the way to Decatur Nebraska and included the towns of:  Decatur, Tekamah, Blair, Oakland, Uehiling, Lyons, Bennington, Waterloo, Valley, and a few Elkhorn accounts.  With responsibility for over 120 accounts and accounts of every type Justin took charge of everything he could.

 

In his time as a liquor rep Justin:  Brought new products to market such as Rompope and Mezcals to the hispanic market, shattered jagermiester sales by placing jagermiester tap machines in every onsale account he had responsiblity for and increasing sales 250%,  he ousted Budwieser on tap and replaced it with New Belgium Fat Tire and kept it on draft for over a year,  and lastly had accounts in his territory with a market share over 80% and even a few 100% marketshare accounts.

 

In 2006 Justin left to work at Lexus of Omaha.  In his short time there he was entrusted with the stores internet sales and set a store record for the highest gross on a used car.  ($12,000)

 

In 2007 Justin went to work for New York Life Insurance in Omaha.  He had clients in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Maryland.  One month he was even the top producer in the region for Long Term Care insurance.

 

After a little over a year Justin was offered a position with a long time family friend and classmate from high school.  After successfully passing his Series 7 and Series 63 exams Justin worked for QA3 Financial Group.  During the financial meltdown he worked with two vested advisors to prepare clients for meetings and offer insurance solutions. 

 

Many of these clients were eligible for private placement investments (Regulation D offerings).  During a financial crisis Justin was lucky enough to work with some high net worth clients and actually made money for them.  When asked how he did it Justin usually responds "It was easy...this is on fire, this is in the news, this doesn't exist...I just did account triage and educated guesses!"

 

In the spring of 2009 Justin started his own company called Big Chameleon.  Offering business development services with a focus in web development and non-traditional marketing strategies he had some great success.  Many of the clients his company worked with saw immediate results and were able to use programs he developed in ways never before thought of.

 

Some of the more memorable moments included:  The DateOmaha.com "Love Seat" at Werner Park, Regent Financial Group's website,  The logo design for Exeter Arms,  and Boyer Young's website with mapping feature.

 

In the spring of 2012 Justin divorced his wife of 6 years and then later closed the doors on his company.  He and his business partner no longer saw the same big picture of the jointly operated companies they had started and grew together.

 

After some personal rebuilding Justin found himself working at Performance Ford in Omaha as an Internet Sales Manager.  Given his background and skillsets he took to it like a fish in water.  Selling 11 cars his first month back in the business after 6 years of beign away he finished #4 in the company for the year, with only 9 months under his belt. 

 

During his time there Justin became known as the high performance and diesel specialist.  Justin also took great pride in working with deployed soldiers looking for vehicles.  The final car he delivered was to a Marine who "snuck" home to be at his sisters wedding.  He put a deposit on the California Special edition Mustang he bought during a mortar attack.  He was the longest consecutive internet sales manager at the dealership when he left in 2013.

 

When a position with a new start up fell through Justin found himself looking for work.  After realizing he was destined to be in commission based sales jobs without further education he enrolled in Bellevue University's MBA program. 

 

After dropping an accounting class to get a better understanding of the basics in accounting (which weren't offered at the Art Institute) he learned of the Masters in Marketing program and enrolled.

 

Marketing has always been something near and dear to Justins heart.  As a 100% commission based salesman he found himself augmenting and even developing his own marketing products to increase his sales. 

 

In his spare time Justin is a tinkerer and loves the outdoors.  In the summer of 2014 Justin purchased a 1974 Open Road motor home for $100.  He has been spending time gutting and remodeling the inside as a side project.  "The Cousin Eddie Project" even has its own Facebook page so you can track the progress and participate in the fun.

 

In March of 2014 Justin won a free trip to participate in 88 Tactical's Civilian SERE training.  Over the course of 48 hours in 7 degree weather he got a crash course in survival with retired special forces and law enforcement professionals.  He lost 7lbs in a weekend and slept for 2 days when he got back but loved every second of the challenge.

 

Justin is the kind of person who doesn't shy away from a challenge.  With his artistic background and a good dose of reality he approaches everything he does with optimism.  One of Justins favorite Irish sayings is "I'm Irish, if you tell me I can't have or can't do something I'll die proving your wrong...If you tell me I can have or can do something I'll wonder why you don't want it or won't do it."

 

Justin Founded the Big "O" Networking Group on Linked In in 2009 and manages the group to this day.  The group has over 8000 members from all walks of life.  This professional networking group has been featured as a success story for the Linked In groups feature across the nation.

 

In 2009 Justin also founded the Order of Beer Thirty.  A tounge and cheek "secret society" of avid professional networkers this group takes things a step further.  You're not allowed to talk about business while you're at the event.  This helps professionals build personal relationships first and then develop long term business connections from there.  The group is all in good fun and members see a change in how they prospect for new business and interact with other professionals as a whole.

 

In his spare time Justin voulenteers as an Oral Auctioneer for various local charities.  His rule is "As long as it benefits the community, I'll donate the time".  Lucky for him that "rule" keeps him out of doing estate sales and cattle auctions.  When he's not doing the actual auction he helps his long time famliy friend Scott S. Moore by spotting bids in the crowd.  Some of the auctions Justin's been a part of include:  Sacred Heart, Lukemia Lymphoma Society, Zoofari, Opera Omaha, Make-a-Wish Foundation, and dozens more.

 

Justin and his Girlfriend Lisa live in the historic Old Market District in downtown Omaha.  Their dogs Ghost (an american Labrador Retriever) and Bowzer (A Chow, Lab, German Shepard, Corgi Mix) love living close to so many activities and attractions.  Justin also maintains a small campsite on Vencil's Island, a small piece of land between the Elkhorn and Platte Rivers just south of Two Rivers State Park in Nebraska.