Meet Jay and Anna Lisa Lukes | Co-Founders and Partners, The Lukes Network, LLC Marketing | Sustainability

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jay and Anna Lisa Lukes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jay and Anna Lisa, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
My partner, Jay Lukes, and I started The Lukes Network (www.thelukesnetwork.com) as a different kind of full-service marketing, public relations, government relations, fundraising, design and event production company. From the outset, we wanted our work to have a strong connection to making our community – whether local or global – better. We do this by having a keen focus on sustainability.

Demystifying sustainability and starting focused conversations about energy and the Triple Bottom Line of People, Profit and Planet is the bedrock of our firm. We work with small businesses, multi-family real estate, commercial and industrial companies, utilities and the public sector, and we differentiate ourselves by telling our clients’ stories with an eye on Environmental, Social and Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility. We get stakeholders in the same room – whether they are from government, large or small business or even the non-profit sector, to talk about issues like creating a sense of identity for a local place so that residents will want to spend their money at a city’s local shops and restaurants. It’s economic development but told in a meaningful and approachable way. We also lead conversations about how we can all make a practical difference in helping the Planet while saving money by taking advantage of ways to make our use of energy more efficient. It’s these practical, everyday solutions – and avoiding doom and gloom – that we believe will help move the needle.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Jay: We have learned and continue to learn many good lessons along the way. When we first started, we basically were going for outreach and strategic marketing opportunities regardless of the location. We still do that but in a more focused way. For The Lukes Network, what makes us different is thinking of marketing in a different way. We really aim for authenticity – Anna Lisa and I are our toughest clients. If we can’t convince ourselves of an idea, a project or a strategy, then it’s back to the drawing board we go. We have to be true to ourselves and who we are as a company while looking out for the best interest of our clients.

Anna Lisa: In terms of overcoming challenges, we are both big fans of the late Kobe Bryant, who basically believed that every pressure or challenge is an opportunity to rise. At the end of the day, we are blessed to be doing what we love and having challenges along the way just shows we are following the path we set out to create for The Lukes Network. Also as important is knowing the true value of relationships – not just for the sake of business – but letting our clients know we care about their well-being.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Anna Lisa: So we have both lived in south Orange County for a long time – Jay grew up in Dana Point and Laguna Beach. So any itinerary – and we have used this – will include a full day at Dana Point Harbor for sight-seeing, and having breakfast, lunch or dinner. Jay sails so a nice little trip just outside the jetty would be a good day to spend an afternoon. We also like parks – Salt Creek Beach Park is one our favorites – for picnics, enjoying the outdoors and here, both the grass and the sand.

Jay: Laguna Beach has art galleries, more dining and shops visitors like. We also like San Juan Capistrano – the Los Rios District – has a rural vibe that’s different from most of Orange County. Then there’s San Clemente, and breakfast or lunch at Fisherman’s where the water is literally at your feet. So basically, the beach and being outdoors can’t be beat in south Orange County almost anytime of the year.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Jay: The Lukes Network is a family-owned company, and so our success really comes from the support and encouragement we get everyday from our loved ones. We have an adult daughter – she’s actually a creative but also business-minded – and she inspires us to want to do and be our best and hopefully be good examples of how a small business can be run. If my mother was alive, I’d tell her that she continues to inspire me with the strength and tenacity she showed in life.

Anna Lisa: For me, it’s also my family. I am an immigrant from the Philippines, and my parents changed their lives and risked it all for the future of their children. And that bet paid off. So I’m grateful for their entrepreneurial spirit. And I’m proud to be working alongside my husband.

Website: www.thelukesnetwork.com

Instagram: @thelukesnetwork.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-lukes-network

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thelukesnetwork?lang=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheLukesNetwork

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY2MZG1pz2Q7-xtatiBGtbA