About Direct Impressions & More

Rafaela Ruffino began her sales career at the age of 16 selling medical supplies and equipment to doctors in
Mexico. At the know-it-all age of 17, she drove herself to the San Jacinto College’s South Campus to take her
GED, then threw herself into the job market. Later, realizing wearing pantyhose and orange shorts wasn't going to
be her grand career or pay for her grand ideas, she got back to the books. In three years she had an AA in
Business Administration and a beautiful 2 year old daughter, but it still wasn’t enough. So she enrolled in the
University of Houston Clear Lake.

Rafaela graduated from UofH Clear Lake with a BBA in Marketing, Omicron Delta Honors Society, Mu Kappa Tau
Marketing Honors Society, and President of the Award Winning Marketing Association UHCL Chapter in 2000.
Not too shabby for a high school dropout! Once Rafaela finished her higher education, she went directly into
advertising sales. She quickly achieved over $10 Million in sales and development; had a 95% client retention rate;
earned such titles as Account Executive, Business Development Manager, Key Account Executive and Marketing
Consultant; and won several leadership and sales awards including Rookie of the Year and Million Dollar Club.

In reality it did not matter what title or award she earned, what Rafaela enjoyed most was developing a solid
business relationship with her clients. Rafaela never believed in selling something to someone if it was not in their
best interest and her clients trusted her on that.

So what was next for a seven year advertising sales person with a portfolio of over $10 million in advertising sales?
For Rafaela it was time to start her own marketing firm. Direct Impressions & More, LLC, was created in 2007 to
address the strong need for reliable marketing and advertising representation for
individuals and small businesses in the Greater Houston area.