Digital Content Strategist and Guest Blogger at Q Academy
Somehow, I always I knew I didn’t want to work a 9-5 job. I never knew exactly what I wanted to do, but I didn’t like people telling me what to do.
Throughout high school and later teenage years I worked every menial job you could think of. Cafe’s as a barista, waitress at restaurants, a cashier and housekeeper to name a few. Jobs where I knew I loved helping and talking with people, but always knew I was meant for something bigger and better. I just didn’t know what that job was.
The usual jobs; doctor, lawyer, nurse, bank teller, yoga instructor, etc. nothing seemed to really interest me. Other people in school seemed to know exactly what they wanted to do, or at least they went right into college to start figuring it out!
I never wanted to do this, so I ended up working menial job after job around Victoria until I had my two sons, which is the job I am most proud of… being a mom. But I still had a feeling in the pit of my gut that I was meant to do something. While I was a stay-at-home mom with my son’s, I had time to think, the thought of being an entrepreneur came to me. Owning my own business was an interest of mine. Other people did it and were successful so there was no reason I couldn’t be be!
When my second son was born I decided to start my own gluten-free cheesecake business. Gluten-free was just starting to become popular, lots of products were coming out that were gluten-free and lots of people were eating gluten free. I loved cooking, I loved healthy food…. Why not try it out! Little did I know all of the hard work, frustration and roadblocks that went into starting your own small business. So needless to say, I quit after about 6 months.
For the next 4 years I started learning more and more about Blogging. Something really intrigued me about learning what the online world was all about. Blogging was an avenue where you had free rein of what you wanted to write about, freedom about what you wanted to put out to the world. I taught myself how to write a blog using WordPress and learned about how to start a blog. This was my first step into online/digital marketing. I loved it! I had complete control over what my content was and when I put my content out. I enjoyed the creative process of writing posts, as well as the business aspect of putting affiliate links in and getting people to come to my website. The online world can seem completely overwhelming, but as soon as you start and take the steps to learn, then you get to learn more and more as you go. Then you will look back on it a few months later and see how far you have come.
After a year or so, I craved to learn more. I put my blog on hold, and took a course on Social Media Marketing. I watched Webinars and You Tube videos about Online Marketing, Shopify, Affiliate Marketing, and how to build your online business. I went to networking events and started to learn more and more about the whole Digital Marketing world. Everything I learned was completely fascinating to me and I am still mind boggled about how much more there to learn! Networking has been one of the best parts of me starting this journey. When talking to others in the same industry, something always opens up when you are least expecting it. Through a friend of a friend, I was introduced to the team at Q Academy and this is what ultimately brought me to working with them in the Business Mentorship Program to help to build and focus on my skills.
The best advice I could give anyone.. Is to just start!
