New Adventure Awaits: Loading Now
“Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect.” - Alan Cohen
I never planned to do a cliche LinkedIn post or start with a cheesy quote, but this part of the journey merits reflecting on the journey and ultimately spreading the word, so I’m leaning in! I’ve closed a chapter (at least for now) on my full time role and started down a path to create something of my own, which I’m beyond excited to share more about.
In the last several months and weeks, I drafted countless versions of business plans (refined and repeated), and met with past managers, colleagues, mentors, friends, and family to refine the perfect mix to launch my own marketing gig - thank you all again from the bottom of my heart.
I kept waiting for the perfect time when I would know it was time to run, but finally decided waiting for perfect would leave me waiting. So here we are as I launch on my fractional marketing journey and I’d love to take you on the journey to get here (if you’re just interested in the what am I doing, jump on down and I’ll tell you where to pick back up)!
The Entrepreneurial Spirit
Saying my family is entrepreneurial would be an understatement! Both sides of my family are full of entrepreneurs - generations of sales representatives, funeral directors, a furniture store owner, a clothing boutique owner and more (how’s that for a diverse offering?!). The calling to start my own business has always been strong, but the question was always what it would be. Even while I was getting my M.B.A. from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, I often looked at it as an opportunity to flesh out my plans to become an entrepreneur. I’ve spent nearly 20 years trying to land on what that would be until now.
The Winding Road
The last decade (plus) was all about finding where I fit and what I was good at. The journey took me from the American Quarter Horse Association to the Lubrizol Corporation, and finally to the agency world (with a few stops in between) where I’ve lived and breathed for the last decade alongside the most incredible people I was privileged to learn and grow with.
I found a niche in solving challenging problems and I found that I thrive in a fast paced, high pressure world. I joke how I probably missed my calling in crisis communications - though the agency world has held enough high pressure fire drills to scratch the itch! Disclaimer: My real world reflexes to crisis situations are not nearly as strong as my professional crisis management reflexes - my spouse says in fight or flight, I freeze.
I have been fortunate to work with incredibly talented teams and notable clients, including LVMH, Tory Burch, Tiffany & Co., Sephora, Chipotle, Stanford Healthcare, Converse, Booth School of Business, Smucker’s, and many others. I’ve created nurture email strategies, holistic marketing plans, optimized millions of dollars of media, evaluated sales pipelines and tactics, revamped strategies for reduced budgets, and much more to drive results.
Enter the Unexpected Career Mentality Shift
While I loved the agency and consulting world, I couldn’t have prepared for the shift that was becoming a mom! The desire to be with my daughter was so much stronger than I anticipated as I swore I would always be a die hard career go-getter!
While I still care very much about my professional work and seek those challenges, I wanted a better balance to jump around and make core memories with my daughter for a portion of the day while serving clients the other portion. Enter lots of soul searching and business plan drafts to attempt to figure out this balance!
The Fractional Mindset (Jump in here if you skipped the journey)
From this desire to better balance, I latched onto the idea of fractional marketing leadership where it feeds my entrepreneurial drive with how I’ve spent the last decade of my career. Not to mention, it allows me to spend a fractional portion of my time balancing being a new mom (Fellow Moms: Do we ever stop feeling new at this?!) while fueling my passion to deliver great results for clients.
In Search of Partnerships
While small and medium businesses are one natural fit for the fractional marketing leader, I’m looking to partner with clients who need a marketing leader for a fraction of time. It could be to fill a skills gap, to manage or select an agency partner, or that they don’t have the need for a full time marketing hire.
My specialty is digging in to answer complex questions around the right marketing tactics, investment level, team composition, and more.
Perfect Conditions
All this has led to the official leap! As I roll away from my full-time role with my friends at Further (formerly Search Discovery), I’m currently supporting a Fortune 500 business in a fractional leadership capacity as they in-house their media.
I’m seeking clients who need marketing support to help them answer questions about their marketing and business performance or serve as the extra hands given capacity or budget challenges.
I am so appreciative of my support network who have gotten me to this point and contributed to my launching pad. Please connect me with anyone needing marketing support in a fractional capacity.
Taking the leap has made perfect conditions for getting started!
