I’m Gunner’s mom, Derek’s fiance and the Manager of Digital Marketing for an Insuretech Startup in Columbus, OH. I’m 29 years old and just as addicted to coffee as you are. With COVID (and, let’s be honest, my 18mo old) putting a damper on my availability for one-on-one, face-to-face coffee dates, I’ve decided to make all of my career, LinkedIn, interview, resume and style tips available for you here, digitally. Sign up for my newsletter for a weekly email from me and let’s connect on LinkedIn.

Best,
Kelsea

You don’t have to be an entrepreneur or join an MLM to be a “boss.” You can bloom where you’re planted.

I remember when I landed my first job in the digital marketing field. A friend of mine, who had just graduated with a degree in PR, referred me to an agency that had just hired her. They were looking to fill more entry level roles and she knew I kept a blog and social media presence.
I was working a job I had randomly found doing logistics for a software company. I remember legitimately struggling to keep my eyes open during that job. I made $14/hr and spent most of my day sucking down gross coffee and watching the clock. I honestly thought that would be the rest of my life. I had no experience in anything other than generic things like “customer service” and very light “sales” from my retail experience. My saving grace was that I knew my way around Microsoft Excel, so I leveraged that any chance I got… even if it meant painfully boring work.

When I had my interview for the digital marketing position at the agency, I was disoriented. I was at home in a cube-farmed-corporate-office, but this place was open-concept and had ping-pong tables and whiteboards everywhere. The interviewers asked me about my education, which exacerbated my discomfort. But even though I was well aware of my flaws, I was confident in my interviewing skills. I decided to be honest with them about dropping out of college. They rewarded my honesty with an offer. I would make $35k/yr and leave after getting a $10k raise within 11 months.

I leveraged that position to get a specialized role at an agency. And I would use my experience from the specialized position to move brand-side. All the while, keeping a close log of each industry I touched and skill I acquired. Social Media Management, SEO Copywriting, Content Strategy and Paid Media Buying. Every project, every account, every job was, in my brain, another brick in my Great Wall of Experience.

This Great Wall was not only built of career bricks, mind you. I was wading through my twenties and some serious life-milestones were being added. I met the man I would eventually marry and make a family with. I moved into my first apartment without a roommate. I kayaked on the weekends and happy houred after work. I networked and networked and networked and networked– raising my hand for any and every opportunity that popped up in my face.

Which brings us to today. I’m 29 years old and earning six figures in a field I was almost too intimidated to enter. I have a family and a home, a side-hustle and a career. And I didn’t do it by going to college for years and years, or by selling a product to people I went to high-school with. I work from home and could work from anywhere that has WiFi, and I have a wonderful work-life balance.

Ready to get started? Let’s do this.