Confidence is key…
With the aim of inspiring digital marketing jobs seekers, aspiring freelancers and the trailblazing entrepreneurs amongst you, we’ve tracked down accomplished industry professionals from a range of sectors to talk us through their own career journeys in this brand new series of blog posts.
Kirsty is a Speaker, Author and confidence Coach. She is the Founder of ManyMinds, the digital marketing agency that brings expert Freelancers together from all over the world. She’s a regular keynote speaker and literally wrote the book on Freelance / flexible working.
After repeatedly being the only female speaker at conferences, she began to give free presentation and confidence training to women which were so popular they continued and grew. She now hosts regular donation-based training workshops around the UK.
Kirsty has been an inspiration for many young people getting into digital marketing and through her coaching, beautifully honest blogs and social media, she’s definitely spurred me on in my work a few times!
So what has made this Marketer who she is today?
What did you want to be when you grew up?
Oh, I had no idea. A journalist, a West End performer, a therapist, an author, a teacher. I changed my mind all the time.
What & where was your very first job?
Well, I started working quite young, 14, I think, as a waitress. Then I had multiple university jobs, I worked in an “adult store”, sold NPower door to door (that was horrendous. I had to wee in strangers’ houses and once got chased by Rottweiler) then my first full-time job after university was in recruitment! I was terrible at that, I used to just pretend to be on the phone in the office.
When & how did you first discover digital marketing?
Well, I was thoroughly miserable honestly. I had a degree in Philosophy which isn’t exactly…vocational. I had no clear direction and zero clue what to do and I felt trapped working in a job that I dreaded going in every day. One evening, I was at a bus stop and heard a woman moaning about her job and, very uncharacteristically, said: “So you hate your job too?”. Turns out she was the online editor for a theatre magazine. That moment changed everything. I started writing for them for free, became an editor, discovered digital marketing, so got a junior role at a small agency.
Share a mistake you made or an event you most regret from your career?
I don’t have regrets. I make mistakes, in droves, but they all serve a bigger purpose. There’s not a single thing I would go back and change. Common mistakes I made were often related to being inexperienced, if you stop making mistakes, you’ve probably stopped learning.
Jumping in a time machine, what pearls of wisdom would you give your 18-year-old self?
“You’re doing great. Be bold, be brave, be playful, never take yourself too seriously, don’t care what people think, you’ll have to do loads of awful, awful jobs but it’ll give you an appreciation of when you start to work out what you want and begin to achieve it. Also, those fake pink dreadlocks? Reconsider.”
What industry skill do you wish you’d learnt sooner, and why?
Again, there’s nothing I wish I had learnt sooner because everything I know (and equally don’t) has led me to where I am now, which I rather like. Though I think coding is a very cool, invaluable skill for those with the patience and inclination.
If you were to publish your autobiography in 20 years’ time, what would it be titled?
Ha. Erm. “Jack of all trades, master of give a shit“. Or. “The hummus that made me“.
What is the one thing you want to be remembered for from your career, and why?
I like helping people worry less and have more fun. I spend a lot of personal time, energy, effort and money trying to do that in multiple ways, so that’d be cool!
Thank you, Kirsty for such an honest insight into how your career in digital marketing came to be, here’s to not having career regrets!
Do keep an eye out for more in our ‘Making Of A Marketer’ series as we’ll be continuing to publish new editions on a regular basis from equally inspiring digital marketing experts.
Could your career story encourage others to further their digital marketing careers? Or do you know someone whose story needs to be told? Get in touch with me, Emma, via emma@clockworktalent.com. If you’re looking to explore your career in digital marketing, visit our contact page.
