The Pivot: Making the Shift from Corporate to Creative

As a child, I always wanted to be considered creative.

My life has been inspired by music, film, paintings, poetry and literature and I wished I had what it took to become an artist, too. I tried playing instruments, drawing, singing (what a nightmare) and continued to feel like I wasn’t worthy. Then I discovered writing. Writing became my first foray into the world of creativity (I detail my desire to become an artist in this episode of the Too Many Pots podcast).

In undergrad, I studied English; opting for Language, Rhetoric and Writing because it “looked better on paper.” If you asked me what I wanted to do with my degree, I’d say, “just write, I guess.” My last semester, I enrolled in a digital marketing course and finally had my lightbulb moment: Marketing Communications and PR was what I wanted to do. Following graduation I became a marketing intern for Union Station where I designed PR plans, giveaways and other promo plans for the cool events and exhibits hosted by the Station. Then I had to get a real job. 🤦🏽‍♀️

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My first full-time job landed me at one of Kansas City’s oldest and largest law firms. As the Marketing Assistant, I spent my time writing press releases about new attorneys, drafting client alerts and editing proposals. I bounced to another law firm before settling in at Shook, Hardy & Bacon. By then, I’d become a Communications Coordinator, slowly but surely pushing myself towards more creative projects. By the time I started grad school, I convinced leadership to let me lead the charge to develop a social media strategy and that’s what kicked off my journey to pivot from corporate to creative. But how did I do it? I can tell you it wasn’t an overnight success story. It was a slow process that required three things: exploration, self-advocacy and a little fearlessness.

Explore

Like I said, this was not an overnight success story. I knew I wanted to work in a creative environment but I wasn’t sure what that would look like in a corporate setting. When I started grad school, I took as much as a variety in coursework that I could: Crisis Communications (in case I wanted to moonlight as Olivia Pop), Marketing Technology, Branding, Social Media Strategy. I fell in love with social all over again. As a digital native, I’ve had everything from a Xanga to a Myspace page to a Tumblr. I had to be invited to join Facebook in high school and have had a Twitter since 2009…you get the picture. But as I explored the business side of social, strangely enough it made me appreciate the creative side even more. I encourage you to get out of your comfort zone and explore what lives beyond your comfort zone. Explore the unknown - it may just spark your imagination and your passion.

Advocate for Yourself

When I got into the thick of my career, I was a Communications Coordinator for one of the largest law firms in the country. I wrote press releases, updated attorney biographies, drafted award submissions on behalf of clients and while one may argue a little creativity was needed, it left me feeling unfulfilled. Fortunately for me, I had people in my corner who trusted and believed in me, which made advocating for myself easy. One day, I walked into my boss’ office and simply asked to take over social media. I researched and built out a solid strategy and was able to transition to managing our social full time. I worked hard to advocate for the career I wanted. I chatted up our designers and asked them to teach me graphic basics, I leaned into their expertise and suggested that I handled the social media graphics full-time, giving me another tool and further pushing me towards a career in creative. Without speaking up for myself, I’m convinced I’d be unhappy, writing press releases and still punching a clock.

Be Brave

Being brave doesn’t mean that you have to go balls-to-the-wall every single day. What bravery really looks like is trusting in yourself and your ability to create the life you want on your own terms. I am the first one to admit that I constantly fell victim to imposter syndrome and sometimes I had to fake it until I made it. Bravery was especially hard for me because as a Black woman, I was constantly fighting against stereotypes; fear of being seen as the angry Black woman prevented me from blossoming into my full potential.

It wasn’t until I listened to Angela Rye at the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Women of Color conference that I really thought about how my lack of fearlessness was hindering me on every level.

She talked about how women of color are often referred to as “hysterical” for showing emotion, reminding us that “somebody is so intimidated by what you bring to the table that they need you to shrink so that they can feel powerful...But challenge yourself with -- ain’t I woman?” Her callback to the poem read by Sojourner Truth at 1851 Women's Rights Convention reminded me of all the women who blazed trails before me. Sojourner, Ida, Fannie, Maxine, Michelle, Kamala, my mama. These women did the work to make my bravery a breeze. What was I waiting for? These women paved the way for me to be unapologetic in my Blackness and in my womanhood. In honor of those who, as Angela put it, “persisted and resisted,” I stopped shrinking myself and channeled my inner warrior to stand up against my fears. 

There’s no linear path that tells us where to go. In fact, I think we’re meant to experience many different lives -- that’s the joy of learning. You could start off as an artist and decide you’re really into law or you’re a corporate maven who decides to open a floral shop. At the end of the day, it’s all about you and what floats your boat. Just remember to explore, self-advocate and be brave!

I Reinvented My Career in the Midst of a Global Pandemic

Image via Unsplash

How manifestation, virtual networking and old fashioned hard work transformed me into an entrepreneur while the world turned upside down.

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This past summer, I sat in my stylist’s chair, mask on, telling her that my burn out was inevitable. Eventually, I was going to spiral, I thought. It was June. The news cycle was Black Lives Matter protests. Covid 19. Trump. Rinse. Repeat. A few days earlier, a job I’d been on for six months asked that I chair a Diversity and Inclusion task force they were creating. Out of fear, stress and confusion, I agreed. My job had been in a tailspin since the pandemic hit and it seemed no one knew which direction we should go and therefore, we continued to spin. 

My stylist’s immediate response was, “Why aren’t you working for yourself?” I just looked at her and sighed. Why wasn’t I working for myself yet? This is something I’d be saying out loud for the past two years; why wasn’t it happening? Since then, seven months have passed and I’m working for myself full-time. I have clients, I make my own schedule and I love being in control. How’d I do it? For one, I had an enormous support system around me. Many people who’ve supported me personally and in my career that made this leap even possible. There are, however, three very important ideas I leaned into that pushed my dreams into fruition.

Manifestation:
2018 was the first time I said out loud, “I’m not working for other people the rest of my life.” I was in my final year of grad school and my career seemed to be moving very fast and very slow at the same time. I was constantly being nominated to be part of leadership fellowships and conferences but when it would come time for a promotion - crickets. I rang in 2019, graduated with my MSJ and turned 30 all within three weeks and with the sweet smell of optimism filling my nose, I was ready to take my career to the next level - it didn’t happen.

By the fall of 2019, I realized that I’d given my legal marketing career all I had and, after four years, it was time to move on. Throughout the year, I constantly found myself saying out loud, to myself, whenever the thought crossed my mind that I was going to be an entrepreneur one way or another. In less than a year, I began to see my manifestations taking shape. The stylist who told me to work for myself? She became my first client. From that point, I began calling myself a freelancer and entrepreneur. After her, a mentor reached out to me for a project, then a co-worker and another colleague. 

I saw that my words had power and meaning. When spoken into the universe (and I believed them), those words proved to be true. I used to take manifestation and vision boards as cute ways to motivate yourself when hard work wasn’t enough. Through my own journey, however, I became a true believer that your words can change your world.

Believing in yourself can move mountains.

Virtual Networking:
The pandemic stopped the world this past spring and as such, I started working from home for the first time. At first, I despised it. It threw a wrench in my otherwise streamlined routine: wake up at 6:30am, out the door by 7:15am, Starbucks run and at my desk by 8:30am. Working from home in the beginning meant struggling to open my eyes before 8am, countless hoodies, pajamas and constantly hearing “you’re on mute.” I was overwhelmed to say the least, but I tried to see the silver lining: not only am I helping to stop the spread, but this is an introvert’s DREAM. MY dream. This was something I could work with. I’ve been an introvert my entire life; huge social gatherings exhaust me, you’ll usually find me cowering in a corner at networking events. Working from home and eventually networking from home helped me to come out of my shell slowly and surely. As I continued to speak into existence my entrepreneurial goals, I started taking the steps to get myself into rooms I’d normally hide from. 

I attended virtual conferences through Create and Cultivate, With Honors and others. I joined networking Slack channels and Facebook groups and found myself more eager to step outside of my comfort zone. I had my elevator pitch down, I felt confident and I was able to slowly but surely grow my online community organically. I’ve become friends and colleagues with influencers in my industry and have been able to increase my visibility through social media. 

Introvert or not, if you haven’t tapped into the power of virtual networking, start now!

Hard Work:
Listen, our parents and their parents have all told us the same thing: there’s nothing like an old fashioned work ethic to get you where you need to go. When I first began freelancing, I started while working from home full-time. I went from 35-40 hours a week to nearly 80. I doubled my income and stayed vigilant that it wouldn’t last for long. I worked hard to build and maintain relationships with my clients by making sure they received the same high quality work I produced for my full-time job. I’d be lying if I told you it’d be easy, but it’s not called hard work for anything. 

I worked almost 80 hours a week for three months before I received the call that my company was dissolving its entire marketing department. That day, I cried tears of joy. Not only had I manifested this very moment, but I put in the work to prepare myself for it. The universe cleared a path and I collected my tools for the journey. 

If you’re on the fence about taking the leap, start manifesting, start planning and get to work! 

Are you ready to take the leap into your next business venture? Send me a message at hello@brookenoeldigital.com and let’s collaborate.