From Marketing to Portfolio Career

From Marketing to Portfolio Career Success Story > From: Job To: Portfolio career From Marketing to Portfolio Career “I realised my job was making me truly miserable.” * From Marketing to Portfolio Career Catherine Allison wanted to make a success of her role, but between workload struggles and poor cultural fit, it simply wasn't happening. Here's how she quit without a backup plan and found the headspace she needed to come up with a new, more exciting direction. What work were you doing previously? After graduating, I worked freelance at marketing agencies in account management roles to ensure I had an income while working towards becoming a full-time actress. Eight years later, after dozens of auditions, some limited acting success and many freelance account management roles, I felt I was doing neither job well. I was now married and starting to think about having children, so I made the decision to go permanent as an account director at an agency that I knew and loved, leaving my acting career behind. After having children I was keen to move into part-time work and was supported by the agency to take on a New Business and Marketing role, three days a week. I then moved into my most recent role, Head of Marketing at a creative agency in central London. What are you doing now? Now, I'm running two businesses: Master the Art â€" a training consultancy that helps agencies win more business by training their staff to present and communicate better. Hummy Mummies â€" a daytime choir for mums and carers of young children. Mums get the chance to sing great songs in three- or four-part harmony with their bump, baby or toddler in tow â€" without a nursery rhyme in sight! I've also recently returned to acting â€" performing in summer Shakespeare plays, doing the odd bit of voiceover work and carving out a niche for myself as a compère. Why did you change? While I was desperate for the part-time Head of Marketing role to work, for the first time ever I found myself struggling to fit in and frequently found it difficult to complete my workload in just three days a week. It was at this point that I knew something had to change. When was the moment you decided to make the change? When I realised my jobwas making me truly miserable. I had lost confidence in my abilities and struggled to fit in with the culture of the agency â€" something I'd never experienced before. I wasn't right for the agency, and the agency wasn't right for me. Are you happy with the change? Absolutely! I love running my own businesses, being my own boss and having the flexibility to be more involved in family life. For Master the Art, I draw on both areas of my expertise. I absolutely love helping people in agencies to present and communicate better, giving them more confidence and enabling them to get their voice heard. It satisfies the performer in me and plays to my strengths, giving me true job satisfaction. What do you miss and what don't you miss? I really miss the support network of working in a bigger agency environment. Oh, how I wish I had an IT department to help me out with my IT issues! And, although I miss the camaraderie and banter, I don't miss the endless meetings and office politics. How did you go about making the shift? I left the agency (by mutual agreement) with no job lined up, no guaranteed income, two small children and a pretty hefty mortgage. I knew we could survive for a brief period of time on just my husband's income as we'd managed to scrape by while I was on maternity leave, but it wasn't an ideal situation! However, not working enabled me to have the head space to think about what I really wanted to do next. How could I use my skills to do something that I loved? I had over 20 years' experience working in agencies and eight years' experience of training and working as an actress. Through thinking about how I could combine these skill sets, Master the Art was born. I drew on my network, updated my LinkedIn, met a lot of people for coffee, asked for advice, and told as many people as possible what I was looking to do and achieve. I was able to run a trial training session at my husband's agency which helped me build my confidence and understand which areas I still needed to work on. And yet, when my youngest daughter went to school, I found myself with two days of extra time on my hands and a further business opportunity fell into my lap. While on maternity with my youngest, I started attending Hummy Mummies, a daytime choir for mums that you could take your baby along to. Hummy Mummies was such a breath of fresh air; it gave me the chance to do something for me, without having to worry about childcare. I started collaborating with the founder over corporate training â€" he ran choir workshops for businesses â€" and after a few discussions he mentioned that he was looking for someone to come on board and help turn Hummy Mummies into a franchise business. I jumped at the chance of having a stake in the business and took it on as my 'side-hustle'. So life is busy, and bonkers, but I love having a portfolio career and wouldn't have it any other way. What didn't go well? What wrong turns did you take? I said yes to every single piece of work that came my way. I probably shouldn't have done that â€" I know I didn't do the greatest job for some of them. It would have been better for me to have been single-minded and said no to the things I knew I wasn't suited to. How did you handle your finances to make your shift possible? I was lucky enough to get freelance work very soon after I left my permanent role. This helped me get to a point where I could set up my own business. What was the most difficult thing about changing? Having the confidence to just go for it. Imposter syndrome kicked in big style (and still rears its ugly head from time to time!). I've taught myself to get better at not letting my inner critic take over and to celebrate the small wins as they happen rather than always thinking of my failings. What help did you get? Friends, family and ex-colleagues have all been hugely supportive, for which I am very grateful. What resources would you recommend to others? It seems obvious, but LinkedIn. I get so much business from LinkedIn. It really is a powerful tool. What have you learnt in the process? I've learnt that if you put your mind to something, you CAN do it. I may not be running million-pound businesses (yet!), but oh boy, I am SO much happier than I was. I really do love what I do. Don't chase the money â€" do what you love and the money will follow. What do you wish you'd done differently? I should've been more focused in the early months, only taking on work that I knew I could deliver. What would you advise others to do in the same situation? Have the confidence to go for it â€" don't hold back. It's all too easy to lose confidence in your abilities, especially after having children. You CAN do it. To find out more about Catherine's business, visitwww.hummymummies.com. What lessons could you take from Catherine's story to use in your own career change? Let us know in the comments below. From Marketing to Portfolio Career Success Story > From: Job To: Portfolio career From Marketing to Portfolio Career ?“I wanted to make a difference. But all I was doing was making rich companies richer.” * From Marketing to Portfolio Career Kiran Gill's career looked great on paper, but left her feeling hollow. So, in a bold leap, she quit her job and started to bring to life ideas she'd been thinking about for almost a decade. Here, she shares how taking a portfolio approach to work has allowed her to pursue all her passions. What work were you doing previously? I was Group Managing Director of a brand agency in Dubai. I'd worked in marketing and advertising for my whole career â€" about half of that was in the UK and then I moved abroad with my work. In India I did both agency and in-house roles. I preferred the collaboration of agency work and eventually set up my own training consultancy helping agencies with client and creative services and people management. I moved to Dubai when a role came up for an agency that wanted to grow into India. I started as Head of Client Services and then I just worked, worked, worked for over three years. Ultimately, I got promoted to Group Managing Director, overseeing offices in five countries. What are you doing now? I run my own online accessories business â€" bloomandgrace.com. All of our products are ethical and vegan, we follow an artisan model, and we give back to education projects in the countries where we source our products. I'm also working towards executive coaching for women in leadership. I know how isolating their experiences can be. It's a personal mission for me to do something about that. The other opportunity I'm pursuing is property investment to add some passive income. Why did you change? On paper I was successful and I should have been happy. Instead I felt hollow. I started to question what I was doing. All I'd done for so long was work. My personal life was a mess;my dog was literally the only thing that brought me joy. I wanted to make a difference. But all I was doing was supporting consumerism and making rich companies richer. When was the moment you decided to make the change? I was in a meeting one day and I just quit. Then I left everything â€" my job, my relationship, the country. I had three months' gardening leave at least but it wasn't planned at all. I thought: “What am I going to do?” I started Googling for ideas. That's when I came across Careershifters. Are you happy with the change? Yes! I think I'm happier than I've ever been. I'd become a fraction of myself before; now I'm not even the old me â€" I'm Kiran 2.0. There is so much that I'm passionate about. I don't feel like I work. Every day I wake up excited to do things. Every day is different: I've got freedom, I'm learning, I'm using old skills and acquiring new ones. I'm making a positive impact. I'm contributing. What do you miss and what don't you miss? I miss the salary. But that salary came at a price for me. I'd never take the money again for the pain that it brought me. I'd much rather be where I am now. I don't miss the environment or the culture that I was working in. How did you go about making the shift? With the support of Careershifters I began to dig down and discover what was truly important to me. I'd had all these threads in my life for such a long time â€" sustainability, fashion, empowerment for women â€" but I'd never been able to really see them or bring them together before. I became vegan. That really personal step launched me into a whole other world. I found new people, interests and ideas. At a vegan fashion event I met someone who'd set up an e-commerce business. I started to consult for him on brand and marketing. I began to build up consultancy work in that way, based on my old skills whilst working in a new space that I loved. Ultimately, though, I wanted to be my own boss. So, when the chance came to buy and revamp an ethical online accessories business, I jumped at it. What didn't go well? What wrong turns did you take? I don't remember anything being a wrong turn, as such. I did look back and wonder if I should have explored other areas, but no, I'm happy where I am. All the steps I took were about learning; some were like bumpers on a bowling alley that nudged me onto a different course. How did you handle your finances to make your shift possible? I'm still working on the money to be honest but I'm doing OK. I was on gardening leave initially, so that helped. Then, I built up some consultancy work that allowed me to test new areas of interest while using my old skills. I'm going to need to work really hard over the next 18 months or so but I love the path that I'm on. I've been surprised to realise that you actually don't need much to live well. What was the most difficult thing about changing? Changing my mindset and letting go of the way I'd always done things. I'm the kind of person who's always looking six steps ahead. So I didn't like it when I couldn't see where the process was heading. When I finally managed to stop worrying about finding the answer and just religiously went through all of the steps I started to get breakthroughs. I realised it wasn't about being on one path. I can be on three! Having a portfolio career driven by my passions wasn't something that I'd really considered or even knew existed before. What help did you get? I got so much out of working with the Careershifters coaches and the other people in my group. I would never have learnt as much or have been so supported if I'd tried to go it alone. Outside of the programme, I had conversations with friends and family, I went to as many events as I could, and I also read a lot of biographies for inspiration! What have you learnt in the process? I've learnt what being open minded really means and what a difference that can make. I used to think that all the travel and work I'd done overseas gave me a broad perspective but the reality was that I was very blinkered. My work and life had become so narrow in focus and so empty as a result. I'd been vaguely thinking about other options for the best part of a decade. I'd chat about them over a drink but then dismiss them in the cold light of day. I realised that I wasn't incapable or an idiot. I just needed help to get me there. I alsolearnt to take action, one step at a time, rather than trying to think ahead and see the outcome before I even did anything. What do you wish you'd done differently? Although it didn’t always feel like it, every step I've taken has been critical in getting me to where I am now, so I don't regret any of them. Except, maybe, not having done it sooner. What would you advise others to do in the same situation? Take the first step. You don't have to run. You don't need to know where you're going. Take it one step at a time. What lessons could you take from Kiran's story to use in your own career change? Let us know in the comments below.