Today marks the completion of another year in business for glee. It’s been a busy 12 months and I’m excited to be working with so many creative thinkers and industry innovators. As companies continue to seek the best ways to connect with their audiences and position themselves for growth, it’s clear well-crafted content is an essential tool. I’m thrilled my clients have trusted me to develop messages that gain attention and provide value to their clients and prospective clients. 

Next week, I have the pleasure of speaking to a group of students at my alma mater, Penn State, about careers in marketing. As I reflect on my own almost 20-year career in the industry, the message I want to share with them most is that there are so many opportunities in this field to do what makes you happy. After all, “if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” Easier said than done for sure, but it is possible. So on this fourth anniversary of glee, here are a five rules I’d share with my younger self in order to get there:

• Don’t shy away from a challenging project—that’s where you’ll find the most interesting work and thrill of achievement.
• Do prioritize working with people you like—when you team up with someone that makes work enjoyable, keep them around!
• Do the unexpected—just because you thought your career would be one thing, don’t automatically say no to the other thing that comes along because that might just be the right thing!
• Do be honest with yourself about your life goals and build a career around them, not the other way around.
• Don’t be afraid to reinvent yourself—always keep learning about your craft, about your industry (and others!)…literally nothing that I do now existed when I was in college studying advertising.

Thank you again to my clients, partners, friends and family who support me and believe in me. The feeling is mutual. 

As the next year rolls along, please reach out and say hello. And, I’d love it if you shared the rules you’d tell your younger self in the comments!

On this day one year ago, I announced that I was starting glee Content Marketing. My goal was to combine my skills in marketing strategy, copywriting and social media marketing with my passion for executing new marketing tools and trends in ways that make sense for my clients. Making this kind of change after spending 11 years at the same job came with a little anxiety. Like with any new venture, I was confident in my product, but slightly nervous about how it would all go.

I never could have imagined just how great the year would turn out. I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to meet new people, grow my relationships and work on dozens of interesting projects. I’m proud of the effort I’ve put into running and growing a business. I’m happy that I can be a role model of hard work and success for my children (they may be young, but they now know what conference calls, invoices and clients are!)

I appreciate very deeply the trust my clients have put in me and my abilities. Collaborating with you and delivering the best work has been a true pleasure. I’m also grateful for the support of my friends and family who have sent me leads and given me advice on running a business or just asked me how it was going.

I’m looking forward to another year of new challenges and the chance to apply my skills in new ways, learn about new marketing trends and deepen my working relationships with clients.  I hope to have you with me as the journey continues!