From Corporate to Content
Photo by Elizabeth Anderson
Starting Content by Carm has been such an exciting adventure so far and one that has been in the making since I was young. I am so grateful for this career and that I get to work with incredible business owners to help elevate their brands and get them in front of the right audiences. To hear the story of how I got here, keep reading!
From the time I was young, I’ve loved talking to people. Specifically, I’ve loved asking people questions. I wanted to know who they were, where they were from, who we might both know, and what got them excited.
Although this was my passion, I wasn’t sure exactly how I could make this a career as I got older. During college, I studied Organizational Communication at Bethel University. We would spend entire class periods analyzing conversations and discussing communication theories. It fascinated me.
Throughout my college career, I thought I would use my communication degree to become a wedding planner. I wanted to work with people and help solve problems that they had. For my internships, I worked for an event planning company and at an event center, but I quickly learned that I didn’t love working nights and weekends as much as I thought I would. By the time I graduated, I still wasn’t sure how I could use my communication degree and my passion for people as a career.
Following graduation, I started a job as an Office Coordinator at a corporate software company in Minneapolis. It wasn’t a glamorous role by any means, but I was able to learn about a corporate structure and meet people in all different departments. During my time there, I moved into a couple different roles until I was working in HR. Although I love working with people, I started to realize that maybe HR wasn’t exactly my passion.
In my annual and mid-year reviews, my manager asked me what was next for my career. I really didn’t know. Although I probably could have kept growing within the company and within HR, I wasn’t excited about that path.
Because of those conversations, I started to take inventory of what was filling my cup and what was draining me. Instead of trying to come up with the perfect job title that I could shoot for, I decided to move toward the kind of work that was filling my cup and that was getting me excited.
In that time, I realized what was filling me up was the same “work” I’ve loved doing since I was young. I loved getting to connect with people in 1:1 meetings (and ask lots of questions!) and getting to learn people’s stories. I also realized that I loved working with the marketing team and getting to market the events that the HR team was hosting.
To Content
During this time, I had also started working for my sister’s interior design company at night and on the weekends to help with her social media and marketing. I loved it right away! During the day, I still went to my corporate job and listened to podcasts about entrepreneurs and how they started their companies. As I listened to them talk about their daily lives and the freedom and joy that came with owning their own companies, I wanted so badly to do the same.
As I thought more and more, I started wondering if other business owners would pay me to help with their social media too. Maybe I could make this side gig a real company and become an entreprenuer myself.
Here’s the truth though - leaving a steady paycheck and solid benefits in order to pursue a career that I don’t even have a degree in felt terrifying. What if I fail? What if I have to go back to my company and ask for my old job back? What if people think I am a fraud?
As I thought more and more about starting Content by Carm, I realized that even if I fail, it will be worth it to try to do what I love instead of staying where I would be comfortable.
When I finally decided to put in my two weeks notice, I had two clients and a flexible part time job that I could use to help supplement my income. My husband and I had also just bought our first home, which came with a mortgage and many trips to Home Depot.
Last day at my corporate job!
Right away, I created a website, packages, and messaging that I use to market myself as a service to other brands. The number of Google searches I did, videos I watched, and podcasts I listened to about starting a social media marketing company is insane.
The first few weeks were honestly quite overwhelming. I was establishing systems and rhythms for my business while also connecting with business owners about their social media. I was learning by fire, but at the end of the day, I was realizing how much I was loving it.
Photo by Elizabeth Anderson
Although I’m only a few months in, I am grateful for the ways this job is filling me up like never before. I’ve been completely blown away by the support I’ve received from my family and friends, but also from business owners who have reached out to connect.
As I continue to learn and grow Content by Carm, I am so excited to see what the Lord has in store for this company and the connections that I will get to make.
