Several years back, I found myself in a role as a solo marketer. No assistant. No director. Just me. I drove all the marketing initiatives and reported to the CEO.
I had never worked in such an environment previously. I always had been part of a larger marketing team where we all had our individual contributions to manage. But this was different. It was all just me.
In many ways, I thrived in the role. I felt like I had endless opportunities to make an impact, and I loved chipping away at them. At the same time, my budget for outsourcing was lean, which meant I had to learn how to do many tasks on my own. My skill set soared out of pure necessity.
I had to really dig into my creative nature and be incredibly strategic with every messaging campaign.
Since I was the only marketer, I serviced all promotional aspects of the business. Meeting the needs of a diverse group of coworkers gave me the ability to pivot quickly and respond nimbly.
In many other ways, I was suffering. I had minimal camaraderie. I lacked the opportunity for collaboration. And mostly, I just had no one else who ‘got’ what I did. It was rough, and I started to dread going to work.
About 5 months into this role, I realized I would never survive unless I found other marketers. I needed a community. I needed some people. I needed MY people.
It was almost serendipitous that I got the AMA Madison invite for a networking event at the same time that I had this eureka moment. It was for a mixer at Olbrich gardens and I sent in the RSVP without hesitation. But then getting there was another story. It was hard to walk in without knowing another person! Eventually, I found myself slapping on a nametag and introducing myself to strangers. And before long, this group of unknown people were now my connections.
“Connections” is such a loose term these days. For some, it’s that person you “accepted” on LinkedIn. For others, it’s the person you text everyday to “check-in”. The variance is huge! My experience with my AMA Madison connections is a true bond. We all are invested in the same learning opportunities. The same pain points. The same professional goals. We speak the same language.
Finally, I found a community! The crew I craved had arrived!
I know there are others out there who are looking for community too. And I see you! Reach out to me when you are ready. AMA Madison is here for you.
Carrie Brown has been a member of AMA Madison for over three years and given her time to email marketing efforts and participation recruitment. She’s currently serving on the executive team as President-elect. By day, Carrie is a marketing manager for an employee benefits insurance provider, Beam Benefits. Her work focuses on client retention, story-telling and engagement.