As my time at IBM came to an abrupt end, I wanted to thank everyone for a memorable 5 years.

Although it is bittersweet to say goodbye, I’m actually really looking forward to this new chapter in my career. When I started at IBM as a digital strategist in 2019, I was able to grow through 3 different roles within the company and loved the challenge of expanding my portfolio. IBM was there for me throughout the global pandemic and some major life milestones I faced; for that, I will be forever grateful for this company.

During the pandemic, I found myself diving deep into the world of social media, pouring my heart into content creation and commercial acting. Even though I could only spare about 10% of my time to it, these passions really took off, and I fell in love with the creative process. Alongside that, I’ve always had a soft spot for helping out local businesses with their marketing, probably because I grew up in a household where my dad ran his own HVAC company.

Now that I’m saying goodbye to my time at IBM, I can’t help but wonder what life would be like if I went all-in on my dreams of running my own business in content creation, acting, and marketing.

Corporate America

Here is the truth about corporate life. It really is what you put into it and what you want out of it.

For me, I thought corporate life was the definition of me succeeding in my career. ‘If I can just work for a large corporation, I will make it in my career!’ I felt a sense of success getting up early and getting dressed in professional attire every morning.

But slowly, this spark started to fade. I think this was because I started to feel like i was in Gold Handcuffs. The amount of restraint that comes with corporate was suffocating.

When I discovered a new found passion for creating content thats when the spark slowly started to fade. Eventually, corporate life was worse than venom taking over Spiderman. (not to be dramatic haha)

If I fought the conforming to corporate life [cubical, robotic mindset], it was worse, and if I embraced it, it didn’t hurt so much.

So suck it up butter cup and just lean into it already. I dimmed my side business and really started leaning into my job at IBM. Let’s drink the blue cool-aid and get shit done!

Annnnd Then I Got Laid Off.

I’m an Aquarius, so my initial reaction was ‘Thank God. I’ve got something better lined up anyway’ Mentally I was like lets fucking go. I’m so pumped.

Losing a job apparently is one of the top 5 stressors a person could go though. Being laid off is actually quite common.

WHERES MY BINGO CARD???

But, shocker, I got sick. Migraine from hell for a straight week. I think going 110% all of the time to absolutely nothing was a MAJOR shock to the system.

How did I go from back to back meetings, sick to my stomach managing a half million dollar marketing budget, traveling to events, hosting webinars, to zero. ZIP! Nada. nothing. wtf?

So, What’s next?

1. I started a Youtube channel speaking to other creators who are interested in getting into User Generated Content themselves. Golden nuggets I’ve learned last year. Imagine your love for gaming, and then a gaming company wants to send you their headphones or keyboard to film yourself using and then send to them. Extra cash AND you get product in your niche? a dope combo if you ask me.

2. I love coffee. I’m working with Grumpy Bear Coffee, a craft coffee company by Deepsnap that encourages people to get outside and drink coffee. I’m helping with packing, shipping, and marketing. If you love craft coffee, this needs to be high on your list to try. Aaron really focuses on the mission making people feel like they are a part of something and I am a part of the customer experience; packaging, shipping, we started a Podcast

3. Brand & Client work: Currently, I work with small, local industry, businesses and want to grow that portfolio. I’ll be posting some behind the scenes, best marketing practices, and relevant information to anyone who owns a small to medium size business. Industry businesses are a major pillar to the growth of our economic society. I grew up in a blue-collar household – my dad & brother both own an HVAC company. Because of that, my heart is in it and I care more than just earning a buck. If you’re a business owner, this may be relevant information for you.

4. Amazon Lives & affiliate marketing: I’ll be going on lives weekly featuring some of my favorite items that I currently own. Living room, kitchen, filming equipment, camping & traveling. My last live I broke the lid to my mini Le Cruset salt holder [Insert clip of breaking lid] so you can say it’s mostly entertaining. HA! Mother’s day is coming up too so if you need ideas you can always check that out.