I know January is a time to look forward and set intentions for the year ahead, but in amongst all the goal setting and the busyness of agency life, I wanted to take a moment to look back as I celebrate the 5 year milestone of my marketing career, and working at Mission10.
When I joined in January 2019, Mission10 was a small start-up, still in its early days as a business, with me as its first employee alongside co-founders Steph and Mark. I was an eager 24 year old, fresh out of my post graduate studies and grateful to have landed myself a ‘big girl job’ (I felt very grown up getting to work at a desk for the first time!).
The 5 years that followed have been a bit of a blur, but I felt it was important to reminisce on the crazy journey it's been so far, and share 5 highlights and lessons learned along the way…
1. Embracing change
(Lesson: there’s opportunity in change)
Being part of an ambitious start-up agency in the constantly evolving industry of marketing means that change is always just around the corner. From algorithm updates and emerging digital platforms, to new team members and an ever-growing roster of clients, being able to adapt is something I had to learn early on.
I’ll admit, I felt a little apprehensive knowing that there would come a time where I wouldn’t be involved in every campaign, every client, or every area of the agency. Basically, I had to learn to share and play with the other kids which we all know can be a bit daunting! But, as it turns out, with new team members came a wider range of skills, different experience levels and more clients who wanted to work with us. It’s also meant I’ve had the privilege of watching a really positive company culture form, and finding my own place within the company (more on that in a bit…).
Not only was I the first hire of Mission10, I was also a pre-pandemic hire, which essentially gave me one big crash course in being able to adapt! Despite such huge changes to everyone’s day to day life - and so much fear and uncertainty in the world - we somehow managed to take it in our stride. We had countless Zoom calls, stayed ready to update marketing comms with any new restrictions for our clients, and created an online directory so more people could support local during a crucial time for small businesses.
Change is happening constantly, and if you’re willing to embrace it you’ll find that there’s so many opportunities to come from it - even when you don’t expect it.
2. Stepping outside my comfort zone
(Lesson: growth comes from outside your comfort zone)
Something I’ve realised quite recently is that you don’t just arrive at one big ‘I’ve made it’ moment in the first few years of a career and then everything becomes plain sailing. Once you find your feet in a role, it can be easy to rest on your experience and stop pushing yourself beyond that because it takes away the risk of getting something wrong.
So far, I’ve learned that your career can be peppered with plenty of fun projects and memorable milestones amongst the daily grind, but if you’re someone who’s goal-driven, you’re also going to face discomfort and doubt. This isn’t just a one-off thing either; you’ll be forced outside your comfort zone repeatedly, not because you’re incompetent (hello imposter syndrome), but because you can’t really grow otherwise. Case in point, I’m having to face my imposter syndrome and discomfort right now just by writing this blog post (if you’re reading it, you’ll know I didn’t end up throwing my laptop out the window and followed my own advice!).
I’ve started to see that a career is more like a game than a destination you arrive at. You want to be moving from one level to the next, each one getting slightly more challenging than the last, and you’re pretty much guaranteed to make a few missteps as you move beyond your comfort zone - but that’s all part of the game!
3. Working with a team of like-minded people
(Lesson: You’re only one human)
When people ask what the best thing about working for Mission10 is, I always say it’s getting to work in a young team of like-minded people. I’m lucky to say that I work with genuine friends; there’s a mutual connection in that we give a shit about each other, our clients and the work we do, which is something everyone should experience in a workplace.
Working in a team like this has definitely opened my eyes to how much you can accomplish when you work together. Something that is echoed around the office whenever there’s a sense of busyness and overwhelm is ‘you’re only one human’ - and it’s true. No one’s a superhero; everyone has their limits in terms of skills, experience, capacity and ideas.
Of course, you have to be able to stand on your own two feet, but working collaboratively - whether it’s with colleagues or clients - leads to better work, fresh perspectives and stronger relationships all round. It’s taken me a while (I’d even argue that it’s still a work in progress sometimes) but I’ve learned that asking for help when you need it isn’t a weakness; it’s actually the key to success.
4. Leaning into my own passion
(Lesson: Find your special sauce)
When I joined Mission10, I was working across most of our digital marketing services, however, I already knew the area I was most passionate about and that was content. Social media and writing engaging content is what drew me to marketing in the first place and, fortunately, I got to craft that career path out for myself and moved into my current role as a Content Marketing Specialist.
In the last 5 years, I’ve written hundreds of blog posts - a lot of which cover topics I knew very little about at first. From asset integrity management and decommissioning challenges, to timber cladding, kitchens and mattresses, I can turn my creative hand to any topic and whip up some written content on it (so much so, I’ve been given the title of ‘content queen’ in the office).
Interviewing clients in senior positions on a technical subject can be daunting, but with a lot of practice I’ve learned that no matter what the conversation is about, they just want to share their expertise and the thing they’re super passionate about, which is exactly what I’m doing in the output. They’re the one who knows about ‘X’, and I’m the one who knows about turning that into engaging content for their audience.
Honing in one particular area doesn’t mean you’re limiting yourself, it gives you a launchpad for becoming an expert in the thing you do best, and sharing your own ‘special sauce’ with those who need it.
5. Finding joy in the journey
(Lesson: Find the joy)
Have you ever been in that situation where you bump into someone you know and when they ask how you are, all you can come up with is ‘Yeah. Good. Soooo busyyyy!’? I think anyone working in a fast-paced job will know this feeling all too well, and probably also know that chasing the end of the to-do list is like chasing the end of a rainbow.
There’s always work to be done, goals to strive for, deadlines to meet, stress to manage and that can get pretty overwhelming if you allow it. But, something I’ve realised is that changing your perspective and doing what you can to bring a little bit of joy to your work - even when it’s hard - will make for a much more fulfilling career.
In amongst all the ‘getting shit done’, it’s so important to celebrate and share the little wins and big milestones. We spend a lot of our lives working so we might as well find the joy in the process rather than reserving it for the non-existent destination.
On my first day, Steph and Mark bought me a card which read ‘And so the adventure begins’, which is exactly how the last 5 years have felt. I feel immensely grateful to have learned these lessons and been a part of Mission10’s journey since its early days - and I can’t wait to see what I can achieve in the next 5 years of my career.