A Pitt-Stop on the Way to My Passion

At High School, I was great at Business Studies, English and Mathematics, so naturally, when I was unsure what career path to take, I was offered Accounting as a viable career path (it seems they looked past my 6 years of dedication to both Drama and Music studies).

When I was offered an Accounting Cadetship alongside a Bachelor of Business at UTS, I was thrilled. I had a full-time job straight out of school and support to study at Uni – my whole career plan was unfolding with little effort.

Fast forward 18 months, and the time to pick Majors came, I reflected on my time at the firm, my love of the Firm Newsletter (that I created and maintained), my Presidency of the Social Club, and my role in all Event and Celebration planning, and I had to admit that my passion was not just for the numbers, and so I changed direction.

With my study now aligned with my true passion, I spent the next 10 years revelling in marketing roles at Holden, Revlon, Elizabeth Arden, and Pacific Brands. I gained experience in all facets of marketing from Product to Brand and Events to Retail. I also studied again during this time so I could teach Marketing at TAFE – to say marketing was my calling was an understatement.

Enter the Digital-Marketing-Sphere

In 2010 I went on Maternity leave from my Category Management role with Pacific Brands, having now spent around 3 years in product development, I hadn’t seen the digital storm brewing! Whilst on leave I started freelancing, supporting small business owners who needed help with their marketing, back when Facebook had a thriving monopoly on Social Media and paid ads were just whispers.

In the Social Media golden era, I was able to help so many small businesses thrive using digital strategy as well as build my own skill set. The satisfaction of making a personal impact on these business owners’ lives and the fast-evolving digital landscape ignited my passion all over again. I shortly after said farewell to my corporate career and began building my Agency that today thrives with a team of 10 marketers who share my ideals and passion for small business success.

My passion for teaching and mentoring remains, and I love running workshops, speaking at events and on podcasts (including my own). The Marketing industry has evolved to be multi-dimensional. Digital now gives rich data that gives us the opportunity to demonstrate ROI alongside non-tangible benefits of the work we do (those Accounting days came in handy after all).

Finding Community within the AMI

Nearly three years ago, I joined the AMI looking for an opportunity to be part of a bigger community. To learn from other marketers and stay abreast of all forms of marketing, as I do find we can pigeonhole ourselves in the niches in which we operate. The AMI has provided great educational and networking events, with excellent presenters across a broad range of topics.

I also love the tools that the AMI provides that allow me to showcase my expertise and be recognised by clients for 20+ years as a Certified Practicing Marketer (CPM).

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Contributed by Mary-Anne Amies, Director, Wise Up Marketing