“Might as well live life as an adventure, without regrets.” -Olga Garcia
Name: Olga Garcia
Age: 28
Occupation: Independent Social Media and Marketing Consultant
Where are you from? New Jersey
Did you go to college? Where? Yes. Montclair State University
What did you study? International Business and Marketing
Where do you work? Self-employed
Why did you pick this career? I fell into it.
What are your future plans for your career?
I would like to work within a large corporation as an analyst.
How did you get involved in this career?
Quite by accident. I was doing some marketing help for a friend and the next thing I knew, I was taking on paid clients. I am two years into my own consulting and I have built a successful career as an independent consultant.
How did you prepare yourself for this career?
I have always spent time learning about new technologies and how that impacts companies as a whole. In addition to that, I have always found projects with my previous jobs that helped me hone in my writing and researching skills.
And if you just happened to land in this career what made you stay?
I truly enjoy helping brands reach their customers online. I feel like I am almost like an online stylist, making companies look good online while at the same time think strategically about how they are impacting their customers through their words, actions and overall online presence. I know that I am making an impact not just with the clients I work with, but also the key evangelists of their brand, product or service. Those evangelists (the employees, the customers, the influencers) are the people that want to have the dialogue with the brands they love. Being in the middle of that energy and making that happen in a ‘stylish’ and strategic way…well that’s where my dream comes true.
What are the downsides to this profession?
The largest downside to being independent is that you are always on business development mode. Something that is a double-edged sword is that the work day doesn’t necessarily follow a normal working schedule of 9-5. Sometimes you may end up working on the weekend.
What is a typical workday for you?
A typical work day varies for me. That being said, it is full of emails, conference calls, in person meetings and creating documents for training and strategies for my clients.
How might this job be a stepping stone to other professions?
Being a consultant is a great job to hone in on your analytical, business development, entrepreneurial, and communication skills. Those are perhaps some of the most highly desired characteristics in most professions and are always transferable. It has to do with the thought process and mindset of a consultant that is most appealing to employers in other professions.
What is the single-most important piece of advice you can offer a person pursuing this career?
Be organized. Because you may be juggling various clients, it is easy to loose sight of deliverables or the financial wellness of your business. Stay laser focused on what you are agreeing to provide your clients and the timeliness of those assets. Be just as diligent with your business finances. A large reason the success rate for consultants is not as high is because they do not treat their finances with the same ‘accountability’ then that of a client deliverable. You and your finances are your deliverable.
What steps do you recommend to someone who is planning to pursue this career?
- Find some top consultants in your profession and take them out to coffee. Tell them why you want to be a consultant and humbly ask how they achieved their success. Remember to follow up with whatever you discuss and keep them in the loop.
- Get your online presence started. Build a website, even if it is just a one page site. No need to go to great lengths at first. The idea is to start.
- Get business cards with your key information.
- Start doing your marketing research. Find out what clients you would like to have and start the courting process.
What professional or community volunteer organizations are you currently a member of?
I am the Managing Director for Girls In Tech in Austin. I am part of the Social Media Club in Austin. I founded a group for young women called the Young Women’s Roundtable.
What’s a funny memory from your college or high school days you are legally allowed to share?
When you are in college, your schedule becomes ingrained in you pretty quickly. It was my Junior year of college (so I had years of M/W schedule training). I loved taking classes at night because my professors were always adjuncts. I found it extremely valuable since they were usually executives and could potentially help me after school. I was excited to go to my first Strategic Management class because my professor was a former CEO of North America Nissan. In my excitement, I forgot to check the date of the class. I assumed it was on Monday. After sitting in the room for 20 minutes, I realized that my class was actually on Tuesday. This is why I am so focused on being organized now! 🙂
Where can we stalk you online?
Business website: www.olgaLG.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/olgaLG
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/olgalg
Personal blog: www.beingolga.com
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