My dad and both grandfathers were commercial bankers in the South. I was an Economics major in college and started my career in NYC on Wall Street in the 80s thinking I would follow them albeit a more intense path. I was good at the job and it paid very well but I did not really enjoy it at all so I decided to return to grad school to get an MBA to figure out a better fit. There were really only 3 parts of my investment banking job I truly enjoyed — upon completing a deal/transaction/merger/sale I was responsible for planning the closing dinner, advertising it in the financial trade publications, and buying a gift for the team to commemorate and celebrate its completion. My friend pointed out to me that the parts of the job I most enjoyed were not in fact finance in nature at all they were all under the marketing function—event planning, advertising and promotions. I also got the top grade in my first year required marketing course and a great summer internship that lead to a full time offer in marketing post graduation. I was not meant to be a banker after all but a marketer!
I worked at a series of more corporate/main stream jobs for 1-3.5 years then ran marketing at 3 successful venture backed startups that all had strong exits for 1-2 years so if you had told me my longest job would be at a company I started I would have said that’s crazy yet here I am running a global branding and digital marketing firm that I started 20 years ago right after 9/11 when the startup I ran marketing for cut their budget so I hung out a shingle and the rest as they say is history. I guess that makes me the accidental entrepreneur.
I joke that now I am screwed if I get sick of my boss this time, after 20 years of self employment it would be really hard to work for someone else ever again. The truth is I love running my business and helping my clients find the right words and pictures to tell their stories in relevant and compelling ways. By having a portfolio of organizations I work with across a variety of categories I have more job security now than I ever would working as a hired gun for someone else. Plus I only work on things I enjoy doing with and for people I want to help succeed which is incredibly fulfilling and gratifying.
I am very proud that my business has pivoted and survived the deaths of 7 loved ones in a 6 year period, the Great Recession, 2 month long holidays off the grid, Covid and the Great Resignation! We don’t just live to tell the tale, we are better/stronger/more resilient because of it in fact. If I have learned anything in my career as an entrepreneur here are the lessons that have really stuck with me:
* Not getting what you want can lead you to magical outcomes and you learn a lot more from failure than success in life
When things work well you never really know why but in my experience when things fall apart and you take the time to do a post mortem you can clearly see in retrospect where things broke down or which assumptions were incorrect and that is knowledge you will never forget again. Wisdom that comes from age and experience is gold. That is also where you make lifelong connections from being in the trenches together.
* In retrospect you may look back at what you thought was a failure and realize it was a blessing in disguise
Whether you were passed up for the promotion, did not get the job offer or missed the deadline for the launch you learn that as Winston Churchill said failure is not fatal and being resilient and getting back up and trying again is really what matters in life. Once I pursued a more entrepreneurial path I realized my definition of success had changed. It turns out I did not want to run a big company I am much happier being a big fish is a smaller pond.
· There’s no substitute for doing your homework so you can be ready and aware when serendipity strikes. The important thing is to keep moving forward and learn from every experience. You can’t wait for the perfect time to act; you just have to course correct as you get more feedback along the way. Learn to get comfortable making decisions without perfect information.
· Remember that your enthusiasm and curiosity will inspire others. Never give up on what you believe, dreams can become reality when you pursue them with intention and courage. Don’t be scared to fail, just learn from every bump in the road so you make better mistakes next time, that is where you learn the most! You learn to do by doing. Course correct and pivot along the way, it makes for a fun path in life.
I have no idea where my business will go post pandemic but I am confident I have built a great foundation with interesting clients and colleagues who value communications and want to use marketing best practices to make a difference in the world. It has been a circuitous route to get here but as Steve Jobs said it is only looking backwards where you can make real sense connecting the dots in life “you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” I believe I am on the right path and am going to follow it and see where it goes. When this pandemic is over if my husband and I remain healthy and have stayed tight with our inner circle of people who mean the most to us and we all find a way to incorporate the lessons of gratitude, simplicity, friendship and love into the new normal I will be incredibly happy that we did not waste the crisis. If we can hold on to the very best parts of this pandemic the world will be a better place for it.
Paige Arnof-Fenn, Founder & CEO
Mavens & Moguls
Because Marketing MattersTM
617.876.0009
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