From accidental marketeer, to trusted pro.
Fifteen years ago, I wasn’t in marketing. I was working in a hotel. But when head office said every branch needed social media accounts, my manager handed the job to me — the “young one” on the team.
I didn’t know what I was doing (yet), but I figured it out. That moment changed everything. What started as a side task became a full-time passion, then a career and now… it’s what I do best.
Read on for the full story.
How did I get into Marketing?
My journey into marketing began about 15 years ago in a hotel, where I worked in a customer service role. One day, head office sent down a directive: every hotel in the chain needed to set up and manage its own social media accounts.
Being the “young person” on the team, my manager turned to me and said, “You’ll know what to do with this, right?” And just like that, I was in charge of running the hotel’s social media.
To the team, it was just a tick-box exercise. But for me, it lit a spark - maybe this could actually be my job?
That moment changed everything. I dove into marketing headfirst, learning by doing - and I’ve been doing it ever since.
A false start.
Not long after that first taste of social media marketing, I moved to a new company — still not in a marketing role — but the dream was alive. When a Social Media Executive position came up internally, I jumped at the chance, applied, and interviewed. This was it… my marketing career was about to begin.
Except it didn’t. I didn’t get the job.
But I persevered.
Looking back, that kind of role was still a novelty at the time. Instagram had just launched. Social media was still being figured out by most businesses. That rejection stung, but in hindsight, I’m glad it didn’t work out.
Had I got the job, I might’ve ended up pigeonholed into one narrow slice of marketing. Instead, I went on to build a far more well-rounded and strategic career.
As it turns out, the role was eventually made redundant when the company hit financial trouble. I’m sure it was seen as a “nice-to-have”, the first to go. Even though it wasn’t me being let go, it was my first real insight into how marketing is sometimes viewed by businesses: as expendable.
It only made me more determined to prove otherwise.
Someone gave me my first marketing role. Sort of.
Eventually, a friend and I teamed up to launch our own small marketing agency. We worked with a mix of small to mid-sized businesses across a wide range of industries — from olive oil brands to Mac repair shops, phone accessories to interior designers.
For the first time, I was doing marketing full-time.
I’ll be honest - it often felt like the ultimate “fake it till you make it” moment. I was self-taught, driven by creativity, energy and enthusiasm. When it came to strategy, I didn’t have formal training - I just did what felt right.
But those early days were invaluable. I learned by doing. I made mistakes, got results and figured out how to make things work - not just in theory, but in practice.
That scrappy, hands-on start shaped how I approach marketing to this day: creative, curious and always focused on making a tangible impact.
Jump cut to you reading this.
Fast forward 15 years, and I’m no longer the “young person” figuring it out as I go — and I definitely don’t need to fake it anymore.
I’ve worked in-house and agency-side. I’ve consulted for startups and established companies. I’ve been the one-person marketing department and I’ve led teams full of energetic, younger marketers who made me feel like the veteran in the room.
I’ve hired. I’ve fired. I’ve been the one driving strategy — and yes, I’ve also been the one whose role was deemed “non-essential” when budgets were cut.
Across industries, across challenges, across roles - I’ve attacked marketing from every angle. And through all the scars and successes, I’ve earned one thing for sure: the confidence to say I really know what I’m doing now.
The TEDx Moment: When marketing becomes real.
This is me on stage at a sold-out TEDxKingstonUponThames event in London. Nearly 1,000 people in the audience.
I stood there, looked out across the crowd and had this surreal thought: “They’re here… because of me.”
Of course, I didn’t do it alone. But I had curated the speakers, marketed the event and managed the logistics - from start to finish.
As a marketing professional, moments like that are rare. You don’t often get to see the direct, tangible result of your work in such a powerful and physical way. That moment reminded me just how real and impactful marketing can be - when it’s done with purpose, passion and a whole lot of belief.