I honestly think that regardless of your seniority, you should also be a great individual contributor. You need to know how your marketing automation platforms work, how they connect, how Linkedin Ads targeting works, and what great copywriting and art direction look like.
I’ve been practicing these two things for the last 15 years. Now, as the marketing leader of a B2B software platform, and before that, by running the marketing and customer service teams in a major online retailer.
In 2002 I got dial-up. As soon as I was online I started poking around websites. Right-clicking everything and mailing webmasters to learn how they built their website—nobody replied tough. But I found Flash and got extremely excited about it. At 15 I made websites for local companies in exchange for t-shirts and sneakers.
In 2008 I got my first job in marketing and decided to drop out of Law school—a substantial decision, I’m still 78% sure I’ve done the right thing.
Since then I’ve been part of a great studio that influenced my thinking around design, led a 25-person team in a high-growth e-commerce company where I learned how to scale and manage significant amounts of marketing budget, and finally, a B2B software company where I had to get accustomed to long sales cycles and the importance of messaging and positioning. I found my place in this industry.
I too help out friends move furniture from time to time.