Heather Watkins started her consulting company Better Impact Marketing because she wanted her work to mean more than just improving ROI and increasing stock prices.

She has a deep passion for social impact initiatives and though the Moving Worlds Institute discovered her B2B tech skills were transferrable and can benefit B Corps, non-profits, and businesses that are doing good for the world.

She now works for Impossible Foods and gets to pinch herself every day knowing that her work is making a "Better Impact".

Veronica reached out to SMTC while she was in the midst of a career change. After 5 years of in-house MOPS roles, in both Copenhagen and Spain, she felt the itch to try something new - Consulting Life. She talked with us about her personal journey of interviewing with agencies.

Sydney and Grant both lived internationally while working in MOPs - Costa Rica, Croatia, Spain, and South Africa.

In this episode they trade tales about dealing with 3rd Level Fun aka Traveling Woes.

Are spotty WiFi and working until 8pm in your local time zones worth it in order to have the Pacific Ocean surf lapping at your feet before breakfast? Or to have Dubrovnik so close it's a mere weekend getaway?

Five years ago CS2 Charlie and Crissy Saunders opened CS2 Marketing - their boutique B2B marketing agency. In this episode they share all the details about that journey - how they learned it's okay to say "No", and the fact that they DON'T shy away from helping their clients hire internal employees. They also co-host the fwd:thinking podcast, to spread MOPS education far and wide and strongly believe that "You can't do Marketing without Marketing Ops." They are a wealth of knowledge for anyone considering the consulting space!

https://www.cs2marketing.com/

https://www.cs2marketing.com/fwd-video-podcast

Justin Norris has been consulting on Marketing Automation for six years and shares the story about how he started, and why he has stayed, at Perkuto.

Despite being a millennial, who are stereotypically comfortable job hoping and trying something new, Justin told us it was "it was a really difficult decision to join Perkuto in the first place". He had a (perhaps unjustified) impression that employment at an agency would be rough, with little concern for work-life balance. But he now advises that even consulting for a few years is hugely beneficial because when you do go back inhouse, you will be armed with a skillset that is much bigger than you started.

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 took a toll on people around the world. If you were lucky enough to have continued employment, you often times didn't feel lucky. Zoom fatigue and "productivity contests" oft lead to severe burnout. Ali Wittich, after 10 years in full-time in-house MOPS roles, faced this exact scenario. She tacked it head-on by hiring Jaime Ellis as an entrepreneurship coach to guide her through the process of starting her own Marketing Consultant business!

Check out this episode to hear about BOTH of their journeys, and take a moment to consider what might be holding you back from making a leap. Maybe coaching is right for you too!

Ali https://www.linkedin.com/in/awittich/

Jaime https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaimeellis1/ & https://www.lauragarnett.com/our-team

Like many people in the MOPs world, Ashley fell into her career by happenstance. Thanks to a partnership between Arizona Correctional Industries (ACI) and Televerde she was able to attend Marketo and Eloqua Universities courses, and graduated to the Managed Services program.

Now, 9 years later, she managing a team of Consultants and runs their internal marketing campaigns. Her story is not to be missed. Her love for operations simply oozes out of her voice as she says that a career in MOPs "it is probably the most exciting thing you could ever experience".

"You are the glue - Your job is to build bridges and relationships"

Consulting isn't always glamorous. Kelly Jo tells us her least favorite thing about consulting and compares the life of a consultant vs in-house role. We talk about how to prevent, or address, the dreaded "Scope Creep". You'll also hear our thoughts on MOPS sitting under the Business Systems org instead of Marketing or Revenue.

The Tri-Fecta: FTE, Freelancing, and then joining an Agency.

She told us the experience of deciding to go on her own has been instrumental to how she approaches client work - she has VERY conscious view of how valuable time is, for for herself and for her clients. She enjoyed solo freelancing, but says joining an agency has been an immensely positive experience as well - expanding her network and martech knowledge.

She does warn those looking to consult because they dream of "Being Their Own Boss". She says "Everybody has a boss - if you are freelancing, it's your clients!"

Nate has experienced the MOPS Trifecta: in-house, agency, and freelancer! His 2 years at an agency taught him the importance of anticipating stakeholder expectations.

When he switched to an internal MOPs position he treated his sales and marketing coworkers as clients, ensuring they had top-notch customer service, prompt communication, and full-transparency.

Most recently, the desire to pursue personal passion projects led him to start his own freelance business, and within 12 weeks had a full roster of clients.