Arminda Lindsay has become one of the most steadfast {grow} community members in 2010. Here’s Arminda’s story about finding her new career in social media marketing in a very familiar place. It is a fitting way to end “Community Week!” Bring it home, Arminda …
Every year The Wizard of Oz played on network television during the fall lineup. And every year we begged, pleaded, and negotiated reasonable terms with our parents for the opportunity to stay up past our bedtime to watch. And yes, every year Dorothy found the Yellow Brick Road, formed lasting friendships, defeated the Wicked Witch, and discovered home is where she belonged, and she already possessed inside her the “magic” she was looking for to take her there.
Metaphorically speaking, at the beginning of 2010, I felt my career was a tornado that landed smack in the middle in Oz. I wasn’t unhappy with my clients, nor was I being shown the door. In fact, I am business partners with my brother, and have never been happier than in this vocation. I just felt like a change was on the horizon, and decided to pursue the inclination. When I emerged from my technicolor doorway, I started looking for my own Yellow Brick Road to follow — certain that my journey would lead me to “the next big thing,” and I would, invariably, change the world.
Here’s what I discovered:
Social Media was something I’d used sporadically, at best, and only for personal reasons. I had a profile on Facebook and was actively gathering friends I couldn’t even remember — from places I am still trying to forget! But social media for professional purposes? Okay – I had a profile on LinkedIn, but who actually uses that? And some time last year I created something on Twitter, but that seemed like a waste of time so I was in social media “Kansas.”
The on-ramp to my personal Yellow Brick Road was a conscious decision to try social media for business purposes. What’s the worst thing that could happen? I could follow the road for a while — really giving it a fair shake — and if I still felt like it wasn’t worth my time, I had an exit strategy in place.
I put on my red shoes and started following the social media path, which led me to tweeting. Not sure how or where to jump into the whole Twittersphere, I kept late hours for many nights, searching for my own Scarecrow and Tinman, hoping these new followers would join me in an adventure.
My early tweets were nothing to write home about; they were basically regurgitations of what others had said or links to articles of interest – mostly about social media. Then something interesting happened: late one night @markwschaefer tweeted that he’d just re-watched The Princess Bride. Unable to resist, I tweeted a quote back to Mark from the same movie, and our friendship was born. And that’s when it occurred to me there are REAL people on Twitter, and they actually care about what’s being said and who’s saying it.
I started attending local tweet-ups, luncheons and get-togethers because the people behind the tweets (unlike the man behind curtain) need to be noticed. Subsequently, the real people I have met, and continue to meet, through Twitter and LinkedIn are my friends. And these very real people are sharing their knowledge, their professional connections, more business, yes, and equally important — lasting Friendships.
I did have a Wicked Witch of my own making. I kept thinking I needed to search elsewhere for my professional happiness. With the support of my friends, I looked at where I was happiest, what I was most passionate about. That would lead me Home.
After wandering through Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and my own blog for the past seven months, I finally clicked my heels together and realized all I need to do is apply this new-found passion for social media to my existing happy business, and I’m exactly where I belong: Home! In business with my brother — but with the added benefit of social media working its magic on everything I touch!
Arminda is Vice President of Whetstone Leadership, which provides management and leadership training to executives. You can find her regularly chiming in on Twitter at @allarminda or read her random blog at www.allarminda.com.
