Why to Choose a Self-Employed Career Path - Ross Floate

In Chapter 4 of 20 in his 2012 interview, branding and design strategist Ross Floate answers "What Role Has Family Played in Shaping Your Career Aspirations?"  Floate notes how his parents experience being self-employed influenced his own pursuit of autonomy and independence in his career.  He values that freedom highly and understands the trade-offs, in particular building wealth, that come with pursuing it.  Ross Floate is a principal at Melbourne, Australia-based Floate Design Partners.  Experienced in branding, design and both online and offline publishing, Floate and his team provide marketing services to clients seeking to better communicate business and culture goals via image, messaging, and story. He is a graduate of RMIT University.

Using Twitter to Exercise Creative Writing Skills - Ross Floate

In Chapter 20 of 20 in his 2012 interview, branding and design strategist Ross Floate answers "How Do You Use Social Media to Exercise Your Creative Skills?"  As a trained journalist, Floate uses Twitter as a creative outlet to share thoughts, connect with smart, intersting people and to work through and vet creative ideas.  Referencing his journalism experience, Floate uses what he learned to write lead sentences to write inside the 140-character format of Twitter.  Ross Floate is a principal at Melbourne, Australia-based Floate Design Partners.  Experienced in branding, design and both online and offline publishing, Floate and his team provide marketing services to clients seeking to better communicate business and culture goals via image, messaging, and story. He is a graduate of RMIT University.

Joe Stump on Finding Joy Working a Job You Love

In Chapter 2 of 14 in his 2012 interview, Internet entrepreneur Joe Stump answers "What Do You Enjoy Most About What You Do?"  Stump shares how working a job he loves comes at the intersection of his passion, his hobby, and his profession - software development.  He compares this to what he thinks it must be like to be a professional sports player and play a game you love for a living.  Joe Stump is a serial entrepreneur based in Portland, OR. He is CEO and co-founder of Sprint.ly, a product management software company.  Previously he founded SimpleGeo, which was sold to Urban Airship in October 2011.  He advises several startups - including attachments.me and ngmoco:) - as well as VC firm Freestyle Capital.  He earned a BBA in Computer Information Systems (CIS) from Eastern Michigan University. 

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: What do you enjoy most about what you do?

Joe Stump: I think what I enjoy most, to be totally honest, is that I get to look like this and act the way that I do and still make a decent living and work on what I love. But I think what I love most about what I do is that it doesn’t feel like I'm actually doing it. I say a lot that I'm often blessed and cursed that my passion, my hobby, my profession are at a perfect intersection.

So, that’s probably like the best thing that you can say, right? ‘Cause like I do exactly what I want to do and I just happen to get paid for it. I think I'm one of the few people maybe that works in an office environment that can say I kinda get what it's like to be like a professional sports player, like they get paid to play a game and like do what they love. So, that’s probably number one.

When to Take a Sabbatical and Rethink Your Personal Identity

In Chapter 4 of 15 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Audrey Parker French answers "How Did Taking a Year Off From Work Reshape How You See Yourself in the World?"  French learns to let go of her career woman identity, including her title, embrace her personal identity, and find new perspective in her new marriage and ambitions to start a family. 

Audrey Parker French returns to CYF for her Year 3 interview after a one-year sabbatical from work and getting married.  She co-founded CLEAResult, an energy management consulting firm.  In 2010, CLEAResult ranked #144 in the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing private companies.  In late 2010, CLEAResult was sold to General Catalyst Partners.  She graduated from Wake Forest University. 

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: How did taking a year off from work reshape how you see yourself in the world?

Audrey Parker French: Well, it’s been really interesting, before the year break, I saw myself as an entrepreneur, I saw myself as someone who was strictly my career, it was all kind of my identity was kind of wrapped up in my career and what I had just completed because it was really profound for me and it was – it really was where my identity was. And then as the year progressed and as I met the man who’s now my husband and got to travel, I really got on a deeper level how that was a chapter of my life and how my identity is not in a job or in a career or in anything that can be changed.

And it was simultaneously scary because we all wanna hang on to our identity. I definitely wanted to hang on to the comfortable and what I knew. And yet I had to just – it was very liberating to be able to let go of that and say, “I am not my career. I am not my job. I’m not my job title. I’m not my age. I’m not – ” All those change. And really discovering that once those things started falling away, and it took several months for those things to really fall away. I realized that I’m a person, and I get to experience life and what I had experienced before is a part of it. It’s part of my journey. It’s part of my experience.

And being married really changes the dynamic of everything going forward. I’m no longer me living my life, I’m half of me and my husband. And we are living our life. And it really has put into perspective how much I want to have children, and how much I want to have a beautiful thriving family, and how – in my past identity, there was no room for that. And so the year has really allowed me to break free and let go.

And it’s just – all I can say is that it sounds simple and yet there’s so many people who cling to an identity all their careers, all their lives perhaps, and they never – I want – I hope that people can look beyond just what they think they should be doing and really realize what do I want to do? Maybe I am in this job and maybe it’s expected that I do ABC, but I really wanna do DEF, and go outside of that box and just realize that your identity is what you make it and we’re a lot more free than from a day-to-day basis we might think.

How Passion Junkie Finds Meaning in Storytelling - Michael Margolis

In Chapter 3 of 17 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, educator and entrepreneur Michael Margolis answers "What Makes Your Work Meaningful?"  He shares how he is attracted to challenge, to puzzles, to riddles, and why exploring these issues in the context of story has been rewarding.  Michael Margolis is founder and president of Get Storied, an education and publishing platform dedicated to teaching the world how to think in narrative.  He earned a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from Tufts University. 

How Michael Margolis Learns to Live and Work on His Own Terms

In Chapter 4 of 17 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, educator and entrepreneur Michael Margolis answers "What Do You Enjoy Most About What You Do?"  Michael shares what he enjoys about working on his own terms and building a company out of his New York City apartment.  He shares how advisors, collaborators, and partners have helped him build business momentum and grow his team.  Michael Margolis is founder and president of Get Storied, an education and publishing platform dedicated to teaching the world how to think in narrative.  He earned a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from Tufts University. 

How to Set Measures of Success in Life and Work - Michael Margolis

In Chapter 14 of 17 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, educator and entrepreneur Michael Margolis answers "How Do You Define and Measure Success in What You Do?"  Margolis separates success measures by business and life.  He talks about progressively increasing leverage and scale to create more revenue via passive online income streams, including core curriculum to teach storytelling to the world.  Personally, he sets success measures around achieving liberation or freedom from constraints and attention to wellbeing.  Michael Margolis is founder and president of Get Storied, an education and publishing platform dedicated to teaching the world how to think in narrative.  He earned a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from Tufts University. 

When to Ask for Help Organizing Work Schedule - Mike Germano

In Chapter 15 of 19 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, social media ad agency CEO Mike Germano answers "What is Your Comfort Zone and What Do You Do to Break Free of Living in It?"  Germano notes how he avoids processes and schedules as best he can, preferring the freedom and flexibility an ad hoc approach provides. He notes how his increasing responsibilities have made him embrace things he previously resisted, and how an executive assistant has helped him manage the transition.  Mike Germano is co-founder and CEO of DUMBO, Brooklyn based social media advertising agency Carrot Creative.  Previously, Germano ran for and was elected to public office in Connecticut.  He is a graduate of Quinnipiac University. 

Feeling Freedom Riding a Motorcycle

In Chapter 11 of 14 in his 2012 interview, real estate development executive Brett Goldman answers "Where Do Motorcycles Play into Your Story?"  He shares how he gets a feeling of freedom by riding and how exploring the country on a cycle differs from exploring it in a car. 

Brett Goldman is a Real Estate Acquisitions Director at Triangle Equities in New York City.  He holds a BA in General Studies from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Real Estate Development from the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: Where do motorcycles play into your story?

Brett Goldman: I just love the feeling of freedom, it's totally different when you're riding a motorcycle than driving a car. When you're driving a car -- even a convertible, but mostly a regular car that's totally -- has windows and windshields, you don't feel the wind, you don't feel like you're outside even though you think that you are outside and you feel like you're outside when you're driving in a car, when you're on a motorcycle, it's completely different.

I can drive 60 miles on a motorcycle versus 60 miles in a car, and the 60 miles on a motorcycle is -- it's almost difficult in that you experience every mile, and I like to stop on the side of the road a lot. The way that we've set up the interstate system in this country, you can really just fly through places and never even know that they exist and if you stop for just a second and just take it in, it's a whole different experience. But you have to stop when you're in a car. When you're on a motorcycle, it's almost as if you're on foot. And you feel like you've been to some place, not just been through it. 

How Hands On Work Enlightens Creative Career - Jason Anello

In Chapter 7 of 20 in his 2012 interview, creative director Jason Anello answers "How Has Hands On Experience Changing What You Believe is Possible in What You Create?"  Through his life and career, Anello finds success leads into management and, as a result, removal from hands on work.  He shares how he has created a career where he can maintain the hands on work that drives his passion to create things which unleash an audience pleasing experience.  Jason Anello is a founding partner and creative director at marketing services agency Manifold Partners.  He is also the co-founder of the Forking Tasty Brooklyn supper club.  Previously, Anello held creative leadership roles at Yahoo! and Ogilvy & Mather.  He graduated from the University at Albany. 

What Gets Easier and What Gets Harder - Yoav Gonen

In Chapter 1 of 11 in his 2011 interview, education reporter Yoav Gonen answers "What is Getting Easier and What is Getting Harder in Your Journalism Career?"  Gonen notes how he has become one of if not the most experienced reporter covering education news.  After writing over 1000 articles and building over 2000 contacts, he finds it easier to find stories.  Gonen finds challenge in not telling the same story twice and finding new angles to tell similar stories.  Yoav Gonen is the education reporter for the New York Post newspaper in New York City.  He earned a Masters of Journalism degree from New York University and a BA in English from the University of Michigan.

How Parents Influence Career Aspirations - Julie Hession

In Chapter 5 of 21 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, food entrepreneur Julie Hession answers "What Role Has Your Family Played in Shaping Your Career Aspirations?"  Hession notes how her parents balanced plenty of support with strict academic expectations in school.  This teaches Julie and her brother work ethic.  Her father pushes Julie to follow her passion in figuring out career options.  As her food career shapes, she finds motivation in her parents' continual support.  Julie Hession is the founder of Julie Anne's All Natural Granola Company.  Passionate about food since childhood, Hession has developed her career by food blogging, cooking contests, and starting fine food companies.  Hession earned an MBA in Marketing from Duke University and a BA from UNLV. 

What Marriage Teaches About Teamwork - Julie Hession

In Chapter 15 of 21 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, food entrepreneur Julie Hession answers "What Has Marriage Taught You About Teamwork?"  Hession shares how her personality complements that of her spouse in many ways.  She shares how they learn to complement and each other and appreciate each others strengths.  Hession notes the importance of having a supportive husband who believes in what she is doing. Julie Hession is the founder of Julie Anne's All Natural Granola Company.  Passionate about food since childhood, Hession has developed her career by food blogging, cooking contests, and starting fine food companies.  Hession earned an MBA in Marketing from Duke University and a BA from UNLV. 

What Gets Easier and What Gets Harder - Ramsey Pryor

In Chapter 1 of 15 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, Ramsey Pryor answers "What is Getting Easier and What is Harder in Your Life?"  Pryor notes how raising his children is entering an easier phase that requires less oversight.  With regard to what is getting harder, Pryor speaks to getting older and confronting the challenges that come with entering a middle aged period of life.  Pryor is currently a product management executive at IBM focused on cloud-based communication and collaboration software.  Previously he was VP Product Marketing at Outblaze, acquired by IBM.  Pryor earned an MBA from IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain and a BA in Economics and Spanish from Northwestern University. 

The Pros and Cons of Being Your Own Boss - J.T. Allen

In Chapter 6 of 17 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, education entrepreneur J.T. Allen answers "What Do You Enjoy Most About What You Do?"  Allen shares the pros and cons that come with being one's own boss.  He provides details into managing time, setting priorities, finding balance and building a team.  J.T. Allen is the CEO and co-founder of myFootpath, a company that provides higher education online resources and call center services to help high school and adult learners choose academic programs in line with career goals.  Before myFootpath, Allen worked in strategy consulting for Ernst & Young.  He earned his BBA and graduated cum laude from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

What is the Best Part About Starting a Business - Anatole Faykin

In Chapter 14 of 18 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, Internet entrepreneur Anatole Faykin answers "What Has Been the Most Gratifying Part of Starting a Company?"  He describes waking up each day and having the freedom to choose what he does.  Faykin finds the experience liberating and, also, fundamental to enjoying the entrepreneurial life.  Faykin is the founder of Tuanpin, a Shanghai-based daily deals site he grew to 25 employees and sold in the fall of 2011.  Previously, he worked for British Telecom in London, Intel in Shanghai, American Express in New York, and Oracle in San Francisco as well as several startup ventures.  He holds an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business and a BS in computer science and biology from the California Institute of Technology.

How to Overcome Career Insecurity - Ken Rona

In Chapter 2 of 13 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, data analytics expert Ken Rona answers "What Factored into Your Decision to Take a Job That Would Relocate Your Family?"  As a newly graduated PhD working for McKinsey, Rona loses his job during the dotcom blow up.  The experience scars Rona and during the many years that follow, he remains wary of employer job security given his 'at will' employee status.  He learns to let go of this insecurity and need to have a backup plan and focus more about making a contribution and committing to a company, town and establish family roots.  Rona is currently VP Audience Insights and Ad Sales Partnerships at Turner Broadcasting.  Previously, Rona has worked in roles in data analytics at IXI Digital and AOL and management consulting at McKinsey & Co.  He earned a BA and MA in Political Science from Stony Brook University and a PhD in Behavioral Economics from Duke University.

What Gets Easier and What Gets Harder - Audrey Parker

In Chapter 4 of 21 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, entrepreneur Audrey Parker answers "What is Getting Easier and What is Getting Harder in Your Life?" Parker feels her experiences starting, growing, and exiting the company she co-founded, CLEAResult, have put her in a positive place. The learning experiences in that time have left her better prepared for what comes her way. After leaving the business, she decides to take a one-year sabbatical to rest, relax, and plan free from outside distractions. Parker is currently on a one-year sabbatical. Parker co-founded CLEAResult, an energy management consulting firm. In 2010, CLEAResult ranked #144 in the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing private companies. In late 2010, CLEAResult was sold to General Catalyst Partners. Parker graduated from Wake Forest University.