Don’t Ignore your Dreams

Becoming an entrepreneur was something I’ve always wanted to do. If you ask kids what they want be, you might hear - a doctor, a fire fighter or a police officer. I wanted to do my own thing.

Do you remember all of the fundraisers the school system has? When I was in elementary, it was chocolate bars and raffle tickets.

We used to go door-to-door trying to sell as many chocolate bars or raffle tickets as we could. I remember one time when I was about seven; there was a guy in an excavator clearing out an area for a new home. I walked up and knocked on his window to sell him three chocolate bars. Not many kids at that age sold their own bars; they had their parents work network, which brought in the top dollars.

I was raised to work hard for what I want, and to believe in my abilities. My father has been in sales his entire life, and I’ve received many life lessons from both he and my mother, which have helped shaped me into the outgoing person I am today.

One thing my father said to me when I was 15 stuck with me my whole life. It was a quote from Warren Buffett – “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently”.

Since entering the workforce at 16 (remembering what my father said to me), I took in as much training as I could to master my position in each role. Whether it was retail, customer service, computer sales or technical support, I took it seriously. These skills are transferable, and provided me a wide range of skills to offer employers, but I wasn’t happy.

When the economy dipped in 2009, I was laid off. This presented an opportunity to enroll at the Nova Scotia Community College and graduate with a diploma in Business Administration, Marketing. I knew from that point that I needed to start my own company. The skills I’ve received from my many jobs, combined with my background in marketing. But, I wasn't quite ready.

After a few years of working in the marketing field, researching and learning that I need to believe in myself and just follow my dream. I was ready to go all in, and created Digihub Marketing in 2014.

It took me some time to get there, but now that I’m here, I know it was the right decision. You have to put in the time. Nothing happens overnight.

My advice for those that are on the fence - Don’t ignore your dreams. If you want something, work hard for it, and go and get it!