Where You Start

Where You Start: Up For The Challenge

Garth Beyer

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In a previous story, I noted that where you start really matters.

I used marketing to five year-olds for McDonald’s as an example of a poor place to start if you are actually passionate about the elderly being active.

I missed the opportunity to mention that poor places to start are often excellent places to excel, so long as you are adamant enough to withstand resistance and up to challenge of creating cultural change. For example, there is a push for McDonald’s to become a more healthy option – and to advertise as such.

I’ve mentioned a million times before that there is always room for improvement. You can decrease inequality, you can lower the number of obese people in the country, you can create cultural change from the bottom up.

It starts with saying no.

No to advertising unhealthy McDonald’s products to five year-olds.

It grows by saying “here’s a better idea.”

And having a plan to turn the idea into reality.

 

Stay Positive & Let Your Passion Fuel You, Not Your Food

Garth E. Beyer

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Why Where You Start Matters

Garth Beyer

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As much as I would love to say that just starting is all that matters, it’s not.

Where you start matters a lot.

Where you first gain experience solidifies your future path of experience and work.

If you began working at an ad agency and your campaign focused on advertising McDonald’s to five year-olds, it will be a lot easier to then work for Arby’s and Dairy Queen targeting a similar age group.

If you passionately support this advertising campaign, wonderful. But, if you’re like me and don’t quite approve of five year-olds eating that type of food, it’s more difficult to get an advertising job targeting the elderly for the fitness industry afterward. They are complete opposites!

Your first client will be your first real branding experience. Ad agencies looking for someone to target the elderly for the fitness industry (what you really want to do) is going to have a difficult time being convinced that you can use similar strategies on getting five year-olds to nag their parents to buy McDonald’s on the elderly and the fitness industry.

Figuring out where you want to start requires two things from you:

  1. You need to self-reflect until you’re certain you know what you want to do. No, it’s not seriously difficult to alter your path once you start, but it’s much easier to start down the right one to begin with. Backtracking only helps those who have lost something, not those who want to discover something new.
  2. Never settle with where you start. It’s easy to take what you can get when you’re first starting out, but I urge you to keep going after the position you want.

This isn’t just for those looking to go into advertising, it applies to anyone that wants to start something.

 

Stay Positive & Now, Seriously, Go Start Something

Garth E. Beyer

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