Brittany Bouvy

I would say it's a combination of things. I think you have to be passionate and have drive. You have to enjoy what you do. I also think the value of education and continued learning and continuing to hone your skills can't be understated. Consistency of effort is a major one. That combined with having a good support system and good mentors, I mean, that's going to be a recipe for success every time.

Honestly, the best advice I received is that your reputation is going to resonate far more with people than just what's written on your resume. The quality of work that you produce, your ability to deliver outcomes, your ability to meet deadlines, not making excuses, the consistency of showing up, being on time, putting in a full day's work, willingness to learn, willingness to help others - all of that is going to resonate with people way more than just what's written on your resume. That's your leverage, and that's what sets you apart from everybody else. I think focusing on that, in addition to honing your skills, is really what's going to set you apart from other people.

I think enjoying what you do and having a passion for what you do is important, but you also want to seek employment with companies or organizations whose values align with yours. Companies who value the same things that you do. It's important for me to align myself with organizations that, number one, value strong women. This can be a very male-dominated field, and marketing in general is a little bit more female-dominated, but all the other parts of self-storage are very male-dominated, so aligning yourself with organizations that value strong women is super important. I would also say I've been in this industry for 15 years and I'm still learning and still asking questions, so don't stop learning, don't stop asking questions, don't be afraid to ask questions. Find a good mentor and lean into that relationship. If you can, once you're ready, become a mentor for somebody else. I think one of the best ways that we can learn, and also learn where we may fall short or where we could use additional training, is to try to teach other people. Focus on building skills and honing those skills, and the titles will come after. I feel like a lot of people are chasing titles and they're not working on building those skills that get them there. You need to be a good communicator, you need to be a good problem solver, you need to have leadership skills and team-building skills, and you need to be able to look at things from a 30,000-foot view if you want to work your way up that ladder. Rather than just chasing the title or the name or the accolade, having those building blocks is always going to get you there more consistently and safer, and you're going to be better equipped when you get there. All of those skills compound over time, and having technical competency in addition to being able to make those decisions and help the people below you is always going to be super important.

Definitely AI, and it's actually both a challenge and an opportunity right now. It's a challenge in terms of we're still figuring out and putting together all the puzzle pieces of how this changes everything and affects everything. Realistically, as a marketing person, AI has the ability to completely change and reshape the landscape of everything we know about how to reach customers and how to be effective marketers. But it also presents a huge opportunity because now we have the ability to reach people in new ways and to be more efficient and to be more effective. It is a big challenge, but it's also a big opportunity. There's still a huge learning curve for us, but it's exciting because not much has changed in terms of that kind of stuff in quite a few years now.

I would say hard work, integrity, and honesty are most important to me. I've always been told you have to be able to look at yourself in the mirror at the end of the day. So I think hard work, being honest, and doing your job with integrity are critical. Also, giving back to the community is important to me, both personally and professionally. I think it's always been important to me to align myself with companies that also support the communities where they operate.