Liz Tanner

I attribute my success to staying true to what I love doing, even when it meant making unconventional career choices. I've never let a paycheck influence me, much to the chagrin of my parents who wanted me to make a gajillion dollars so they could brag to their friends. But I didn't love something that paid a gajillion dollars, so I didn't do it. That focus on passion over money has sometimes been a hindrance because I get tunnel-visioned on the product and making my client happy, without always planning for future lead generation or sales conversion. But it's also what makes me good at what I do. I stay focused on delivering for my clients and building what they actually need, not what looks impressive. I've also been willing to take risks and teach myself new skills, even when people said I needed formal credentials first. When I decided to shift into technical consulting at 35, I didn't have the traditional background, but I trusted my own recognition that I was good at it. That self-recognition is essential when you're an independent contractor. And I've always approached my work with a customer-centric mindset, treating my clients as the subject matter experts and building for them, not for myself. I'm data-driven and focused on ROI, not on being a vibe coder who throws things at the wall. Most importantly, I'm passionate about making technology accessible and refuse to gatekeep knowledge. I've always been a decent teacher to others who are trying to learn, and I will do anything to contribute to the opposite of gatekeeping in education.

My biggest challenge right now is visibility and breaking out of being pigeonholed. People see me as either just an instructional designer or just a technical person - rarely both. The integration work, the strategy, the systems thinking, the ability to move between those spaces, doesn't always translate into a clean title. I can scream on my LinkedIn and all the tech-based job sites that I'm not just an instructional designer, but I fall in a weird limbo. If you're in tech, you tend to see me as the ADDIE model instructional designer who doesn't know anything technical. Then on the other side, people think I can just do one thing, like just Forge or just React web app development. It's very hard to convince people of your new skill sets and your career shift skill sets when you don't have a lot underneath an official gig hiring. I struggle with trying to nail down my new title since I don't fit a traditional L&D title anymore. I'm too tech-heavy as a consultant who can do APIs and six different programming languages, plus storyboarding and instructional design and LMS work. But people don't look at people like me for that type of skill set. I have to list my 20 years of background, and I can't just ignore that to release the bias I sometimes get. I think it sells me a little short when I have to include my instructional design history plus my two to three years of real heavy app development. Beyond the visibility challenge, I'm also not skilled at lead generation or marketing. I took a 180-hour HubSpot marketing course and found it so boring I wanted an asteroid to hit me. Marketing and accounting may be the most boring things I've ever experienced. As an independent contractor, you spend 95% of your time doing lead generation instead of what you love. Right now, I'm experiencing a rough employment year or two - it's a barren desert with absolutely nothing coming in, no clients, no nothing. I know everybody in my field is feeling that push also. What I really need is help meeting new people who need me, and having a champion who knows me better to push me and highlight my differences and new skill sets.

The most important value to me is authenticity and staying true to what I'm passionate about. I'm very talkative and passionate about my work - I know I can talk to anybody about what I do for three hours. I'm a big old juicy nerd, and I embrace that fully. I also value frugality and efficiency, both personally and professionally. I'm a cheapskate, a coupon extraordinaire, and that mindset translates directly into how I work with clients. I want to save them money and eliminate waste, which is why Lean Six Sigma resonated with me so strongly. Another core value is accessibility and anti-gatekeeping. I do not believe in the education system being gatekept, and I will do anything to contribute to the opposite of that. I've always been a decent teacher to others who are trying to learn, and I'm passionate about making technology accessible to non-developers. I refuse to be self-aggrandizing or act like a blowhard. Self-aggrandizing doesn't help solve your customers' problems - it just makes you look like an egotistical asshat. Instead, I keep things customer-centric and laid-back. I also value honesty and integrity in my work. I never lie to a client and say I can do something and then try to learn it - that's bad practice that gets you fired fast. I only take on work I know I can deliver. Finally, I value passion over money. I've never let a paycheck influence me, even though my parents wish I would make more so they could brag. I'd rather do what I love than chase money doing something I hate.