Maria Rising

I honestly attribute my success to being raised on a farm, which gave me a mentality that is really adaptable, creative, and driven. The hardworking mentality of farm life as a kid has set into my entire life now and given me the ability to problem solve in ways that really help my career. Growing up on a farm, you learn that when the fence is down and the cows are out two miles back in the field, you can't just throw your hands up and say you don't know what to do - you have to figure out a solution. That skill set of thinking outside the box and thinking differently is really transferable to my work. I've learned that I have to rely on myself, and that mindset is just natural for me coming up that way. It's really helped me throughout my career to be resourceful and creative when facing challenges.

The best career advice I've ever received is to listen more than you talk. You don't have to agree with everything people say, but it's important to listen to what they have to say and understand it to get better perspective in the world. This has been invaluable in my work, even though I have a hard time with it sometimes as someone who loves to communicate.

I think you have to protect yourself a little bit. Be hungry, go for contracts, see the potential, but you also have to be your own advocate. That's what I've had to learn really hard as I keep going - everybody's going to advocate for themselves and put themselves forward first, and you have to do that sometimes too. Finding that balance between being hungry and wanting career moves while also protecting yourself is really important. You can't just follow the dollar upstream - you need to find that equilibrium between ambition and self-protection.

There are a lot of challenges and opportunities happening simultaneously in healthcare marketing right now. One major area is the changing regulations around what's allowed and not allowed in advertising and social media, which is challenging but also creates opportunities for more ethically sourced advertising and content. Another challenge is helping brick-and-mortar businesses, smaller businesses, and older businesses understand how important social media is and getting them to understand the dollar value it represents. It can be really difficult when you're trying to negotiate contracts and people want to spend only $100 on social media. But this is also an opportunity to elevate social media marketing and help these businesses achieve broader reaches and connect with wider audiences. There are challenges and opportunities everywhere you look in this space right now.

Authenticity is the most important value to me in both my work and personal life. I believe in authentically believing in what you do, the products you promote, and the people you work with. Being transparent about both the positives and negatives of whatever you're doing is crucial. I think authenticity is such a high-value commodity right now, especially with AI and everything AI-related coming out. Being authentic about where you might use AI or being clear about where you're coming from matters more than ever. We're coming into a place where authenticity is going to be harder to find and worth a lot more. Communication is also a core value for me - I'm obviously a communication person, so over-communicating, even the hard stuff, is really important to me.