Her Story
About Paige
I started right out of high school at NWTC in the business management program, but I learned really fast that just wasn't going to be it for me. I leaned a little bit more towards human resources, and then I actually switched into marketing, and I was like, you know what, we'll just give this a try, and it stuck ever since. I love being able to communicate with people and meet new people, and networking. I just graduated with my associate's degree about three weeks ago, and I'm going back to school in fall through the non-traditional program at Lakeland one through NWTC's physical campus to get my bachelor's degree in marketing. This summer I'm working as a marketing intern for First Tee, a nonprofit organization where we teach kids life skills through the game of golf. It's a super cool nonprofit with super great people, staff, and coaches. I also have my own pet sitting business called Paige's Pets, which is more of a startup business, like a side hustle. I've grown this clientele completely on my own by using my marketing skills to market myself on Facebook and in the community. I'm a one-man band, though I have two younger high school girls that work for me. I'm extremely proud of myself that at this age, I could do something like that and get my name out there already. On the side, I work at Target part-time, and I started a youth group for college-age kids in the area. I love to lead these individuals and be able to give them a place where they feel a sense of community and belonging, somewhere to go at the end of the day rather than going to the party scene. My goal is to do something in event marketing and coordinating. I'd love to keep my pet sitting business and continue to stay connected to my community, but I would also love to get into a 9-to-5 type of job where at the end of the day I get to go home to my family and have a family. I wouldn't ever be against owning a business - I think that's a dream I could absolutely go for, it just would have to present itself at the right time.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Paige
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
I actually just recently got told by someone that if you don't have anything bad said about you, that you're not doing it right. It sounds really bad when you say it that way, but you need to step on people's toes, you need to be out there, you need to be pushing your business, pushing your brand, pushing yourself as a person, getting yourself out there. It's really hard nowadays because politics and stuff like that really gets wrapped up super fast, and people can start to judge you for little, simple things and then start assuming right away. I think if people were able to see your life in your shoes, they would act differently. But I do agree with that advice. I think it's really important to step on people's toes and get them thinking, and some people don't like that.
02What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
At the end of the day, I'm a big believer in just treating people good. Treat people how you want to be treated - it's the golden rule. I don't want to be out in the marketing world doing scams. I know the marketing world can be a very big scam, and that's not something I look to do. I want to go out there and sell to people real things that I believe in, that I would use. I've never liked the idea of being hired by this big corporation to just go sell something that at the end of the day I don't even want anything to do with. I think it's really important to practice what you preach and treat people the way you want to be treated. I would never want to be told something that nobody else would like.
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