As part of our company mission we aim to grow and strengthen The Second Shift community; that includes offering topical and cultural commentary, insight into other members and our team and providing necessary skill building information. To achieve this goal we’ve partnered with three experts from our own member network who will regularly contribute content– drum roll please….so please meet Keara, Chelsea and Noelle!
First up, they’ve taken turns interviewing each other so we can learn a little bit more about them. Below, Keara sat in the interviewee hotspot as Chelsea asked her all about her professional and personal interests:
Keara has been in marketing for the past 13-years and she “really loves it!!!” She recently started her own side business when a colleague at work approached her to help with a project. She didn’t know where to start so she formed an LLC, researched billing structures and of course knocked it out of the park. She immediately began receiving more requests and in January she officially started promoting her company Two Cents Consulting, LLC.
So if her business was booming why did she turn to The Second Shift?
Keara had been searching for what she calls the “unattainable balance – between work and life” – there was a time in her career that she didn’t have that balance. She turned to the Internet not just to add to her growing client list but also to connect to a network of likeminded women that she could share her challenges and experiences with. At The Second Shift she found both!
What does Keara love about her side hustle?
After she aced her first project she took some time to think about what it meant to build a side business. During this transition, she really thought about what made her happiest. Over her 13-year career she has handled all marketing aspects – traditional and digital – of large and small-scale projects. However, she found that what she really loved was writing. That, coupled with a clear industry-wide need for creative and strategic writers, is what launched Two Cents Consulting, LLC. As part of her Owner/Marketing Maven title at Two Cents she’s proud to bring her creative spin to The Second Shift Blog.
“I am super excited about contributing to The Second Shift Blog because I can reach a target network that I relate to and can share knowledge that I’ve amassed throughout my career.” i
Proudest moment of Keara’s career:
Keara’s proudest moments have been other peoples successes. She started a team at her day job seven years ago, and she happened to have an all female team. Her ability to coach and bring these women along is what she’s most proud of.
Most difficult moment of Keara’s career what advice she would have given herself in retrospect:
There have been a lot of work challenges in Keara’s career, but what she looks back on, as the most difficult, was a period when she was working 12-14 hour days. “I thought the only way to build my career was to burn myself out and a colleague even told me as much – but I brushed it off,” said Keara. For years she thought that the pressure was coming from her employer, but looking back she realizes that it was more a combination of that and her own pressure that put her in that situation. Now, she is committed to ensuring she has a healthy work life balance that puts a priority on her health and wellbeing at all times. “Now I manage my own boundaries and parameters,” Keara advises you should too.
Is Keara a morning or an evening go-getter?
“I’m most productive in the mornings after my first cup of coffee and on the weekends. I love to go to local coffee shops and set up for a few hours. There’s this energy around you that comes from people being more relaxed on the weekends and sharing stories over coffee that helps me write more creatively,” said Keara.
How do Keara and her fiancé share the housework?
When Keara approached her fiancé about launching her side gig he was very supportive about it. Not to mention on top of her day job, Keara is also busy taking classes for her MBA and planning their wedding. He’s continued to be her sounding board for new projects and clients, asking her questions about time commitments, finances and project scopes. “He’s really good about giving realistic gut checks,” said Keara. When Keara has to work, her guy steps in; he’s very understanding of her workload and shares the housework – or plays guitar and gets to it later, which Keara totally gets. They’re both artistic in their own ways and they make it work, while ensuring each is fulfilled creatively.
In 10 words or less why should you read Keara’s posts:
Keara is “committed to writing about things that are relevant to women in the workplace.” Okay so it’s 13 words but if we don’t count the two to-s and the the we’re good!
Lightening Round:
- Favorite color: Purple
- Favorite ice cream flavor: Chocolate
- Coffee or tea: Coffee
- First news source of the day: Facebook “I know I’m ashamed.”
- Favorite band/music: Red Hot Chili Peppers
- PS: Keara is Philly based, so I of course asked her for her take on the cheesesteak, and like every good Philadelphian she was decisive: “Jim’s, ‘wit’ wiz, no onions.”
Want to learn more about our member copywriters and contributors? Get to know Chelsea Connor and Noelle Abarelli!