Leading Ladies - Amy Schmittauer
You know who is savvy, sexy, AND social? Amy Schmittauer. This lady is a fierce machine when it comes to building a business as well as an online brand. With videos out every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for Savvy Sexy Social and her Marketing Lifestyle Show podcast released every Friday, I think it's safe to say, Amy has got the internet down to a science.
It was fun to be a guest on her show back in March and we still have some fun up our sleeves. Make sure to connect with Amy on Twitter on @SavvySexySocial and on YouTube.
HOW DID YOU GET YOUR START?
I was pursuing my love of politics as a lobbying and fundraising assistant. When I helped a friend with some Facebook privacy settings, she told me "I would be good at this." Confused at what that meant, she proceeded to tell me that she did design for a company who also hired outside help for social media marketing. I hadn't heard of it. Facebook and the like were only natural for me because I've had a computer in my home since I can remember. My mom was a tech teacher before it was cool. When elementary schools could afford iMacs. I started to dive into the new world of marketing with social media and self-educated by implementing on my then personal YouTube presence. I feel in love with my real passion and I never looked back. Took one client for free to get some real world experience since I didn't have a marketing degree or anything marketing related to show for myself and everyone else has been paying me ever since.
WHAT RISKS DID YOU TAKE?
I took a major risk leaving my job. I hate it when people say they have job security because it's such crap. But I really did. I was very good at what I was doing and taking a chance on something I did ZERO planning for in college or at any point in my life leading up to adulthood was a major risk. But after about 2 years of running a business on the side of my cushy safe job, I left. I always had a Plan B, but I haven't needed it yet.
WHAT IS SOMETHING THAT SCARES YOU?
Disappointing people. I think it's the reason why I'm mostly responsible and people call me the "mom" of the group. My mom was a teacher at the same school district I went to and in the early years was even next door to the classroom I was assigned to. I've been very good at following the rules and falling in line my entire life for being the 'teacher's daughter.' That life has naturally made me extremely afraid of disappointing people. But as I grow and I've invested so much of myself and taken risks for something that makes me truly happy, I'm mostly afraid now of disappointing myself. Turns out that's been the biggest push I've had in my entire life. Yay wisdom!
LOOKING BACK ON YOUR CAREER, WHAT WAS A MAJOR TURNING POINT FOR YOU?
In the Fall of 2014, I decided I was done with one-on-one client consulting by the end of the year. I was tired of working with people, trading hours for time, only to be disappointed by what wasn't being implemented. (See a trend?) If I'm going to invest so much of my life in teaching this lifestyle and marketing strategy, why would someone pay me to then not do it? I knew I had the ability to help more people who wanted to learn and listen and test if I found a way to scale my teachings. 2015 has been an amazingly successful year for that and I continue to improve the model and spread the impact further. Turns out all I needed was to value my time even higher than most people ever do in their lifetime. For me it was a matter of being a business success or finding out what Plan B (or at this point Plan C-Z) would be. But again, not really interested in disappointing myself so I'm very grateful Plan A is still working out.
WHAT ARE THREE PIECES OF ADVICE YOU'VE RECEIVED THAT YOU'VE CARRIED WITH YOU THROUGHOUT YOUR CAREER?
- Never let anyone make you feel bad about when you sleep. (First and most memorable piece of advice I received upon going out on my own.)
- Don't be afraid to ask for help.
- Hustle.
BIGGEST MISTAKE?
Caring what others think. This is the only life I get and I've allowed the viewpoints of others affect way too many of my decisions. This business has made me work harder for my true desires than I can imagine many people will get the opportunity or clarity to do. I have to take advantage of that. It's my responsibility. I'll be disappointed if I don't. And that's just not going to happen.