5 Lessons Learned from Studying Abroad

Over the last year I have had the unique opportunity to not only attend MIP Graduate School of Business in Milan, but also was able to study for 2 weeks in beautiful Barcelona, Spain. The last year has been a wealth of experiences, lessons learned, challenges, and growing both personally and professionally. 

1) Learn from Other Cultures:

Studying in Milan and in Barcelona allows you to expand and grow by learning from and alongside students from all over the world

2) Travel, Eat, and Experience:

When visiting a new city or country, the first thing to do is try the local cuisine and look up all the amazing history and sights to see.  Barcelona is a wealth of experiences. Oh and the food is top notch!

3) Wealth of Knowledge from Professors:

When studying in a new city you are exposed to new professors and industry experts to learn from, as well as adding to your professional network.

4) Professional and Personal Networking:

Studying abroad allows you to meet, connect, and network with people from around the world, growing your network to have a wide reach. This is excellent for job search, knowledge, finding a mentor, etc

5) Cultural Differences:

Every culture is different and different cultures have different views and respond differently to marketing, advertising, new products, etc. Being able to learn about these differences is key in working for a Multi-National or Global Company.

When studying abroad, depending on where you come from, where you are going to, and how you look at and attack your time there will shape and define your experience. Make it unique and make it your own. 

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

- Mark Twain 

Lessons In a Startup: Part 1

For my project work at school I was fortunate enough to serendipitously fall into a role at an Italian Based, Global, eCommerce start up with clients around the world. First off, how did this all happen?

Well since I made the move to Milan and started Grad School, I was challenged to start blogging, and as I learned about finding my style and my voice in my blog, I wrote a post that exploded, ‘My Grad School Adventure: Football (American) in Italy’. I had a blast writing about my experiences and lessons, as well as educating my family, friends, and readers about my experience here. This lead to one Tommaso Finadri, President, CTO, and Co-Founder of Beast Technologies to read it as he is a player on the Parma Panthers American Football Team (the same Parma Panthers from John Grisham’s book ‘Playing for Pizza’, side bar: read it, it is a lot like the experiences I am having here). 

When I first got his email I was cautious, I had made the decision to leave a good Sales Job to explore the world and get a Master’s in Milan with the thought that I was going to fall into working at a Big Luxury Fashion Brand and live the life of the Fashion Industry (think ‘Devil Wears Prada’). But I entertained it and after learning about the product, a Strength Tracker that hinges on Data Analytics and IoT or internet of things, I was very intrigued. Also the name was Beast Technologies and the quote I have had as the background of my computer since I made the move was, “Everyone wants to be a Beast, until it’s time to do what Beasts do”, coincidence?

While I was in B2B Sales and Marketing I worked in the IT industry and learned a lot about technology and start ups and paid careful attention to the start up scene in Des Moines and followed companies like Dwolla. I have always been an early adopter of Social Media and jumped on the Spotify and Snap Chat train from day 1, just like I did with Twitter and Facebook in high school. I also love the laid back culture you get inside a startup.

So I decided to jump in head first and see what I could do to help a startup that launched just 2 years ago, into a new market, grab its footing and grow the company. My role at Beast was to come in a put on many hats blending my experience in Account Management and Sales, with my passion for Content Creation and growing our Social Media footprint. I currently am the Content Marketing Manager and Head of International Partnerships. In my role I manage a small team of 5 across Marketing, Sales, and eCommerce/Customer Support. 

Things I have learned and like about a startup, freedom to try out new things. I have established a Content Marketing Roadmap, something we did not have before, and have the freedom to try and do things to create buzz and generate awareness. I am getting to blend my schooling with my passion. 

Working in a startup is dynamic, different, always changing, and you have to be able to handle multiple roles and have the ability to pivot as needed, a skill I learned in Sales and honing here. I was able to spend some time with a professor in Barcelona who has founded 2 startups and after talking to him about the future of startups, I couldn’t be more excited about my role here and all the lessons that lie before me.

I love to compete, I love being the new kid on the block, the underdog, and I love to surprise people, so what better opportunity to drive this and work in a startup. To end with an often overused quote, “I didn’t choose the startup life, the startup life chose me.”

I am excited to see where this next journey will take me! 

Why I Decided go Back to School for a Master’s: 8 months later...

My journey back to school and across the world to Milan has flown by! 8 months ago I hopped on a plane with my girlfriend, next stop, Milan. When we met we both talked about getting a Master’s or MBA. She was about to graduate with a Degree in Design, and I had just bought a town home and was working in B2B Sales and Marketing for almost 5 years. What changed?

ME. I had always thought about it and I wanted to travel the world. This provided the opportunity for us to do it together. Since moving here, the question more than any other that I have been asked….. “Why Milan?” 

When you think about schools and education, yes most logically would be to go to a good school in the USA. But what people don't account for is the experience.Milan provided the perfect mix of design, business, fashion, and opportunity. And I wanted to study in a truly multi-cultural environment. And I wanted to challenge myself in a country that I couldn’t speak in. I also wanted to get a different view of business, marketing, and running a business. Now 8 months later I can tell you that the experiences have been worth it.

I truly have learned a lot about myself, as well as have a better idea of what is important to me. As a sales guy I always craved more support and materials that would help me sell. Now I am passionate about working in Content and Digital Marketing providing communication that does just that. I love managing social profiles, interacting with customers, and creating content for a brand. I have had the fortunate opportunity to obtain an internship with an Italian Startup called Beast Technologies. I am managing all the Content and Digital Media for the company as well as managing high level partnerships with affiliates, clients, and sponsors across the enterprise. 

Outside of this good fortune I had the chance to study for 2 weeks in the amazing city of Barcelona, Spain at one of the best Business Schools called eada Business School. What an amazing experience it was. Between experiences with partner companies like Nielsen, IBM, OTB, and Universal McCann, to studying in Spain, as well the friendships created, experiences say it best. 

My Business Innovation Design Team @ eada in Barcelona

As I am now officially done with classes and now working on completing my final project I can say that the experiences to this point have been amazing, but not without struggles. But those struggles have turned into learning experiences. Living in Italy is a challenge, but nothing great comes easy. 

IM4 Team in Barcelona

Grad School Adventures: Tips for Stimulating Creativity, Leadership, Perspective, and Innovation: Be Curious!

Tips for Stimulating Creativity, Leadership, Perspective, and Innovation: Be Curious!

 

As I was looking at material for another post that I was writing, I kept coming across articles on with titles like “50 Things That Make You an Entrepreneur Without Thinking” or “20 Things Successful CEO’s do Daily” , etc. I am sure many of you have seen and read these articles. There were many common and awesome tips and I thought about, how many of these do I do, and can I apply to being a Master’s Student. So I decided to create a list of 10 things that Master’s Students can do daily that will help balance life and stimulate Creativity, Leadership, Perspective, and Innovation.

1)   Read Daily:

•  Even just 5 minutes a day, know what is going on in your markets, and the world

2)   Network:

•  Always be growing your network, you never know who you will meet and what they can do for you either personally or professionally

3) Weed out Negativity

•  Life is too short to be surrounded by negativity, strive to surround yourself with positivity. Surround yourself with people who will help you grow, inspire, challenge you to be the best version of you.

4) Exercise physically

•  This is the best form of stress relief and will take your mind off the million to-do list you have to do, take 15-30 minutes daily, whether its yoga, running, or weights, find time away from school.

5) Talk with strangers

•  You never know who you might meet, and how you or they will affect each others lives

6) Go out and be social

•  Part of balancing life as a student is to enjoy time with friends and live a little. Nothing will re-energize you like a good meal and conversation with friends and classmates

7) Be Curious and Learn from everyone

•  Everyone in your class brings something new to the table, be curious, find something that you can learn from everyone you meet and talk to

8) Forget the idea of perfection

•  No one or thing is perfect, know your strengths and weaknesses and always work to improve, and know that sometimes mistakes will be made. Handle them with poise and learn from them.

9) Live your Personal Brand

•  Incorporate your brand values in your everyday life.

10) Never Stop Learning

•  Whether a new skill, technology, game, or method; always be a student of the game. Continuing to learn will always help you gain perspective and grow.

When studying in a Graduate Course, you are exposed to amazing sources of information, use them, enjoy them, make the most of the situation. You are preparing and molding your personal brand to take out into the world, and you just never know where you creativity will be sparked and lead you. Why are you not making the most of it?! 

Grad School Adventures: Content is Key in Building your Personal Brand:

“Content is King”- Bill Gates, 1999

How many times have we heard this?

In today’s fast moving society, we always hear content is king, but what exactly does that mean?

Seth Godin, a Marketing Guru, (look up his TEDtalks), said that “Content Marketing is the only marketing we have left.”

In Marketing, Content has to do with the what, why, and how of your product or service you are selling. It is a way to promote and market your product online to “differentiate”, another key marketing term. You can read all kinds of articles and blogs on content in terms of business.

But what about the Content that YOU share. With our digital community we are always using social networks to like, share, post, discuss, promote, rave, rant, etc. But how is it affecting your brand positively or negatively? Do you share the same content across platforms, or do you differentiate based on platforms?

I believe that we as Marketing and Business professionals should read, watch, and post content weekly. We are in the ‘Content’ business, we are the passionate and excited people that love “innovation” and new products. So why not talk about it? It is extremely important to read what is going on in not only business, but sports, current events, etc. to truly understanding what is happening in the markets all around the world. There is no longer a concept of Marketing to the Masses, people want the “experience” and we have to give it to them.

Start by challenging yourself to read 3-5 articles daily and share 1 piece of content a week. If you just read a great article about a new campaign that excites you tweet it.  Did you just watch a great TEDtalk? Share it. Did you earn an award for a great presentation or portfolio? Is it on your LinkedIn? It should be. Competition is the world is HIGH for new graduates, how do you differentiate yourself from the competition to potential employers if you have little to no experience? You can create a portfolio of content, when they look you up on social media, they should see that you are talking about relevant topics. They should see your work, this gives them a glimpse of your skills and long term potential.

As you continue to become more confident in sharing content, take the next step and write about it. Share your voice with the world, whether you decide to start a blog, use Facebook, or publish a post on LinkedIn, try it. Start connecting and talking with the world. If you truly want to work in this industry you have to be competent across markets and understand what is happening.

Challenge yourself to be bold and daring, start reading, sharing, and posting!