Case

Mixing Business with Babies

Introduction

After college, Samantha worked as a production assistant for a top cable channel. The glitz and glamour of working in television ignited Samantha's desire to contribute to the world of media, but she often felt more compelled by what viewers sought to understand or gain from watching the produced shows than the logistical planning involved in creating them – in other words, what was the strategy used to communicate with the audience? Samantha decided that an MBA with a concentration in strategic communications and marketing would help her to cultivate her understanding of audiences, how to reach them, what messages to use, and when to employ them. She received her MBA from Georgetown University focusing on learning how companies market themselves, how business owners communicate with their customers, how entrepreneurs build their client base, and how business writing can propel a company to great success or create a less than stellar image. Samantha translated her communications acumen to a job working as a consultant for a top international consulting company helping clients to achieve their communications goals. Samantha now seeks to take her expertise in communications and develop a way to share her own voice. As a new mom, Samantha must figure out how to balance nursing her baby with nursing her talents as a writer.

Background

It was a few weeks before her MBA orientation week, and Georgetown University sent Samantha an email advertising a contest for BusinessWeek Online's MBA Journal Series which offered the opportunity to write about her experience as a business school student. If she won, she would chronicle her journey offering insight and advice to prospective hungry candidates. She thought, "what a platform! I could write for a leading online magazine, maintain a record of my graduate school days, and help students navigate through the intricate maze of finding personal and professional happiness during and after business school." With a hope for the best, she submitted her writing samples -- after all, what did she have to lose but a little time? Several weeks later, she received the email: "Congratulations!" If there was ever an opportunity to stand out from the crowd and propel her voice it was by becoming a contributing writer to an online magazine with an audience of millions! This could be the start of something great, she thought. And the first rumblings of potential professional success as a writer began to stir within her. Samantha continued writing throughout business school by contributing to the student newsletter. She volunteered to write nearly every paper for group projects. She wrote a marketing plan for her consulting gig helping a local doggie daycare owner market her company in the heavily dogged population of Dupont Circle in Washington, DC. She even consulted to a beverage company in Vietnam, writing a comprehensive marketing plan to expand their reach. When it came time for Samantha to interview for jobs after business school, companies were eager to learn about her extensive writing experience. Within her career as a consultant, Samantha has often talked about her BusinessWeek role to communicate the value she can bring to her consulting projects, whether it translates to writing a communications or marketing plan or developing content for a website. Additionally, her extended professional and personal network has opened up opportunities for her to continue writing on topics of interest to Samantha like balancing her career with raising a baby. She has written for various websites geared toward family life and women in business and hopes to expand her portfolio of clients in the near future.

Professional issue

Samantha finds herself at a professional crossroads. She wants to parlay her communications experience into a career writing about topics that matter to her most – family life, parenthood, and being a successful businesswoman. Although she has had great success writing copy for companies and consulting to them on how to improve their communications, she now needs to market herself as a freelance writer to editors and publishers of online and print magazines. With companies facing increasing economic hardship, Samantha must prove that her writing can attract and maintain readers.

Personal issue

Samantha has always wanted to be a mom. She has always wanted to be a businesswoman, too, but she never wanted to sacrifice family life on the way up a corporate ladder. She doesn't want to just see her children first thing in the morning and peek in on them after they go to bed – she wants to be there to put them down for their naps or drive them to a doctor's appointment. She wants to change diapers and read bedtime stories. She wants to be the one that hugs and kisses them when they scrape their knee. With more MBA women opting out of the workforce once they have children, how can she maintain her status as savvy businesswoman and still have time to wipe runny noses? How can she effectively build a freelance career in the most efficient way? Reference article: http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/aug2008/bs20080821_739321.htm