Always super cute of course, those shiny pictures of entrepreneurs and digital nomad living all the life, but real entrepreneurial life is a lot more raw. More versatile, more exciting, more varied. And, of course, you can't compare your pantry to someone else's neatly laid out window either.
Therefore, I want to highlight the real entrepreneurial life and especially the journey. I did this before from our designer Rinske and social media marketer Astrid, but today it's time to put the third member of Think Factory Agency in the Mediterranean spotlight: Lina. What path has she taken to be where she is today? What does she think about entrepreneurship? Get to know our website builder better right away and read along with her journey.
From stressful crap minor to inspiring minor
Like me (Ninarosa) and Astrid (whom I interviewed earlier), Lina studied MIC: Media, Information and Communication. During her studies, she was already smart enough to get relevant work experience. "An ENT clinic told me they weren't doing anything in communications and asked if I wanted to pick that up," Lina says. "I was then in the third year of my bachelor's and didn't always have to go to class. On my own, I then took on that department." Right away, Lina was able to apply certain knowledge from her studies - from managing the Facebook page to writing the blogs and from improving the website to honing the LinkedIn page. And with success: engagement began to grow. Feedback was enthusiastic. Things were going for the wind. Right?
Hmmm, as we know, an entrepreneurial life is not always about roses. Lina always had the dream of staying in Spain for an extended period of time. Speaking Spanish would come in handy for that. That's why she started the minor in Spanish Language and Culture. "I hated it," Lina sighs. "The match just wasn't there at all. I dropped out and suffered a six-month internship delay." Fortunately, every advantage has its disadvantage: she went to work full-time at Van Linschoten, where everything did go very well. "I did a full six months in communications. Then I also saw the point of my studies. I could totally apply this. That really gave me a different perspective on my studies."
Okay, but how did those studies continue? "After that semester, I started doing another minor, which was Global Branding and Cambridge English. I found that super interesting. It was about how brands show up, more from the psychological side. That's where my interest in marketing, branding and psychology was sparked." After that successful minor, she rammed out her thesis on influencer marketing within 2(!) months and graduated. ... and then?
"I just needed to get away from this environment and ask myself what I liked and what energized me."
A job at a start-up to find out what she really likes
After graduation, Lina faced a choice: work at a big company or just a start-up? Security or creativity and freedom? She chose the latter and ended up at OASE, a start-up from Zaandam/Amsterdam that sells vegan hair gummies. That's how Lina and I know each other; she took over from me, because at OASE they wanted a full-time topper in the office rather than a freelancer. Fair enough, they certainly found that topper!
Lina chose the position because of its spontaneity and versatility. "I noticed that I could really go in all directions in this role. This seemed like a good opportunity to discover what I liked. That drive for entrepreneurship was already there, but I didn't really know what I wanted. That space to discover that was here."
And that versatility was certainly there. She was involved in every facet. "I really did a little bit of everything. Blog writing, social media, influencer marketing, SEO, branding, design, Analytics ... the CEO, Justin, really taught me everything and I'm super grateful to him for that. One of the other things I learned from him is to work in an organized way. He works very neatly in folders, nice and chronological."
Yet entrepreneurship began to itch after a year of working full-time as an online jack-of-all-trades at OASE. "At one point I just noticed that I no longer enjoyed going to work. I felt like there was more in me and that I needed to give myself more room to grow. It felt like I had kept myself very small out of fear - the fear of not doing well, not having stability and especially of falling outside the standard picture of the 9-5 society."
Fortunately, Justin, the CEO, was very understanding and told Lina to follow her heart. Then Lina and I were introduced to each other and the rest is history! I met her at the time when she had already cancelled her rent in Amsterdam and was brainstorming the business idea. She told me about her plans for Spain. "If I stayed in Amsterdam, I knew I wouldn't start for myself right away. I just needed to get away from this environment and ask myself what I liked and what energized me. Because I always went to Spain on vacation as a child, I knew I wanted to go towards Spain/Barcelona. Hopefully there I could become myself again and would stop listening so much to other people and just follow my own intuition. That's why I chose Spain as my base of operations, alternating it with the Netherlands and visits abroad."
El nacimiento de Onlien Marketing
Starting a business during corona, Lina did it. She began full elaboration in March and went live in May. "At the beginning, I put in really leisurely hours watching webinars and taking courses. In preparation, I also did a lot of journaling, writing and listening to podcasts. So strange to know that now I was really going to do it!"
In the two previous blogs, we already mapped out what Lina struggles with and what she has learned from it & what Lina has done to develop herself. In the nutshell: "Going down on my head a lot - that works best, even if it's not always fun. Figuring it out and building it up takes a lot of time, but I have more energy now than ever. I'm so glad I took this step. I used to have one of those gnawing feelings on Sunday nights, thinking it would be Monday again tomorrow, but that's completely gone now. I always got so inspired by people who enjoyed their work and I can't believe that I am now that kind of person myself."
And how are things going? "So far, all the collaborations have gone very well," Lina explains proudly. "I really can't complain because, of course, I've only been around for a little over six months. The amount of work is very good for the short time I've been busy."
"You think you have to know or be able to do something right away, but you actually have to mostly have the feeling feel and be curious enough."
A born entrepreneur
I find that many people with a broad education like MIC struggle with this. Because what do you really want and can you do? You learn a lot, but what can you really do? For Lina, there was always a barrier, too. "I thought I wouldn't be able to do it. Sometimes it takes 20 hours to figure something out and sometimes you pick it up faster. It doesn't matter. My biggest lesson: You can learn entrepreneurship just by doing it and figuring it out yourself. You think you have to know or be able to do something right away, but you actually have to mainly have the feeling and be curious enough."
What sounds a little crazy to me is the bit about you can learn entrepreneurship. So can anyone be an entrepreneur? Lina quickly clarifies herself. "No, definitely not everyone can be an entrepreneur," she agrees. "You do have to have a certain affinity for your field and have that drive to get out of bed. After all, there is no one directing you. But I do believe that anyone who wants it can learn it."
Then a word about productivity. According to Lina, she is a true entrepreneur because she has a drive, sets priorities and enjoys the journey. But what if she doesn't feel like working? "Walking or exercising helps a lot for me when I have those days where nothing comes out of my fingers. That in turn helps me get my goals clear. I read an article the other day: when you're not busy with work, you can still get inspiration for your business - wherever you are or whatever you're doing."
And what about that pressure, which she felt so much in Amsterdam - the pressure to do well, always work, do well? "It's a frustrating feeling when I'm not productive for a while, because as an entrepreneur, I feel like you want to be working more than 8 hours a day. But so walking or exercising helps a lot for me, to get my goals clear again. To develop myself, I also always take very nice courses. On the weekends I really try to rest and take me-time with a nice series. For a kick in the butt during dip days, I then sometimes grab my inspi Pinterest board." Now if you're thinking, "What is this girl talking about?", check out her other blog, the last item.
Future you says thank you, Lina
(If you don't understand this pun/reference either, I'd like to refer you to the other blog again. Then you'll get it. If you don't get anything from it or don't get the joke, I'll send you a chocolate, pinky promise)
So now we know how Lina started from the bottom, struggled and suffered study vertigo, how the spark for branding spilled over, how she ended up at Think Factory Agency and how Onlien got started. How much we actually already know about her. I want to close with a vision for the future. "I see the future of my company as a branding and web design company, where I can work with multiple people and manage interns. I want to be an inspiration to young girls and help them make that step into entrepreneurship and the creative world. I want to be someone I could have actually used myself. Conveying that passion and helping people get joy in what they do and create, that seems absolutely amazing."
