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About Me
Hey there! I’m Ann, a wife and mom of three boys who works from home just outside of Chicago, IL. It took me until I was twenty-eight to discover my true passion in affiliate marketing. I spent years climbing the corporate ladder and realized it wasn’t the life I wanted.
Sure, the picture on the left shows a happy family enjoying a Fall day, but deep down, I was exhausted and feeling empty. Like any tired working mom, I longed for more time with my boys and a career that actually meant something to me.
Now, I’m on an exciting journey as a freelancer and blogger, forging my own path as an mamapreneur. My mission? To inspire and empower women to step out of their comfort zones and pursue their professional dreams while still being there for their families when it matters most.
On my blog, I cover everything from marketing and motherhood to finances. I want to show you that you can be an amazing mom without sacrificing your identity as a woman. Join me on this incredible adventure!
Welcome to Corporate America
Like any young professional and newbie college graduate, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my career. After completing my bachelors degree in business management, I landed a few marketing jobs in the architecture & engineering industries. By no means was this glamorous work, but it gave me my first real world job experience. It was also around 2008 a.k.a The Great Recession. Everyone was getting laid off including myself.
Despite being unemployed, I was excited to get married and move to my longtime boyfriend’s hometown. It was a smaller city than Chicago, so I had no real connections or job leads there. I eventually found a social media/blog internship for an online deal website not too far from where I was living. I interviewed and got the job.
This was my first taste of digital marketing. It blew my mind that there were websites that combined online shopping and saving money (my two favorite things).
I was hooked.
The job experience was exactly what I needed. I learned all the fundamentals of affiliate marketing from a large publisher’s perspective.
Moving on Up
Kicking off my thirties, I landed an ecommerce role at a very large department store retailer. It was there that I learned, on much larger scale, how things operated in the digital marketing world.
Everything from analytics to cart functionality to merchandising, it all prepared me to become an established affiliate manager. I was overseeing two multi-million dollar affiliate marketing programs working with thousands of affiliates. I saw what worked and what didn’t within that industry.
Oh, and I became a working mom too!
After struggling with infertility, my husband and I finally got the best gift: our first son Luke. While I was pregnant with him, we also moved into our first home and adjusted to our new life of being working parents.
Life was good, but I knew I needed to shake things up. A new challenge in my career was calling my name.
Little did I know what kind of changes would be coming…
The Agency Rollercoaster
When following a career in marketing, a huge part of anyone’s decision making is to decide whether to work ‘in-house’ or for an agency. Since I spent many years in-house, it seemed weird to cross over to working at an agency. Most early marketers yearn to get out of agency life. It can be a complete grind serving multiple clients and managing tight deadlines.
However, I spotted an amazing opportunity to build an affiliate practice from the ground up at a scaling agency. The company had a great culture and perks so when I was finally offered the job, I was ecstatic. The cherry on top was that it was fully remote which offered me ultimate flexibility with being a mom.
Within my first few months, I was setting up processes, pitching new business, traveling to see clients, and establishing connections at major affiliate networks. No day was the same which I loved. I used what I learned from a larger company and started to see those strategies come to life at a much smaller agency.
Oh Baby, Baby
Six months into my new fancy pants job, I got the news that rocked my world. I was expecting twins. We always wanted to grow our family and did another fertility treatment. However, we never expected there to be TWO babies.
When I reflect on hard times in my life, I often think about my twin pregnancy. It was clearly no walk in the park. I remember traveling for work at six months pregnant and struggling so bad. I’m not sure how I made it to the end, but our beautiful boys joined us at 36wks – happy and healthy as can be. I was able to take four months off of paid leave with my company. It was such a blessing to our family. As you can imagine, a toddler and twin newborns were …a lot. I’m pretty sure I blocked out that entire summer of newborn twins ha.
The Work/Life Imbalance
After I got back from maternity leave, I had to figure out our new normal which was incredibly difficult. Juggling working full time and being a mom of little children felt impossible. There is no balance. It requires constant multitasking, organization, and a tremendous amount of energy. As a working mom of young kids, I was not only responsible for my own job and team, but also for the well-being and development of my boys. It was exhausting and some days I questioned how I was going to do it again the next day.
Thankfully, my husband and I had a great babysitter and support nearby so we could work. After the newborn fog wore off, I started to get more sleep and feel like myself again. I looked forward to mornings at my computer with uninterrupted focus and warm coffee.
The Burnout
For years, I’ve seen bloggers make a fortune in the affiliate space and it seemed like every client I spoke with wanted to work with these types of affiliates. I thought to myself, “I can do that easily“.
So, I bought a domain and hosting plan, but after a few weeks I gave up. In reality, I had no clue what I was doing nor gave myself the time to learn anything. I pushed the idea aside like so many of us do and went back to what was comfortable and safe.
After about 4.5 years at my agency job, I started to feel those pesky symptoms of burnout. I’m sure we’ve all felt it before. You’re physically and emotionally exhausted, and losing interest and motivation in a job you once loved. For me, the stress and pressure felt like a mountain on my chest. Sleep was non existent and my frustration was pouring into my home life. I felt like I was snapping at my husband/kids constantly, and being more emotional at the end of the day. Once again, my gut told me I needed a change.
I dreamt about leaving behind corporate life and reporting to no one but myself. I was done with the politics and meetings. Being at my previous agency taught me that I could build awesome things, so I wanted to take a chance on myself and build something I’d be proud of. After I figured out some logistics with finances and health insurance, I quit my full time job in January 2023.
There was no turning back now.
So here we are today
Blogging Full Time
After more than a decade of clawing my way from working at big brands to servicing various clients, I can confidently say that I actually know how to get results in this wild world of the internet.
Whether you’re a marketing professional, solopreneur, or just a tired working mama like myself that craves freedom and flexibility, my blog can provide you with valuable insights and guidance to help you achieve your goals. My blog covers a wide range of topics from managing family finances to marketing. I offer a unique perspective from an affiliate marketer turned affiliate and share everything from affiliate marketing, side hustles, frugal living, and more.
Thanks for stopping by!
Cheers,
Ann