We are delighted to welcome Creative Little Soul’s newest crew member to our ever-growing marketing agency. Introducing Creative Little Soul Content Creator & Marketing Assistant, Natalie Thomson.
Q&A with Creative Little Soul’s Content Creator and Marketing Assistant
Creative Little Soul (CLS) is an award-winning digital and creative marketing agency. We provide business support and creative services such as content creation, digital marketing strategies and design for our clients in the hospitality industry.
From humble beginnings, Chrissy Symeonakis established Creative Little Soul in 2013. Fast forward seven years and CLS is now a sizeable team, with each staff member bringing a wealth of talent into business. This in turn, serves our wonderfully varied client portfolio.
Today we would like to introduce you to our newest crew member. Natalie is Creative Little Soul’s Content Creator and Marketing Assistant, who, much like the rest of the CLS team, lives and works remotely. Natalie resides in Regional Victoria.
Hi Natalie. We’ll start with your CLS duties! Tell us about your role at Creative Little Soul.
My new role at Creative Little Soul is Content Creator and Marketing Assistant. I am so excited about the work that I will be doing in this role. I have worked hard to get here, and I cannot wait to get started.
Did you have a connection with Chrissy or CLS prior to your new role?
Following a series of events, the stars aligned, and I booked in for three coaching sessions with Chrissy. After just two sessions, Chrissy’s wisdom combined with her crystal-clear thinking changed my life. And I really mean this. After a busy harvest period, and when the kids were finally back at school in early February, I booked in for my third and final coaching session. At the end of this session Chrissy offered me a job!
Tell us about your career background to date. What did you study and where did you work prior to landing your job at CLS?
I’ve been working in administration for almost 25 years. (Gosh that makes me sound old!) After completing year 12, I moved to Geelong to study the Advanced Certificate of Office Administration at Macquarie Commercial College. I landed my first job with Vicgrain Ltd after completing my work-based placement there. Throughout my career I have worked in a variety of industries and had some very cool jobs. I sold finance and insurance for a local Toyota Dealership, as a CEO’s (PA) personal assistant, operations assistant in the grain industry and enjoyed a small stint as a literacy assistant. For the last two years I’ve been working part-time with a dynamic local accountant who specialises in self-managed super funds.
During the 2016 harvest, I decided while I was in the paddock picking onion seed heads, that I wanted to pursue a career in writing. I enrolled into the Certificate IV in Professional Writing and Editing with Open Colleges, and I completed the course in January 2018. In January 2019, I enrolled into the Diploma of Social Media Marketing with Redmako Learning. After many hours of research, I realised that to make it in the freelance writing world, I needed to have marketing skills and a broad knowledge of the social media platforms. This course was fascinating. I found marketing so interesting, and when paired with the power of social media, businesses big and small have the ability to tailor their marketing to the individual. I completed the Diploma in April 2020.
What is your writing niche?
I gained confidence in my writing when I started to help with writing grants for our local primary school. It was such a thrill to be involved in gaining funding for projects that made a difference.
My niche is a combination of the two things I am passionate about; helping others and supporting my local community. I am all about using my words and the knowledge I have acquired to support small rural businesses succeed online.
Have you always lived in regional VIC? Tell us about the area or town you live in.
I am a Mallee girl through and through. I grew up on my parent’s farm in Culgoa. I had the best childhood growing up with my two siblings and doing the normal things like yabbying, building cubbies and helping out in the shearing shed.
I met my husband at a B & S ball..(classy, I know!) My husband is a farmer, and I moved to his farm at Nyah West in 2001. The farm predominately grows onion seed, which is manually picked between December and January each year. Nyah West is a beautiful little town, not far from the Murray River.
What is your favourite social media platform and why?
LinkedIn – I am so grateful for the networking opportunities that this platform provides. Living in regional, rural Victoria it can be a challenge to network. LinkedIn allows me to connect and collaborate with like-minded people from the comfort of my home.
In fact, I found Chrissy and the Creative Little Soul on LinkedIn. I connected with my writing teacher from Open Colleges, Nadine Cresswell-Myatt on LinkedIn, who then suggested I follow the Creative Little Soul.
Were you impacted by COVID lockdowns last year?
Living in regional Victoria, we were impacted by the lockdowns, but not as much as our friends and family living in Melbourne. My kids both had to homeschool, and honestly it was hard. The worst part was watching them cope with the isolation and trying to make things normal when it clearly wasn’t.
What advice would you give to newbie freelance writers?
If you have a desire to be a freelance writer, my advice is to be clear about your goal. When I first sat down and commenced the Certificate IV in Professional Writing and Editing, I just wanted to be a freelance writer. I have now learnt, after spending many hours down rabbit holes on the internet, that you need to establish early on where you want to go with your writing and what your niche will be.
I also recommend finding some idols in your writing niche. Through LinkedIn and Facebook, I have found some inspiring writers, including Chrissy, who have made it in the world that I have been desperate to crack into. There is so much to gain from people who are living your dream. The next piece of advice is to contact them and let them know you’re alive.
Tell us about your future career goals.
My future career goal is clear: I want to make a difference with my words. I want my passion for writing to help others succeed with their dream.
and now for some fun questions..
What is your favourite 80’s movie?
Steel Magnolias (“OH Shelby!”). I do have to make mention of Anne of Green Gables here too. I think it came out as a telemovie in 1985. Whenever the world gets too much, I watch Anne of Green Gables and the sequel. Watching Megan Follows and Colleen Dewhurst calms my soul. A trip to Prince Edward Island with my family is at the top of my bucket list
Who is your favourite Disney Princess?
Rapunzel. I like to think that I share her ability to make the most of my situation, whilst never giving up on my dreams. We are both assertive and know that we must always be true to ourselves.
Your favourite food?
Tough one! I love food in general. When I asked my daughter, she told me to put our daily after school/work snack: Cruskits with a spread of avocado and Promite.
Welcome Natalie to the CLS Team!