Finding my Creative Voice: Marketing is my Medium
The story of my life and the journey that has led me to WebMarketers begins with the desire to create.
I have always had a fascination with the creative arts and, from a young age, I had the notion that I myself needed to express myself creatively- to build something.
To my dismay, I did not possess any of the traditionally regarded talents associated with ‘being an artist.’ I had the compulsion to be a creative, but I did not know how to express myself if not with a paintbrush or sculpture’s clay.
Acknowledging my gaps in these traditionally recognized creative skill sets, I departed from the idea of being an artist in search of something more complementary to what my natural aptitudes may be.
In secondary school, I quickly noted that my academic strengths took shape within number based competencies such as mathematics- a seeming departure from my initial interests and pursuits. My strengths were in analytics- calculated construction and forethought for successful outcomes. Intent on engaging with my quantitative abilities and acknowledging these natural strengths, I decided to pursue a Bachelors in Commerce.
I was drawn to the study of business and its delicate and thoughtful complexity. With commerce, the end goal is functionality, and I realised I found fulfilment in crafting the processes that lead to success. For me, the ‘fun part’ of commerce involved the assembly and construction of a business- in essence, making things work and work well.
“My inclination towards the creative mindset led me down this path to WebMarketers…”
As I progressed through my studies, my focuses quickly narrowed to specialities in marketing. I was drawn to this specific avenue of commerce and its psychological and sociological based idiosyncrasies. I found it endlessly fascinating how predominant the ‘human element’ was in the mechanics of marketing and how these psychological factors had a crucial influence on the marketing process.
I decided to dive deeper into my business education and pursued a Masters in Business Administration (MBA). In conjunction, both degrees cultivated a polished and well rounded basis of knowledge that informed the work I would come to do in the years immediately after.
I pursued a career in business-to-business sales (B2B) after finishing my education, as it allowed me to make use of my valuable business knowledge.
At this time, the cannabis industry was starting to take shape in the National Capital Region (NCR), both medicinally and recreationally. Individuals within my social circles were becoming involved in the steadily evolving industry, and I was keenly interested in seeing the progression of its regulation and the direction that it would take.
Through careful research and discussion with the local industry leaders of the time, the idea of opening Ottawa’s first medicinal cannabis dispensary came alive! A few months later, that idea had become a reality (OMD).
As an entirely new and swiftly evolving industry, I had to be acutely aware and adaptable to change as a business owner, and ended up moving my business from a brick and mortar model to an online based business that was capable of serving the whole country. Our original website was fairly rudimentary, however, as the digital landscape grew, I understood the necessity of improving my online assets and brand presence in order to stay competitive with the influx of competing businesses.
At this time, I reached out to multiple digital marketing agencies in Ottawa to help me achieve these goals.
After meeting with multiple agencies, I ultimately decided to go with what I considered to be the clear winning choice, WebMarketers. There were many factors that played a part in this decision- one being that they were genuinely interested in making my business more successful.
More than just gaining a new customer, they showed a genuine curiosity in my business and in the industry as a whole, and their data driven and quantitative results approach used in their marketing strategy was very similar to my own practices.
It was clear that WebMarketers understood that, as a business, I was interested in quantifiable results and the solutions they offered led to those outcomes. With the services they provided, including a full rebrand and CRM, my website and business became an envy within the industry. Those quantifiable results I mentioned previously followed quickly- my sales and new customers skyrocketed and my investment yielded a very healthy return.
As the stabilising industry began to mature and with the successes that OMD had incurred, I was eager to find a new challenge- a new venture was on my horizon.
As an avid foodie, I always conceived of the idea of a perfect sandwich shop.
Setting my intentions towards new challenges and experiences, I decided to sell OMD and open up my own ideal sandwich shop as a new enterprise to pursue my passion for business (The Sandwich Factory).
One week after we opened our doors to the restaurant, however, I found out my wife was pregnant for the first time. Recognizing that the time commitment to a new restaurant would not allow me to have the work-life balance I desired in entering new fatherhood, I ultimately decided to sell this business, as well.
Throughout my business relationship with WebMarketers, I kept my eye on the company. Their approaches to marketing were very similar to my own in their genuine care to bring about a business’ success through their quantitative results approach. It was very clear to see that WebMarketers was quickly expanding as a company intent on improving and increasing the services they offered to ensure a business’ success.
Knowing from first hand experience that our values and methods of marketing aligned, I decided to reconnect with the agency and apply for a position that coincided with my educational and professional expertise, which would afford me the ideal work-life balance that an office environment would offer.
I am pleased to have secured this opportunity, and here I am today – Shady Abboud, Business Developer at WebMarketers.
I am super enthused by the opportunity to help local businesses achieve the same success that I gained in my previous work with WebMarketers and am privileged to have the chance to meet a variety of diverse business owners and managers to learn about their histories, their work, and their goals for the future!
Throughout this journey, I came to the very important realisation that creativity is not solely an artistic endeavour in the traditional conceptions of what art should be- it spans far wider than that.
The dissonance I felt when regarding my lack of traditional creative abilities was resolved when I realised that creativity goes beyond these traditional conceptions of the ‘creative artist,’ and manifests itself in the creative processes of ‘construction’ within any domain.
Throughout my journey, I learned what it truly means to be a creative. Creativity is much wider than what concerns its role in art.
Through identifying my true aptitudes for analytics and through my intentful studies of marketing and commerce, I was able to find a medium to express my creative voice. I found that, rather than paints and sculpture’s clay, marketing was my medium of choice.
My inclination towards the creative mindset led me down this path to WebMarketers and I am so beyond excited to see what exciting projects are in store for my future!