Nick Ward is an experienced content marketer who got his start in the newspaper business. He had a good boss, his work was enjoyable, but the culture was the rub that led him to leave the company and build a successful career as a freelancer. As he said, “I never saw myself as an employee again.”
Journalism was his major and his aspiration. He entered the field in the early days of “content marketing,” at a time when the newspaper business was undergoing huge upheaval and change. His role was to create content for the purpose of extending the brand, in blogs, articles, and social media. He felt this was his avenue to becoming a journalist. But instead, he was continually questioned as to his financial value to the company, even though the role of a content marketer is long-term and largely intangible.
He was successful in the role, but still he was told, “We’re like on an iceberg right now . . . the iceberg is melting everybody is trying to jump on the last flow out, the last ship, the last piece of ice, the last piece of land available . . . It’s just ruthless.”
Every job, every person in his company, was scrutinized from the perspective of ROI — the direct impact of each individual on revenue and profitability.
Who could blame the industry’s leadership when ad revenue was hemorrhaging in a world with an ever-increasing array of options? In today’s world, there are bloggers and Youtubers with larger followings than the New York Times. Who could have predicted this?
Thus, the pressure brought on Nick to continually justify his existence in a job that was established as an intangible benefit for the brand was the force that led him to resign. He shared, “The final straw of that experience where I was just like I am tired of having to justify my existence here.”
He was 33 at the time, early in his career, without children or the financial concerns that come with them. His concern was not money, but reputation — the effect on his career after leaving the industry for an extended period. But the further he got away from that environment, the less he wanted to seek employment in the field of journalism.
Today he travels the world as a digital nomad. He spoke with us from a small town in the Yucatan region of Mexico. He is married and has a young son who gets to experience different cultures. When I asked him how he feels about his career today, he said “I would say I am ecstatic . . . I’m able to live this free life that I wanted to live, and still be making a difference.”
The purpose of this podcast it to paint a picture of changing culture through the telling of individual stories. Nick’s story adds to our growing mosaic as an individual who merely didn’t resonate with the culture. He could have continued in the industry. He could have sought any number of opportunities with other publishing companies, or even tried to make it work with the one he was with, but instead chose to go it alone.
The past seven years haven’t always been easy for Nick, and at times he’s questioned the logic of his choice. But today he only works with companies that are aligned with his values, and one client is even making him an equity partner, which Nick feels is a sign that he’s on the right path.
Ep. 5 “I Am Tired of Having to Justify My Existence Here”