And The Ad-Venture Begins!

Well, I finally scrounged up the courage to officially start my own blog. It's not that I am totally green to the subject - I just always hesitated because I thought starting a blog was comparative to having a child - aka major responsibility. But, I decided to just go with it.

I have a rough idea about what this blog will consist of. Primarily, it is to keep myself in check with all the facets in my so-called-life, namely, the various ventures I am involved in.

So I guess the protocol is to clarify who I am. My name is Jacqueline Howatt, but everyone refers to me as Jackie or "MissBiz", which I will get to in a second. I am 22 years old.

I live in Nova Scotia, Canada and I am just beginning my fifth year at Saint Mary's University this coming Wednesday. I am attaining a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a double major in Marketing and Entrepreneurship. I've been fairly active in extra curriculars during my stay at University. For example, I've:

• Worked for the Student Government Communications Department for 2 years (promoting and organizing events for students)
• Been a CASA Ambassador (Canadian Alliance of Student Associations)
• Been the Business Editor and columnist for the student newspaper, The Journal. My business column is known as "MissBiz", hence, my nickname.
• Been an active member of the Saint Mary's Commerce Society

Outside of University:

• I began working for a marketing company when I was 18
• When I was 20 I became the Marketing Director for a specialized golf product (which I will keep under wraps until later)
• Was the Vice President of Marketing for a start-up company called Blueprint Innovations which is an economic loyalty program concept that several colleagues and myself worked on for about a year. I am still a shareholder, but due to other commitments and interests, I am no longer apart of the day-to-day responsibilities.

Currently, I am still the Marketing Director for the golf company, and if I get hired back this year, I will remain the Business Editor for The Journal.

I am also starting my own business (finally!). The business name was approved - I am just waiting to hear back from the government for the final paperwork. I will disclose the name and other details when everything is approved. I will say that it is a small or "intimate" business consultancy firm that has major potential for growth because the services are specialized and frequently needed in the business community.

I've recieved a lot of flack for starting a business while in school, but hey, it's my life and I have my own expectations to fulfill. As Richard Branson would say,

"Screw it, Let's do it"

I think I'll post my articles from The Journal on here too. I just wrote 2 today, since today is the deadline for publication. I wrote one for MissBiz (of course), and one for the Opinions section.

Until next time...

Keep Bizzy

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"Life is not a game;

Only the fittest and most aggressive will survive;

Sleeping is forbidden;

A second cannot be wasted;

When a second is lost, you lose;

And losing is for losers"

- Sean "Puffy" Combs -