We're not done celebrating Women's History month just yet. We love being able to connect with, and learn from, the amazing women who make up the iGoMoon team. Everyone has their own key ingredients to success – and that’s why we’ve asked these six inspiring women to share their top tips to get started or build your inbound marketing career in 2021.
Unni Wihlborg
1. What is your favorite aspect of being a UX Designer?
My favorite part of being a UX designer is that feeling of having created something that actually solves someone's problem. A fun part of this is when I get to watch someone use my design, allowing me to see how it works in the hands of real users.
2. What is the most important lesson you’ve learned in your career to date?
Wow, tough one, I have learned so many great lessons, especially after making a career change a few years ago. However, something that stands out is this mindset that in order to break new grounds, be it personal development or company success, you have to cannot look at failures as failures. You have to look at what you learned from it and let that lead your way. Having the mindset that trying new things and failing while doing it is a good thing has led me to become more brave.
3. What advice can you offer to women who want a career in your industry?
Find out the underlying reasons you want to become a UX designer and let that lead your way.
4. How do you think iGoMoon celebrates or supports gender equality in our workplace?
I truly feel that your skills and expertise is what determines if you are hired and how far you go at iGoMoon. My gender has never been an issue for me or anyone I know, which I see as pretty decent proof that the company is succeeding at celebrating gender equality.
5. How do you maintain a work/life balance?
Well, being a mom has forced me to work on this balance much more than earlier. I now turn off all mobile notifications at the end of the day, and I actually focus quite hard on being in the moment rather than thinking about work when I am not working. But it’s sometimes easier said than done. Especially when working at home when the lines get so blurry!
6. What entrepreneurial tricks have you discovered to keep you focused and productive in your day-to-day busy schedule
Well, for me a big one is setting aside time for focused work as much as possible. Notifications go off and I decide on a set amount of time that I am working on a certain task.
7. Which other female leaders do you admire and why?
One of my favorite female leaders is Brené Brown. She is a social science researcher and one of her focus areas is "What makes a great leader". She recently started a podcast that I absolutely love called "Dare to lead”. It investigates what defines a great leader today. I highly recommend it - regardless of your gender. 😊
8. Are you part of any women in business networking groups?
Nope, not yet!
Åsa Randahl
1. What is your favorite aspect of being a Project Manager?
Working with people and being a problem solver - seeing solutions and opportunities rather than problems.
2. What is the most important lesson you’ve learned in your career to date?
To listen to feedback. If someone is taking the time to give feedback to help me improve, I should listen and reflect on it. Because even if I don't agree, it makes me see another person's perspective on things which is also an important learning.
3. What advice can you offer to women who want a career in your industry?
Never stop being curious and wanting to learn. If you want to work with inbound - for example - do your homework and get the knowledge about how companies work with it.
4. How do you think iGoMoon celebrates or supports gender equality in our workplace?
At iGoMoon I think we see all people are different and that makes us great as a team. It doesn't have to do with what gender you are, it is what you bring to the table in terms of being inspiring, developing and doing good.
5. How do you maintain a work/life balance?
I start every day with deciding what I need to do today, then at the end of the day when those tasks are done I can feel like I'm done and have done a good day even though there is still plenty to do.
6. What entrepreneurial tricks have you discovered to keep you focused and productive in your day-to-day busy schedule?
I would say that it goes hand in hand with my answer above. Keeping focused on what really needs to be done and what can wait.
For me it's also been a big difference in my role as a strategist when I learned to delegate and remember that not everything is my responsibility.
7. Which other female leaders do you admire and why?
I don't have one or two, I think there are so many female leaders that are inspiring, to see how they got their leader positions by working hard and not letting anyone put them down.
8. Are you part of any women in business networking groups?
No I'm not, so have no great tips unfortunately!
Fanny Lonkari
1. What is your favorite aspect of being a UX/UI Designer?
My favorite aspect of being a UX/UI designer is that I get to work with the thing that I love. Design feels like a hobby to me, and I feel incredibly lucky that I get to work with my passion.
2. What is the most important lesson you’ve learned in your career to date?
That it’s important to enjoy your work and be able to have fun while doing it.
3. What advice can you offer to women who want a career in your industry?
Be brave and follow your gut feeling — don’t be afraid to pursue your dream job! And remember that it’s never too late to change the course of your career.
4. How do you think iGoMoon celebrates or supports gender equality in our workplace?
I would say we have great gender equality at our iGoMoon — Everyone is treated with the same respect regardless of their gender, age, or background.
5. How do you maintain a work/life balance?
I plan time for training, social life and mindfulness. And for a little bit of “me-time” to treat myself after a long week. I also feel it’s important to compensate for all that time I spend looking at a screen at work so I try to do activities out in nature as much as I can — I love doing hikes or going out for a run.
6. What entrepreneurial tricks have you discovered to keep you focused and productive in your day-to-day busy schedule
To-do lists and project management tools (as example Tettra) are life-saviours when planning your work day or week.
7. Which other female leaders do you admire and why?
One of many inspiring female leaders that comes in mind is Michelle Obama — She’s such a powerful person and an inspiring role model.
8. Are you part of any women in business networking groups?
Yes, I’ve joined a Facebook group for women working in the creative field in Sweden — it’s called “Kreatörgäris”. I also listen to a podcast for women who are interested in trading (It’s in Finnish and called “mimmit sijoittaa”).
Annie Walter
1. What is your favorite aspect of being a developer?
There are several, but one major one is that there’s always something new to learn. No matter how good you are, there is always more you can do to develop yourself by improving and updating your skills, since it’s an ever changing industry. And it’s not something that requires you returning to school in the traditional way either. Since the community is so big and inclusive it opens up many ways to self-educate through e.g. forums, open source projects, meet-ups and conferences.
Frankly, the opportunities are endless, because it’s also not just about coding when you for example can geek in to things like interaction design, testing practices and analysis, just to mention a few.
2. What is the most important lesson/advice you’ve learned in your career to date?
Googling is not cheating, you just need to learn how to filter out the noise. And do not underestimate the power of Rubber Ducking!
Rubber Ducking in short is when you explain a problem out loud to someone, or even something. Many times just getting the words out can unblock your mind and present you with a solution or suggestion.
3. What advice can you offer to women who want a career in your industry?
Don’t let old stereotypes cloud your ambition and impression of what it’s like to be or work as a developer, it’s such a versatile profession. And even if it’s still a very male dominated occupation I’ve never experienced being seen as anything else than an equal and individual.
If you have hesitations and questions it’s always a great idea to reach out to people. There are many different networks out there, I’ve even been approached through LinkedIn several times by women who are wondering what it’s like and the climate in the industry. We need more dev-girls, so just go for it!
4. How do you maintain a work/life balance?
The challenge is that it’s very easy to bring the work home. Especially in this day and age when you’re always online in one way or the other. I do my best to turn off work related notifications in the evenings and instead focus fully on the things that “reset” my brain. Making time for my friends, family and furbabies is crucial for me to wind down.
5. What entrepreneurial tricks have you discovered to keep you focused and productive in your day-to-day busy schedule?
Breaks. It sounds so simple, but it’s very easy to get submerged in a task for hours on end and forget that sometimes a break can actually make you more productive. Like a palette cleanse, especially if you get stuck on something. Time blocking is also an efficient way, especially if you have a hard time avoiding the downsides of multitasking.
6. Which other female leaders or women in business do you admire or follow and why?
I first started programming when I was 12, inspired by my 17 year older sister who made a career change and became a developer. She was always encouraging me not to be intimidated about being a girl in what, especially back then, was extremely male dominated. Her being such a strong role model for me, and giving me an insight into this field, was the reason why I eventually took the leap myself.
7. Are you part of any women in business networking groups?
I’m a member of Women In Tech Sweden, they arrange some really great meet-ups and events.
Tayla Fagan
1. What is your favorite aspect of being an inbound marketing consultant?
So many things, but the best thing is seeing the inside of so many businesses. It's fascinating. Being exposed to a vast range of companies pushes you to use all your knowledge and skills to make an impact to drive results. It requires you to always be learning. A pleasant side effect of this is that you're never bored. Another aspect I love about my job is helping people connect the dots and become more creative with the work that they do.
2. What is the most important lesson or piece of advice you’ve learned in your career to date?
Do your best, always. That's it. That's literally all you can do.
3. What advice can you offer to women who want a career in your industry?
Be comfortable with change. Better yet, be good at navigating it. As marketers, we deal with a lot of change. The B2B marketing world is exploding with touch points, channels and marketing technology, just to name a few.
Find a strong mentor. Seek out people who are willing to help you get closer to finding out what your strengths and talents are. Look for role models early in your career. Who are the successful women in your industry? How do they communicate, behave, manage and inspire others? What do they do that helps them to position themselves for success?
4. How do you think/in what ways does iGoMoon celebrate gender equality in our workplace?
I would say we have great equality at iGoMoon across the board. It's a very equal work environment and there is an appreciation for all our perspectives because that's what leads us to more inspiring solutions.
5. How do you maintain a work/life balance?
This is a skill I am very much still working on, but a big part for me is knowing my limits. Trying not to overload my day so that I don’t feel overwhelmed. This allows me to feel like I’ve had a “good” day at work, so when it comes time to go home I can switch off and take a break.
6. What entrepreneurial tricks have you discovered to keep you focused and productive in your day-to-day busy schedule?
At iGoMoon we use “focus time”. I have found this very helpful. Change your status, pause those notifications, and find your flow.
7. Which other female leaders or women in business do you admire or follow and why?
Right now I am enjoying Holley M. Kholi-Murchisons writing and course on Skillshare “Creating your dream Career:Uncover & Apply your creative strengths. 10/10 recommend by the way.
8. Are you part of any women in business networking groups?
Yes! Future Females and She leads Africa.
1. What is your favorite aspect of being a strategist?
The variety in my role! No day is the same, which makes my work as a strategist and digital marketer really fun, challenging and rewarding. Everyday there's a new task, challenge to be solved, strategy to be build or project to lead.
2. What is the most important lesson you’ve learned in your career to date?
It’s with a peaceful mind, and when you’re confident and stand up for yourself and your opinions, that you'll achieve great things. Dare to stand out, dare to fail (but learn from it) and be kind to yourself.
3. What advice can you offer to women who want a career in your industry?
Step out of your comfort zone, let go of the pretentious and never stop learning. By now I’ve been working in the industry for over 6 years and I learn something new everyday.
4. How do you think/in what ways does iGoMoon celebrate gender equality in our workplace?
iGoMoon has a really nice, open-minded culture and it’s a very friendly workplace - everyone here welcomes each other with an open heart and respect each other regardless of gender, age, background, personality, race etc.
5. How do you maintain a work/life balance?
It’s definitely difficult sometimes to maintain a healthy work/life balance, it’s so easy to work into the night especially when you work a lot from home right now during Covid. But I try to create balance by setting boundaries for myself, by going out for a walk during lunch time to get a real break and some fresh air during the workday and by doing things that brings me joy and good energy during my free time.
6. What entrepreneurial tricks have you discovered to keep you focused and productive in your day-to-day busy schedule?
I try to plan the week in advance the best I can, that way I go into work everyday with a clear picture of my main priorities for the day are. And using simple tools like focus time, a to-do-list and setting reminders in the calendar - as a strategist I balance a lot of different tasks and projects at the same time and if I don’t have a structured work process things can easily get inefficient or fall thorough the cracks.
7. Which other female leaders do you admire and why?
I think a really inspiring woman is Amanda Ålenius. She’s a digital strategist who promotes equality in the advertising industry.
8. Are you part of any women in business networking groups?
I’m not a member of any networking groups, but I follow some really inspiring accounts on social media, like Business & Dreams.
We hope you feel inspired by these fearless women in leadership. Every successful woman has her own secrets, and her own key ingredients to her success. We're always on the lookout to connect with and learn from incredible women who have cultivated their own amazing brand, business, and name for themselves. Let us know who you follow and think we should follow in 2021.
If you’re thinking of starting a SaaS business, or are already running your own and need help with your website, please get in touch.