🎵 Let me tell you a story about a call that changed my destiny... 🎵
It all started at McDonald's with an interview question about American Idol.
My fun-filled career timeline
2003
🎵 I'm Lovin' It 🎵
I worked at McDonald's and had to suck up my BSB love a bit when Justin Timberlake began to sing the new McDonald's tagline. I also got the job because I told the hiring manager that I wanted Clay Aiken to win American Idol.
What I learned: Customer service, multi-tasking, how a chicken nugget + cheese is actually the best, working within a team, that I could do a handstand walk around the entire drive-thru.
2005
red + khaki
I moved on up to work at Target as a Sales Floor Associate. After a year and a half, I became a Cosmetics Specialist and put up all the floor displays. Lots of afterhours with my little mp3 player, an orange pop they comped for me every night, and Burt's Bees.
What I learned: Importance of strong vendor relationships, communication techniques, khaki pants are not flattering even on 19 year old Britt, jumping in wherever was necessary (esp the day after Thanksgiving)
2007
go with the flo
Maybe it was the Elvis guitar purse I brought to my interview or maybe it was because I had an eerie resemblance to their infamous spokesmodel, but I was hired into working 3rd shift taking claims at Progressive Insurance from 7pm-5:30am.
What I learned: Phone skills, patience, handling the unexpected (like 18+ car pileups on-scene, moose not letting someone get out their car, very sketchy drunk dials), navigating software like it's nobody's business
2008
nerd alert
I stayed at Progressive but moved to normal people work hours as an IT Service Desk Specialist! Met some of the best co-workers of my life here and learned all about the world of technology + Fortune 500 companies.
What I learned: Creative problem solving, empathy, de-escalating stressful situations, that I say "perfect!" or "awesome!" about 1000x a day, keeping a positive attitude even after 50+ phone calls a day.
2010
🎵 movin' on up 🎵
Chosen out of 72 applicants? Well, okay! I was hired as a Business Systems Consultant at Progressive and was the communications liaison for 24x7 outages of their Claims Applications. When shit hit the fan, or fires needed put out, I was on it. Yep, even at 2am on Saturdays (when most outages actually happened!)
What I learned: Mass communication techniques, technical writing, process improvement and testing for software updates, how to jump out of a deep sleep at 2am (after going to bed at 1am) and handle a multi-user outage until 6am.
met my husband @ Progressive in 2008!
got engaged in chicago in 2010!
graduated with web content development degree!
2012
🎵 downnnntown 🎵
The nights were long, long, long on-call and I knew I had to make a change if I wanted to start a family. I left Progressive and was hired as a Project Manager at a small software company in Downtown CLE. I assisted the Sales Team with closing deals, planned implementation timelines and communicated project expectations to our clients + my team.
What I learned: Understanding contracts, how to close deals, managing high expectations, importance of communication between departments, walking distance to Starbucks will take a hit on your bank account, being "Mrs. Hyatt" on biz travel makes heads turn at Hyatt Hotels.
got married in 2012!
2016
🎵 just show 'em what you're made of... 🎵
Downtown was fun, but seeing my kiddo only 30 minutes a day was not. I launched my own website design business (Home Sweet Hyatt Studios) on November 3, 2015 and things picked up so quickly that I left my job at the software company on April 1, 2016. It was such a terrifying leap — but one of the best decisions of my entire life.
What I learned: The fear of inconsistent paychecks, designing websites for creative businesses, #communityovercompetition, being my own boss, setting boundaries, the amount of reality TV I could indulge in while working at the same time, CSS coding.
2017
launched my daydream
Working on my own was great — but my clients needed more than I had the capacity for. Plus, the amazing lady that actually did my brand design became a super fast friend (+ fellow BSB fan!) and we teamed up to launch our current brand + website design studio for photographers called Launch Your Daydream. We became a 6-figure business in 2020.
What I've learned: How to create profitable e-courses, teamwork literally does make the dream work, how to co-manage a virtual business during a worldwide pandemic, niching down my ideal client, Showit (website platform), SEO, website strategy.
had a baby in 2013!
graduated with communication studies degree!
