A year of growth for Youbee Olivia

Spending time with the team

During my year at Youbee Media, I have been lucky enough to be a part of many trips out and about with the team. The days are full, and you never know where our marketing activities and campaigns can take us. From attending and exhibiting at my very first expo with Youbee, and attending marketing workshops, to chatting with likeminded business owners at networking events - it’s safe to say that I have come a long way in terms of confidence. Pushing comfort zones and growing confidence when speaking to other business owners is so important. Youbee Media are part of Yorkshire Businesswoman, so I’ve had the chance to attend a couple of meetings which a crowd of impressive ladies from across the Yorkshire region. It’s great to see, and also make connections that I’ll keep in touch with as I progress my career journey.

Out and about!

I have also had so much fun settling into the team with delicious lunch breaks around Morley (where we’re based), a super fun day in Leeds taking part in my first photoshoot thanks to John Steel Photography and celebrating the festive season in style at Bibi’s. However, one of my favourite team days took place just a month into my role, as we attended a full day self defence course hosted by Blossom Training and Development. Not only was this a great day for us to spend team building, but we all left feeling empowered and courageous thanks to Maddie and Rachael.

Another highlight could be collecting a Prestige Award for ‘Marketing Consultancy of the Year’ for the second year at Hazlewood Castle. We always have a lot of fun as a team, but being recognised for our achievements is a great honour.

I joined Youbee Media as an apprentice with no hands-on experience in marketing or social media management. While this was scary, I was thirsty to learn – and that is certainly what I did. As well as my Level 3 Digital Marketer Training through Baltic Apprenticeships, I had the opportunity to grow my knowledge in specific areas.

At Youbee Media, team training and development is so important, which is why we often skill share through internal workshops such as ‘Youbee in The Spotlight’. This series of internal workshops helped me to grow incredibly, as well as have me the opportunity to present and share my knowledge with the team. Watching others take the spotlight and have my turn really helped me grow my confidence in presenting. I have also been lucky to have joined groups like Girls in Marketing and WECAN, which have helped me to keep up with industry trends, grow my soft skills like productivity and communication and meet other fantastic women in business.

Joining the business as a digital marketing apprentice, I didn’t really know what to expect. In the early stages, I didn’t believe I would have the opportunity to develop my skills and interests outside of my role, as I thought that I would be limited to what the course outlined. However, that’s not at all what happened! Having a love for design and being creative from a young age, I always knew I wanted a have a career in a creative role. Working in a marketing agency means that I can create graphics, leaflets, email campaigns and more – which all look aesthetically pleasing and meet the brief. I had no idea that both areas of my knowledge would fuse together so well.

I’m grateful that I’m able to develop in this area here at Youbee, alongside my wider marketing studies teaching me the foundations. Having access to both sides will no doubt stand me in a great position to further my career – as well as helps me to develop my creative side. Our Head of Creative, Dena is a brilliant inspiration. Dena has guided me through many Adobe training sessions to help enrich my knowledge and application of design platforms. Again, this is something that I had used before, but using it in a professional environment has taken my skills to a whole new level. I have created various digital and print design materials for our clients across the year, and I am proud to see how my skills have developed.

When searching for my first job, I had a few non-negotiables. My main desire was to find a team that are supportive and helpful. That is exactly what I got when I joined Youbee Media. Rebecca and Dena are a great support and they have guided and educated me over the past 12 months. Although I don’t understand some of the 80’s references that they cram into every conversation, and probably don’t give them enough credit for their creative puns, I couldn’t ask for a better team of ladies to work with. I’m really excited to see what happens next!