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Passion + Personality + Learning = Success

Written By: Dimitra Simtikidis

The Digital Media Marketing Post-Graduate Program at George Brown College has been a life changing experience. It has taught me the necessary knowledge I need to know for my future career, along with endless opportunities and experiences that will help me excel. One of the courses that has helped me connect and meet many successful people in the marketing business is the Marketing Seminar Series course lead by Felicia Robinson Joly. This course began in our second semester at George Brown College and during this short time, we have had the opportunity to meet, learn from, connect with, and network with multiple business professionals in the marketing scene. These individuals presented to our class every week, whether we were all in the physical classroom or all logged in to our online class. Each week we had the opportunity to connect with a new person and learn a new lesson, whether it was personal, business related, or both. All lessons we have learned have given us motivation and enthusiasm to continue on to our next step in life: finding a career.

All of the speakers we had were amazing and taught me a lot about marketing. However, the three individuals that really stood out to me are: Julian Franklin, Rian Tara Johnson, and Kareem Perez. In the following paragraphs I will share the different, important things I learned from these three individuals, why they inspired me, and what tips I will take with me into my future career.  

Julian explained to us that the thing that makes him different than other professionals in this market is his passion for creating campaigns that create legacies for customers and the surrounding communities. He emphasized the importance of the emotional aspect of marketing that really connects with the consumer on a different level and helps to push them through the consumer decision making model. This is what he feels gives him purpose and motivation in the marketing profession. This is something that really stood out to me. Many people can be good at something, but it is one’s passion that enables them to get to the next level. Therefore, I will continue to practice my passion for marketing in order to excel in my future career.  

Rian emphasized the importance of being yourself. She shared a personal story with the class that really stood out to me and made me see the significance of being myself, even in the workforce. This is something I am going to take with me on my career path. We must find different ways to channel our personalities in the way we express ourselves, whether it be verbally, written, or the way we look. Our personalities are what makes us unique and special. As long as we are being professional, meeting deadlines, and successfully executing our tasks, we should not let what people say to us about our personalities negatively impact our personal and professional lives. 

Kareem shared the idea that failure is not the end, but rather an opportunity to learn valuable lessons, like how to efficiently spend your time to work towards your goals. An important idea Kareem discussed in his presentation is “lifelong learning”. After listening to him discuss this idea, I will definitely make sure to always be willing to learn every chance and opportunity that comes my way.

I really want to thank Felicia for reaching out to all these amazing individuals to come speak to us. Because of this class I have been able to grow my network of professionals on LinkedIn. All the speakers, including Felicia, have let us know that if we ever need anything in the future, we are more than welcomed to message them, which is something very comforting to know and I am really appreciative of that. LinkedIn has been a really big part of this course. I have connected with all the speakers that have visited our class on LinkedIn and I have shared the published articles I have written about Julian, Rian, and Kareem on LinkedIn to my friends. Every post I have made about the articles I have tagged Felicia and the individual speakers, which has generated a lot of positive feedback and has opened doors for even more relevant connections. They have all commented that they loved my article which was very exciting for me. Kareem even shared the article I wrote about him on his page, which was a great honour for me! People that he is connected with on LinkedIn have liked my article through his sharing of it, which is really nice to see. You never know who may stumble upon your LinkedIn page because of someone liking, commenting, or sharing your article! Therefore, I want to thank Kareem for doing so. People always message me with opportunities on LinkedIn and I always make sure to reply as I try my best to have an open mind for different opportunities, as well as be considerate since they took the time to message me in the first place. Also, I accept all connections on LinkedIn, even if I do not know them; you never know what opportunities are out there for you so you must make yourself available!

[dimisimi]

B O U G I E on a B U D G E T

Have you ever heard of the saying: “You wear the dress, the dress doesn’t wear you”…or something like that? Well, it’s 100% true! An outfit doesn’t have to cost you a million dollars in order for you to look and feel like a million dollars, you just need to know how to put basic pieces together! It can be hard scrolling through Instagram and looking at all these bloggers wearing the latest designer outfits. As a full-time student with a part-time job, purchasing the latest designer items isn’t always the most practical thing to do. However, money should never stop you from expressing yourself! People spend way too much time worrying about money when they should be enjoying life. If you want to be bougie, then guess what? You CAN and you WILL be bougie…but on a budget! Just follow my tips on how to be Bougie on a Budget to achieve your fashion goals!

1.    Less is ALWAYS more.

Now I don’t necessarily mean jeans and a t-shirt. I mean a simple outfit with a statement piece. It can be any part of your outfit: your shoes, purse, dress, etc., but make sure there’s only one. For example, if you wear a bright red dress, bright red shoes, and a bright red purse, you won’t look like you just walked out of Chanel, you’ll look like you just walked off the set of Sesame Street, and guess what? You’re Elmo (at least you’re the star of the show). A pop of colour is always a nice touch to a simple outfit. In the photo below you will see my simple jeans and a white tube top with a pop of hot pink in my shoes (which were only 20 euros!). A simple black dress gives off a very sleek and simple look which makes your outfit look luxurious. A good way to dress up a simple black dress is an expensive looking belt. In my example below I wore a simple black dress from Urban Behaviour ($20) with a gold belt from…Value Village! I originally bought it for a Halloween costume and now look? My $4 really came to use! Talk about bougie on a budget!! Am I right?

2. Designer Dupes? Why not?!

I can’t help it…I love designer items! From purses, to shoes, to jewellery…I want it all, but obviously being a full-time student working a part-time job, my version of “treating” myself is getting a venti coffee from Starbucks rather than a grande. If a designer item is not in your budget right now, why not go for a designer dupe? There are countless versions of designer stuff out there, especially online. Recently, I have been in love with this very popular Louis Vuitton purse call the Multi Pochette. The only problem is...it’s $2,300...plus...tax. The good thing is that I am a strong believer in the phrase: there’s a solution to everything (well…most things). A few weeks ago I was looking at an online store called Ego Official, and what do I see - a very similar purse for $40! It does not say Louis Vuitton on it obviously but it has a classic Louis Vuitton print without the classic Louis Vuitton price. Naturally, without an if, and, or but, I purchased it and I’ve been wearing it a lot to recreate looks that I have fallen in love with from my favourite fashion bloggers on Instagram (refer to pictures below). For $40 I can’t complain; it does the job! Now, if someone is like “omg I totally love your Louis Vuitton purse”, I’m 100% not embarrassed to tell them it’s not the real deal. I am here to inspire and be inspired, so if I can help someone else make their bougie dreams come true then I will for sure! I am so surprised that I didn’t see anyone else talk about this purse on YouTube or Instagram so if Ego Official is reading this…you’re welcome…ps. I wouldn’t say no to a gift card ;).

3. Stick to your style and enhance it!

Be inspired but don’t try to be exactly like others – you will feel even more confident and bougie if you feel more like your true, authentic self . Sometimes when I scroll through Instagram I see outfits that I love on certain bloggers but I wouldn’t wear myself. Just because something may be in style or trendy, doesn’t mean you need it to look and feel expensive. However, if you are curious about the trend, take a trip to your local thrift shops to see if you can find something similar for a cheap price and try it out! If you like it then you succeeded - how exciting! If not, then who cares? At least you didn’t spend an arm and a leg on it! Style is all about being yourself and being creative. So if you want to look bougie without spending all your money then you 120% do that, but always remember to not let fashion bloggers pressure you into wearing something you secretly don’t like just because it’s “trendy”.

I will be releasing a YouTube video soon showing and talking about my bougie on a budget items in detail and different ways you can style them. Follow my Instagram @dimisimti and subscribe to me on YouTube @DimitraSimtikidis to keep up to date with my upcoming content (I promise to follow back)! If I can leave you with a few final important thoughts, it would be this: wear what you want to wear, be inspired, and show your creativity, but be true to yourself and don’t go broke!! Remember this: “Fashion is what you buy, style is what you do with it.”

xo – Dimi

[dimisimi]

P A R T Y T I M E

hey it’s me again! But another year older 🙋🏼‍♀️ this past weekend I hosted my champagne birthday party at my house and naturally the theme was pink, rose gold and of course...CHAMPAGNE. When planning an event you need to know exactly what you want and take it from there. Pinterest was my best friend 🙌🏼 I got so many ideas and inspiration that lead me to these amazing results. Planning a party doesn’t mean you have to spend all your money, you just need to know where to splurge and where not to. For example, I reallllllly wanted rose gold glitter donuts (I know, very specific). However, every bakery I talked to asked for $5 per donut...are.you.kidding.me? So with the help of my friend Gloria aka CraftBossG, we were able to come up with delicious glitter donuts that didn’t cost like they were made of real gold. All we used were plain donuts from the grocery store and edible glitter from bulk barn! Another tip: take a tour of the different dollar stores in your city, you will be pleasantly surprised by what you’ll find. I was able to find a dollar store near my house that was like the bootleg version of Party City - same stuff, but half the price. Things like this take effort, research, and creativity, you just need to be willing to put it in (unless you feel like spending $1793992 million dollars on donuts, then go ahead🤪)! Planning this party was a lot of fun! It was satisfying to see all my ideas and creativity come to life and be appreciated by all my lovely friends ❤️

Until the next time I have something interesting going on in my life,

Dimi xo

[dimisimi]

How are you so perfect

That’s very sweet! thank you