Five Years In. Here Is Everything I Have Learned.
Five years of building brands, outworking rooms I was the youngest in, running a photography business and social media clients on the side, and discovering that creativity is not a soft skill, it is a superpower. Here is everything the corporate world, the construction industry, and the Miss America Organization taught me about building something that lasts.
Let me paint you a picture. It is 8:45 in the morning . My brown sugar shaken espresso is in hand. I'm dressed in my power color, black. My calendar and sticky notes are color-coded within an inch of its life. That's me.
Okay, let me be real with you for a second. Some days in this career are absolutely full — full of wins, full of creative energy, full of moments where I think this is exactly what I was made for. And some days end with tears because I did not have enough hours to do everything I wanted to do, help everyone I wanted to help, or finish everything I started. Both of those days are good days. Both of them mean I care deeply. Both of them are part of a five year journey I am genuinely proud of.
I am a marketing professional, a photographer, a social media strategist, and Miss Mount Holly — which means most of my days are running at full speed across multiple lanes simultaneously and loving almost every minute of it. I have worked for three companies in five years. Each one gave me something I did not know I needed at the time. And together they have built the woman writing this blog right now.
This is not a "look how far I have come" post, this is a love letter to the journey. To every company, every mentor, every hard day, every season of growth. And it is for the career girl reading this who is somewhere in the middle of her own story and wondering if it is all adding up to something. It is. I promise you it is.
I do not have all the answers. But I have five years of earning some.
"Every company I have worked for has given me something I could not have gotten anywhere else. I did not always know that at the time. I know it now."
Three companies. Five chapters. One woman becoming.
The go-getter who walked in ready
I was not someone who needed time to find her footing. From day one I was observing, absorbing, and already thinking about how to do things better. Company one taught me something that no marketing textbook ever could — how to love and serve the people around you at work.
I walked in as a go-getter with big ideas and a lot of energy. What I walked out with was an understanding of relationships that has shaped everything I have done since.
I learned how to read a room. How to show up for coworkers, not just projects. How to build the kind of trust that makes people want to go to bat for you, not because you asked them to, but because you showed up for them first. Networking, at its core, is just loving people well. Company one taught me that. And I carry it into every room I walk into today.
Where I found my independence — and one of my greatest mentors
Company two gave me something I did not know I needed: independence. Working remotely taught me how to manage myself, trust my own instincts, and build discipline that did not rely on anyone watching. I figured out how I work best, what my most productive hours look like, and how to hold myself accountable to a standard that comes from the inside — not the environment around me.
It also gave me one of the greatest gifts of my career, a business mentor and friend who changed how I see everything. Someone who invested in me, challenged me, and helped me understand that the vision I was carrying was not too big. It was just early. I will be grateful for that relationship for the rest of my life.
And then there is this, the part that still gives me chills when I think about it. Two weeks after I left company two to come to company three, the entire team was laid off.
I did not know that was coming. I had no insider information, no warning sign I was reading. I just felt called to move, and I moved. God protected me before I even knew I needed protecting. That is a testimony I will tell for the rest of my life. His timing is never random. It is always purposeful. And that moment reminded me to trust the nudges, follow the calling, and believe that the doors He opens and closes are always working for my good.
Where I have learned the most — and found my people
I genuinely love where I am right now. I want to say that clearly because it is true and it matters. This chapter has given me beautiful friendships, meaningful work, and a place where I am truly challenged to be my best every single day.
I work my tail off here. I innovate. I push to improve processes, bring fresh thinking into a traditional industry, and make real change in a space that does not always expect it. Some days I finish the day full and proud. Some days I drive home with tears because I wanted to do more and the clock ran out. Both of those are signs that I care, and caring deeply about your work is one of the greatest professional gifts you can have.
The homebuilding and construction industry is not where most people picture a creative marketing girl. But it is where I have grown the most — in business acumen, in resilience, in the ability to make bold ideas land in traditional spaces.
The workplace challenges nobody prepares you for
CHALLENGE 01
Being underestimated because of your age
I have been in rooms where my age arrived before I did and someone had already decided what I was capable of. I know what it feels like to have an idea dismissed and then repeated by someone else five minutes later. Underestimation is not an insult. It is an advantage. Do the work. Deliver beyond what they expected. Let the results do the reintroduction.
CHALLENGE 02
Being the creative voice in a non-creative industry
There are days when the most innovative idea in the room is also the most resisted one. You earn creative trust by being reliable first. When you deliver consistently on the expected things, you build the credibility to push boundaries on the unexpected ones. Creativity without track record is just opinion. Creativity with track record is influence. Build the track record.
CHALLENGE 03
Navigating male-dominated spaces with grace and grit
I have been the only woman in the room. The thing that has served me most: knowing my material cold. When you walk in more prepared than anyone else in the room, the conversation shifts. Competence is the most disarming thing a woman can carry into a space that was not built for her.
I stopped asking for permission to be a visionary and started acting like one.
There is a version of a career girl who waits. Who works hard and hopes someone notices. Who has the ideas but softens them before she speaks. I was never fully that woman, but I had moments of her.
The shift happened when I stopped managing my creativity and started leading with it. When I understood that seeing further than the people around you is not arrogance, it is vision. And vision, backed by work ethic, business acumen, and an entrepreneurial mind is the most powerful thing a woman can bring into any room.
Somewhere across these three companies I stopped waiting for someone to hand me a bigger role and started operating like I already had one. I am a visionary. I build brands as bold as the entrepreneurs who build them. I walk into rooms and I do not wonder if I belong — I get to work. That shift did not happen overnight. It was built across five years of showing up, delivering, falling short, getting back up, and choosing to bet on myself every single time.
That is the mentality. That is what three companies, two businesses, and five years built.
Lessons earned — not borrowed
01 People first. Always.
The most important thing I learned in five years is not a strategy or a productivity hack, it is that the relationships you build are the foundation everything else is built on. Love your people well. Show up for them. Be someone worth working with, not just working for. That reputation travels further and faster than any credential you will ever earn.
02 Outwork the room — and do it with joy.
I am a go-getter and I have been from day one. But what I have learned is that outworking everyone is most powerful when it comes from a place of genuine passion — not just ambition. When you love what you do, the work ethic is not a grind. It is an overflow. Find the work that fills you up even on the days it wears you out. That is the sweet spot.
03 Find a mentor and treasure them.
One great mentor can change the entire trajectory of your career. Not someone who tells you what you want to hear — someone who challenges you, believes in your vision before you fully believe in it yourself, and helps you see the next version of where you are going When you find that person, show up for them. Learn everything you can. And pass it on.
04 Innovate. Improve. Never settle for how things have always been done.
Know the revenue model. Know what keeps leadership up at night. Know the goals of the departments around you. The most creatively fulfilling work I do is finding a process that is broken, a strategy that is outdated, or a brand story that is not being told — and fixing it. Being the person who makes things better, not just maintains them, is how you build a career that actually means something. Do not be afraid to be the one who raises the standard.
05 Running multiple lanes simultaneously is accelerated learning.
My photography business makes me a better marketer. My social media clients kept me sharp and current. My career gives my businesses credibility and my businesses give my career an entrepreneurial edge. The lanes are not competing. They are feeding each other.And every single skill I build in one lane shows up in the others.
06 Pour into yourself as fiercely as you pour into everything else.
The books. The mentors. The Miss America journey that has sharpened my mind and clarified my voice. The quiet mornings before the calendar takes over. Investing in yourself is not indulgent, it is the highest-return investment you will ever make. Every dollar and hour spent making you better comes back tenfold in the work you produce and the doors that open.
07 You are building a legacy — act accordingly from day one.
The moment I started thinking about what I was building rather than just what I was doing, everything shifted. The standard I hold myself to, the work I choose to do, the relationships I invest in, all of it is legacy-building. I am building something my future family looks back at and sees a woman who built boldly, served deeply, and never once waited for permission to be great.
08 how you show up matters
The way you dress at work is not shallow. It is strategic. I am talking about the intentional decision to show up in a way that communicates confidence, credibility, and personality. My personal rule: dress for the role you are building toward, not just the one you currently hold. That visual confidence is not lost on the people making decisions about your career.
🖥️ Bonus tip — the one nobody talks about enough
Make your workspace somewhere you actually want to be.
Environment is everything. Seriously, the space you work in has a direct impact on how you feel, how focused you are, and how much you enjoy showing up to do the work. I learned this and I will never go back.
My current setup has a walking treadmill desk — and if you are not already on this, we need to talk. I get steps in while I work, my energy stays up, and I am not sitting still for eight hours wondering why I feel foggy by 2pm. It genuinely changed my entire work day.
Beyond the treadmill — a little fan, a diffuser, the prettiest organizers I could find, and the coolest keyboard I have ever owned. Every single detail was chosen intentionally. Because when you sit down at a desk that feels good, smells good, and looks like somewhere you would actually want to spend time, the resistance goes away. The creativity shows up. The work gets better.
Your workspace is not a luxury. It is a productivity tool. Invest in it like one.
And if you want store links for any of my setup — drop it in the comments on social and I will send them your way. 🖥️✨
How I actually get things done
🗓️ Time block everything
If it's not on the calendar, it doesn't exist. Deep work, admin, meetings — all of it gets a block.
📋 The night-before list
Write tomorrow's top three priorities tonight. Walk in already knowing what matters most.
📵 Protect deep work
Guard the hours when your brain is sharpest. No meetings during those when possible.
📧 Batch your email
Check it twice a day. Reactive email kills creative thinking and eats your best hours.
🔁 Build systems
Habits break. Systems hold. Automate the repeatable so your energy goes to the thinking.
☕ The morning anchor
One quiet thing before the inbox opens. Even ten minutes. It sets the whole day.
Books every corporate career girl should read in 2026
📘 The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Stephen R. Covey
The foundation of everything. It rewired how I think about productivity, leadership, and what it actually means to be effective — not just busy. Read it once. Then read it again.
⚡Atomic Habits
James Clear
The book that made me stop trying to build motivation and start building systems. Running two businesses alongside a full career requires this thinking. Small shifts. Compounding results.
🦁Dare to Lead
Brené Brown
The book that gave me language for the kind of leader I was already becoming. Courage over comfort. Essential reading for any woman navigating a space that did not originally make room for her.
High ambition and self-care are not opposites
I am going to say something that took me longer than it should have to believe: rest is not a reward for finished work. It is a requirement for good work. The version of hustle culture that glorifies exhaustion is not a blueprint, it is a trap. And I say that as someone who genuinely loves to outwork a room.
The difference between ambition that sustains and ambition that burns you out is knowing what restores you and protecting it like it belongs on your calendar. For me that looks like singing worship at my church on Sunday mornings. Visiting seniors and being reminded of what actually matters. A brown sugar shaken espresso and one Grey's Anatomy episode (or five, LOL) at the end of a long week with absolutely zero guilt attached.
You cannot pour from empty. The most ambitious version of you requires a human being underneath her who is genuinely okay. Take care of her. She is the whole operation.
Building brands as bold as the entrepreneurs who build them.
I am a visionary — and visionaries do not stay inside lanes drawn for someone else. The next five years are about expanding into everything I have been building toward. A creative director or CMO role. A consultancy or agency built around helping entrepreneurs tell bold, unmissable brand stories. A photography business that grows into a full creative studio. A social media arm that helps brands find their real voice.
I want to sit across from entrepreneurs — women especially — who have something extraordinary to say and help them say it in a way the world cannot look away from. That is the work I was made for.
Five years in. The best is absolutely still ahead.
If you are a corporate girl — in any industry, juggling any combination of jobs, businesses, and dreams, I hope something in here landed for you today. You are not doing too much. You are building something. And the woman who runs multiple lanes simultaneously while refusing to shrink, apologize, or slow down is exactly what this world needs more of.
If you are amidst the hustle, businesses, dreams, and the occasional tearful drive home, I want you to know something: it is all adding up. Every company. Every hard day. Every season that felt longer than it should have. It is building something.
Keep showing up. Keep loving the people around you. Keep betting on yourself when it feels too soon. Keep building the businesses alongside the career. And keep trusting that the doors God opens and closes are always — always — working for your good.
And if anyone ever makes you feel like you are too much, too ambitious, or too creative for the room you are standing in — smile, take notes, and then go do something so undeniable they never make that mistake again.
"She is not building a career. She is building a legacy — and she has known that since day one."
With vision, a camera, and a black pump heel,
Taylor, Miss Mount Holly 2026
