 Hi guys, this is Marisa Salazar and today we're turning the tables. She's been your host, but now she's on the other side of the interview. Shannon Truex joins us today to talk about transitioning from teaching into tech, being the global vice president of Brand Social Media at GoDaddy, and how she's helping empower entrepreneurs to reach their maximum potential. This is School of Hustle, the show where we find advice and inspiration from people who are making their own way. I'm Shannon, the VP of Social here at GoDaddy, and I live and breathe the hustle of business. Today we're filming from the hustle of it all at the WeWork Times Square in New York City. Shannon, I'm so excited to be the one interviewing you. Are you nervous? A little. Don't worry, this is going to be completely painless. You hold the incredible role as the global vice president of Brand Social Media at GoDaddy, but your background is actually in teaching. You have a master's in teaching. You taught AP English for three years. How did you transition from teaching into tech, and how do you use that teaching background at GoDaddy? When I was a teacher in Washington State, I knew that in five years I would have to recertify or leave the profession. And I had lists and pros and cons, and I talked to my dad and people who I love about this decision, and I decided I would let my certificate expire and go for a role that I've always been interested in, which was in tech at Microsoft. Okay. I had never had a tech background, but I did know that I was a storyteller and a writer, and I knew that they could use me. So I decided to go the route of contracting. So rather than try to go in for the full-time blue badge right out the gate, I thought, let me contract, give them a chance to get to know me, a one-year commitment, and then I can move around the company and see what I really want to do. So I went in Windows Live, if we remember what Windows Live was. Wait, this was a while ago. I am aging myself. Windows Live was a new offering at Microsoft, and it was this new wave of the Internet. And I went in, and they loved that I had no tech background and that I could come in with a fresh set of eyes. And it's kind of a funny story because the person hiring me was concerned that I would get there and miss the kids. Really? Yeah, like I would miss students. And I just really told her, I go, eh, not so much. And I'm still friends with my former students on Facebook and Instagram. I love my former students, but I just kind of said it. And later in life, she told me that the way I said, eh, not so much. She was like, oh, I like her. So just between having a little bit of a personality and some boxy to go in and make a case, and having a fresh set of eyes, they thought they'd give me shot. And so I contracted for a while, and then I kind of navigated a very big company trying different contracts. Absolutely. Before I landed a full-time job, and I stayed there for eight years. That's incredible. How did you use your teaching background? How do you use it at GoDaddy? Well, you have to remember, very few high school students go to school to go to English class. They're there, they want to be in football, they want to have lunch with their friends. Yeah. And some love English and love to read, but there's most kids in a required subject matter that don't really want to be in that class. So my job as a teacher was to get 35 kids to all want to read Huck Finn. How did you get that? Exactly. And it was like, how can I inspire through interesting instruction, critical thinking, including everybody, because it's not okay for one person to not get it. Right, exactly. And not pass a test or be able to write a thought-provoking essay. So how do I get them to want to go home, open a book, want to come to class, raise their hand and talk about it, and put themselves out there, right? And so that challenge in that role is absolutely a part of what I do today when you think about social media and all of the content that's in the feed. And people are scrolling very quickly with their thumbs, and GoDaddy needs to stand out. And how do I get people to want to think about what GoDaddy's message might be or listen to an episode of School of Hustler from an entrepreneur? Absolutely. How can we make our content set valuable for people? So they find value in it. I don't want them to engage with GoDaddy because they feel they have to. I want them to want to. That is amazing. So you transitioned into teaching two windows with no obvious resume or background experience. And it's funny how you talk about leaving your students, it's almost like you're an empty nester right now. And that actually goes into a blog that you started about a rubber duck. Can you tell us more about this rubber duck blog and how it shaped your career? Well, the rubber duck changed my life. Okay. And I still have this rubber duck in my apartment to this day. I was writing help content. So if you have a hotmail account and you forgot your password, you go and you find content to help you retrieve your password. I wrote help in UI. I wrote UI in Windows 8. Focus groups behind the curtain. How do people react to the UI in the product? And I knew that with social media becoming not a fan, but the next wave of marketing, a way of life awaited to engage with customers. I knew I wanted to get into social. Absolutely. And it was St. Patrick's Day. And I was with friends having lunch. And Microsoft hired people dressed up as leprechauns to run around campus and give people treats. Sounds like my nightmare. It was what it was. A leprechaun gave me a green rubber duck covered in poorly flowers. And I said to my friends, this is cute. So I played the lines. Took a picture of the duck by my sandwich. Then later on in the office. And it sort of was this thing in Windows where what's the duck going to do next. Wow. So I started doing this for a while. And then I launched a blog out of it. And I thought maybe I can use this duck in this content set to get me into social through blogging and a Facebook page. Absolutely. And so I did that consistently for years. I carried that duck in my bag for over five years. If I would forget him, I would go home and get him and put him back in my bag. I was very committed. Someone said, just learn Photoshop. I go, no, no, no. No. I have to do it right. And I literally did that for over five years. And I carried that duck with me every day. And the duck is now carried in your heart. He's carried in my heart, not in my bag. He's really like black and kind of dirty. I love him. That's incredible. Yeah. And you know, with so many people starting blogs today, you know, how important is it to have, you know, some type of writing portfolio? That's right. It's important. I want to kind of get into this as we talk today, because the point with the duck was, if I want to be in social and be more of a forward facing writer and not so much helping you lie in the background, right? I have to create a track record to show somebody that while I don't have this right now, I am able and capable of telling these kind of stories and photography or video and content. Right. And I want to do something. I can only do what I can do. Absolutely. And I can control this. And at the time someone said to me, oh, that's cute, but that's not how it works. And I was like, well, that's weird. It's kind of all that I've got. Right. So I'm going to do this. And it was really important to demonstrate that. And the passion and the dedication and the consistency and then the quality of the content getting better. Right. It did eventually lead to my very first job in social media. Everyone today seems to have 20 million different side hustles. Yeah. But while you're working at Microsoft, you also had some side hustles. So what were those side hustles? And why is having a side hustle important? Well, for me, I wanted that hustle to get me where I wanted to go. I was not going to quit my job in Windows. Right. But I wanted to launch that blog and that Facebook page and build my content set, right? Yes. But I also, being a former teacher, because I worked at Microsoft, I wrote curriculum and I went into the Microsoft stores in the mall. And I taught classes after hours to Girl Scout troops, senior citizens, is syncing things in the cloud and yeah. And so I wrote curriculum and I went in. So I was blogging and teaching around the premise of the store to demonstrate that I can do the content like I said, but still fulfill on my love to mentor and teach for a product and a brand that I loved. And then also making some extra money at the mall as a clinic consultant at Nordstrom and Macy's doing makeup and skin. Yeah. And for me, it was just not so much around like, I don't want to quit and go all in and be, I'm a blogger and social. No, I want to keep my job. But that side hustle allowed me to perfect my craft and move in the direction that I wanted to move into. And then the rule at the mall was just extra cash. Right. There have been a lot of, let's say, leaps of faith, it seems to me, in your life. You moved to NYC seven years ago. You transitioned from freelance to agency lifestyle. So what are some of the pros and cons of agency lifestyle versus a freelance lifestyle? Because it's been so glamorized and, you know, done up. Yeah. And seven years ago was a lot different than it is today because our world moves quickly. Right. But for me, and I know myself, for me, I want to be part of a team every day with my hours and my pay. And I know what it is and I can plan. Yep. You know, other people that I know are the complete opposite. And I don't think one is wrong or right, but it's just a matter of knowing yourself and not going down a path that you think you should do. Okay. But the one that's right for you. So for me, I was so thrilled to get that first job in agency life, running social for Land Rover. First time in an agency. I was driving Range Rovers. My first time driving in New York City was in a $120,000 Range Rover long wheel base. Mind you. Long wheel base. And I'm driving through and I'm like, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. And then they gave me like an evoke and they would just act like it was my car. People would compliment it out in the streets out here and I'd say, oh thank you, you know. And it was so much fun, but it was in the spirit of getting pictures for the Tumblr blog, for the Facebook page. It was telling that story. Right. And getting people to think about more about the vehicle, not just in like the capability around it, but the lifestyle around it. Absolutely. Right? So the fit for you, it's all about the fit, you know. Freelance isn't better necessarily than agency life and vice versa. It's about knowing yourself. So in the spirit of knowing yourself, actually, I personally feel that I'm sometimes confronted with what's called imposter syndrome, which, you know, for those of us that might not be familiar with the term, it's, you know, when you feel like you're in a role that you don't necessarily deserve to have or you don't actually have the skills to do. Right. And it really, you know, I think, affects a lot of women in particular. Yeah. Is this something that you've experienced, too? And if so, how do you, you know, rise above imposter syndrome? I think that we should be proud of the things that we accomplish. And if we accomplish those things, we should own it. We should also know what we don't know and know we strive to learn. And the idea around imposter syndrome being like someone will say you're a fraud. Right. You know what? Maybe that's coming from a place where they're not confident in themselves and it's projection. You just, you can't let that hold you back. And with women, I do know that there are, there's lots of research around this that there's a job description of, let's say, 10 things that you need to do. And women might feel like, okay, I can do two. She can usually do like all 10. Right. But to harden herself. And then other people, you know, and might say like, oh, I can do all of them even though they can't, right? Right. And I don't, I don't want to imply anything about women and men. I love the men in my life and who I work with. But I do think there is real research around that. And as women and women who I mentor and myself, I want people to be cognizant of that. Are you being too hard on yourself when you are going through that list of what that job requires? Right. There's something like, you know, I have my own personal mantra every day and I don't know if you have one too, but what I tell myself is you don't get what you deserve. You get what you fight for. And for those that are looking to pivot into a different industry, you know, ones that they feel like they might now have the proper background or the skill set, what would you tell them to do in this situation? I would use my example earlier in that situation. What can you do in control to create a proven track record? Right. To demonstrate that you have the passion for what? Because it's not just like, can you, but it's like, why haven't you? Right. So show that you're passionate and then show something, show something, some sort of growth, some sort of product. Create that proven track work record that shows people what you can actually do physically, but also how much you'll love it. Because a lot of times, you know, when I'm interviewing folks to come through my team, passion is a very large piece. Right. Right? And having moxie and courage and innovation. Yeah. And it's like, holy smokes, you created all of this on your own? Right. That could be more valuable. Imagine what you could do with a team. Exactly. That's exactly right. So I would advise people not to be discouraged about that, but do what you can control. Right. Yeah. Create that track record. Absolutely. And I know you know how to play the game, but just a reminder for everybody, we have one minute for Shannon to answer every single question in this deck using your gut reaction. Are you ready? I am. Okay. Let's see how many you get. Go. If a genie granted you three wishes, what would you wish for? Health, money, love. If you could go back in time, who would you want to meet? Abraham Lincoln. Would you rather fly or talk to animals? Fly. King size or fun size? King. The best chocolate in the world comes from? Switzerland. If you could have a superpower, what would it be? X-ray vision. NYC tourists, help with directions or keep on your way. Keep on your own way. That's right. Go to cocktail. I would say a vodka soda. Ooh. Vacation lounge on the beach or an active hike? Beach. Yes, ma'am. Dogs or cats? Dogs. Favorite movie theater treat? Popcorn. Lots of butter. Football. NFL or soccer? NFL. Finish the sentence. When I dance, I look like... Somebody's trying really hard. I'm not very good. Best place you've traveled? Italy. Would you rather never get angry or never be envious? Never be envious. Beautiful. Go to karaoke song. Lose yourself by Eminem. Camping or glamping? Camping. 14. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. The fans out there want to know, what is the favorite part of your day, Shannon? Literally walking in and saying good morning to my team and seeing them smiling. And I know right away who's in a good mood, who's in a bad mood. And when they're all in a good mood... Beautiful things happen at GoDaddy. Yes, yes. Best piece of advice you've ever gotten? The best piece of advice I've ever gotten, when I was interviewing for one of the larger jobs I've had in the city, it was leading an entire department at the agency in Hearst Tower for social media. Wow. And my favorite, who you've seen in social, said to me, Shannon, you talk a lot. Please remember that when you're on an interview, you have to ask questions and you have to listen. Don't overperform. Right. Listen. And I got the job. And I have taken that to heart ever since. Absolutely. Well, that's also what makes you such a great hostess on the school of hustle. Thank you. Absolutely. Now, your worst piece of advice. Well, my grandmother told me at eight years old, Shannon, you really need to back off a little bit in school. You win too much and you're too smart and the boys won't like you if you keep beating them at all these things. And as an eight year old, I thought, this is weird. So I talked to my mom about it. I'm like, this doesn't feel right. And my mom's like, do not listen to grandma. My mom's even like, you don't even need a man. You, you're going to go to college and you, you do you and you never, ever, ever dumb yourself down or slow yourself down. Amen. Yeah. But I love grandma. It's just a different time. Different time. It's a different time. How do you use your career to inspire others? I took a spiral staircase and I kind of picked up some skills along the way and I didn't go for a ladder and go. But I kind of along the way grow as you kind of make your way up sort of slowly up that spiral staircase and that's okay. You don't have to look at every job. What will this get me? What will it get me now? Next. It's like, you're going to get so much that you don't even know and you will evolve as a person as you climb that spiral staircase and you'll find yourself in a great place when you follow passion and you follow where you're really strong and when those two things come together, you'll get up that ladder but it'll be a very elegant spiral climb. I love it. Everyone should think about it that way. Spiral staircase versus ladder. Yeah. Do you ever feel like walking away? Never. Good. We'll move on to the next one. One thing you still need to learn. Italian. Oh. I mentioned my favorite place I visited was Italy. I went for my 40th birthday. I never took a two week vacation in my life. I encouraged people to once in a while take that kind of time. And I took it and I wished I'd learned the language in advance. So I will go back and I want to speak fluent Italian when I'm there. You're going to do it. What do you just want people to learn from you? To have courage. What's next for you, Shannon? A can lion. Our marketing is going to win that can lion. Absolutely. I'll take a bronze. You know, I'll take something but I want to get that kitty cat. Who inspires you? My favorite 91 year old father who walks around the city bench presses at the gym like you have no idea. Completely fluent genetic marvel, 91 years old, running it, making friends, ladies, everyone on the train goes to Sac Harbor every weekend. This man needs to be me. That has to be me when I'm 91. I can totally see that. Not even as a beautiful woman. Who challenges you? I would say my boss. He is the savant. He is to me. He is the end all. I've learned a lot from him and it's a challenge working for camp. So we actually have a few questions from social media. Robert wants to know who is the most interesting person you've met this year outside of myself of course. Outside of you and every school of hustle guest. And so I'm not going to pick a school of hustle guest because they're all my favorite. But I will say when I left the play Hillary and Clinton I met John Lithgow and he signed my play bill. Did you really? And I got a picture. That is incredible. Made my year. Yes, it was awesome. Awesome. Yes. Laura wants to know with social trends always changing what do you do to stay ahead of the curve? Every Wednesday my team has a weekly lunch. Everybody brings in an article that has to do with trends and news. We round Robin. Somebody hosts. We break bread. We talk trends. We talk articles and news. We keep them on a Slack channel. And we walk away from that meeting knowing what can we do today that we are not doing right now. Greg wants to know what's your best approach to unwind and relax after a busy day? It's a balance between working out but I don't want to be like a complete gym person like every day. So I like to go three, four days a week. I like to be social. So it might be a play. I love to enter Broadway lotteries and I like to see every show out there. Something fun with friends and whatnot. Or I like to do something all by myself. And it might be something like watching The Bachelorette. It's whatever I want to do. I give myself a day a week to say what do I want to do. Right. Order in. Do something. Maybe browse on RealReal. Something that just lets me not have to be on and smart and just take a second. And I think a majority of our audience is actually probably like had a sigh of relief because they've identified you in so many ways. I know I definitely have. Like that is amazing. It's some advice from NoodleTime. Where's our baby boy? What? He comes to my desk and we visit. Oh yeah. He screams at her when she brings his children. It's so cute. Well, he does actually. Does it really? Yeah. No, he does. Oh my gosh. Well, Noodle remembers when it was popular for people to work just one career and retire after 25 years. Oh yeah. What? Like we were chatting about the times have changed. What would you say to anyone who feels like they have to stick to the career field that they have a degree in? I hope that the interview to this point, Noodle, I hope you're listening. Yeah, I hope so. I hope so. Because really, the point here is that, you know, you can change your mind. You can grow into who you want to be and you can climb that spiral staircase and try lots of different things and develop different skill sets and go somewhere else. And how at 18 are you supposed to pick what you were supposed to do the rest of your life? I mean, my students, they're having me write letters of recommendation and they're going to these colleges and I would just please don't put this pressure on yourself. Little did I know I wouldn't be a teacher that long myself. But that's the joy of life. And it's like, you don't have to peg yourself in and say, well, follow your passion and listen to yourself and know that every day you're doing something to kind of get in the direction you want to go. Right? That was really beautiful. Thank you, noodle. Thank you for the question. Okay, for some chilly moments. I would love to leave everybody with this little bit of motivation. I'm going to read some quotes and I'd love for you to pick the one that resonates with you the best. Okay. No masterpiece was ever created by a lazy artist. Okay. Life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. You can do anything but not everything. Well, number two really speaks to what I just told noodle. Yeah. 100% Right. Life is about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. Absolutely. Thank you so much for being here and letting me turn the tables and interview you. I knew from the moment that I met you that you had such an amazing inspiring story and I just really wanted to chat with you and have everyone learn that this incredible woman, she's the global VP of Brands, Social Media, Go Daddy, but she's so much more than that and it's really, so I hope you had fun. I had fun. I hope everybody had fun. Thank you. Please remember to follow Go Daddy across social and where can everyone follow you, Shannon? Well, Shannon underscore Truex on Instagram, Shannon Truex on Twitter, LinkedIn, find me. I'd like to talk to everybody. All right. Thank you so much, you guys. We're bringing more inspirational entrepreneurs to you every week and I know