March 31, 2023

Liane P. is a Winnipeg native and co-founder of a local social media company. But her journey to becoming an entrepreneur wasn't always clear-cut.

Before attending CDI College, Liane had moved to Toronto to pursue her passion for dance and had found work as a dancer on a cruise ship. However, she realized the lifestyle wasn't for her, and eventually moved back to Winnipeg.

After spending 7 years away, Liane found her connections in Winnipeg had dwindled, but she pushed through this and found it to be the perfect opportunity to reinvent herself.

Reinvention

It was Liane's cousin who put her on a path to working in social media. However, when she started to look into how to start professionally she found there weren't many options for training courses in social media at the time. There seemed to be several online programs, but Liane didn’t think online learning was for her, and that’s when she discovered the program at CDI College. By attending classes at the Winnipeg campus she could pursue her goals in a learning environment that met her needs.

For Liane, the biggest challenge in going back to school was getting used to the structure. Her first weeks were daunting, as her instructor threw the class into hands-on projects like interviews and working with cameras. However, she quickly discovered she enjoyed these initial challenges, and in hindsight helped her prepare for her future in the industry by learning to pitch projects and work with clients.

Important Steps

Before graduation, Liane was tasked with contributing to an ongoing project dedicated to helping clean up Winnipeg. Even though she had worked with others, Liane found jumping into a project that was already underway was a different experience. She needed to navigate content that was already produced and integrate herself into the team.

Things paid off, and during her time working on the project, it got picked up by CBC Winnipeg. The exposure was huge, but one problem arose, no one wanted to appear on camera. Liane volunteered herself, and she appeared on CBC Television and was given the opportunity to explain the project, what they were doing, and why they were doing it.

Following up on the project, she maintained her momentum and transitioned to another large group project centered around mental health. Their goal was to help build a community, not of professionals, but of people that someone could open up to and discuss their problems in a safe and non-judgmental way.

Lessons Learned

Although the mental health project didn't get the same traction in the media, Liane still feels the project was a success, and ultimately was able to take away some valuable lessons. Among them, she learned the importance of collaboration and working with others.

For the most part, Liane had always stepped up into leadership roles, and if a task needed doing she would just get it done, it was an important lesson in school to learn to step back and let others showcase their strengths and talents, and let them take on tasks as well.

Liane was also able to take a lot of what she learned from these projects and apply them to her business. Today, her social media company is thriving, and she continues to be involved in dance, teaching it more now than performing. Her journey is proof that sometimes, taking a chance and stepping outside of your comfort zone can lead to great things.