the woodsy wife – by adriana vanderzanden

I didn’t go to school for marketing – and in fact, I never really saw myself working a ‘corporate’ position. Growing up, I was the athletic, outdoorsy, Jesus-y girl, and when I studied youth ministry in college, I assumed that that was going to be the focus of my working career. And yet, that just isn’t what worked out for me.

Cut to now: I’m working as a marketing coordinator for a boat company that has five locations across New England, and we’re growing! The journey from being a youth ministry major to being a marketing professional was a long, windy one, but I’m grateful for every step. Here’s what happened:

Post-college my plan was always to work at the summer camp that I grew up going to. I worked there in the summers in high school and college, and I just assumed that I would go full-time when I was done with school. After four years in Arizona, I moved back to Minnesota and accepted a full-time internship with that camp. Things didn’t all go according to plan, but I was reunited with and introduced to some incredible people.

I got engaged to Jake, met one of my best friends, Des, and got to work in the lives of some of the coolest high schoolers ever (who are now post-grad and real adults!). I wouldn’t trade the opportunity to spend time with those people for the world, but I did learn some hard lessons.

I didn’t make it through my entire internship. I started in September, Jake and I got engaged in March, and I left the internship in April. Someday, I want to write about my experience in full, but I don’t think it’s quite time to do that yet. While the wounds are no longer fresh, I’m still reflecting, understanding, and learning from the things that happened. I will say that Christian leaders have a tough job–and much like our pastors, those we promote to leadership should be continuously evaluated to ensure thoughtful and humble ministries.

When I left my internship, I didn’t have a plan for the next step. One of my friends posted on socials that the coffee shop she worked at was hiring, and I messaged her, and set up an interview with the owner the next day. We chatted for about an hour and he offered me the job. I worked there for about a year, navigated through the pandemic, and it was awesome. I think my coffee experience actually helps me a lot as a marketer, because I’ve been on the front lines of sales and I grew to understand our customers. I also helped take photos and run socials, and that’s what helped me land my next job.

Post-coffee shop, I picked up a contracted gig as a photographer and marketer for a fencing company. During COVID, fencing was booming, and it was fun to be part of a different side of the pandemic. I took photos of fences, created ads for billboards, newspapers, and socials, took inventory photos, and had a lot of fun dipping my toes in the water. Jake actually ended up working for them too for a while because the pay was so good. We knew we wanted to move out to Idaho, but by the time we were supposed to leave, the owner offered us a huge chunk of change to stay. We declined, but it is fun to think about where we might be now if we had chosen that path.

We moved to Idaho, and if you’ve ever been to rural East Idaho, you know there isn’t a lot of opportunity for work. Before we arrived, I picked up a job as a nanny for the sweetest and most hard-working family in the world. While working as a nanny, a job opened up in the family’s real estate business on their marketing team, and they asked if I would interview for it. I did after a few asks, and I got the job. It was one of my favorite positions to date. As the marketing assistant, I got to learn the ins-and-outs of real estate. From photographing and capturing videos of homes, to creating and producing a quarterly magazine to running socials, I really loved that job. I worked there for about a year, but honestly, I got burnt out.

A new coffee shop was opening just down the road, and I had interviewed to potentially work part-time, while I was still at the real estate company. I wanted a bit more social interaction, and a job that I knew would be less stressful. The scheduling didn’t work out for part-time, but the owners told me to keep them in mind if I ever did step away from real estate. When I did, they offered me a job right away. Day-to-day, the position was fun, but it quickly turned into a lot more work when there was some restructuring. I was overseeing most of the business, and while I was happy to help out, it turned into my responsibility. I was creating content, running socials, and running the business, and it was a lot. After a year there, Jake and I decided that we wanted to move, so I said goodbye to that position and we headed back to Minnesota.

We moved back to move in with Jake’s grandmother, who had just gotten out of assisted living and wanted to live on her own. I have a lot to say about that whole situation, but let me tell you, it didn’t end well. We still have a great relationship with Jake’s grandmother, but there were other pieces and players that we did not leave on great terms with. During that time, I picked up a position running a small clothing boutique in Wayzata. It was a great job – I got to help with socials, I helped oversee that location, and I got a great discount on cute clothes. But when everything fell apart with our living situation, we knew it was time to move on. So we packed up everything (again) and headed out to Maine.

With a few years of marketing, business managing, and other personal creative work in my portfolio, I knew I wanted to try marketing again. I applied at a few real estate companies, but quickly knew it was going to burn me out again. I applied to run a new organic market/coffee shop/beach shop at a hotel in Kennebunk, but it also seemed like the role was a lot for one person to take on. I applied to Goodhue Boat Company, and when I met HR and my team lead, I knew it would be a great fit.

I submitted my resume and my photography portfolio alongside some marketing materials, and they offered me the position. I was over the moon, and it’s been a great two months. As the marketing coordinator, I help run socials, create marketing materials, plan events, and more. It’s a great company, and I’m so excited to see where the future takes us.

All in all, it wasn’t the perfect journey, or the path that I thought I would take. If I could do it all again, I would jump into building by own brand in high school and college, and study marketing in school. Then I would enter right into the marketing world, but I’m thankful for the way it did happen. I got to meet a lot of incredible people, understand how different industries work, and it lead me to a place that I’m really happy to be in.

All boiled down, my message is to trust the process, and work hard while doing it. It’s not always easy or glamorous, but when you focus on what’s around you and do your best to implement systems that are effective and produce ideas that are interesting, it’s all worth it in the end.

Until next time,

Adriana