97: Lauren Aquilino: Alleviating burnout and recognizing the specialized skills in marketing ops

Humans of Martech

What’s up folks, today we’re joined by Lauren Aquilino, Founder & Principal Consultant @ EMMIE Collective.

Summary: The essence of Lauren’s message transcends the specifics of MOPs; it's about the symbiosis between finding work that resonates on a personal level and the professional ecosystem that supports it. This is where fulfillment is found, and where problems are not just tasks but puzzles that invigorate the marketer. Her advice was not mere commentary but a call to action for marketing professionals to document their victories, engage with communities, and redefine the value of mops within their organizations, ensuring that the role is not just sustained but celebrated for its strategic importance.

About Lauren

• Lauren started her career as a Campaign Manager at Hyland, an enterprise content service provider where she spent 5 and a half years working her way up to Marketing Analyst and later Team Lead of the Demand Programs
• She later took on the role of Marketing Automation Operations Manager at GE where she owned Marketo and set the global marketing automation strategy across other martech tools as well
• In 2017, Lauren left the in-house world and joined the dark side of agency at Revenue Pulse as a Principal Consultant. There she would become a 2x Marketo Champion and Certified Expert as well as a Salesforce Certified Admin
• After taking a career break as a Covid-era homeschool teacher and wrangler of a fearless toddler and attempting to open a coffee shop in a dilapidated 1840s church, Lauren became a yolopreneur
• August 1st 2022. She joined forces with the acclaimed Sydney Mulligan to launch EMMIE Collective
• EMMIE is a for-hire network of marketing Ops and Sales Ops freelancers with big tech energy
• She’s also the cohost of Pretty Funny Business, Lauren’s nonsensical playground brand for the hell of it, a hilarious new podcast with the top marketing and MOPs pros

The Accidental Genesis of EMMIE Collective

When Lauren delved into the creation story of EMMIE Collective, she shared a narrative that many entrepreneurs can resonate with—success often sprouts from the seeds of adversity. Lauren’s journey began not with a deliberate intention to start a martech freelancer network but as a response to the upheaval of COVID-19. The decision to step back from her role at Revenue Pulse was pivotal. Faced with the complexities of juggling work and a young family under the constraints of a pandemic, Lauren sought to keep everyone on one schedule. This pursuit of work-life balance inadvertently set the stage for EMMIE Collective’s inception.

The ambition to purchase a church, a dream stemming from Lauren's passion for creating a communal third space, ironically nudged her back to work. Subcontracting for a friend in unfamiliar territory with Pardot became a catalyst for growth. Lauren’s adaptability and openness to learn were instrumental, emphasizing that it’s not the tools that define success, but the fit for the business and the individual’s capability to harness them effectively. What started as a solo venture quickly evolved, and Lauren found herself at the helm of a growing consultancy.

Lauren’s story highlighted the organic nature of EMMIE Collective's expansion—how one client led to another, and how one consultant brought in another, embodying the adage of building the airplane while flying it. The addition of Sydney to the team was serendipitous, aligning perfectly with the needs of the collective. Her reputation and skills added significant value, illustrating the strength of forming strategic alliances based on mutual respect and opportunity.

Key Takeaway: EMMIE Collective stands as a testament to the unexpected paths that lead to entrepreneurial success. It serves as a sanctuary for those who’ve grown weary of the corporate grind, offering a collaborative network that thrives on flexibility, respect, and mutual growth. Lauren’s experience is a reminder that sometimes, the best outcomes arise from the most challenging situations, and that embracing change can pave the way for unforeseen opportunities.

The Multifaceted Benefits of Side Hustles in Marketing

When Lauren was asked about the impact of side hustles on her career, she offered an insightful perspective that extends beyond the conventional wisdom. She champions the idea of side hustles not merely as additional streams of income but as avenues for personal fulfillment and professional development. Lauren's stance is that side hustles should be passion-driven endeavors, aligning with one's interests, such as yoga in her example, to ensure they serve as a complement rather than a detractor from one's quality of life.

Lauren’s experience underlines the necessity for marketers to cultivate interests outside their core job, especially when their work is highly technical and the threat of feeling replaceable looms. In her view, this sense of replaceability is exacerbated when one's day job lacks a deeper sense of purpose or is entrenched in a profit-driven environment. Side hustles, therefore, can act as a counterbalance, offering a sense of uniqueness and value that one’s primary occupation might not provide.

Moreover, Lauren's reflections on EMMIE Collective’s business model reveals the value of side hustles in creating a flexible work ecosystem.

The collective’s freelancers, including a standout Salesforce admin named Nikki who also runs a skincare business, demonstrate that a side hustle can sometimes become the main hustle. This fluidity showcases how side hustles can evolve and adapt to one's changing career aspirations and personal goals.

Key Takeaway: Lauren's discourse invites marketers to reassess the role of side hustles in their lives. It's not just about having a secondary job; it's about finding joy and purpose outside of one's primary employment. Side hustles can enhance skills, diversify income, and most importantly, provide a fulfilling escape from the replaceable nature of technical roles. For those looking to embark on such a journey, Lauren suggests seeking out passions that could lead to professional opportunities, creating a harmonious blend of work and personal satisfaction.

EMMIE Collective's Answer to In-House Marketing Stability

Lauren discussed the unique challenges in-house marketing teams face and how EMMIE Collective addresses them with its network of consultants. Her insights delve into the nuanced struggles of businesses desperate for stability in their marketing operations. Contrary to what one might expect, Lauren finds that clients are often open to the collective's unconventional setup, likely due to the network's reputation and the trust it engenders.

The drive for stability is at the forefront of client concerns, especially as the market continues to wobble between a surplus of talent due to layoffs and a drought caused by high turnover. Lauren’s collective steps into this breach, not just offering expertise, but also a promise of consistency that's hard to find in the volatile job market. Where companies are grappling with the financial and operational repercussions of high turnover, EMMIE Collective provides a team that can absorb these shocks.

Clients have embraced the collective’s model, finding comfort in the assurance that their operations will continue unimpeded, even if an individual consultant moves on. This safety net is particularly valuable in specialized areas where training and expertise are not easily replicated. Lauren shared an anecdote about a client who, instead o...