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Many of us start out our careers working at jobs that don’t really fulfill us. 

For many of us, these jobs become lifelong careers that don’t fulfill us. 

Could there be anything more depressing than that? 

It can be challenging to pivot into an entirely new role, but with the right attitude and a little tenacity, that decision can become a startling realization.

The job you want is just on the other side of your fear of chasing it.

On the latest episode of the Inner Edison Podcast with Ed Parcuat, Steve Wiideman described the method he used to go from a foot soldier in the U.S Army to an entrepreneur in the digital marketing space. 

Starting Over Isn’t a Bad Thing.

When Steve was finally discharged from his military service, the only thing he could possibly put on his resume was that he was good at shooting an M-16. 

That’s not really a resume booster.

While that may be the case, he learned character-building habits and discipline that helped him think about his transition from a foot soldier in the U.S Army to civilian life.

When he got out of the Army, he was really interested in computers, but he wasn’t sure it could be his career.

Instead, he created a table of suitable jobs, contacts, and phone numbers. He kept following up on his job applications while finishing out his last days in the service, and by the time he got out, he had three jobs.

Those three jobs were:

1. Selling jewelry behind a counter
2. Printing ID cards at Pacific Air
3. Working at Target cutting trees

Now, to look at these three jobs, they couldn’t be more different from one another, but since he was starting over, he decided to see what interested him most.

He would find value working for United Health and moved up quickly working with computers.

There he learned to migrate information from printers to the internet. 

Exploring Ways to Become Valuable to Others

Steve realized that the internet was the future, so he learned how to build websites for fun, following his passion for computers.

It wasn’t long before friends, family members, and others asked him to help them build their websites.

This love of learning computers led to a degree in ebusinss management and new jobs at IBM Global Services and Disney. 

At Disney, he ran paid ads and marketing for Disney. 

So in 2010, he left Disney with the skills to start as an entrepreneur. He went to local businesses and pitched his business of helping with their digital marketing. 

In his first month, he earned over 17K in business. 

Create a Timeline

When Steve first started out, he had goals to teach digital marketing and write a book on the subject one day.

However, after five years, he found that he wasn’t edging toward his goals. So he returned to his timeline and measured his progress toward his goals.

Today, he teaches adjunct courses at Cal State Fullerton, UC San Diego, and at a local Community College. He also wrote the first textbook about Digital Marketing called SEO Strategies and Skills that twelve colleges use in the curriculum. 

On top of that, he still runs digital marketing campaigns for national chains like Applebee’s and IHOP.

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask.

Steve advises that if you have a passion to start a new profession, don’t be afraid to ask people for advice on breaking into the profession.

He says you’d be surprised at how helpful people can be when you ask for advice and guidance.

Steve is even offering people the opportunity to learn on his dime to listeners of the Inner Edison Podcast.

If you’d like to learn more about digital marketing, go to Academy of Search and use the promo code: SEOSTEVE for FREE access to his $600 course! 

For more great interviews about business, entrepreneurism, and more, please check out the Inner Edison Podcast with Ed Parcaut.