Favorite Parts of Being a Founder and CEO at Mustard and Moxie
Anna, Founder & CEO at Mustard & Moxie, initially accepted all clients to gain experience but later realized a passion for working with nonprofits and for-profit companies with social impact missions. This led to a business overhaul, resulting in a fulfilling career where Anna now "get[s] to work with organizations that are helping make the world a better place," finding immense satisfaction in this impactful work and the autonomy it affords.
Executive/Leadership, Nonprofit, Social Impact, Marketing, Client Selection
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Anna Boudinot
Founder & CEO
Mustard & Moxie
New York University, 2000
UCLA Anderson MBA
Film, Media Arts, Visual Arts
Nonprofit, Foundations & Grantmaking, Advertising, Communications & Marketing
Entrepreneurship and Business Owner
Scholarship Recipient, LGBTQ
Video Highlights
1. Anna's journey of refining her client selection process, prioritizing those whose missions align with her values.
2. The diverse range of industries that benefit from marketing services, showcasing the versatility of a marketing career.
3. The fulfillment derived from contributing to organizations with a positive social impact, highlighting a purpose-driven career path.
Transcript
What do you enjoy most about being in your current role?
What I love about being in my current role has to do with my current clients. When I first started my business, I was saying yes to every client that came across my path. Anyone who wanted to hire me, I would say yes to because I needed money and I needed the experience; I needed to build up my roster of clients.
I wasn't really spending time evaluating whether or not that client was a good fit for me or if I was a good fit for them. I wound up working on projects that I either wasn't interested in, wasn't qualified to do, or it just wasn't a good personality match for me and the client.
After doing that for two years, I decided, "You know what? I need to be excited about the clients that I'm working with." Marketing spans every industry, from soda to hospitals, cars, tech companies, oil companies, to nonprofits. They all need marketing.
So, as someone who works in marketing, I have a lot of choices where I can land. I realized that the clients I loved working with most were my nonprofit clients and my for-profit clients whose businesses had a social impact related mission.
I decided to focus on working with those people. I completely overhauled my website, the messaging on my website, the way that I described the company, and refined my list of services. Now I get to work with organizations that are helping make the world a better place.
The fact that I get to get up in the morning and help those people help people is so thrilling. I love having that impact in the work that I do; that is my lifeblood. I also just love having the autonomy of being able to make decisions like that.