
AboutChangeaholic
Curious about who's behind Changeaholic.com?
Well, you have come to the right place. Let me tell you a bit about myself and why I started Changeaholic.
My name is Mandy and this is my blog.
In a nutshell, I am a freelance consultant and project management expert with 10+ years of experience working internationally for big brands in fintech, consumer goods, and more.
I started Changeaholic.com because I am passionate about helping organizations (like my clients) as well as individuals to change for the better and realize their full potential. Changeaholic will provide information and inspiration to take your business or entrepreneurial ambitions to the next level.
You might ask yourself...
Why ‘Changeaholic’? What does it mean?
According to the Urban Dictionary, a Changeaholic is
“A person who is in constant need of change. A Changeaholic gets bored or tired of everyday mundane activities, objects, places, and people. A changeaholic will do whatever is necessary to change their environment.”
And the Macmillan Dictionary describes the suffix -aholic, as follows:
“The suffix -aholic is used with nouns and verbs to make nouns meaning someone who likes something a lot or who is unable to stop doing something.”
I would say both definitions apply, getting bored with certain things after some time is a thing, but that doesn’t mean ‘Changeaholics’ can’t commit or stick to anything. It is also true that I like change a lot, for me personally a lot of good things came about due to taking chances and seizing opportunities when they presented themselves. Therefore, it’s my strong belief that the same is true for other people and with changeaholic.com I would like to support individual change respectively decision-making processes, be it to inspire you to steer your career into a new direction or to try out new software to optimize your business processes. The possibilities for fostering change are endless and changeaholic.com will function as a hub for this content.
As you have experienced it yourself already, change in life and business is inevitable, because without change there can’t be growth. For example, the internet has fostered a new way of working, and new technologies will continue to opening up new business opportunities in the future, the speed of innovation is faster than ever. So you can either sit on the sidelines and wait for being forced to change or take charge of your life and business to embrace the change and make it work in your favor.
Already the old Greek philosophers like Heraclitus knew that around 500 BC:
“There is nothing permanent except change.” –Heraclitus
Therefore, we should embrace change instead of fighting it. My goal for changeaholic.com is to build a community, a platform where I can exchange my thoughts and ideas with like-minded people and other experts.
Especially in the current situation, amongst a global pandemic, keeping an open mind and being able to adjust to new circumstances is key in order for your business to survive, or maybe you have been let go from your job and now are seeking new ways to generate an income.
Following the pro-change-mindset, my plan is to explore additional income streams and business models in the future and to share my experience here on my blog, so that you can learn from my mistakes respectively successes so that you can build a better future for yourself and your family.
Now that you know what changeaholic is all about, let me tell you a little more about myself.
About Me
My name is Mandy Schmitz and originally, I am from Magdeburg, a state capital in the middle of Germany. I was born just before the wall came down at the end of the ‘80s, so I experienced this weird time of the former GDR (German Democratic Republic) trying to adjust and grow together with the western part of Germany. A time coined by stories about ‘the good old days’ and ‘how not everything in the GDR was bad’, however, it was also a time of excitement for the new opportunities that lay ahead. Knowing from my parents and grandparents that travel outside the GDR wasn’t allowed or only granted after complying with strict regulations, I always felt very lucky that now, for me, the doors were wide open. Maybe that had sparked my interest in foreign languages and cultures from an early age.
I have been raised with an open mind and to believe that everything is possible and achievable if you work hard.
From the mid-90s to 2007 I went to school in Magdeburg and completed my high-school degree. Initially, I planned to study in the states, but that didn’t work out for various reasons. Then going to the UK became my backup plan. From 2007 until 2010 I lived, studied, and worked in the UK. I graduated with a BA in Business Administration from the University of Wales, Newport Business School, which I acquired studying part-time while working full-time in London.
After the economic crisis gripped London, it was hard for foreigners to find a new job, especially if you had limited work experience, as I had at the time. Hence, I packed up and decided to move to Berlin, a vibrant city that I knew for a long-time with a diverse and open-minded culture and buzzing cultural scene. I started to work for PayPal Germany as Marketing Communications Trainee in 2010 and was given a lot of trust, therefore my assignments became bigger and bigger. This eventually led to becoming a project manager, initially for the German Marketing and Creative Team and then supporting the central-European Marketing and Creative team in Paris, France remotely.
Then in 2013, a position in France opened up and my colleagues proposed to join the team over there. I had never planned to move to Paris, but there we go. Once again I packed up and moved. Initially, I continued to support the CEMEA Marketing and Creative Team which took care of 80+ countries in 14+ local languages. This diversity of languages and cultures was also very well reflected in the Paris office, with colleagues from every corner of the world, so one day was never like the other – not at work nor in my free time. Very soon after I joined, my role focused changed to program management i.e. to deliver large strategic undertakings for PayPal, like…. It came with a lot of responsibility but also really exciting programs and opportunities. It was a great time, what shall I say in the end I stayed 3 years, again 🙂 And now I love France, one of the best decisions I ever made. As I say, embrace the change.
2016 it was time for a change again, but instead of moving to a new city, I went back to Berlin for a new great opportunity as ‘EMEA Program Manager and PMO’ for Weber Stephen, the American Barbecue and lifestyle brand.
For Weber, I established the PMO, the Project Management Office for their new EMEA Operations to set, maintain and ensure standards for project management across the organization. Besides that, I also delivered a few projects like the Weber Campus, an internal training program for EU employees, led the program initiation for an EMEA-wide CRM, i.e. completed the RFP-stage for a pilot with SalesForce, and was involved in other technology-related projects to guide the respective project manager. The projects that I supervised span the roll-out of an EMEA-wide Intranet (SharePoint), a forecasting and demand planning tool (SAP), as well as the E-commerce roll-out across EMEA, etc.
Therefore, I am sure that you can benefit from my expertise in business, digital marketing, and project management. Feel free to check out my portfolio on my business website.
Aside from that, I am also interested in other entrepreneurial endeavors. In 2015 and 2016 I set up a few niche affiliate sites promoting Amazon products as a side hustle, which are still running today. After leaving my corporate job in 2017 I started a drop-shipping store using Shopify which I promoted via Facebook ads, but as my freelance business took off, I decided to focus all my time on this business to make it work, and I have never looked back …
However, I know that there are other business models that I would like to try my hand at. I enjoy being a freelance consultant, but it’s always a good idea to multiply your income streams. As mentioned earlier, Changeaholic should become a platform to connect with like-minded business owners, freelancers, consultants, and others who are interested in taking their business to the next level or start exploring other business opportunities.
In a nutshell, change is inevitable, change is good. Taking on opportunities headfirst led me to where I am today and I would like to be an ambassador for change for others.
I wouldn’t change a thing, but there is always room to grow.
Where I Am Today
- 10+ years of international experience in digital marketing and project management
- Worked for big brands in fintech, consumer goods, and more
- Lived abroad for several years
- Left my regular 9-5 in 2017 to start my consulting business
- Successful as a consultant since 2017
No matter what your current situation is there are always ways to improve the status quo or your job/income situation. Just keep an open mind and when something feels right, take the leap of faith and start that business, the side hustle, or whatever it is you have in mind because if you never try it, you’ll never know if it would have worked.
“If you never try, you’ll never know what you are capable of.” — John Barrow
And yes, it might not work out right away, take some time to learn about your new business model, the respective market, etc., and then hustle. Be persistent – being successful in any business endeavor doesn’t happen overnight, it takes time and endurance.
Yes it is painful and yes, you will be working long hours and yes, you’ll be sacrificing time you normally would spend watching TV, etc., or find yourself getting up 2 hours earlier in the morning so that you can work on your side project…
So, what is stronger? The desire to stay in your comfort zone or the desire to change your life or your business for the better?
If you choose the latter, you have come to the right place. Let’s create a community and enjoy the journey together.
Thanks for checking out Changeaholic and taking the time to explore my story.
Thanks for being here!
If you need support with project management or digital marketing, please reach out to me here. If you are curious, feel free to check out my portfolio on my business website.
Let’s change the world together!