Breaking-Point #2: Niamh Sullivan. The 'storytelling specialist'. Channel 7 Reporter turned CEO.

WELCOME WELCOME WELCOME BACK!

Yep, I probably should have made it a bit more clear - every 2 weeks, you will be hearing from someone who has broken through in their career & life multiple times to reach their dreams - so you can gain as much clarity as possible to accomplish your own!

The unique attributes, game-changing habits, 1-percenters, mindset, actions taken, strategies - to give you that drop of kerosene to keep the fire in your belly alive.

I know it's in you and I don't want it to be put out.

So, without further ado - I have the great pleasure of introducing our 2nd guest!

INTRODUCTION

I don't know about you, but I'VE ALWAYS wanted to know who was inside the Sunrise Cash Cow.

Yes, the figure that would randomly appear and then proceed to give out $20,000 whenever it pleased.

Surprise - it was Niamh Sullivan . And she got there as a teenager.

But it was not long after, did she recalibrate and decide to make a shift from telling stories for the masses on TV to storytelling for Facebook, Google and Amazon to articulate their message.

Oh no, and it didn't end there - where did this love for growth, meeting new people and creating meaningful change through brand storytelling take her?

Founding a world-class marketing agency and a one-of-a-kind creative studio in her home in Queensland, INFIX Creative Studio .

How, how, how, did she get from studying international relations and working as an English teacher in Vietnam to telling stories for the biggest tech names in the world?

Well, that's exactly why I took the time to sit down with her and distil her key breakthroughs and how she achieved them.

This is #2 of Breaking Point – Niamh Sullivan.

BREAKTHROUGH #1 – Public Speaking and Storytelling Realisation

Sullivan's dream growing up was to become an international doctor.

She spent most of her childhood at Sydney Children's Hospital as unfortunately at a young age she was diagnosed with blood cancer.

But one of the few things that kept her optimistic throughout, were the charities that would come visit the hospitals to spread warmth and bring hope.

And it wasn't until Make-A-Wish Foundation approached her, did a startling opportunity arise.

"I wanted...to give back and say thank you to all the charities that had supported me," says Sullivan.

"I was obviously 12 so I had like $5 in my bank account and couldn't donate to them. So my way was through speeches at their events to raise money."

Fast-forward two hours past her first ever public and Sullivan had helped raise $300,000 just through sharing her story, to support other children and parents who were going through a similar situation.

"I had like $5 in my bank account and couldn't donate to them. So my way was through speeches at their events to raise money."

After years of guest speaking for Make-A-Wish Foundation, which expanded to the Australian Red Cross and Cancer Council Queensland , Sullivan decided to pursue international relations at Bond University . The newfound dream was to diversify her storytelling ability into the human rights sector - the United Nations was in sight.

So what better way, than live up to the key pillar of 'equal education' of the United Nations , than working as a volunteer English Teacher and Communications Assistant in Vietnam?

Not long after, Sullivan realised that politics wasn't for her, and following a few conversations with Vietnamese journalists, she headed back home to start a fast-tracked journalism degree at Bond.

"I went back to uni and pretty much straight away loved it. Loved telling stories, meeting people being in a community and I set my eye on becoming a Channel 7 reporter."

Summary:

1. Grabbed the opportunity to speak for a charity by the throat - which led to more and more opportunities to speak for other charities
2. Started a degree in international relations, realised it wasn't for her after a trip to Vietnam
3. Came back home to start a journalism degree

BREAKTHROUGH #2 – Channel 7 reporter to Writing for Facebook

That was it; nothing else matters - get into Channel 7. I could sense her past obsession in our rushed Zoom call.

But how, how does one breakthrough into one of the leading broadcasters in the country, while studying for a new degree fresh in university, with zero journalism-related work experience behind her back? Take every internship you can.

Straight away I bring up my thoughts of needing insurance, because naturally I did not think universities provided an unlimited supply.

"My uni said 'we're done with giving you intern insurance you're going to have to buy your own'."

And yep, this is where she had the 3am wake-ups as the Sunrise cash cow, dressed up in her white and black spotted hoodie dancing around Martin Place.

Still, my curiosity took the better of me and I had to ask about the intricacies of how she managed to balance all of this.

"I used to Facetime and Zoom teachers each time to get the [sic] attendance."

2am alarm clocks, 5-day work weeks, 5pm finishes, dinners in the car and then back to work as a waitress at weddings from 5:30pm onwards. University lectures are now a distant memory - but back then they were all caught up upon online.

Most people would burn out. Sullivan craved every minute of it.

Then it begs the question, "Why change?".

The day after Sullivan graduated on a Saturday, she packed her bags and moved to Taree on the Sunday to work as a regional reporter.

"My uni said we're done with giving you intern insurance you're going to have to buy your own."

Covering news from fatal car crashes and emotionally intense stories - she was in the thick of it all. But that was also the reason behind her thinking twice about whether this was the path she wanted to take for the rest of her life.

"I wasn't able to detach myself because I became so invested...there were cultural differences everyday."

"The traditional newsroom and journalism wasn't for me...I liked telling stories and meeting people instead...more community based."

"I started freelance writing."

At 21, Sullivan made the switch from news articles to advertising copy and found herself typing all day for the world while fulfilling her wishes to travel simultaneously.

Then somehow, all the way from New York, a representative from Facebook noticed her work, reached out and offered her a gig to write social posts for Facebook.

Within months, her work didn't go unnoticed; it followed an exponential curve and Sullivan found herself writing for WhatsApp , 谷歌 & 亚马逊 .

It reminds me of what Sullivan was talking about earlier when moving up the ranks in the journalism industry, "just keep showing up...again and again."

"Until you get to the right place at the right time."

Summary:

1. Interned like her life depended on it for Channel 7 - to the point where she was paying for her own insurance as her uni had enough.
2. Became front of mind when Channel 7 were recruiting for talent and got a job in Taree as a regional reporter.
3. After writing stories of fatal car crashes and other emotionally intense incidents, realised journalism wasn't for her.
4. Came back home to QLD, started freelance writing, kept showing up and got picked up by a recruiter in New York who gave her the opportunity to write for Facebook.
5. This then turned into a full-time job at the time.

BREAKTHROUGH #3 - Freelance Writer to Founder & CEO

But before she knew it, Sullivan was drowning in her clients - her workload drastically increased and came to an epiphany at the same time.

"I was providing them with one piece of the puzzle. I was providing them with the strategy and the copy, but I couldn't provide any design services...end-to-end services."

"I filled that gap through INFIX Creative Studio ."

It was a natural transition, the perfect choice which was staring at her in the face, but it was definitely not easy to get it going off the ground.

"Good work rather than sub-par."

And I think purely with the opening of the website - that statement stands - rather, great work.

Now, it's been constant learning - with the move to a new office in the beautiful and beachy Gold Coast, Sullivan has built a team of over 15 developers and design strategists.

"Building long-term partnerships with like-minded professionals...it's all about connecting with people that know they have a powerful story to share then working together to make it happen."

"Good work rather than sub-par"

"No two days are ever the same."

With the love to provide value to her clients being at the core of everything she does, Sullivan is now working on a podcast with KPMG , to provide more value for a niche group of people that she belongs to.

"[It's about] how to close the gap for funding with female founders."

What's most admirable about Sullivan is that she is constantly writing and re-writing her own story - not afraid to begin a new chapter when she decides to close her current one.

I think the biggest takeaway here is to give permission to yourself to breakthrough.

When people talk about coming across the right people who open doors - it's you who has to figure out how to come across them first.

It's you first, who has to realise and decide that something is off with the work you're currently doing and you're only waiting for permission, that's somehow going to be granted miraculously, for you to breakthrough and change.

When, in fact, you are the miracle permission-granter. Step into the uncomfortable conversation with yourself, enjoy the long-term comfortable conversations with everyone else.

So, here are some of the key lessons Sullivan shared with me at the end of our chat for young people to stay two steps ahead and not one foot behind - when it comes to breaking through early to get to your dreams.

Summary:

1. The workload was getting too much, and wanted to provide an end-to-end service, which is why Sullivan decided to open her first business
2. Wasn't hard starting up but focusing on building meaningful connections through executing value work rather than 'just getting it done' helped her get off the ground.
3. Now, she runs a team of >15 in her office in the Gold Coast helping brands with design and ad copy to best spread their message!

BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS:

• Unpaid internships

- keep showing up, even when they don't need a person for a job, because the moment they do, you're going to be the first in mind.

• Going to events

- nothing beats face-to-face, authentic connection.

• Connecting

- obviously, it is unpractical to be at every event, everywhere, so stay active on LinkedIn , connect with those in your desired industry and don't be scared to ask away - work experience, shadowing or a friendly chat.

• Keep practising

- The journalist writing a blog on the side of his news articles is always going to beat every other journalist.

- The teacher making educational videos on YouTube on the side is always going to beat every other teacher.

- The plumber volunteering to help fix the community’s plumbing issues in public spaces is always going to beat every other plumber.

- Put your desired and required skills in your dream job to the test in every possible situation you can, and before you know it you will end up in places years earlier than you thought you would.

WRAP-UP

WOW, we did it - the second ever edition of the newsletter.

Thank you so much for reading Niamh Sullivan 's incredible story and the breakthroughs she achieved.

You can connect with Niamh here:

Niamh's LinkedIn: https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/niamhsullivan/

If you enjoyed this read, it would mean the world to me if you hit subscribe – so it reaches as many other people as possible who are looking for that insight so that they can breakthrough to the next stage of their lives & careers, too.

Tune in next Friday (AEST) for edition #3 with a very familiar face ??