?? Chanel's Iconic Global Brand and Defining Your Career Eras

When you think of an iconic global brand, Chanel is probably among the first that come to mind. The 113-year-old Parisian company founded by designer Coco Chanel recently reported its 2023 full-year results. Revenue for last year rose 16% to $19.7 billion, with double-digit growth in Asia and Europe.

In contrast, revenue for Chanel has softened in the United States recently. But as the best global brands know, a slowdown in one market isn't a formidable problem if you have already diversified your geographic sources of revenue. This gives you a foothold from where to intensify your focus in other markets to keep growth going strong.

Leena Nair, CEO, mentioned a few key things when discussing Chanel's 2023 financial results:

• Chanel increased headcount globally by 14% to more than 36,500 employees
• The company has now expanded its retail network to more than 600 boutiques throughout the world
• They are investing heavily in R&D and technology, partnering with start-ups and academic institutions

Asia and Europe Lead the Way for Chanel's Growth Trajectory

As you can see from Chanel's financial report below, Asia Pacific saw incredible growth of 21.6%, and Europe delivered 16.4%. Meanwhile, the Americas reported a meager 2.4% growth rate.

One of my favorite discoveries about Chanel was how they present their financial results in their press release. For most companies, this type of statement is usually a fairly dull and bland investors report. I noticed two interesting things, beyond the numbers themselves:

1. Chanel has rendered a simple table of financial results in a way that is completely and fully on brand. I love it when a brand pays close attention to small details, whether it's a clever error message from a software company, the care Apple takes with its packaging, or a global luxury brand sprucing up a dry press release with a small reminder of its brand boldness.
2. The company chooses to report their environmental sustainability metrics right alongside their financial results, deeming them on the same level of importance. That's quite a statement. As a privately held company, Chanel has a lot of flexibility to do things on their terms and set their own trends, not only in fashion, but in business.

Chanel is very familiar with being on the global stage, and even released an evening bag named "Around the World" back in 2014.

The company had an impressive selection of global ambassadors from all over the world in 2023. Who else will they work with in 2024 and beyond as they continue to focus on Asia and Europe? Or, will they try to revitalize their presence in the Americas? It remains to be seen, but it should be fun to watch unfold.

Defining Your Career Eras

Summer is here in New England, and just like most summers, Taylor Swift's songs are playing everywhere. This got me thinking, just like with Taylor's work and the many different genres she has covered so far, how our various "eras" in our career add up over our lives, reflecting our own evolution.

Taylor's career is still going strong, but she can celebrate each era, and even relive it a bit, all part of her bigger story. Shouldn't we each do that ourselves?

(Kinda wishing LinkedIn would roll that out as an opt-in feature, to make the whole "Work Experience" section a bit more lively.)

Take a moment to ask yourself...

"What are the Eras of my career?"

"How would I define every stage so far, in a way that is fun and true to me?"

Most of us working in tech do not have careers that feature sold-out arenas, sequins or sparkle.

My career stages are defined by highly unglamorous tech nerdiness.

But also, they are defined by the people I've met and the things I've learned.

I did this exercise myself below.

Maybe it will encourage you to do the same.

After all, who doesn't need a little bit of inspiration now and then?

Take a moment to look back on what you've achieved.

The Interpreter Era (1996 - 2001)

As this grainy picture proves, this was taken during my first job, in 1996. I had just graduated from college and was 20 years old. In this Era, I worked for AT&T Language Line, and took my first-ever business trip to Monterey, California. A world map and a bunch of computers? I guess my future career was pretty evident, even back then.

During my 5-year Interpreting Era, I went through excellent management training thanks to AT&T. I led my first-ever remote team, developed training curricula, and was a co-inventor of a patented certification program. I took so many lessons and relationships from those five years that stay with me, even today.

The Academic Era (2001 - 2002)

For reasons unrelated to work, I applied for a Fulbright grant to study sociolinguistics in Ecuador. I quit my job at AT&T, sold my house, and moved to Ecuador (where I had already lived and studied previously, for 3 semesters of my undergrad years). The photo below was taken Alliance Fran?aise in Quito. I was the only non-Ecuadorian in the group of students, pictured here with our professor.

It was thanks to the Fulbright Era that I realized I am best-suited to the speed of a high-growth business. While I love research, the pace of Academia was far too slow for me, especially at that stage of my life. That said, I realized that I love learning languages because of how they stretch my brain.

The Entrepreneur Era (2002 - 2005)

When I moved back from Ecuador, I co-founded my own research and consulting agency with a colleague. On the side, I did freelance translation and interpreting work. This Era sure was tough! While we were successful and profitable, being an entrepreneur is one of the hardest jobs there is.

However, I loved the freedom! As a business owner, I had full control over my time, and could travel and work from anywhere. I don't have any "work" pictures from this Era, because it was mostly just me working remotely with a small handful of clients. However, it was during that Era that I began traveling to (and working from) Ireland regularly, pictured here during one such trip.

The Product Development Era (2005 - 2007)

My business partner and I were eventually "acqui-hired" by our top customer, an agency in California. My new job was to create and launch new products to cross-sell into our client base to increase customer retention. I launched a video interpreting service for hospitals, language proficiency testing services, cultural competence training for medical professionals, and more.

During this Era, I learned a ton about the entire go-to-market process, from concept development to product testing, partnership channels, reseller agreements (which two of my new products were), product marketing, sales enablement, digital marketing, and much more. It was during this Era that I also published my first book, Telephone Interpreting.

The Market Research Era (2008 - 2013)

I had so much fun at CSA Research, where I stayed for another 5 years. This was an exciting job, where my team and I got to consult with some of the world's largest multinationals and tech companies. We also got to work with plenty of small businesses, tech companies and help them grow, while running major B2B market research studies (and an occasional B2C study too).

The best part of this job, aside from the great people and the industry, was how global it was. I lost track of how many countries I visited for work during this 5-year Era, but I was constantly globe-trotting. My customers were in countries all over the world, and I enjoyed visiting them and meeting them in person. I also gained quite a bit of experience in PR and worked very closely with sales during this Era. I published my second book, Found in Translation, during this time also.

The Tech Start-Up Era (2013- 2015)

I moved to a VC-funded tech company where I created a partner reselling channel, and was then promoted to become the company's VP of Marketing. I had a wonderful team of marketers, and it was a great experience seeing how tech companies raised money back then and pitched to investors.

I also ran the BDR team at the company, which was a wonderful experience too. One of my favorite parts about being in a B2B SaaS company was working with our Product and Engineering leaders on new product roll-outs. The product is everything at a tech company, and it's always good for marketers to be close to this beating heart. The data nerd in me also loved diving into all the SaaS metrics and financial, which were vital for running our business.

The International Growth Era (2015 - 2023)

It was hard to pick just one photo from nearly 8 years at a large public B2B SaaS company across three different roles, working in three different functions. But I chose this particular one from the "early years" because it exemplifies a foundational team of amazing people, and an entire global function that we built from scratch.

I had a hard time naming this Era, because when I started at HubSpot, I was a VP of Marketing and ran LatAm Marketing. Other needs emerged rapidly as we grew, so I pivoted into running International Operations and Strategy, and later to VP of Localization, which became its own focus area. I finished writing my third book, Take Your Company Global, during my HubSpot sabbatical.

The Tech Scale-Up Era (2024 - Present)

I am now in a new Era here at Zappi, and it's one that I am loving so much. Being part of a tech scale-up is very special. You get to take something that others created over many years of hard work and help bring it to a place of greater scale. It's very exciting to help a B2B SaaS product reach even more customers and make a greater impact on the world.

It's not every SaaS company that can even achieve that potential for scale, which is why it's a real honor to lead the Marketing function here. We also happen to work with incredible customers, including many of the world's largest global B2C brands that do advertising and product development at scale. #zappitobehere

Your Career Eras Help Define Who You Are Today

While I'm no Taylor Swift, it's fun to look back across my various Eras and to think about how they make me who I am today, and bring value to the work that I do at present.

For me, it's all about the people, as well as what I learn along the way at each major juncture.

What have your own career Eras looked like so far?

There is no right or wrong... it's all about how you choose to define them!

If you do this exercise, please share it with me!

Grace Notes

The school year is nearly over here in New England, and the excitement of summer is upon us. In true nerd fashion, summer for me is associated with reading. Every summer, I loved joining all the summer reading programs I could find. Now I get to do that with my kids, who fortunately also love reading.

It was fun for me to see this post from reader Patricia Verde who is starting to read my latest book from her beautiful sunny Spain.

Reading and writing are two of my lifelong joys.

When I read, I absorb views and thoughts from other writers, cultures, lives, memories, and history.

When I write, I get to do the same in reverse, putting my thoughts out there for others, to give back, and hopefully reach them in some way too.

It's all about completing that circle.

I'm fortunate to write a lot in my role at Zappi, where I also published an article in Forbes this week on using consumer insights in a data-driven world.

You can read the article here.

Other Ways to Connect with Me

Thank you for reading this newsletter!

Here are 3 other ways we can connect:

1. Get my latest book.

Don't forget to get your own copy of my latest book, Take Your Company Global.

It was kindly endorsed by my longtime CEO at HubSpot, Brian Halligan.

“Take Your Company Global is the definitive guide to building a global business in the digital age.” —Brian Halligan, Co-Founder and Executive Chairperson, HubSpot and Co-Author,?Inbound Marketing

Already have it? Liked it?

Help others find it, and leave a review on Amazon.

(Thank you to everyone who has left one so far. I appreciate you!)

2. Find me online.

Looking for my books, blog, and other writing?

Get all this and more at my (recently relaunched) website, Born to Be Global.

3. Book me for a talk.

I can do the following types of talks, depending on availability:

• Virtual author talks. Does your team need some inspiration? Collect their questions, and schedule me for a fireside chat. I cannot do individual 1:1 mentoring right now, but I've done this for teams at Salesforce, Amazon, Google, and many others.
• Conference keynotes. I'm not doing many of these in H2 2024, but for the ones I can do, I am planning into 2025. In some cases, I can build a book signing into the event if that's of interest.
• Podcast guest appearances. I'm always happy to support podcasters on topics of international business, leadership, localization, SaaS, women in tech, marketing, advertising, work/life integration, personal branding, and other topics I write about in this newsletter and elsewhere.

Want to find out if I can help you?

Just go to borntobeglobal.com and fill out the form to get in touch!

I check those messages once a week.

See you next week,

Nataly