Natalie Cann is used to good things coming in pairs. After taking time off when her twins were born, the 1998 marketing graduate was approached by two different clients with consulting projectsan opportunity too good to pass up.
Cann started her career in technology marketing, working first as an online marketing manager for Register.com and then as a product marketing senior manager at American Express. Although she loved the environment and opportunity, she starting thinking about work flexibility—something the full-time marketing world couldn’t offer her—after her first child was born.
“I started getting requests from past colleagues, friends, and family, and I realized I could make a switch to independent, project-based work,” she says, noting she wanted to maintain her skillset and career. Cann slowly began taking small projects. After taking time off to care for the twins, Cann’s biggest consulting opportunity arrived when she was approached by her current clients—Blue Shield of California and smartphone app Hotskoop.
“My consulting business has evolved over the past three years, and I got lucky with my current clients,” Cann says. “One came from a recruiter and the other from a former co-worker. They each work out to twenty hours a week.”
Cann’s days are full of caring for her children and balancing social media reports, competitive intelligence, and conference calls. Luckily, she has been blessed with a great support system to take care of her kids as she travels to her client’s offices a few times a week. And for all the creative juggling and stress, Cann says it pays off when she can see the results of her work.
“Last fall we launched our iPhone app,” she explains. “It was great to see something go from an idea to an actual product that had all the features we were looking to achieve from the outset.”
Aside from the uncertainty of consulting work, Cann is grateful for the opportunity to still be involved in the industry.
“It is nice be able to use my skills and education and, at the same time, achieve the things I want in my personal life,” she says.
Cann and her husband, Peter, enjoy hiking, entertaining, and snowboarding. They have three children and live in Mill Valley, California.
