Amber Dermoudy is the Head of Marketing at vital.ly, a platform supporting the practitioner community through education and patient services.
Join our work-life balance community to get access to new daily routines and exclusive content. Sign me up!
1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?
I started my career as a legal secretary with the goal of becoming a lawyer. I scrapped this idea pretty early on though and by age of 23 had launched my own business.
I found some small success with that business, but mainly it helped me discover an interest in social media marketing (which was very new at that time) and ended up pivoting me into my now 10-year career in digital marketing.
Currently, I’m the Head of Marketing for vital.ly – an innovative platform for holistic health practitioners.
We provide a service that includes a patient management system, product distribution service and education source all in one. So far I’m loving the variety of my work and having a real sense of purpose behind the work that I do.
Before joining vital.ly, I worked client-side and agency-side for companies including Toyota Australia, Pizza Hut, Colgate-Palmolive, VOSS Water, Destination Queenstown and News Limited with some campaign work for Spotify and the ABC.
More recently I was able to see behind the proverbial curtain by working with one of the top four social media networks which was intensely fascinating (sorry I can’t elaborate more here as I’m under an NDA).
2) What does a day in the life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday?
My first morning alarm at 4am is one that is not easily ignored – my cat, Leonardo DiCatrio. After switching on a Calm soundscape to help me get back to sleep, I’m awake again around 7am for my morning run.
Run complete, my partner is cooking bacon and eggs for breakfast before we both kick off the day around 8.30am in our (pink) shared home office.
From here, each workday looks quite unique, but is always busy and interesting. Outside of meetings, you’ll find me working away on the various aspects of our 2021 marketing plan as well as implementing dedicated refreshes for social and email and pulling together the finishing touches on our new loyalty program due to launch in the new year.
I’ve stepped into a newly created role, so while there is a lot of work to be done and I’m wearing many hats, that’s just how I like it.
3) Does your current role allow for flexible or remote working? If so, how does that fit into your life and routine?
Absolutely, which I’m very thankful for. I’ve relished the chance to work from home more during recent times, and I find the time saved without commuting and my old habitual dilemma of “what should I wear today?” to be incredibly productive.
Currently, I work four days a week remotely and go into our Mascot warehouse once a week for some face-time.
4) What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?
It’s funny to think about having to “work” on achieving work-life balance, but I think this question has actually hit the nail on the head. It really does require some deliberate effort to create that harmony.
Earlier this year I sat down to assess my goals and revisit my own set of personal values – and the word balance came out as a strong focal point for me. I’ve always been that person who’s been addicted to “busyness” generally working full-time with 2-3 side hustles on the go while completing my masters. It didn’t leave me much time for anything else.
So while COVID certainly made it more complicated to try and achieve balance in such a time of uncertainty, I did put in a lot of “work” in this year to balance things out between my work and home life – including retiring from side hustling for a while and heavily prioritising my health, time with friends and trying to create better sleep habits.
5) In the past 12 months, have you started or stopped any routines or habits to change your life?
Yes! Currently I don’t have my work emails or work-related messaging systems synced on my personal phone.
I can imagine reading this might send others into panic mode, and believe me at first I felt this way too. In my last job I was that person who checked emails and Slack at all hours and was “always-on”. I didn’t set proper boundaries for myself.
However, making this change has allowed me to set these boundaries quite literally, and leave work at work (in my pink home office). It’s been great.
6) Do you have any favourite books, podcasts or newsletters that you’d like to recommend?
- Anything by Brene Brown (TED talks, podcasts, books, Netflix special – get on it). She speaks on the topics of leadership, courage and vulnerability.
- Australian Community Managers Facebook Group – this is a great place to ask or stay up-to-date on anything social media related.
- Morning Brew newsletters – a recent recommendation from my boss which I’m enjoying so far.
7) Are there any products, gadgets or apps that you can’t live without?
I mean I could say my iPhone (which is true), but really the app I couldn’t live without these days is Calm. I know it’s a dramatic statement saying an app changed your life – but this one truly has.
It has a range of tools to help you sleep (sleep stories, soundscapes, music), gives guided practices on mindfulness and meditation (things I still struggle with, but am working on) and has great interviews and masterclasses with inspiring folks on a range of different subjects.
My recent favourite was an interview with Fran Drescher on the topic of authenticity.
8) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be?
New Zealand’s Prime Minister – Jacinda Ardern. She is a powerhouse. Enough said.
9) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?
Find a workplace that respects your time and your health, and make sure you respect yourself enough to do the same. Good luck!
Before you go…
If you’d like to sponsor or advertise with Balance the Grind, let’s talk here.
Join our community and never miss a conversation about work, life & balance – subscribe to our newsletter.
