Charli Penn-Watkins
Greetings Divas! And welcome to the inaugural installment of The Martini Chronicles’ Diva Spotlight! Each week, I will have the honor of introducing some of the most dynamic and successful professional women in various sectors of the business world. I completely believe that fabulousness should not be contained. In fact, I love to highlight the accomplishments of my fellow Professional Divas who are dedicated to being the best at what they do. Are you excited!?
Without further adieu, let’s meet our very first Professional Diva. Her name is Charli Penn-Watkins, and she is absolutely amazing! Charli is a Social Media and Digital Commerce Manager from Bloomfield, New Jersey. She earned her B.A. in Sociology and Anthropology from Spelman College (GO JAGUARS!), and her M.A in Journalism from University of California at Berkeley. Additionally, Charli is the Founder of a highly successful blog, Man Wife & Dog, which provides advice to married couples and animal lovers. We put Charli in the “Haute Seat,” and here’s what she had to say:
I'm a writer with a passion for social media so my company hired me to manage all social media and online representation of their many home brands. Essentially I write the product copy, manage the product representation with all retail partners online, and create all the social media marketing efforts and campaigns (i.e. Facebook and Twitter).
I've worked as a journalist and online specialist for over 10 years. Prior to being at my latest post I was the Online Managing Editor for TheKnot.com and WedddingChannel.com. I've managed Alloy.com and CollegeClub.com and worked for magazines like Seventeen, Black Beat, Right On!, Rolling Stone, and Glamour.
What professional accomplishment makes you the proudest?
Those that are not attached to any employer but rather my own personal professional endeavors. Right now I would say the advice blog I've launched for married couples and animal lovers called Man Wife and Dog is my pride and joy and what I'm most proud of.
That it's better to come home and hustle for your side projects and personal dreams in the evenings when you're younger and not married because you have more energy and more time to yourself without having to balance so much.
What is your advice for women who would like to enter into your profession?
So much of what I've learned about journalism and writing in general has been hands on and through connecting with other talented people in my industry. Internships, freelancing, and networking are EVERYTHING in the media business.
How do you balance you career with your personal life?
I don't sleep much. It's very important to me to be present in my marriage, there for my friends and family, and constantly moving towards my entrepreneurial efforts. I've found that balancing them all unfortunately leaves very little time to rest.
What do you do in your spare time?
Work on my books, enjoy quality time with my husband and family, and practice a little amateur photography too.
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| Mr. and Mrs. Watkins |
My marriage, for sure. God blessed me with the presence of an amazing man in my life who loves me and supports me. We've managed to create a union and a bond that's so special and so healthy and sometimes I just glow thinking about how proud I am of "us".
Where do you see yourself in the next 10 years, professionally and personally?
Professionally: The CEO of Charli Inc., working for myself as published author, successful blogger, voice over artist, and public speaker. It's important to me to write my own check to me, and not to have to depend on someone else to pay me for my abilities. Personally: A baby isn't in our near future but we sure better have two by then. I'd also like us to be proud home owners and working together to slowly customize our home to make it our dream come true. We also plan to travel a lot more before the babies come.
What else do you want our readers to know about you and/or your career path?
That sometimes the road less traveled really is the best one to take. So many mentors and friends told me it was silly to go and take two years off and get a master's degree in journalism and then those same people thought it was even sillier for me to take a marketing job instead of a pure journalistic position. When I look at where many of those same people are today who followed the other path, I truly believe I'm much happier career-wise. Plus, so much of the success that I've had lately has been directly related to those "ill-advised" decisions I once made. Go figure!
Candy-apple baby! I order it everywhere I go and if they can't make me one I usually leave.
And there you have it! Special thanks to Charli for agreeing to be featured in the Diva Spotlight. If you have any questions for Charli, please leave her a comment. Also be sure to check out Charli’s blog Man Wife & Dog.
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