Why I left my dream job at Nike to move to Indianapolis and start my own company
One year ago I left my dream job at Nike and moved more than 3,000 miles across the country to make a life in Indianapolis.
Before I left, I was a global communications manager at Nike where I worked with teams around the world to develop content, create messaging, and set the strategy to drive media coverage for the Nike brand -- one of the most iconic in the world.
I loved my job and leaving it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. When you work for a company like Nike you set the bar pretty high and walking away left me with a ton of fear and questions like “What will I do next? How will I ever find a job that tops this? Who will I be when I no longer work here?”
But over the past year, I’ve quickly realized that moving to Indianapolis was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.Here are a few of the reasons why:
1. Indianapolis’ entrepreneurial spirit is unrivaled.
Before moving to Indy I lived in some of the biggest and brightest cities in the country. My career took me from Chicago to New York and finally to Portland before I made the move to call Indy my home. And while all of those cities provided ample career opportunities, none offered to make my dream of becoming my own boss a reality quite like Indy. Indianapolis is consistently named one of the best places for startups for a number of reasons, from cost of living, to the buzzing tech world that has taken root here; but what I’ve been most grateful for is the city’s culture of mentorship. In the process of launching Whirlaway Marketing, a boutique digital marketing and PR agency for lifestyle brands and businesses, the number of people who have been willing to meet for coffee, share words of wisdom, or connect me with someone who might be interested in our mission, continues to astound me.
This is a city that wants to help and is eager to pay-it-forward. It’s a city where collaboration trumps competition. Rarely does an email go unanswered or is someone too busy to grab a cup of coffee. And as I approach my year mark here, I have realized that the reason for this attitude is clear: when one business succeeds, we all succeed in making Indianapolis an even more amazing place to live and work. It’s this mindset that has become part of the Whirlaway Marketing mission as we bring our experience and expertise to some of the brands and businesses that make up the heartbeat of the city.
2. Indianapolis allowed me to find my balance.
When you work for one of the biggest brands in the world, it’s easy for your priorities to get all out of whack. While I loved my job at Nike and the experiences it allowed me, it began competing with other important factors in my life in a way that wasn’t sustainable. Busy periods at work left me spending less and less time with my family back in the Midwest, and my PTO balance was typically depleted with trips to see them, leaving little room for the chance to explore on my own or with my fiance. I truly believe that the key to a long, rewarding career is finding a way for it to live in harmony with the other things that make you who you are. It makes you a better coworker, a better boss, and a more creative and inspired employee. Moving to Indianapolis gave me the opportunity to create more balance in my life and truly prioritize the things that I’ll be thankful for down the road. It allowed me to launch a business that I’m passionate about, in a city that is closer to my family, so I no longer have to choose between the two. Indy is a city of hustlers with Midwest values. It’s the perfect place for me.
With a background in media relations and strategic communications for some of the biggest brands in the world, Haley brings a passion for storytelling, content creation, event planning and strategic marketing to her role at Whirlaway Marketing. Her resume includes past roles at Nike and serving for clients including Johnson & Johnson, Unilever, and McDonald’s.
3. Indianapolis is full of opportunity.
As cities on the coasts like Portland and New York become more and more expensive, young people are moving to areas that are more affordable, and they’re bringing their ideas with them. Take the low cost of living and pair it with the entrepreneurial spirit mentioned above, and you have a city brimming with opportunity. In the past year alone I’ve watched restaurants, stores, fitness studios, and coworking spaces emerge onto the scene, and it’s exciting! These are the businesses that inspired me to launch my own business and offer some of the services they need to be successful. It’s not only Indianapolis residents that know the city’s potential. In January Amazon included Indy on its list of 20 cities it was considering for its second headquarters. Furthermore, Indianapolis was recently named number three on BusinessInsider’s list of best cities to find a job.
Working for a company like Nike in a city like Portland gave me the opportunity to develop my career and areas of expertise in ways I never thought possible. I’ll always be grateful for the things I learned there and the people I met along the way. But leaving that all behind and deciding to make Indianapolis home is a decision I’ll never regret. I look forward to continuing to do my part through the Whirlaway Mission to help this city shine.