Meet Erinn Budd

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Erinn Budd a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Erinn, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I believe that everyone knows exactly who they are at 8 years old. You tend to have an idea of what you love, what you would like to do for work and you traditionally have immense self confidence. After 8 years old, your peers, society and the world really starts to have a big influence on your self value, self image and self esteem. With that being said, your purpose is always with you – but as you get older we place ourselves, most times, in roles that feed that purpose.

I knew my purpose was to leave the planet more creative than when I arrived from a very early age, but with getting older, I started letting outside influences sway me in a direction that would be statistically more profitable. Then life truly happened. I was in my senior year of college when I was diagnosed with cancer and it shook me to my core. I pushed myself to stay on schedule for graduation but my body & the doctors had other plans. Being in and out of the hospital so often has a way of reminding you of your immortality. My attention shifted to getting better and once that finally happened and I received the “all-clear” from doctors, the pandemic starts. It was at that moment that I told myself, that I deserve to bet on myself and work in my purpose, with all that I had been through and with the world seemingly ending. So I chose to make 8 year old me proud and found work that aligned with what I wanted to do, what I was born to do.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

My technical title is Creative Director & Producer but I’d like to consider myself a creative’s creative. As a Creative Director, I work alongside my clients to deliver and execute the creative vision for their brand or project that I am brought on to. This role allows me to think outside the box creatively in a way that excites me. My clients trust me to push the envelope a bit and stretch the imagination of what their brand is and most importantly, why is it important.

As a Creative Producer, my work allows me to oversee all moving parts in the production, with a keen eye on the creative work. This gives me the opportunity to take the creative direction set forth by my client and expand on how we can make this come to life socially, digitally or physically.

I have had the honor to work with some amazing projects over the last few years. At Games for Change, with a small team, we were able to develop and tour a global social impact including activations at the Nobel Peace Center, Times Square, SXSW, Tribeca Film Festival as well, winning the Shorty Impact Award for Extended Reality.

What I love most about my job is that no one day looks the same. Sometimes I am on calls all day, somedays I am at the airport flying to location and others I am trying to problem solve a situation on site. I love that my work has I have impacted even one person across the globe and I hope that this is only the beginning.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I believe the most impactful skills or qualities that I hold with me is being an active listener, mastering the art of pivoting, and staying curious. All these skills fold into each other, but allow you to consistently evolve based on the project or client need. Approaching each project with zero ego and these qualities gives you the unique opportunity to question everything and create authentically.

If you are early in your journey, be a sponge and take in all that you can – but also know when to release things that are excess and do not serve you. Understand that it is okay to ask questions, this is the only way that you will have a better understanding of what is going on and sometimes you will uncover the true root of the problem you are trying to solve. This is your life, your journey, you can pivot as many times as you need.

We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?

I think it’s smarter to play to your strengths while acknowledging and knowing your weaknesses. Weaknesses are often viewed as a negative thing but truly all it is, is an opportunity to learn. You can push to turn a weakness into a strength but you can also lean into it 100% which gives space for someone who is great at it to shine.

Everyone can not do everything, and the further along you go in your career you will need to delegate. If I have a team that I hand selected, I know each of their strengths and weaknesses. The goal is build around everyone’s blind spots or weaknesses. In placing people where they will succeed, the puzzle comes together a lot quicker than everyone working around the same task.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.budd.work
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erinnjbudd/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinn-budd-34b99440