News Archives: The Accidental Entrepreneur
Saturday, October 21st, 2023
Mariah Braun, Alumni Entrepreneurship Award recipient.
If you were to create a living embodiment of NWP's current vision and goals, you'd likely end up with someone like Mariah Braun. Transforming individual interests into impactful skills and expertise? Check. Collaborative priorities and an ambitious vision? Check. Innovative, entrepreneurial and market-driven? Check, check, check.
Mariah, owner and operator of M3M Marketing in Grande Prairie, has always been drawn to creative pursuits. She knew that her future career would need to incorporate elements of creativity and innovation, and offer her a reasonable degree of security and stability. Marketing seemed like an appealing combination of these two priorities, so she enrolled in NWP's Business Administration diploma program. She achieved high marks in the program, along with some initial industry recognition, thanks to her work with local businesses as part of both her school and volunteer efforts.
Although she'd already engaged in consultancy-type work by the time she graduated, becoming an entrepreneur wasn't originally part of Mariah's plan. She assumed that, upon graduating, she would secure a marketing role and build a more traditional career as an employee. And that's how things were for a while, with her evenings and weekends spent working on volunteer marketing projects for various small businesses and non-profits. As the quality of her work, both in school and beyond, began to speak for itself, Mariah started to see contract opportunities come her way.
"At first it was a side hustle," she admits. "For years, I kept a day job working for larger organizations, just as I'd always thought I would. Eventually, however, I realized that my connections and knowledge of the industry had grown to the point that becoming a full-time entrepreneur just made sense." She also continued to grow her skills through various classes offered at NWP, like credit and non-credit video production courses. "NWP has been monumental for my career in so many ways. The skills I learned, the creative people I met - many of whom I am still working with today."
The Alumni Entrepreneurship Award seeks to recognize alumni who demonstrate leadership qualities through mentorship with current students and/or alumni, and service to the institution. Mariah was part of the Be Your Own Boss speaker series in March 2023 with the topic, Marketing Plans for Start-ups. "I think it's important for students to hear from people who are active in the industry. It might allow them to see characteristics of themselves in the presenter, which might be enough to encourage them to go out and do what they're passionate about."
It's her appreciation for the quality of education and experience provided by NWP that has compelled her to stay involved with the institution and do her part in helping to bring up the next generation of creatives and entrepreneurs. She's proud to have recently expanded her team to provide an internship to a current NWP student and bring a recent NWP graduate on as staff.
A highly qualified team has become all the more important as Mariah and her colleagues have an exciting expansion on the horizon. Summer 2023 will mark the opening of a new service division, M3M Studios. This professional multimedia rental studio in Grande Prairie is designed for the creative industry and businesses to create photo, video and audio content. "I'm really all in on this community and I don't want people to feel that they need to leave the region to start a creative career," says Mariah. "I'm passionate about supporting the growth of the creative industry in our region, and I want our work to contribute to that mission."
Leadership, innovation and community. These qualities both define and drive Mariah forward. We wish her and her team great success with the opening of M3M Studios, and we look forward to seeing how she continues to live out her, and NWP's vision and aspirations.
Watch Mariah talk about her connection to NWP.
