I have been working for Envato for 8 months and when people ask me about my work I usually say; ‘I work for an online company. I look after the community’. If they haven’t walked away by that point, I’ll make sure I bore them silly. As a community officer I help manage the Envato social media accounts, write posts, send off the care-packs and manage the Elite author program. I keep an eye on the forums, organize podcasts, try to help the community members with questions and issues. I also organise events like the community meetup in K.L, order merchandise, help clean Jordan’s desk when he spills his coffee, give the go ahead for various competitions, participate in fun activities and write informative emails about the forum rules. You know you are in trouble if you get one. :)

Right now I’m sitting at my desk next to Jordan. We recently got ourselves a ‘Community Team’ white-board which is in front of our desks and has our tasks all over it, written with colourful markers. I recently cleaned my desk, but I have my little wind up penguin, Ugly Charlie (a soft toy who, according to other staff resembles me) and Ferdinand (a sock puppet) keeping my iMac company. The office is open plan so everyone can hear Jordan and I laughing and being jolly. My favourite part about the office is the view. Windows surround the the whole office and you can see out over Melbourne and in one place, all the way to the ocean!

My plans for the future are top secret. Not even I know! :) But in the next year I would like to work hard and learn more about the community, the company and the industry. I am also working on my design skills and I hope to have an item accepted on GraphicRiver by the end of the year! It’s a long shot, but I love design and hope I can work on my design skills. :D Let’s be honest, I’ll probably be very average for a long time, but if I’ve learnt anything from working at Envato it’s to keep learning and creating and you will get there.

I’m inspired by many people, especially the people I work with and the community members. Every day I feel like there are talented people beating the odds and working hard in a job that they love.

The honey badger is the most badass animal out there! Have you seen it? It’s so cute and fluffy and yet it takes on cobras, Jackals and Lions. I think the honey badger is the perfect inspiration for a moto, because it reminds me not to underestimate cute fluffy individuals! I like that something so small can be so fierce, immune to snake poison and love honey (which is also my favorite). :)
Check out a video of the Honey Badger (language warning) and a more PG version of the Honey Badger eating a cobra!

I like spending time with my friends, improving my design skills, going down the coast, surfing, cooking, eating, reading, watching Game of Thrones and sleeping. *One day I also hope to enjoy winning games of chess against my computer…at this point it is still yet to happen.

As a newbie myself, I would say, just keep going. Speaking with the Envato Elite authors has taught me that we all have to start somewhere. If you stay motivated and inspired you are already 10 steps ahead of anyone who is too scared to try.