So, in 2019 I decided that I was done looking into different career paths and started carving my work life into the image that I knew would work for me. I came up with two different ventures, one surrounding creativity and self-exploration, and one that directly helped local businesses.
Like most people, I get a lot out of helping others, but due to some physical and mental health limitations I found my skill set quite limited over the years, but the one thing I could always do was communicate. For as long as I can remember I’ve loved the idea of finding new ways to present ideas, from making “boring” history theatrical and grandiose to showing people the advantages of new thoughts and ideas without overwhelming them with numbers and technicality. More than anything else, I love talking to people, telling stories, collecting ideas, sharing opinions and everything in-between. Language and communication have always been amazing to me, and it’s something I’ve always needed to work with.
So, I learned marketing and writing; the arts of turning language into something powerful and mighty. Not only that though, what I really found appealing about those two fields was the extreme range of flexibility. There are so many types of marketing and writing out there that I couldn’t possibly become bored, and I’ve loved them all so far.
Even though now I don’t have the limitations that I used to have, I’ve found a career in something I’ve always loved doing, and I’m beyond excited to see what the future holds.
eHandyman for Spiritual Niagara
My work for Spiritual Niagara falls into a bunch of different categories, and combines a lot of the skills I learned in school as well as things that I picked up through my work as a publisher. I call myself the “eHandyman” of Spiritual Niagara, almost like a digital groundkeeper of sorts. Most of the work that I do for Spiritual Niagara revolves around content creation, marketing and writing of some sort; while it does vary from job to job, those are often the underlying focus of it.
The work that I do most consistently is the weekly event emails, so when you’re emailing news@spiritualniagara.ca you’re actually emailing me directly! On top of that, I maintain Spiritual Niagara’s Instagram (@spiritual_niagara) make sure to give us a follow; and I help my wonderful pal Brenda Hobbs with publishing the monthly Spiritual Niagara Magazine. You’ll also see me at many Spiritual Niagara events helping with facilitation and especially configuring equipment.
On top of my direct work for Spiritual Niagara, I also write profiles for members who require assistance, charging a rate of $20 per profile and provide social media marketing for Spiritual Niagara members at a discounted rate of $15 per hour.
Brain Hugs
The key element of Brain Hugs is content creation.
As Brain Hugs, I maintain an Instagram account, where I share messages about developing self-worth, mental health awareness and general life tips. Brain Hugs also has a blog that surrounds the same type of content and links back to the Instagram.
So, what is Brain Hugs as a service provider? Above all else it’s a blogging and writing service.
I write blogs/articles for local businesses, organizations and magazines. The topics surround the same content that I would create for the Brain Hugs Instagram, allowing me to use the goodwill behind the brand itself to drive content awareness. I combine the purpose and content of the business with a mental health/self-development slant to create a piece of content that would benefit us both.
The cost for writing an article as Brain Hugs varies significantly depending on the size of the business that I’m working with and what kind of resources they have available. Since the articles do help promote Brain Hugs as well, I’m more than happy to work with local non-profits and charitable organizations for free. The less benefit I get from a marketing perspective, the more I would raise the price, but even at its most expensive an article would be very cheap; never exceeding $40.
Peace of Mind Marketing
Peace of Mind Marketing is a digital marketing business focused on helping clients develop their social media and create online advertising.
For a lot of small business owners, the last thing they want to think about is their social media and their marketing. It can be an annoying and frustrating element of business management that a lot people are wary of, because it seems really complex from afar. The goal of Peaceful Mind Marketing is to make the world of online marketing and social media a more comfortable and accessible element of business management for people of all skill levels.
I offer three primary services:
- One-on-one lessons about using social media for business; teaching how to build social media platforms, when to use them and basics on maintaining a social presence
- Social media rebuild; taking a business’ already developed social media and revitalizing it by working with new marketing techniques and the new services available within that platform
- Social media service; aside from teaching and building social media, I can also create social media and event posts for clients, on either a one-time or on-going basis
All these services fall into the same price of $15/hour for Spiritual Niagara members, and $20/hour for anyone else.
– Amanda Dubois, Spiritual Niagara
Erik has worked with me on a bunch of different projects, and every time he's exceeded my expectations. He's professional, kind and just a great person to be around, always lightening up the room with both his happy attitude and wonderful work ethic! I can recommend him to anyone.
– Julie Boyse, Journey 2 Balance
Erik Upper assisted me by upgrading marketing services for my business "The Essence". I highly recommend Erik to anyone that requires assistance marketing their business. He is extremely knowledgeable, professional, patient, pleasant and adorable.
– Liane Kinsman, The Essence
