Diana Ocampo
Global Marketing Consultant, Founder and Owner
I am a trilingual strategic-thinking business and marketing consultant with a background in International Business, Finances and Marketing. In 2015, I achieved my Diploma in International Trade and this year I am also working to achieve my Certified International Trade Professional (CITP) designation with the Forum for International Trade Training (FITT).
The early years of my career working for 100 Fortune Global Multinational companies back in Colombia , South America helped me to build a strong foundation as an Intrapreneur while working in the creation of different B2C innovative marketing projects. During the last 10 years in Canada and USA I have worked supporting B2B Bio sustainable companies in the areas of Business and Marketing.
In 2018,I decided to leave my corporate job in a Canadian biotechnology company in Halifax to pursue entrepreneurship. This is how I started my company Do Global Consulting INC.
I act as an in-house consultant at a corporate level for Bio sustainable companies who are actively looking to export their products globally. I am involved in different types of projects and this is what I like the most about this new stage of my career.
I have also been involved in the mentorship program led by the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs in Vancouver, Canada. A program that encourages immigrant women entrepreneurs to push their businesses to the next level and supports their growth by pairing them with experienced business leaders. I mentored a Canadian Bio Ag Start-up company.
I also have been part of the Mentorship Program with Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia (ISANS). During 4 years I successfully mentored 3 newcomers to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
I have been very passionate about helping immigrants to successfully engage into the workplace in Canada. As an immigrant I know the challenges that a newcomer faces when moving to a different country, culture and language. And that’s why I have been very active with these programs in my community. My role has been to develop a relationship where I could share my own journey, knowledge, advice and resources in order to help the mentee explore what were his/hers professional career options, setting goals, developing contacts and identifying resources. I provided guidance, motivation, emotional support, as well as being a role model.
I do believe in diversity and inclusion, and being able to give back to the community through this program, it is something that I feel very proud of.
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What are you most proud of professionally? And who or why?
I am proud of my professional process and being able to reinvent myself in every stage of my own personal and professional journey.
I had the opportunity during my early career to work for Fortune 100 companies in the areas of International Business, Finance and Marketing, in my native country Colombia, South America. These companies put a lot of focus to support women and diversity. Working in a global environment has shaped my professional and life perspective.
I have been part of strong and diverse global high-performance teams because of this I can relate, understand, and appreciate diverse cultures and backgrounds. Diversity is what separates some companies from others mainly because it has shown to increase productivity and boost creativity. Diverse teams come from varied backgrounds and life experiences with unique ways to improve the products and services a company has to offer. I thrive in global and diverse entrepreneurial work environments.
I have constantly pushed my own limits and have been able to get out of my comfort zone during my career. In 2008, love brought me to Canada. This has been by far one of the biggest changes in my life as I had to start from scratch and take some steps back in my career.
I worked for 8 years in a local and entrepreneurial Biotech company. Even though my background was not in Science or Technology, my marketing skills translated easily, and I created my own path in this organization. I also put a lot of focus, passion and effort to develop new skills and technical knowledge. This is something that I feel enormously proud about because learning is a process that never stops in your career and life.
In 2018, I decided to make the leap and started Do Global Consulting INC. I am motivated to continue helping Bio sustainable companies creating innovative products for people, plants, and animals. The next decade is going to require a new level of collaboration and diverse skills to succeed in a highly competitive global environment.
What is your vision for Atlantic Canada in 10 years? What’s our biggest opportunity now?
I have seen the evolution of this province compared to when I first moved here in 2007. However, I believe that there is so much work to do. My vision is to have a strong and competitive pool of global talent.
From an International Business perspective, we need to continue positioning our province as a pool of talent for the world too. We have people in our province with different backgrounds, language, cultural and intellectual skills. This is a big exportable asset, and I do believe we have incredibly talented and smart professionals in our province. Bringing visibility to our diverse HR talent should be a priority for our province and other organizations that also support this by opening markets with companies in North America and Europe where our skills are needed. The increase of virtual work will be something that will make this a reality during this decade. We are already living it this year.
What was your greatest stage of growth? What made it a shift for you?
My own personal and career story has shaped my own life growth. When I decided to become a solopreneur as a Global marketing consultant, I knew that it was not going to be easy. This is not for everyone. It can be a very isolating process and it tests your limits all the time. I have learned during my own growth journey that you need to be consistent, put the effort and become your own advocate no matter what. Nobody is going to do this for you. You have to do it yourself!
For me this is beyond social media. Unfortunately, our society has become infatuated with the idea of quick results in a short time, without the knowledge and most importantly without the effort. Also, there are a lot of influencers or consultants out there that call themselves an expert without a proven track record of experience and results. And unfortunately, this is where we are now.
We are all building our own personal brand and journey day by day. This is not something that happens in one day. It takes the right skills, time, knowledge, effort, and most importantly results!
What’s your favourite or most read book or podcast? Now or at each of your greatest stages of growth?
I am a bookaholic, and I am committed to continue investing in knowledge and personal growth development.
My top 3 books for this year, motivated by my desire of growth and desire of helping in this new decade:
Women and Leadership, Real Lives, Real Lessons by Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo – Iweala.
On Women and Leadership – Harvard Business Review -10 must reads.
The future of business - Critical Insights Into a Rapidly Changing World From 60 Future Thinkers - Edited by Rohit Talwar
What’s your deepest learning from this past year? How did/will you apply it?
2020 has been a challenging year personally and collectively.
One of the biggest lessons I learned this year is to celebrate the small wins in your career and in your life. Even if you are doing the minimum in your business. Don't give up and work with what you have or where you are.
Sometimes when you work on your own it is hard not to get caught up in the day-to-day clutter of your business.
It is easy to forget the big picture and your own process. Celebrating the small wins make a big difference (whether it is to set up the operational foundation of your business, improving some new skills, finding a new high ticket client, networking, starting a separate business etc.)
Who’s inspired you, directly or indirectly? How have they inspired you?
I am inspired by people that make things happen no matter what. In their life or in their career. Especially women in general. I have had a lot of strong female figures in my life. These women had all something in common. They were outspoken, driven, resilient, and never gave up.
What would you have done differently?
I have been thinking a lot about this during this year. I cannot change what I have done in the past whether it is my personal or career journey, but I can be aware of what happened, what triggered a specific situation and how I can improve it in the future. I am committed to self improvement.
In my business, I have been learning as I go and yes, I have made mistakes. A big focus for me, is to ensure that I am attracting the right client. It is important that I am a good fit for my client and vice versa. Having a clear brand message, developing a strong methodology to assess these clients is super critical for me moving forward.
Also I have learned that my motivation goes beyond making a profit (and don’t get me wrong, I know this is important) and when selecting my consulting clients or any new entrepreneurial venture I need to ensure that I also honour my own process and values.
What are the principles you live by?
Authenticity: This is something that now has become a big social media content trend…. lol. However, it is a big part of who I have been and who I am for good or for bad. What you see is what you get. I honour who I am in my personal life and in my career. I am in a stage of my life where I fully own who I am. And this is also important in your career to ensure that you attract the right environment that allows you to be yourself.
Passion: Whatever I do in my own life, I do it because I love it and because I have a strong sense of purpose. Passion is what fuels my energy to dream that we can have a better world every day in my life and career. And I want to surround myself with people who believe the same. These are my people. It sounds naive but this is why I am motivated to help bio sustainable companies.
Family: This is part of who I am. I believe this is the core of our society. A lot of the principles we live in life comes from our own family structure: Hard work, compassion, respect, love etc. I am raising 2 daughters and I want to ensure that I prioritize this important value in my life too.
Having a balanced career where I have time flexibility is a very important part for me at this stage of my life, and one of the reasons why I started Do Global Consulting Inc.
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Nature lover, hiking, walking, exploring, farm girl