Yasmina Kazitani discovered her passion for marketing early on. After a brief stint working in journalism, she switched over to marketing where she’s stayed for the last 20 years.

Throughout her accomplished career, Yasmina has worked in markets across the globe—including the UK, Europe, Middle East, Asia and the US—and within a range of industries, such as telecommunications, automotives, E-learning, technology, gaming, pharmaceuticals and startups. Most recently, she became a partner at SKLS CONSULTING, a London-based strategic advisory firm.

Today Yasmina joins Shaheen Samavati to discuss how her company has attracted an array of new clients—even in the middle of a pandemic—and the important role content has played in its growth strategy. She also offers great advice when it comes to juggling work and personal life, staying productive and organized, and how keeping your passion alive is the secret to success.

You can watch the full conversation in the video above or on YouTube, and listen to the podcast on Apple or Spotify.

Rapid-fire recs  

• Productivity hacks:
  • Have a solid morning routine. “I wake up at 6:30, get the kids ready for school, and then it’s ‘me time’ for half an hour. During this time I disable notifications, sip my coffee and read the news. During the last five minutes I glance at my schedule so I can start to prepare mentally for my day.”
  • Color code your planner. “I’m an old-fashioned person—I love writing my list on a notepad. I use colored pens for that. For example, if I write in pink, it’s less urgent, but if I write in red, it needs to be done today. If you don’t plan, it creates problems. Planning allows you to make the most of your time and your day.”
    
• Favorite app: Clubhouse. “It’s easy to connect with lots of people and share ideas with them. I’m on the app quite regularly these days to moderate some rooms on marketing strategy and business startups.”
  
• Recommended reading:
  • Alchemy: The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business and Life by Rory Sutherland. “He’s the vice chairman of Ogilvy Media. He’s amazing—everything from his mindset to the way he approaches marketing strategies. His book explores the modern mindset of consumer behavior and examines it from a psychological point of view.”
  • A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. “I love having friends from all different backgrounds and countries in order to get a variety of reading recommendations. This book was recommended to me by my Russian friend and I really loved it—I read it in one night!”
    
• Useful resources:
  • LinkedIn groups. “I join various marketing groups and try to keep tabs on what they’re doing, mentioning and discussing.”
  • Rory Sutherland’s podcast On Brand. “He interviews different people from the industry. It’s similar to The Content Mix, actually.”
  • The UK publication The Marketing Magazine. “They provide tips, novelties and other interesting things about marketing, plus virtual exhibitions.”

Connect with Yasmina and Shaheen on LinkedIn.

This post was edited by Mary Kresge.

For more insights into working with passion:

• Building a social marketing career on a passion for sailing
• The value of transferable creative skills in the marketing world: 10 inspiring stories
• Cassandra T. Le: Passion in building personal brands in Europe

To see the full transcript, click on page number 2 below.