We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alle Justyn. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alle below.
Alle, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.
How many of us are told that once we graduate college or finish high school we have to immediately go into the workforce? I know for me that’s exactly what I was told. I was told that after I finish school in exactly four years, I then needed to find a 9-5 corporate job with full benefits, and work my way up the ladder until retirement. If there is one thing that I know, it’s that I’ve never been an ‘inside the box’ thinker or someone who follows the norm.
However, I graduated college with a Bachelor’s in Business Marketing and immediately started in the field for a multi-billion dollar company. I did exactly what I was told to do… but let’s be honest, I was miserable. I was exhausted, I worked for a boss who equally hated her job, I had no time for friends, and no time to ride my horse. Horses have always been a passion of mine, I grew up heavily competing on the show circuit most of my life, and not being able to be around my horse really impacted my mental health. I knew that this new ‘norm’ was not sustainable for me, something had to be done.
I searched high and low for a job within the equestrian space and finally, after months of searching, I came across my dream job. It was a remote Social Media Director position for a start-up equestrian media and education platform, NOËLLE FLOYD, out of Vancouver, Canada. After four rounds of interviews, I took my first risky step and accepted the position of a lifetime. I worked with an incredible team, got to meet and learn from some of the top equestrian teachers and Olympic riders, and had a boss that really challenged and pushed each of us to pursue our life and professional goals. During my time working here, I also built up my own personal brand @alleequestrian on social media – where I shared my riding journey and behind-the-scenes of a working adult rider, struggles and all.
After working for NOËLLE FLOYD for three and a half years, I felt like I was ready for the next step, but I truly didn’t know exactly what that looked like. I had deep conversations with my dear friend, Erin Lane, about life with horses and business ideas within the equestrian space. We had similar thoughts and visions going forward, and eventually we both decided on taking our next life-changing step – we quit our jobs to chase after our passion project, On Course Equestrian.
On Course Equestrian is a platform where we provide fellow equestrian entrepreneurs, business owners, and content creators the education and resources to learn how to build, market, and scale their businesses. For so long Erin and I, both were told to stay at our stable corporate jobs and not chase after our dream careers. We wanted to provide others with a platform that empowered and taught them that they can make their dreams a reality.
We are six months into our new business adventure and let me tell you, it’s been nothing but a grind. There are days where neither of us slept and stressed over the small details, but we are so damn proud of where we’ve gone in a short time and the connections we’ve made. I have a feeling this is just the beginning and there will probably be several more risky, shaky steps along the way.
Alle, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Hi! I’m Alle Justyn, I’m a social media expert, digital marketer, and co-founder of On Course Equestrian. I have a Bachelor’s in Business Marketing and got into marketing by taking my first job at a multi-billion dollar company as a Marketing Coordinator. From there I moved up the marketing ladder, attended seminars to learn more, and continued to grow my knowledge about social media and marketing.
I started my own personal brand on Instagram @alleequestrian and gained over 18k followers in just one year. I later on started On Course Equestrian with my business partner Erin Lane. On Course Equestrian is a platform where we provide fellow equestrian entrepreneurs, business owners, and content creators the education and resources to learn how to build, market, and scale their businesses. For so long Erin and I, both were told to stay at our stable corporate jobs and not chase after our dream careers. We wanted to provide others with a platform that empowered and taught them that they can make their dreams a reality.
We currently offer digital courses and online webinars (mastermind groups and in-person events coming 2023) that are geared towards helping the soon-to-be entrepreneur, the business owner looking to profit, or the content creator wanting to grow. I think what sets our business apart is that we’ve been in the struggle bus, we’ve been unhappy with our current professional state, and we are 100% real wth everyone we meet. Starting your own business isn’t easy, it’s a lot of hard work and we are always cheering along our clients.
You can follow me on Instagram @alleequestrian and my business @oncourseequestrian. You can also learn more about my business at www.oncourseequestrian.com.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
The biggest piece of advice I could ever give is to stick with your ‘why’ and the original reason you started your business. There will be so many people wanting to steer you in different directions and sometimes those offers are enticing, but stick with what truly will make you happy with your business.
On Course Equestrian was started with the idea of providing digital courses and online resources to fellow equestrian entrepreneurs, business owners, and content creators to teach them how to build, market, and scale their businesses. After a couple of months into the business, we were approached by extremely large, known brands within the space and they asked if we could be hired on as a marketing and social media agency. The money and connections were fantastic so we accepted the offers. After a couple of months into having an agency as a part of the brand, we quickly realized this didn’t align with our ‘why’ and the main reason we started our business. We wanted to help and empower entrepreneurs so they could learn and grow, not take on businesses that have already “made it.” We ended up stepping away from the agency clients to get back on track and focus on our education platform.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Prior to launching On Course Equestrian, my business partner, Erin Lane, and I both started our own personal brands on social media. We both became well-known in the equestrian space for voicing our opinions, starting our journey, and being 100% authentic to our true selves. Both of us having these established personal brands really helped us launch our business and people already feel connected to us and know that we are offering something legit. Whether you’re in the social media industry or not, it’s a powerful tool that can really help any business owner gain a connection and following with people who will be directly interested in their business, what they offer, and what they have to say.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.oncourseequestrian.com
- Instagram: alleequestrian
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandrajustyn/
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