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Teaming up with multiskilled professionals to grow your business — STOICA

Written by Alexa Cardaș | 29 January 2024

2023 was an amazing journey also because we’ve shared it with our collaborators, a diverse group of individuals whose unique perspectives, talents, and dedication have contributed to our clients’ growth.

Throughout last year, we’ve worked on many projects under the effect of the collaborative spirit that defines our agency. From brainstorming sessions to spontaneous huddles where solutions emerged, our collaborators have played a crucial role in achieving our clients’ objectives.

We are happy to team up with them and create together greater things for our clients!

In addition, read here our team members 2023 highlights.

Ioana Pîrjolescu-Piekalski, Content Marketer

Your 2023 title

A refresh to all the possible layers of my life

A lesson that made you wiser 

There are always peaks and difficult moments in life, but it doesn’t mean it will last forever. Rather, it means I’ll emerge stronger & more experienced once the trying period has passed, and keeping a positive mindset is key.

A mistake that made you stronger

Not being positive and not trusting myself and my skills (as a freelancer), which resulted in a lot of stress and a feeling of professional uncertainty.

I needed a lot of external feedback to gain some trust in myself.

A platform that made your year easier

CANVA still remains my best pal <3

It’s time for that one about superpowers. Which one would you’ve liked to have in 2023?

Self trust

A thing you did to turn a bad day into a good one

Just hugging my husband, do some sports, enjoying the beach or cooking something I´ve never done before.

A movie and/or a book you devoured

Too many 🙂

I´d go with the recent ones: The Skin I live In (directed by Almodovar) and Jurnalul lui 66 (written by Alexandra Furnea).

Fav work memories 

Starting 2023 with the uncertainty of `will I ever make it?` and finishing it with 12 hours a day workload, hehe.

A compliment you received that will stay 4ever in your heart

That I am a strong person who inspires her friends to be braver.

3 things you’d carry on from 2023 to 2024

  • The willingness to do better, to not settle for less, but to constantly work towards my goal.
  • The people I work with, they’re just amazing.
  • My overall life in Barcelona.

Raluca Apostol, Founder & Campaign Director eMarketing Stars

 

Your 2023 title

Welcome to the rollercoaster ride!

A lesson that made you wiser 

How important your inner voice is (and the support of friends). As the saying goes, whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right, and I learnt this in 2023. When I was told I can do something and was inspired to progress with the project, I had more confidence to see things through and saw the results.

A mistake that made you stronger

Thinking I can do everything on my own (or that I have to). I know better now to not underestimate the power of expertise and focus. Even if I sort of know how to do something, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t a greater value in having a professional that is focused on that area to work on it and generate better results than I could.

A platform that made your year easier

Anything cloud based for storage or communication. Let’s go with Google Drive and the ability to work from my phone or laptop or any other device and have access to everything I need.

It’s time for that one about superpowers. Which one would you’ve liked to have in 2023?

The superpower I always want – being able to eat whatever I want without getting fat.

A thing you did to turn a bad day into a good one

Take a walk outside. Ideally, on the beach, when working remotely.

A movie and/or a book you devoured

Book – Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore

Fav work memories

Our mirror selfies from events with Diana Slabu ❤

A compliment you received that will stay 4ever in your heart

Being told I am as work efficient as a swiss knife.

3 things you’d carry on from 2023 to 2024

  • The ‘Can Do’ attitude.
  • Relying more on partnerships.
  • A better focus on objectives.

Claudiu Jojatu, Co-Founder at Milk & Cookies Studio & Viatadefreelancer.ro

 

Your 2023 title

Building Bridges: The Path to Humanizing B2B Marketing

A lesson that made you wiser 

The importance of creating strong relationships and networks. Business is not only about transactions or strategies. It is fundamentally about people. Creating a network of supportive, like-minded collaborators, mentors, peers, and even competitors will give us more than any fancy strategies. It is not just about traditional networking, but about genuinely connecting with people, understanding their needs and challenges, and determining how you can make their lives better.

A mistake that made you stronger

One big mistake that really helped me grow as an entrepreneur was underestimating the importance of systematizing and delegating within my businesses. When I first started out, I tended to try to control everything and keep too much on my plate. I thought that if I wanted things to be done right, I had to do them myself. This way of thinking made things less efficient, made me exhausted, and ultimately limited how much my businesses could grow.

A platform that made your year easier

A tool called “Personal Relationship Manager” that we developed ourselves. It helps me organize and keep track of important details and interactions, so I can effectively maintain and nurture my network. This tool has been really helpful for me to stay connected and engaged, which has improved my personal brand and professional network.

It’s time for that one about superpowers. Which one would you’ve liked to have in 2023?

Enhanced empathy would be my choice, enabling me to better understand and connect with people’s needs.

A thing you did to turn a bad day into a good one

On a bad day, I often found that a gym session or a day at the track racing my car helps to clear my mind.

A movie and/or a book you devoured

The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson. A-MA-ZING!

Fav work memories

The agency’s 10 years celebration.

A compliment you received that will stay 4ever in your heart

“OMG, you lost so much weight.”

3 things you’d carry on from 2023 to 2024

  • The focus on building strong, authentic relationships.
  • Prioritizing a balanced approach to work and personal well-being.
  • Leveraging data-driven decision making to improve business efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Daniel Secăreanu, Startup RevOps Advisor

 

Your 2023 title

The explorer

A lesson that made you wiser 

Wether you like it or not, discipline (consistency) is key for success.

A mistake that made you stronger

A single, main, revenue stream is never enough.

A platform that made your year easier

HubSpot

It’s time for that one about superpowers. Which one would you’ve liked to have in 2023?

Financial discipline.

A thing you did to turn a bad day into a good one

Going out to socialize.

A movie and/or a book you devoured

Jesse J Anderson – Extra Focus

Fav work memories

INBOUND23, GTM Summit 23

A compliment you received that will stay 4ever in your heart

Being recognized as a top Revenue Operations professional by a few HubSpotters (employees at HubSpot).

3 things you’d carry on from 2023 to 2024

  • Focus on the things that really matter.
  • Be more intentional on everything you do.
  • Communicate more and better.

Diana Slabu, Content Marketer eMarketing Stars

 

Your 2023 title

How to work hard and stay funny

A lesson that made you wiser 

Double check everything.

A mistake that made you stronger

Stressing so much for no real reasons. This gave me a few unnecessary headaches.

A platform that made your year easier

ChatGPT, so happy to live in the future and have cool tools by my side that save me lots of time when I have creativity gaps.

It’s time for that one about superpowers. Which one would you’ve liked to have in 2023?

Multitasking with great success just like Raluca Apostol.

A thing you did to turn a bad day into a good one

I don’t really have bad days, just things that don’t work out at certain points. I probably go take a nap, cuddling with my dog.

A movie and/or a book you devoured

The Office. Watched it like it was a longer movie.

Fav work memories

My progress review sessions that are so wholesome and kinda emotional.

A compliment you received that will stay 4ever in your heart

That I am the best colleague she ever had.

3 things you’d carry on from 2023 to 2024

  • Consistency.
  • Enthusiasm.
  • Saying ‘yes’ to things that sound scary.

Daniel Pirciu, Marketing Consultant

 

Your 2023 title

Growth experiments

A lesson that made you wiser 

Client/project quality trumps quantity 24/7. This is my main insight looking back at freelancing full-time.

A mistake that made you stronger

Don’t be afraid of failure, it will definitely come. Embrace it. Learn from it. And then just let it go.

A platform that made your year easier

Loom & MeetGeek.

It’s time for that one about superpowers. Which one would you’ve liked to have in 2023?

Ruthless prioritization (in my personal and professional life).

A thing you did to turn a bad day into a good one

Book a mentorship session on GrowthMentor and speak with enthusiastic entrepreneurs and marketers.

A movie and/or a book you devoured

Alex Hormozi’s courses on Acquisition.com

Fav work memories

Team building in Berlin with one of the marketing agencies I’m working with.

A compliment you received that will stay 4ever in your heart

I’m getting really close to being referred to as a Growth Manager with an experimental mindset rather than a PPC specialist.

3 things you’d carry on from 2023 to 2024

  • Work more on projects and with clients that truly motivate and inspire me.
  • Try to productize my services.
  • Build my own growth machine and attract more high-quality clients.

Alexa Cardaș, Freelance Social Media & Community Manager

 

Your 2023 title

Unforeseeable

A lesson that made you wiser 

People are unpredictable and in a continuous change, and your audience is no exception.

It’s like when you offer a gift to a dear one that you have known for a long time – they might like it, they might not, even if you spent hours running the city for the perfect idea. And sometimes you just spontaneously buy a “silly” thing and it becomes the most wonderful gift they ever received.

A mistake that made you stronger

Saying, “I can do that,” without taking a moment to think if I actually have the resources to do it.

A platform that made your year easier

More like a tool, but I love Notes – it’s where the unknown becomes familiar.

It’s time for that one about superpowers. Which one would you’ve liked to have in 2023?

To stop the wars.

A thing you did to turn a bad day into a good one

Although I came up with this question, I really try to step up from generalizations like ‘good’ or ‘bad’ :)).

But when I feel a bit meh, I do Bothmer exercises, go out with friends, journal or audio record myself to get things out of my head and listen in a few days to understand better what made me feel blue.

A movie and/or a book you devoured

I’ll cheat on this one, because it’s so hard to choose. The movie that made me think “I’d mention this as inspiration if I’ll become a director” is Riddles of the Sphinx (1977, Laura Mulvey and Peter Wollen), but these stayed with me also: Anatomy of a fall (2023, Justine Triet), Rodéo (2022, Lola Quivoron) and Des journées entières dans les arbres (1977, Marguerite Duras).

As for books: The secret life of adults by Elena Ferrante, The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion and All about Sarah by Pauline Delabroy-Allard.

Fav work memories

There’s something special in the successful brainstorming sessions (when you don’t have many constraints in terms of how far you go) – there’s an idea that comes up from someone, then another person says “oh and we can do that”, another one says “and then that”.

Then something unique is born out of everybody’s contribution and we’re all excited to start working on it with this energy.

A compliment you received that will stay 4ever in your heart

“Who does social media for this account?”.

3 things you’d carry on from 2023 to 2024

  • Curiosity.
  • Showing up for people who need me and at the same time showing up for myself.
  • Going to the movies, theater, performances, reading, listening to music and podcasts.

If anything from what our collaborators had to say rang a bell for you, let’s meet!

When you’re ready, book a 30-minute call here.