Caren Joy Dickson
Owner
CJ's Off the Square
Milestones
My road in life took a while to figure out.
As a kid, my parents encouraged me to explore a range of interests from sports to the arts.
I didn't enjoy college but not finishing wasn't an option. So I worked extra hard to finish early.
Changing my major on a whim to follow what got me excited rather than what seemed like a safe career.
Decided to move to Nashville without knowing a soul to pursue my passion for music (business).
Landed a job at what I thought has the coolest label in town. Look out world!
Worked my butt off for 5 years and got pretty full of myself.
Lost my sister to cancer. Changed EVERYTHING.
Quit my job and opened my own business cold turkey. Most scary / awesome / rewarding thing I've ever done.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Career
Owner
I own and run a wedding / event venue.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Entrepreneurship
Design
Helping People
Day to Day
I am directly responsible for sales, marketing and maintenance. One day I may be meeting with prospective clients, reviewing marketing materials, creating content for our social media or in a meeting with my planning staff. Other days I am unclogging a toilet, mopping up vomit, chasing away possums, scrubbing bird poop off the building, pulling frog parts out of the pond filter...you know, the really glamorous side of the wedding business!
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for professionals
A passion to serve people. You've got to love making people happy and giving them an amazing experience. If you don't have this, no amount of education or experience can make up for it. It is the fuel for everything that I do.
Recommended Education
My career is not related to what I studied. I'd recommend this path instead:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Society in General:
"Follow our rules or everything you do will fail in this life AND you will spend eternity in hell. -Church"
