Who is Carmen? How did we get here?
The question on everybody’s lips (well, maybe not EVERYbody…) – who is Carmen Vitnell? How did we get here? What does she have to do with Source For Me? Does she really have that many cats in her house?
The answer is yes – I really do have that many cats in my house, but that’s not the reason I started Source For Me (although they do eat a lot so maybe it is).
I started my working life at 12 – babysitting for friends and family and acting as an assistant for both of my parent’s own businesses (shameless plug incoming – check out Sue Ellson – LinkedIn Specialist). I was in a suit at 13, going to Career Expos, networking events and answering the phone in a professional manner, as so many kids of business owners do from a young age.
I got my first ‘real job’ at 14, working as a retail assistant at Target Camberwell – fitting in part time hours outside of high school, and saving up all of my hard earned money ready to buy my first car and travel once I hit 18.
I rose to Supervisor quite quickly, and found myself working independently and managing sections of the store on my own while still very young. I often trained the new managers coming direct from head office, was the go-to person for any work related questions – and the one who was hand balled all the difficult customers as I just seemed to have a way of handling them calmly and professionally.
I have had a passion for animals from a young age, and through school I excelled in Maths and Science leading to a career goal of going into the Veterinary industry. I started volunteering with RSPCA VIC every week after school, which continued through my degree at La Trobe University – until I landed my first role as a Vet Nurse – I was ECSTATIC. Everything I had worked so hard for over nearly 10 years was starting to come true.
My first veterinary clinic role was an eye opener, and my second even worse. By the time I reached my third clinic – I started to notice disturbing and deep rooted issues within an industry I had believed was my dream. Issues that I was not going to be able to fix on an individual level. There was a lack of alignment between my passion for animals and my professional skills with those of the veterinary industry. I couldn’t stay.
Despite my years of dedication to veterinary science (and HECS debt), I made the decision to pursue a career outside this industry – and to keep my love of animals as something I could do outside of work. It was a difficult and heartbreaking choice after so much work, energy and time dedicated to this goal – and I was left floundering in no-mans-land looking for my next move.
Where on earth do I go now? What industry? What type of job? What is my goal now?
Throughout my time at Target, I had multiple second jobs – real estate, market research, hospitality etc, so I jumped into a role in administration at a finance company, trialled a stint as a Trainee Store Manager at Aldi Australia – before landing a role in Administration and Accounts at Gorilla Print – a mid-sized print company based in Hawthorn, VIC (now in Nunawading, VIC).
I was lucky enough to be blessed with an incredible boss who recognised my skillset, drive and work ethic. This meant I was given the scope and allowance to expand the role to include HR, office management, account management, payroll, events coordination, personal assistance, freight management and sales support.
Within my five years at Gorilla Print, I grew from Administration, to Office Manager, to Account Manager, to Business Development Manager. I learnt invaluable insights into the world of business, operations, management, print, promotional, graphic design, uniform and clothing as well as events.
I worked with a variety of people from several industries, demographic backgrounds and age groups. This broadened my knowledge of this industry, it’s direction and how best to service clients within it. I quickly noticed that I had a knack for urgent jobs. Maybe I am just the right amount of annoying and persistent to get things done? Maybe it’s because I will never promise something that I don’t believe I can deliver. I also believe that if I’ve made a promise, it’s my responsibility to fulfil it (hello sitting on my lounge room floor all night putting stickers on plastic clappers to fulfil an order due the next day).
For a long time, I knew that what I was offering to clients wasn’t a commonly found service. While there are hundreds and hundreds of ‘print management’ companies around Australia, the level of service and capability offered is extremely varied. I wondered whether there was a space in the market for a ‘Merchandise Manager’ role, in particular, for organisations that order a variety of branded merchandise, but the task is often passed onto a member of the marketing team, and ends up taking up a large amount of time, resources and money in the sourcing, quoting, ordering, delivering, picking, packing and follow up.
I realised that there was the potential to have this service available on demand without having to pay a salary or retainer for a staff membe with the added benefit of being able to order everything through one channel.
Like most people though, I have a mortgage, bills, responsibilities – and the idea of taking the leap to start my own business just seemed too far-fetched in the current climate.
I made the difficult choice to move on from Gorilla Print, and took an opportunity closer to home that I believed was a step in the right direction, only to discover that the role itself had not been what I was anticipating, and upon querying this, found myself unemployed for the first time in my entire life.
To say I was devastated is a huge understatement. I have always worked, I’ve always had something in the pipeline, a backup plan, a second job, a new job to be moving to – and for the first time, I had none of that. To add to that, it was November 2024 and anyone who has ever looked for a job in November knows, it’s a shocking time to be looking for a new job. I secured interviews with a number of companies, spoke to a variety of recruiters, and kept coming back to the same conclusion – is this the right direction for me? Do I want to start from scratch again in a new industry? Do I want to go back to working underneath someone and running the risk of not getting to utilise my strengths which is what gives me so much job satisfaction?
Through an enormous amount of support from my partner and family – I made the huge leap in December 2024 and jumped headfirst into my own business – Source For Me.
So that’s how we got here.
A lot of changes, ups, downs, challenges, tears – but I’m so excited to start this journey, something that has been in the works of my mind for many years.
In my spare time (what spare time?), I foster rescue cats (currently have two beauties that have been with me for two years if anyone is looking!), read, spend time with family and friends, travel, dance, model, play saxophone and am currently trying to plan a wedding!
I truly appreciate all of the people that have supported me not just recently, but over the years. In particular, I would like to mention Greg Costaras at Gorilla Print. He continues to be a friend and mentor as I embark on this new journey.
I can’t wait to show you what I can do, how I can help you and your business, and share with you as many cat photos as you are willing to receive.
Get in touch now!
Send an email to info@sourceforme.com.au, call or text (#millennial) 0434 198 691) or reach out on social media!
#sourceforme #whoiscarmen #printandpromo #hallamvic #custommerchandise #smallbusiness #supportlocalbusiness #branding #printsolutions #catphotos
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Thanks for the shameless plug Carmen! 🌟