Elle Social

takeflightproject:

Flight 14 /  May 8, 2012

ELIZABETH PRESSON / Creative problem-solver, startup advocate

Life never works out according to your plan— and that’s a good thing.

Website workingremote.ly / Twitter @heyellecp

Flight Route Los Angeles (LAX) —> New York (JFK)

Airline American Airlines

Elizabeth aka Lizzie aka Liz Presson is a creative problem solver, digital media maven and a new friend of mine. I heard about her and her work last year, and reached out to her not too long ago to be featured on Take Flight. One thing led to another, and two weeks ago, we met up in New York where we discussed life, work and the projects we were working on. Liz talked about a flight she took back from California last year which ended up catalyzing a lot of what she’s doing now - trying to revolutionize where and how people work. It was a story made for Take Flight

A little about you 

I’ve been bringing people and social technologies together in relevant and life changing ways since Twitter and Facebook first became household names. I was a founding employee of two influential social media start-ups, both of which have become key players in the social revolution. I’ve also worked with start-ups to watch including Skillshare, Family Records,Zaarly and The Daily Muse. 

Working with such inspiring companies, in environments that almost never include cubicles, my current mission is to encourage those sentenced to life on a cubical farm to think outside the traditional office. And, for those that have already made a break for it, I’m committed to providing useful content and insight to help people work remotely — effectively. I’m spreading my belief that choice of environment means more productivity and happiness through my version of Yelp for co-working spaces: WorkingRemote.ly. 

I try to practice what I preach. I’m currently leading digital and community strategies for Digi International and the iDigi Device Cloud (remotely, of course). And when I’m not engaging with communities or innovators and leaders, I’m enjoying life as a New Yorker in Manhattan.

DC to New York to California to New York. What happened?

Two months after starting work on a new project with one of my best friends, we flew to California. We were going to attend a conference, and we decided to extend our trip and drive from San Francisco to L.A.

Times were easy, and we could do things like that.

So, we rented a car and drove down the beautiful Pacific Coast Highway to L.A. “Play-time” we called it— and that it was. We ate, had long talks on the beach, went surfing and listened to live music. Sometimes, through playing and enjoying yourself, you find clarity in work. And we did find clarity.

In fact, during that time in L.A. my friend (and technically my boss at the time), decided it was time to take a different path with work. That decision was the best and most frightening of my life. I knew for the last couple of months we had been trying to make what we were doing fit in a way that it just didn’t belong.

So, we flew back to New York from L.A. and I became instantly job-less for the first time in my adult life. I had just moved to NYC on a whim a few months prior to take on this job. Within 30 days, I had left my great job at a tech startup in D.C., my boyfriend and my beautiful apartment. My family was worried, they didn’t understand why I felt so strongly about taking a risk. “This is going to work out.” I reassured them time and time again. And now, I had no idea what I was going to do after that six hour flight back to NYC. But that’s where my real journey began.

So what’s happened for you since then? 

Even though I was scared and worried about surviving in New York, I began to experiment in order to find out what I really wanted in life. I tried working in music, because it’s something I’ve always been passionate about. 

When that didn’t work out, I found a job where I could work remotely. Working remotely became the thread that tied all of my passions together. Anything I wanted to do, anything I felt passionate about, I suddenly had the time to do it. I now create my own most productive environment every day. In finding my own fuel through working remotely, I’ve decided to make it my mission to help others do the same.

If you’re inspired by Elizabeth’s journey, check out her latest project here, her blog and shoot her a Tweet.

If you love this story, spread those wings and share!