* This post contains a lot of links. However, all but two are links of people. I don’t really worry about SEO on my site

I’ve spent the last three months somewhere I always knew I could reach; a big time, global, award winning agency.  Coming from a school with no advertising or PR program, getting to where I’ve gotten could be seen as a success in itself. My marketing degree was more focused on sales, and social media sure wasn’t in the classroom when I was a student. I owe a lot of my success to my passion for learning, but probably more thanks go to people that have helped me along the way. To those that are general fans of me, I want to send a huge ‘thank you’ for all that you’ve done.

Anyhoo, here’s the news; I’m leaving Edelman to rejoin my buddies at Lakeshore Branding. Yes, I’m leaving the company that just hired David Armano, who is just as nice as he is smart, which really says something. The agency that is making waves for hiring a community manager, who I happen to know personally and would have loved to work with further. So, you might be asking yourself, “Self, why is Brandon leaving Edelman?” The answer: Opportunity.

Risk = Reward?

I’ve always believed in the saying ‘the greater the risk, the greater the reward,’ but haven’t really walked the walk too often. My role at Edelman, while encompassing many different clients, has been pretty specialized for the most part. I’m pretty damn good at using Radian6 now, and I’ve learned quite a bit about mom bloggers and QAing websites. But, I feel I’m capable of more. At 25, I felt now was the time to take that opportunity. After seeing Doni head to Boulder, Jenn jet off to L.A., Derek start a company in Vancouver, and not to mention Matt making a name for himself on his own, I had the confidence to do it myself.

So what will I be doing? Building a social media presence. Search marketing. SEO. Link building. Blogging. Helping build a company. Lots of things I have strong passions for that I would never have the opportunity of doing at Edelman. I can work hours that fit my life better; I like staying up late and sleeping in. I’ll get to do that. I’ll get to work from home frequently and keep my dog company so he isn’t crated for over eight hours a day. I’ll be attending tweetups and events more often. I might even get to play some more hockey. I’m excited because I know Lakeshore Branding has done great work in the past and has great things in store for the future.

I will definitely miss all the great friends I made during my time at Edelman. Sarah, Jason, Nivene, Caleb, Eliza, Archana, Rebecca, Gloria, Jessi, Amanda and Jessica have all been great to work with (among others), and I hope to keep relationships with all of them. I’ll be watching Edelman closely, and who knows, maybe I’ll be able to return one day.

So here’s to the future. Here’s to hoping the reward does indeed equal or exceed the risk.