The People Project with Saija

Interview with Saija Mahon, United Kingdom

Hi Saija, tell me what did you want to be when you grew up?

Definitely Police. I wanted to be a person of authority.

How do you feel about authority today?

Oh I'm not very good with it. That's why I started a business. I'm accountable for all the good decisions and bad decisions. They're all mine. But now my 10-year old is the boss of me.

Love is insane that way.

About love, what are the three loves in your life?

My daughter, my husband and music. Music is my alter ego. About 3 years ago, I wanted to find a way to be immersed in music and bought DJ decks to play vinyl records at home. Slowly people started asking me to play events and clubs. Now I'm playing venues and festivals. I can do it only on weekends. I run a digital marketing agency during the week.

That's unexpected. How did you get started in Digital Marketing?

I look for people with real passion, enthusiasm and ideas

I'm originally from Finland. When I came to London, I started working as a waitress to learn English. Eventually tried to find jobs in Marketing, which I loved and had a degree in. It wasn't easy. When hiring managers looked at me and my CV, all they saw was a waitress. Now, when I hire people to work in my company, I have a completely different method of interviewing. I look for people with real passion, enthusiasm and ideas about marketing. I found that I can get these people to flourish and find strengths they weren't aware of themselves.

Where are your team and your clients located?

Finland location was, at first, my way to keep a connection with home

Digital marketing is such an evolving world. This business brings me to different cultures and into very industries: fintech, beauty, retail and even construction industries. I'm always learning, which really keeps it interesting. We have an office here in London and also in Finland and Estonia. The Finland location was, at first, my way to keep a connection with home, but it turned into a strategic location to serve clients in Scandinavian countries.

Sounds fascinating. How many languages do you speak?

I speak Finnish, Swedish, English, and very bad Russian. Finland is a bilingual country. We have to learn Swedish in school. I also have family on my dad's side in Sweden.. aunties, uncles, cousins. But the two languages are completely different. If you go to Finland one da