MaryJo Mickalich

My name is MaryJo Mickalich, and I'm the Design and Engineering Operations Manager at CI Web Group. I come from Houghton, a very small town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. If you want to understand why I'm here at CI Web Group, you have to understand that I've never been a follower. I've never followed the crowd, and I've never liked to listen or follow rules. I was the kid who laughed when my mom tried to put rules in place or tried to ground me. I wasn't the kid that could be peer-pressured into drinking or doing drugs in high school — I had no interest in following the crowd. I always did what I decided I wanted to do, not what anyone else was doing. That independence has shaped every part of my life, and my career most of all.

Even back in high school I knew what I wanted out of my career: to work from home, and to have real freedom over how my days were spent. When going to college, I chose Graphic Design as my major because I love being creative and because it felt like a field where working remotely might actually be possible. In 2015 I graduated from Finlandia University in Hancock, Michigan, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a concentration in Graphic Design.

Before CI Web Group, I worked as a Graphic Designer, a Marketing Manager, a Marketing Account Executive, and a Communications Designer at other companies. Through those experiences, I learned that I needed to be somewhere that wasn't stagnant, a place where I could see real potential for growth, and that I loved being able to use both sides of my brain in a role — using my creativity while also being in a leadership position. In 2020, my dream of working remotely came true. In May 2023, I was laid off from my Communications Designer role, and the job hunt began. I interviewed with CI Web Group and realized that this place wasn't like any other company I've worked for before. I was told I could forge my own path here, and I saw that this company had the freedom and growth opportunities I was looking for. I watched videos of Jenn and was sold — I wanted to work here. Once I was hired, I saw and experienced pretty quickly just how fast everything really moved. I went from Marketing Specialist to Creative Project Manager managing the Design Department in just a few months.

When I started my role as the Creative Project Manager, I managed the design phase of our websites. Our designers would take a few weeks to design a site, I'd hand it off to the development team, and it would take them a good while to build what the designers had created. The whole process took months. Now that we've switched gears and gone from Webflow sites to Hydra and using AI, it's insanely fast. In my current role as the Design and Engineering Operations Manager, I've seen that from the start of our onboarding process to a site going live, our team can do it within a week in some instances. And I believe this will continue to happen more frequently and become something our team delivers consistently very soon. In the beginning we definitely didn't have it all figured out or know what we were doing. We didn't have a perfect roadmap laid out for this transition. Our processes have changed so many times within the last eight months. All of us had to learn new tools, new skills, and most importantly a new way of thinking. We had to pivot and figure it out, over and over again. One of my favorite sayings is to fail forward — and that is what we do here.

Watching our team go from hundreds of people down to somewhere around forty was scary. I'd already been laid off once, so watching it happen around me definitely brought back some fear and anxiety. But rather than let it get to me, I let it drive me. It made me want to work harder, show up, lead, and prove that I was here, all in, and that I believed in the vision and where this company is going. And it's going fast — the speed is insane. Some days I feel like my head is going to spin off and I wish it would slow down a little — but at the same time, I love it. There's no room for complacency, and we are always being pushed.

Being pushed is nothing new to me. I played sports in high school, and I had a basketball coach who was hard on us — I dreaded practice, but we won games and took home championship trophies. The next season I had a coach who was the fun one. I looked forward to practice because I knew I wouldn't be running killers or doing drills until I felt like I was going to barf. We weren't pushed — and we sucked. I honestly couldn't tell you if we won a single game that season. So if I'm ever given the choice, I'll take being pushed every single time. That is where the growth is. That is where you win. And that is exactly what I see Jenn preaching to the crowd — pushing her team and pushing business owners to make moves so that they win. Jenn is the coach who takes home championship trophies.

That same game taught me how I lead, too. I was Captain of the team — and not because I was good at basketball. My butt was on the bench watching everyone else play. I wasn't the star out there hitting three-pointers or getting handed MVP awards. But I was given the Heart Award and named Captain because I was just as valuable — with my voice, my attitude, and my willingness to show up every day, give it my all, and not quit. I learned at a young age that leadership isn't about being the biggest or the baddest. It's about attitude, effort, showing up for your team, and being someone people can count on and trust. Being a leader isn't easy. Sometimes you don't have all the answers; sometimes you don't know where the road is going to lead you and your team, or what unexpected bumps are coming. But as long as you have an all-or-nothing attitude, refuse to give up, and keep pushing forward — with a team behind you willing to trust and put in the work too — good things can and will happen. And that is what we have here. That is why this company is where it is and doing the things it's doing, and why it will go the places it's going to go.

The biggest thing I've learned about myself here with this team at CI Web Group is that you can throw anything at me and I will figure it out. I can pivot. I can adapt. I come from a small Midwestern town where change is hard — a lot of people don't like it, or don't think it's even doable. But I know change is good. It's necessary. Complacency is not something I ever want, in my career or in any part of my life. My own path here is proof of that. I went from taking notes and sending follow-up emails to clients to now being the Design and Engineering Operations Manager, getting to oversee an entire pipeline while also getting my hands wet in production by designing and building websites using AI. Getting to learn brand-new skills, challenge my way of thinking, keep growing, and use my creativity all at the same time — that is the kind of work I never want to stop doing.

Building with AI has been the craziest — and proudest — stretch we've been through since I've been here. It started with a massive shift: moving our websites off Webflow and onto Hydra. We're still in it, but we have a grasp on it now that we didn't have at the start. But I think we all know that with the speed technology moves at and how Jenn's brain never shuts off and is always coming up with new ideas and new solutions, we can never get too comfortable. We always need to be on our toes, ready to move. And that is why we've stayed ahead of the game in digital marketing for the trades industry — doing things and trying things no one else had done before. We don't have a playbook or a north star to follow. We just have to try and figure it out. And we are. We have a team of talented people who I learn from every day. There's Parker, who I've worked closely with for the last couple of years — truly a creative badass. All of our Vibers, who put in so much work for our huge pipeline of clients and do such an amazing job. Ryan and Hoda, who would take everything on and carry it on their backs if you asked them to. Chelsea, who's a walking book of knowledge and a great leader within our company. Chris, Braedn, Marcos, and Blake, who are all so technically smart that I have to ask AI to break down what they say in simpler terms for me. Camille and Jazmin, both great leaders who don't mess around and get shit done. All of our Account Managers and our Sales team on the front line, working with our clients day in and day out. I could truly go on about everyone here and all of the great things they do and the hard work they put in on a daily basis.

I'm so proud of our entire team — and that is my why. I'm here because I've never wanted the same day, doing the same thing, over and over again until I retire. I'm here because I'm with a team of people who share similar values to mine — we are giving it our all and not quitting. We aren't losers here. We are a team that likes to win, wants to win, and will figure out how to get it done — not only for ourselves but for the clients we serve every day, making sure they're winning. That their businesses are thriving. That their employees are able to lead happy and successful lives as well. I'm here because there's no ceiling above me. I'm not constrained to a strict rule book, and I know the possibilities are endless. And it turns out I landed at a company that doesn't like to follow the crowd or follow the rules either. CI Web Group isn't following anyone — they're leading. We don't wait to see what everyone else does and copy it; we try the thing no one has tried yet. I'm here because I'd rather be pushed. And I'm here because I love working with a leader like Jenn — and I say working with, not under. She's in the weeds with her entire team everyday, not sitting above anyone barking orders — and that is what a true leader is. Being part of this is a little crazy — it's like a fast roller coaster where you never know when the next turn is coming — and I wouldn't trade it. I'm extremely grateful that CI Web Group is going to forever be a part of my life story and journey, and that I get to be a part of theirs.

Buckle up. Hands up. Let's ride — I can't wait to see where this one goes.