Jake Dawson

Snapshot:

• Industry / Sector: Business / Corporate, Communications / Media, Creative Industries

• Career Type: Employed

• Education Pathway: *TBC

• Mid Coast Connection: Lives on the Mid Coast

The Blurb:

Jake Dawson is the co-director of UpBound, a business services company helping small businesses thrive through digital solutions like web development, content creation, and automation.

Jake’s career is powered by creativity—not just in design, but in problem-solving. His ability to craft innovative solutions, even in the face of uncertainty, has helped his business grow and support other enterprises across the region.

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• Video Highlights

  • Current Role: Co-director at Upbound, working across website development, content, automation, and small business services.

  • Career Path: Started small and grew the business by responding creatively to customer needs.

  • Key Skills: Creativity (especially in problem-solving), adaptability, initiative.

  • Challenges Shared: Launching a new service to meet a client’s request before infrastructure existed; navigating risks with smart solutions.

  • What He Loves: The day-to-day enjoyment of his work, overcoming obstacles, and constantly solving new challenges.

  • Advice to Younger Self: “Start sooner—start small but just start.”

  • Advice to Others: Enjoy what you do; if not, find a part of it you love or move on.

• Key Quotes

  • "Creativity is something that comes to mind that I use every day... not necessarily in the traditional way... but in problem solving and coming up with unique solutions to complex problems."

  • "There was a need for the service that we were looking to offer... I could have just said no... whereas I came up with a solution."

  • "There's not many days that I wake up and I don't enjoy what I do... you’re able to solve [problems] because you just enjoy what you do."

  • "If you don't enjoy what you do, you need to find something—some part of it—that you enjoy, or you need to move on."

  • "Start as soon as possible and start small."

  • "Listen to advice, put your own spin on it, and put it into action."

• Transcript

  • “Creativity… isn’t always the traditional kind. It’s problem-solving. It’s about unique solutions to complex problems.”

  • “If you don’t enjoy what you do, your performance is going to be lacking.”

  • “Start as soon as possible—and start small.”

  • “Listen to advice, put your own spin on it, and put it into action.”

Please note: All content is correct at the time of recording.