Nancy, Flip & Moose in Montana
i love my job
Nancy & Flip
SPREADING
Happiness
First Issues
By Nancy Dewar – Publisher of Seacoast Bark
When people ask me what I do for a living, I tell them that I spread happiness and positivity! Although I publish Seacoast Bark, I really share stories about inspiring people and animals.
I actually fell into starting a magazine. In my earlier professional years, I worked in advertising account management for clients such as McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Kay Jewelers. I left corporate life when I was forty and moved to the Seacoast from Denver, having discovered this amazing place during a road trip from Marblehead to Booth Bay. I arrived in Portsmouth in 1996 with no job and knowing no one. Sometimes the stars align, and they certainly did with this move. I met an incredible group of friends, and though I never landed a “real job,” I created a variety of ways to support myself; hence becoming what I call an a la carte entrepreneur. In addition to an array of freelance marketing and public relations projects, I pro-
duced photoshoots for L.L. Bean and J. Jill catalogs. I also bought, renovated and sold several homes on the Seacoast. I’ve always had a bit of wanderlust and got a bit antsy to make a change in 2013. After visiting a friend who lived in Whitefish, Montana; I returned with this half-baked idea that I should move to Northwest Montana. So, without much preparation…I did! Looking back it was really a crazy (mid-life-crisis) decision. I remember my dear friend Barbara saying, “Why are you moving out THERE? There’s nothing but pine trees!” She was familiar with Whitefish from having seen it on The Bachelor. I had sold my house. I then sold all my belongings that wouldn’t fit in a 6’ x 12’ U-Haul. With my down-sized life packed up and my two dogs (Moose-Muffin & Flip-Flop) in the back seat of my Jeep, we hit the road mid-March and drove 2,600 miles to Whitefish with no real plan; only a little rental house lined up.
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I got a sales job with a local TV station shortly after arriving which lasted about 3 months. The other sales rep had the banks, car dealerships and hospital accounts; accounts that could afford to use television. I was supposed to call on small retailers that really shouldn’t as it wasn’t cost effective. Ethically, I couldn’t sell to them, so I impetuously quit not realizing there weren’t many other decent jobs. Okay, now how to support myself in Montana? I rustled up some freelance marketing projects and worked in a retail store. I kept asking…what should I do to make a living while also doing something that will bring me joy? What would I like to do? I went back to my childhood and thought about what made me happy as a kid. Children innately show their true nature and passions. What was my passion?
And it became clear to me. My passion has always been animals. I brought home every stray I found. My family called me “the finder.” I rode my bike to the barn
