My story
From Romania to Ireland, and beyond.
I was born in Romania and moved to Ireland when I was two. Ireland is where I grew up, where I watched my mum raise three children on her own, and where I first found something I loved enough to teach.
Growing up, I was quiet and didn’t have many friends. Dance gave me a place to come out of my shell. I filmed dance videos, started teaching in classes and heard from people that I’d helped them. When they encouraged me to teach my own classes, I started to believe I could. I’d always loved social media and wanted to understand marketing, so I studied business, took on social media and finance roles in student societies, and graduated with first-class honours. By the time I graduated, I’d been juggling 12-hour shifts, freelancing and college, and I was burnt out. I’d watched my mum go back to college while raising three kids on her own. She showed me what it meant to start over, and at 22 I decided to do that myself.
At 22, I booked a one-way ticket to Dubai. In my first month in Dubai, I made 5K online. The work stayed steady for a while. I built my network in Dubai and got experience through work with Bulgari, Emirates Golf Club, Mercedes-Benz and Secret Parties. Those experiences helped me get more comfortable meeting people and building relationships in a new city. Trading and investing have also been part of my journey and shaped how I think about money, risk and building for the long term. My first business, Diana’s Media, grew out of creating content and managing social media for personal brands. I went on to found Step Up Socials, where I worked on content, websites and marketing systems. My time in bar management and business analysis still shapes how I work with clients and approach problems.
After I came back to Ireland, my mum passed away. I was grieving, taking on caring responsibilities and trying to figure out how to keep building a business in my twenties. My faith has helped ground me through that season. It’s also made me more honest about burnout and how much we can carry on our own.
Today, I’m the co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Marketist Lab, a growing digital marketing agency offering marketing strategy, content, AI and automation services. I’m also building Step Up Women, a community for women growing their careers and businesses while navigating everything else life asks of them.
When I came back to Ireland, I spent some time teaching again. Teaching has followed me through different seasons, from dance to coaching women. I wanted to build something bigger than the work I could do one-to-one: a community where women could learn from each other, share opportunities and build something of their own.
What I’m building next
I’m building Diana Smau Official and showing up more across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and LinkedIn. I want to share what I’ve learned from freelancing, working with brands and building a community, including the parts I’m still figuring out.
Burnout made me take a step back from my business and consider a nine-to-five again. Looking for work reminded me how tough the job market can be and how much I value the option to work remotely and build something of my own. I’ve tried dropshipping and affiliate marketing, put money into the wrong things and been scammed. Those are lessons I want to share, because they’re part of what building a business has actually looked like for me.
I’m nervous about building a new business in public, but I want to document the progress, the decisions I get wrong and what I learn as I go.
I’m also getting ready to offer coaching and teaching for women who want to build their confidence, show up online and turn what they know into something of their own.
Follow along