Joan Porio is a valued member at Solutions 8, often working behind the scenes as our YouTube Growth Manager. What does that entail? She is in charge of publishing content on the YT channel, sometimes “directing” and polishing the videos.
“I say ‘directing’ because once someone from the team shoots a video for YT, I review it and supply the video creation details to our graphic designer, the amazing Jac!”
Video creation details include clips for the intros, final editing for public viewing, thumbnail creation, and more. Another role she is involved in includes reviewing published blogs on a weekly basis and creating content for our weekly newsletter.
Before being promoted to YouTube Growth Manager, Joan worked as a Content Writer for a year. In September 2021, she saw a posting on an online jobs group on Facebook. The job had been posted way back in July, and lucky for us, it was still open when she applied for the Content Writer position.
Positivity is the key
It was a bit of a wait, Joan explains, seeing if she’d gotten the job or not. Her patience didn’t waver and she stayed positive and faithful that the job would be hers.
“I really prayed to be part of the team because Solutions 8 sounded like a company that really supports employees’ personal and professional growth. What hooked me was the sentence in the job posting that said the employees would have access to world-class digital marketing training and industry-standard copywriting courses. I love learning and wanted to be part of a company that empowers people and gives them all the resources and support they need.”
Solutions 8 really does that!
The company delivers many advantages including being able to work from anywhere in the world, and since Joan loves to travel, that was the icing on the cake. The best part of her job is having the opportunity to learn new things every single day. When she joined the Solutions 8 team she knew very little about Google Ads. That came to an end when experts, Kasim and John, and the team overall, taught her everything there is to know about it.
Detail-oriented and analytical
There are challenging moments, too. Her primary concern is making sure that whatever is published on YT contains no confidential information. She hates it when she misses something, which we are sure rarely happens!
“I tend to be meticulous at times, especially with my work. It helps to make sure everything we release is good and coherent. I can easily spot mistakes or things that need polishing, that’s why I really hate it when I miss something.”
Other qualities that make Joan particularly good at her job include remembering important details. Linking related videos that she is working on, and noticing if something isn’t coherent with various Solutions 8 content are also great characteristics to have in this job.
Coffee lover, dog lover, fashion lover
Joan doesn’t hesitate when she reveals her productivity trick: Coffeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! She loves it and even goes as far as to say it runs in her veins! There are her dogs as well, which pay her a visit every now and then while she’s working. She doesn’t mind, and even if she’s busy, she only needs to pet them for a bit and they sleep near her so she can carry on with her work.
And as a child, she had a dream
“I wanted to be a fashion designer! I can’t even remember why I did, maybe it was because of the fashion shows we watched on TV when I was young. I may be far from what I wanted to be when I was a kid but I still love clothes. I don’t follow the trends but I love dressing up when I get the chance to.”
A big family of the furry kind
There are 16 members in Joan’s family. Let’s talk about the human ones first. Joan is the eldest child of four, and she is also the shortest. Her dad comes in at 5’11”, and her mum is 5’2” which leaves Joan at 5’4”. She is close in age to her siblings if not in height.
Her dogs are valued members of the family and are relatively new additions to the Porio family. The first one arrived in 2018. Kini, a Japanese spitz shih tzu. Her name means ‘found’ in Joan’s language—Bisaya. She’d been found by a guard near the family home. Since the guard was a friend of Joan’s mother, he gave the wandering dog to them. Kini is sweet, kind, and loving, and though Joan feels bad for the original owners, she’s very happy the gorgeous dog came to live with them.
Then there’s Kini’s daughter, Lala; Lala’s son Blackoy; an Aspin called Casebeer; Casebeer’s sons, Tangkang and Panda; Milly, a husky; Chimy, a very clingy pug who follows Joan around; and the latest arrivals, mother and daughter shih tzu-poodles called Blackie and Spotty.
[It’s a] “good thing our dogs are all friendly and that they accept our constant addition of dogs to the family.”
Important values
We can see that Joan’s parents taught her the importance of a kind heart. What other values did they pass on to Joan that she truly appreciates today?
“My grandparents and parents taught us to always respect people and see the good in them. That’s why I don’t believe in the saying ‘Respect is earned, not given.’ I think it’s the disrespect that is earned—respect for everything, living and non-living, should be given if you’re a decent human being.”
Delicious!
It’s clear to us that Joan sees the good in people and in every situation. It would also explain why she’s such a positive person and not much in life gets her down.
Our amazing YouTube Growth Manager was born and raised in Butuan City, which is where she resides today. If you go and visit her, she will insist on us trying a local delicacy called “Palagsing”. It’s popularly made in Banza where there is an abundance of Lumbiya, which is sago starch harvested from palm trees. It’s a mix of coconut, sago starch, and raw sugar. They are delicately wrapped in banana leaves and boiled for 30 minutes.
Beach life
She has a love of going to the beach, which is where Joan recharges and she spends most of her weekends. There’s a sport she would like to try: scuba diving. However, she might need a little encouragement because she’s afraid of what is in the deep. She had been planning to start free diving lessons on her 30th birthday but doesn’t have the courage just yet.
Favorite place
“Even if I’m a beach person, I fell in love with Bukidnon. Bukid means mountain in Bisaya. I don’t usually like the mountains and I’ve never been a fan of hiking. When I got my internship in Bukidnon, I loved the place right away—the cool breeze, laidback lifestyle, peaceful communities, and the cheaper cost of living compared to our city.”
Joan and her partner are looking forward to settling down in Bukidnon, that’s how much they love it there.
Powerpuff Girls
Joan’s favorite fictional character is Blossom from Powerpuff Girls, a TV show that Joan and her sisters loved.
“There are three girls in my family, so naturally we associated ourselves with each PPG according to age. And our respective PPG pretty much matched us in terms of attitude, or maybe it was the other way around, and we were simply influenced by them growing up.”
What’s on your playlist?
They might vary a little, but here is what you’ll find our colleague listening to:
Love Runs Out by One Republic.
All Too Well (10-minute version) by Taylor Swift
Hard Times by Paramore
We like your style, Joan!
And last but not least, we’d love to know who Joan would have at her dinner table if she could.
“If I could invite anyone, it would be my grandmother, Mommy Lilian. Everyone in the family knows I was her favorite. She died when I was nine years old and was and still is, a big part of my life. We lived with our grandparents and I’d like to think my grandma and I were inseparable when she was alive. She taught me a lot of things and values and I cherish each of them. There isn’t a soul that is like my grandmother and all the love she showered me in those nine years is overflowing. It’s enough to last me a lifetime.”
Jani Kahukiwa
