Cameo Hanlon: From athlete to entrepreneur

When varsity basketball athlete Cameo Hanlon first set foot on the University of Alberta campus in 2016, she was determined to become an athletics director, a long-time dream inspired by her love of sports.

Little did she know that only a few years after graduating from the Alberta School of Business, she would be looking to make a slam dunk in entrepreneurship, launching three businesses across North America.

Cameo credits her bachelor of commerce degree for opening the door to a diverse career path.

“It’s hard to be sure what you want to do when you’re 18,” says Cameo. “But every industry in the world requires business to operate, whether you’re interested in working in sports, cosmetics, logistics, etc. It’s a degree with endless opportunities — and I’m so thankful I pursued it.”

While the strategic management and organization (SMO) major admits her university introduction to entrepreneurship was part fluke, she says it has had a lasting impact on her career.

“I only started taking entrepreneurship courses because they worked best with my basketball schedule and counted towards my SMO major,” says Cameo, chuckling. “What I didn’t realize then is that they would be the most useful classes of my degree. I still apply what I learned to my businesses every day.”

After graduating in 2021, Cameo continued on the path of sports, beginning her role as a marketing coordinator with the University of Alberta Golden Bears and Pandas Athletics. Over the one-year stint, she uncovered her passion for marketing and eventually started freelancing in her spare time.

Gaining more clients, experience and confidence, Cameo’s dream of becoming an athletics director slowly shifted to becoming a full-time business owner.

“I started thinking about what I wanted my future lifestyle to look like. I knew I wanted to have the flexibility to travel and rapidly increase my earning potential and skills,” she says. “From there, it was a bit of reverse engineering, and I realized starting my own business could give me that life.”

Today, Cameo is doing just that — running Best Marketing Co., a full-service marketing agency between Edmonton and her home in sunny Arizona. The company is celebrating its third year of business and now employs three full-time team members and a number of interns working in different cities across North America and Europe.

No slowing in sight, she has also recently launched The Talent Effect, a tech startup helping brands create influencer marketing campaigns and has even ventured into the world of e-commerce with Bender Extender, a supplement reducing the adverse effects of alcohol consumption.

“Entrepreneurship is so fascinating. I remember thinking in school, haven’t all the problems been solved already? But it’s so not true,” she says. “There are always new ideas, new solutions and new problems. It excites me to think about.”

Reflecting on her post-graduate journey, Cameo shares advice for upcoming grads exploring entrepreneurship.

"The best advice I can give — and what’s helped me the most — is just to start,” she says. “It’s very easy to get paralyzed thinking that everything needs to be perfect. I’m not saying quit your job immediately, but test the waters — whether it’s freelancing, researching market potential or volunteering in areas that interest you most. That’ll help you gain the knowledge, momentum and stability you need to dive in fully.”

Cameo also says tapping into the U of A’s alumni network has been invaluable to her success as an entrepreneur.

"The alumni network has been incredible,” she says. “Whether it’s being introduced to new clients, or meeting new advisors and mentees based on our common experience. I’ve really felt the support.”

As a thank you to the many communities who helped Cameo launch and grow her businesses, Best Marketing Co. is running a nomination-based contest until April 30, where they will donate a complete marketing overhaul to an organization in need.

“So many people have contributed to us being able to get to where we are today,” she says. “It feels great to offer a thank you back to our community.”

To learn more and nominate an organization, visit bestmarketingco.ca/bestmarketingproject.