Cameron Gurr (he/him) is an innovator, former Disney cast member, and pro resume writer.
Cameron is magic. He mines the sparks that will send people soaring on to the next job, the next level. He’s even helped someone become an FBI agent.
Cameron’s role at Disney (Disney employees are all “cast members”) was his first taste of helping others find dream work within the company. But before Disney, before Cameron could pinpoint others’ magic, he had to claim his own magic, out loud. And he did—to a great cost and even greater reward.
“I was raised in the Midwest in Ohio and came to California when I was 18—when I was forcefully removed from my house for being gay—and I decided to work at Disney. And so, that was the first eye opening experience: I was [working] in the park and surrounded by like-minded people, and that really kick started a fire in me to get my life going. I went back to Indiana to finish college, got my bachelor’s degree, then moved back to California in 2016. From there, I worked at Disney for five years, then the pandemic hit, and then I built my business.”
California is still home today, and Cameron still values his Midwest roots.
“I grew up in a very religious household. My entire family is Mormon, and growing up in the Midwest and Ohio taught me to be resilient. To fend for myself and really make of this life what I want it to be. So the grit, the determination, the hard work that I put in, never giving up, failing forward, has really shaped me to take challenges in stride and build and grow from them.”
Cameron’s desire to help other people “make of this life what they want it to be” landed him in solopreneurship. But first, he navigated the same waters inside Disney, pointing others firmly toward their career North Star.
“Part of what I did at Disney was help people get their resumes prepared to move into different roles throughout the company. Small portion of my role, but that is what kick-started my business in 2020.”
Cameron never considered himself an entrepreneur, although looking back, he was always working a corner lemonade stand or helping the local bake sale.
“I didn’t know I wanted to become [an entrepreneur] until the pandemic hit. I worked at Disney before [that] and started to think about what I could do to help other people during the pandemic, during the furloughs, and it led me to resume writing.”
How one No led to 6,000 Yeses
Today, Cameron is a Certified professional Resume Writer (CPRW), career coach, and has reviewed over 6,000 resumes and counting. He has written for professionals in over 57 countries from entry-level up to C-suite and across virtually all industries.
“I’ve seen a lot of interesting resumes. The one that stands out as the craziest is I had somebody want to become an FBI agent. And they were qualified. They were 100% qualified to do the job, but I had never thought about writing a resume for somebody who—you see it in the movies, but never in real life.”
Odds are, if your eye is on a dream job, Cameron can help you land it. Cameron’s first step in pursuing (and creating) his own dream job was saying one word: No.
“After my business started to take off, I got a call to come back to work [at Disney], and that was the hardest no I have ever had to give—to take the leap of faith, jump in my business, and get it going.”
Like most, if not all solopreneurs, uncertainty was Cameron’s next immediate challenge to overcome.
“I had so much consistency with the typical nine to five, and then you jump into something entirely brand new and you have to learn everything from the ground up. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to do this long term. Now I am, so it worked out.”
Slowly but surely, Cameron started building a support system and community. He credits his partner of five years, first and foremost, for being by Cameron’s side during the transition to solopreneurship. His partner works in HR, lending Cameron a built-in sounding board for lots of early questions and plenty of emotional support—both priceless to a fresh solopreneur. Cameron also regularly taps his entrepreneur friends for advice and to share best practices.
Beyond these critical human resources, Cameron hit the ground outside his comfort zone to find more people like him.
“Building a bigger community as a self-employed person can be difficult because you don’t know how to find like-minded people. For my business and how the queer community informs it—there’s a lack of representation. When I first started to try and connect with other people who were self-employed, it was very hetero-dominated, a lot of people with a different mentality from mine. In the queer community, there was the LA Chamber of Commerce, the LGBTQIA+ Chamber of Commerce events. I was able to connect with the community there, and get to know other entrepreneurs and also other people who want to become part of something bigger than just trying to go it alone. I wanted to find a group that I could really resonate with. Some [resonance] came from those initial connections, but most came from within the queer community.”
We asked Cameron about the importance of queer community members representing themselves in entrepreneurial spaces, and to speak a little about his beliefs around the importance of showcasing who you are in your business. First, he dove even deeper into his personal networking experience.
“It is, in my opinion, fundamental for the queer community to be represented in the entrepreneur space. When I started to become an entrepreneur, I started joining groups, events of entrepreneurs, social media influencers, and everything else, where I went and I didn’t see myself in anyone. They had their own mindset. They had their own thing and it was very bro, and I am not bro, and so finding those communities where I can see myself in others is super important to, I would say, the success of anyone’s business.”
Next Cameron shared more about his day-to-day experience with his identity, and working with clients who may or may not be aware.
“Showing who I truly am in my business of resume writing, it can be helpful and it can be a hindrance. For instance, I work with a lot of people virtually, where they never hear my voice, they only see photos of me, and there are people that I’ve worked with from Tennessee or Kentucky who are very religious. I’ve written resumes for pastors and preachers, and they don’t necessarily know who I am, and if they did find out, would that impact their wish to work with me? Perhaps, perhaps not. I don’t know, so that piece, when I work online, is something that may be a little bit more hidden, but to your question, I think the importance of showing my values in my business, as an openly gay man, is something that should be appreciated and celebrated. It only takes one person to see that kind of person out there and feel represented.”
In terms of intersectionality, entrepreneurial spaces still have a lot to learn. We asked Cameron what the biggest takeaway might be from the queer community, specifically.
“What we can take from the LGBTQIA+ community is curiosity. Being open-minded is something a lot of people struggle with. If you haven’t experienced something on a personal level that someone else has, it’s really difficult to relate, but if you can take away one thing, just ask questions, be curious about the other person, and just get to know who they are.”
Pride as a year-round practice
Pride month means something different to almost everyone. We asked Cameron what Pride means to him. Grab a tissue.
“[Pride is] a double-edged sword. Corporations can capitalize on Pride for profitability, right? But there’s also that personal aspect. I still remember going to my first Pride in Long Beach. The thing that hit for me the most was this group, Free Mom Hugs, and they’ll just walk in the parade and they’ll come and give you a big hug. Coming from my background, the religious family, that connection wasn’t really there with my mom. So to have a hug from somebody like that really touched me.”
The paradox of Pride, brought down to earth by the power of a hug. We asked Cameron to share what companies can do year-round to better support the LGBTQIA+ community.
“Some actions that companies can take to be more inclusive of the queer community, not just in Pride month but year round, is a lot of what I did at Disney. I was part of their Pride leadership team, and we focused on building employee resource groups, where, internally, people had a place to go—to connect, to share their story, and really feel included inside the company. Externally, there are a lot of ways corporations can be more inclusive—through a merchandise component, where they give money to an organization like GLSEN®. That’s one thing Disney did, but then also just recognizing that pride isn’t a fad for one month. It’s something that people go through every day, and that doesn’t go away just because June ends.”
To individuals who want to start a business, but who lack any foundational community or support system, Cameron suggests two things: Pinning down a daily routine, and attending Pride events as a way of networking.
“Routine is huge. If you feel alone or like you don’t have anyone that can help you along the way, start by building a regular schedule for yourself, break up your day into pieces you can easily digest. Second, put yourself out there, go to Pride events. That’s where I met some of my best friends. It’s hard but that’s where you’re going to make connections—if you get out of the house and go meet new people.”
Success in progress
Like most if not all solopreneurs, Cameron has met the need to calibrate and recalibrate his operations since opening his business in 2020.
“One of the biggest challenges of being an entrepreneur is work-life balance. You hear people say, ‘I quit my 9-to-5. Now I’m working 24/7.’ That is absolutely true, so while I love the freedom to work from wherever I want and be wherever I want, I’m also glued to the computer, and that is a struggle. Sometimes during our busy season I’ll look at the workload and feel so defeated. I have to make sure that everything is quality, that it goes out on time, and that the client is satisfied with it and that it’s effective. In the formative years of 2020 and 2021, when I didn’t really know how to operate as an entrepreneur, looking at the workload, I didn’t have any structures in place, and I crashed and burned multiple times. It took a lot of learning for me to balance things.”
Despite these challenges, we were curious what keeps Cameron connected and committed to his business, his mission.
“Connecting people to opportunities that they were made for. That’s kind of my thing. There was one individual I worked with at Disney, a college student who wanted to get into finance. He was working in a merchandise location, just frontline. During my time with the Pride Leadership team, one of my friends was in finance, so he was part of the queer community, and I connected the two of them one-on-one. The person I worked with got a job as a financial analyst. He worked at Disney for some time, and now he’s with the San Francisco 49ers as a financial analyst. So to see his story start from where he was, to where he is now, was super inspiring for me. That’s what I strive for, to help other people.”
For anyone, queer or not queer who is scared, struggling, or maybe wants to start their own business, Cameron offers the following gems of encouragement.
“Start early, start now, and don’t worry about the outcome. Now is the perfect time to dive in and do, honestly, whatever you want. The internet is a great tool. You can do drop-shipping, print on demand, you can do a consulting business, kind of like resume writing. The sky’s the limit. And if you play to your strengths—like I am a very strong writer so that translates well into my business—I think you’ll see success.”
We asked Cameron what success looks like for him. What moment makes him feel like he’s made it. It was uttering the one word that has made everything else possible since. Yes, you know the one.
“It was that phone call to Disney, where I was so nervous, shaking in my boots, and my boss was on the other line, and she was like, ‘You’re coming back to work,’ and I just had to say, ‘No, I’m not.’ That was the moment that I really realized, ‘You know what? This could be something, and this could turn into something bigger than I had ever imagined,’ and so far, that’s been true.”
Just think of all the magic Cameron has made possible—with one. Little. Word.
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