Creative Crush // Sincerely Jackie
I've been keeping my eye on Jackie for some time now. We were both balancing full time jobs, and stationery businesses, and playing with our adorable dogs (oh yeah, and she had a long commute and was also getting her masters at night - talk about busy!), so I was so glad when she let me pick her brain about how she planned to leave her full time job in July, and pursue her business full time. I'm so proud of her, and can't wait to see all the new things she does on this journey!
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS : I ran my business for 5 years while also working a demanding full-time job. I did a lot of work coaching executives, directors, and managers, so having my own business helped me feel empowered when I was working with them through some of their own struggles. Now that I'm working at Sincerely, Jackie full-time, I love having flexibility built into my day. I also love feeling like I can control the work that I do. I used to tell myself I would do things when I had more time, but now that I have the time, there are no excuses and I love that feeling!FAVORITE CANDY/TREAT : My favorite "grown up" treat is dark chocolate peanut butter cups from Trader Joes. I really enjoy them frozen. My favorite "childhood" treat is a bag of soft, chewy twizzler cherry licorice bites.WHAT'S A RECENT FAVORITE FIND : As a new homeowner, I've been really into finding easy DIY ideas for the house. I have vertical blinds on all of my windows, and this video on how to DIY roman shades from existing blinds really caught my eye. I'm going to be giving it a shot this upcoming weekend!TELL US HOW YOU GOT STARTED WITH YOUR COMPANY : I've been artistic my whole life, and began taking college level art classes in high school. I didn't understand how I could make a career as a fine artist, so I got a full-ride scholarship and studied interior design my first year of college. I loved (and still love) interior design, but I felt a lot of pressure to work in a corporate environment, which, as a creative, wasn't what I wanted. I left the creative industry and ended up falling in love with the Industrial/Organizational Psychology field. I became a certified coach and worked with executives within an organization on topics ranging from interpersonal skills to strategic planning. Along the way I began to miss design, and a friend suggested I enter a stationery design into a competition for a company called Minted. I entered Minted's second competition, and felt such a sense of support from the design community, that I've been hooked on stationery ever since. It feels like such a perfect fit, since I've been a lover of stationery my entire life. I have a box of birthday cards, invitations, and note cards from when I was a child, and I've kept that box with me throughout life. It's become an heirloom for me, and I love making the types of invitations that will become heirlooms in another family's story. When I design, I try to ask myself "will this design still be beautiful in 30 years?" and if the answer is yes, I feel like I've really accomplished what my passion is.WHY DO YOU BLOG : On one hand I blog because I love having a way to capture where I am and what I'm working on. On the other hand, I blog because it's a great business tool and technique for keeping my page fresh in search queries.
ANY ADVICE FOR FELLOW ENTREPRENEURS : There are a lot of quotes out there about doing what you love, and believing that good things will happen. Heck, I have my own mantra, which is on a mug and art print that I always keep close by. But in all seriousness, you'll never get anywhere by just thinking and dreaming. You have to find somebody you love and then you have to work your butt off. Consistently and constantly. You have to put in the hours every single day, you have to answer every email within 48 hours, you have to call back every person that ever calls you, you have to reach out to media outlets, make new industry friends...you just have to work. Really, really, really hard. And never give up - there are plenty of set backs, but you need to keep on going and keep on working. Eventually you won't feel like you're working so much, and you're business will start to work itself. Then you find something new to work on, and the cycle starts again. At least that's how it is for me!WHO'S A FELLOW ENTREPRENEUR YOU'RE CRUSHING ON RIGHT NOW : I'm always inspired by my fellow Minted designers. I think Meg, of Moglea, is going to take over the world someday, and nothing would make me happier than to see it happen!