"*Authenticity* is what will build trust and connection" with Jenna Miller

Photo Credit: Jennifer Casey Photography

Jenna Miller is Creative Director of Here Comes The Guide, a women-owned and operated wedding website that plays a venue matchmaker for engaged couples. Working for a bootstrapped small business has taught Jenna a lot about entrepreneurship, the importance of company culture, and embracing a gritty everything-is-figureoutable mentality. After a decade in the wedding marketing trenches, Jenna launched her side hustle Absolute JEM where she designs bold brands and Showit websites for fabulous female entrepreneurs.

Can you tell our readers about your background? 

I began working for the wedding website Here Comes The Guide in 2009. At the time, there were just 9 women on staff and I started in sales. I spent seven years working my way up in the company. The great thing about Here Comes The Guide is that we’re encouraged to develop our own roles, based on what we're passionate about.

So I did just that. I’ve always been design-oriented and visionary, and knew I wanted to take over the creative direction of the brand. I weaseled my way into being Creative Director after wireframing an undercover rebrand + redesign of our entire website, and surprise-presenting it to our CEO. 
Once she loved the design (phew!) and gave me the green light to actually implement it, I figured it was about time I legitimize my "design hobby". Since then, I've been immersed in all the things I truly love: branding, web design, graphic design, copywriting, and social media strategies. I also launched my own side-hustle design business, Absolute JEM!

What inspired you to start your business?

Not only do I love design and deeply understand how visuals can make or break a business, but I'm also passionate about empowering female entrepreneurs. If the only thing standing between a fierce, capable woman and her career goals is a professional brand and website, I'm here to knock that wall down. I want to help women level up their business or kick start their hobby so they can turn it into a legitimate revenue stream.

As a working mother, I get how hard it is to balance a career alongside a family and household. But it IS doable. Working from home with Here Comes The Guide and Absolute JEM has been an absolute blessing, and I think more women should explore the magic and vast possibilities that can come out of their home offices.

Where is your business based?

My business is based in my home office in Annapolis, MD. I’m originally from California, born-and-raised, but I’m also a military wife. So when I was 6 months pregnant with my first son, my husband broke the news that we had to move across the country. Luckily I can take my job with me wherever I go, so I didn’t have the added stress of needing to find a new job in a new location. This is another reason I’m such a huge advocate of flexible, remote careers for women – especially mothers!

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

Before launching Absolute JEM as an official business, I had already done a few branding and website projects for friends and family. My boss and the CEO of Here Comes The Guide Meredith Schwartz was my first client. She has a wildly-popular book podcast called The Currently Reading Podcast, and she trusted me to design their visual brand identity and website. I was honored, to say the least. With that project under my belt, I already had a rough process and package inclusions in mind.

The next step was solidifying my own brand identity. I went through the same process I now put my own design clients through—from filling out an in-depth brand questionnaire to pinning images on Pinterest. Once I knew the WHY behind my business and had my visuals in place, I was able to create my website. 

Of course, there are so many more steps I had to take to actually launch, but as a brand and web designer it was crucial for me to get my own outward-facing visual brand, website design, messaging, and social media feed really right.

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business? 

Instagram, and of course, word of mouth. I booked my first “real” paying client through Instagram. (As in, this wasn’t someone I knew in real life.) My Instagram strategy was to practice what I preach: Brand consistency. I have my color palette, my fonts, my own brand personality and voice…and I religiously stick to them. I began engaging with my local small business community. I also began showing my face in Stories and posts. So I credit Instagram for helping me establish a presence in the creative community, but word of mouth has been my key to consistent bookings.

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them? 

I had the idea to launch Absolute JEM back in 2018, when I was 9 months pregnant with my second baby boy. I knew that time and balance would be my biggest challenges. Juggling two young kids plus a full-time job didn't leave me with much bandwidth to launch a side hustle, but it was something I just couldn't get out of my head.

The best thing I did to overcome these challenges was accept that none of it was going to happen overnight, and if this is something I really wanted, I needed to embrace slow, steady growth.

It took me a couple of years to launch my own business, and to this day, I have to manage my time carefully. I work a 4-day workweek with Here Comes The Guide and dedicate my Fridays to Absolute JEM. I only take on 1–2 design clients at a time. I have future ideas for digital products, but again, I know that this is going to take some time.

I'm not in the position in my life to hustle. I need to be present for my family. So I make sure to strike a balance with work that feeds me and challenges me, but doesn't overwhelm me or completely stress me out. Striking this work / life balance isn't always easy, but it's something I firmly believe in as a working mother.

How do you stay focused?

My favorite tip for focused productivity at work is writing out a daily "top 3" to-do list. Rather than writing down all the things that need to get done, my strategy is to streamline the list down to just three things that must get done that day. These are my top priorities, and if I get nothing else done, I will still feel productive because those most mission-critical to-dos got checked off my list. I start each morning by thinking through my top 3, and writing them down. Once I’ve worked through those items, I can move on to the lower-priority tasks if time allows—or simply give myself permission to log off for the day!

How do you differentiate your business from the competition? 

Visually, my brand is bold and colorful, and I'm not afraid to put my sassy personality on display. I find that a lot of designers favor a more neutral color palette, sophisticated language, and are a bit more "safe". I want to attract clients that aren't afraid to be SEEN, so I try to put my own style out there—even if it repels some people!

I also have a wealth of experience with all things digital marketing. Through Here Comes The Guide I've gained expertise not only in branding and design, but also in best SEO practices and copywriting. I find that some designers only make things look pretty—but I know that's only part of the equation. I partner that pretty with powerful strategy to really resonate with clients, rank on Google, and convert lookers into bookers.

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business? 

Leveraging both social media and my website, and putting personality into my brand. I use Instagram as a running portfolio of my work but also as a place to educate my audience on best practices for branding and website design and to share some personal, behind-the-scenes stories to help build that all-important “know like trust” factor. I also use blogging as a means to both showcase my expertise and rank my website higher on Google. 

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs? 

Find your voice. Most markets are so saturated that differentiating your branding is essential. Embrace your unique personality and let it shine through in your brand and marketing! Because at the end of the day, *authenticity* is what will build trust and connection.

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

One of my favorite books that I’ve read several times now is Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin. I'm fascinated by habits—both how they shape the overall structure of our lives and how our personality types play into forming, changing, or breaking them. This book is incredibly easy to read and is jam-packed with strategies that actually work. I continually go back to it to reinforce certain habits in my life and just love the framework she provides.

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

I'm a huge fan of TextExpander. It’s a tool that expands short abbreviations into long blocks of frequently-used text. I use it for emails mostly, and it enables you to not only “type out” hugely long emails with just a few clicks on the keyboard, but it also has “fill in” fields where you can customize the emails as needed. I’ve saved so much time with this tool – apparently in 2021 I saved 18 days using TextExpander!

Who is your business role model? Why?

I’ve already mentioned her above, but it’s my boss Meredith Monday Schwartz. As the head honcho at Here Comes The Guide, she’s helped us build a remarkable company for working moms. We’re a fully-remote, self-funded, women-founded, owned, and operated small business dedicated to true work / life balance. She’s implemented a 4-day workweek to give us more time, 6 weeks of paid maternity leave, and encourages us all not only to shape our own roles, but to also have side hustles that feed us. She never makes you feel bad about missing work when life happens. On the flip side, she actually gives us tips and advice to help. I don’t know how I got so lucky, but it makes me want to see more companies like ours out there in the world.

How do you balance work and life? 

I’ve mentioned several ways in my answers above, but one thing that I think is paramount to feeling balanced is self care. For me this means taking good, intentional care of your mental and physical well being. Far too often this “strategy” falls by the wayside because people either think it’s selfish (false) or that it’s less important than the other items on their to-do list (also false). The truth is, you need to feel your best in order to effectively tackle whatever the universe has in store. Whether it’s journaling, meditation, walking your dog, or taking a nightly bubble bath, find the things that naturally recharge you and leave you feeling like the best, most balanced version of yourself. No excuses!

What’s your favorite way to decompress? 

Red wine and Bravo. No shame in my game.

What do you have planned for the next six months? 

I have design clients booked through summer! So between client work, my full-time job, and my kids I’ll be keeping pretty busy. One thing I’ve been noodling on is creating digital products. I’d love to have a more passive revenue stream at some point. I’m aiming to gain more clarity on this in the coming months to put an actual plan in place.

How can our readers connect with you?

You can find me on Here Comes The Guide, my website Absolute JEM, and on Instagram @absolute.jem – can’t wait to connect!