When I Grow Up: Jenna of Lazy K Creative
When I Grow Up returns today, and I'm featuring Jenna of Lazy K Creative. She's another awesome Boss I've met through the Being Boss group, and I can't wait for you to meet her!
As a child, I wanted to be a marine biologist when I grew up.
How close (or far) is your current career from that dream? Ha, extremely far! I get my otter fix when I take my kids to the zoo. I have absolutely zero interest in being in the water surrounded by creepy animals. As an alumni relations and development professional by day and a creative marketing strategist by night, the closest I get to water and animals is setting up my laptop by the pool and letting a cat curl up beside me.
What is your official job title? During the day, I am the alumni relations and development coordinator for the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications at Texas A&M University. It's the department where I earned my master's degree, and I'm able to use my communications and marketing education in developing relationships with former students and connecting their interests to engagement or financial opportunities in the department. My side hustle is as Founder and Chief Creative Strategist at my creative marketing business - Lazy K Creative. It started as an avenue for me to try everything I was interested in, including lifestyle design, photography and small business marketing. However, I'm making the shift to focusing purely on marketing, offering sophisticated marketing concepts for the modern entrepreneur and visionary.
Ok, now what does that really mean? I've been in marketing and communications for 10+ years, and have continued to expand both my technical, creative and strategic skillsets. I'm unique in that I'm equally right- and left-brained, meaning that I'm really good at helping clients see the bigger picture, creating a plan that makes sense, and strategizing about how to go about achieving their goals. On top of that, I can actually do all the production work to carry out this plan, from the content creation to the web design to the graphic design. It's exhausting trying to keep up with the latest trends in ALL these areas, but being able to be the sole contact for a client and provide all the pieces to the puzzle makes for a better, more cohesive product in the end.
I apply these same concepts to my day job. As a department, we want to engage our former students and introduce them to causes that are near and dear to them. Philanthropy comes only after a person has been engaged, so it's critical to utilize the right communication tools and the right messaging to engage our former students. It helps that I'm a former student myself, so I speak the same language and know the kinds of information that's important to me.
What is a typical day like? Well, I start by hitting snooze on my alarm about 3...or 4 times. I roll out of bed around 6 am to get ready for the day. (Side note: My sweet hubby is a high school special ed inclusion teacher, so since it's summer, I get to watch him sleep in while I get up for work). I get dressed, grab my coffee, and head out the door for my 45-minute commute. From 8-5, I'm scheduling development visits, creating content for my former student newsletter, reaching out to potential donors, communicating daily with my two advisory boards, checking some email, organizing my to-do list, meeting with faculty to talk about engagement opportunities for former students, and spearheading new development campaigns. I eat lunch at my desk so that I can get home as soon as I can so that I have as much time with my hubby, 4-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son. We play outside, swim, go for family runs, pick the garden veggies and chicken eggs, cook supper, take baths, read books, and finally give the kids their goodnight kisses. My daughter usually begs to "snuggle" with Mommy, so I always oblige, which means I usually don't get back onto my laptop until 9:30 or 10 at night! My hubby and I relax together in front of the TV (he watches something on ESPN and I'm creating, writing or designing something for a client). I try to call it a night by 11:30, because that alarm will be going off again before I know it. Because I have such a busy, hectic schedule, I limit my time to my side hustle to 2-3 days/week so that I can have some uninterrupted evenings to just be with my family without the pressure of feeling like I'm not getting something done.
How did you end up in this career? I had always been a very creative, out-of-the-box thinker as a child. I would write and illustrate my own books and, in school, would always go overboard on any project assignment. I'm sure I drove the other kids crazy. My writing was always strong, which is probably one of the assets that helped me land a full-ride to Texas A&M (graduating valedictorian didn't hurt). As an animal lover (channeling my early marine biologist days), I decided to major in animal science and become a veterinarian. It wasn't until college, and specifically, my junior year, that I was even introduced to a career and marketing and communications. That's when I decided to pursue a master's degree in agricultural communications and journalism, and I landed my first entry-level communications specialist position with the university in Sept. 2005, three months before completing my master's. I've been in the field ever since, most notably as Director of Communications and Public Relations for the Texas A&M College of Education and Human Development before deciding to be my own boss while pregnant with my second child.
What kind of education or training did you complete for this career? While a junior at Texas A&M, I decided I wanted a master's in communications and journalism. I started taking undergraduate classes as part of my elective requirements my last two years, and then spent 1.5 years taking master's classes and serving as a graduate teaching assistant in web, print and media writing courses. Until I landed my first full-time entry-level communications gig, I volunteered my time for local nonprofits designing newsletters, assisting with promotional campaigns and doing some light web work. For the past 10+ years, I've continued to teach myself new technical skills and techniques and familiarize myself with current marketing trends. The field is ALWAYS changing, so I can't rely on my knowledge and skills from 5 years ago to be effective for my clients today. I'm constantly reading, trying out new things, and pushing my abilities to the brink of needing quite a few extra cups of coffee. It's important for me that I stay on the cutting edge of my field.
What advice would you give to someone who wants a similar career? Work smarter, not harder. But work your butt off. No, really, I've been in a director position before where I was in charge of an entire marketing and communications department. I provided myself on the fact that I didn't just delegate or point a finger...I did the work. I didn't expect anything of my employees that I couldn't do myself. So, get your hands dirty, learn some skills, and show an organization that you are an asset to their larger vision. But the key is that over time, don't get so used to having others do the work that you lose an actual, concrete skill. Doesn't mean you have to be good at everything, but it also doesn't mean that you shouldn’t be good at something. Don't just preach it...show it, whether that's being a kickass writer or editor, a Wordpress wizard, or a design guru. Find a passion, stick with it, and continue to develop and enhance your skills over time. Learn how your passion contributes to the larger whole, and do whatever you can to always contribute strategically and creatively.
Do you have any other career dreams? What do you want to be when you grow up? I'd like to take my side hustle to the next level. I've already seen growth and change in the types of clients I'm searching for, and the types of clients that are attracted to what I can offer. I'd like to see that continue to grow. I want clients that value the expertise I bring in regards to creative marketing and branding, and want more of a strategic partnership type of relationship as we work together to help grow their business and reach their goals. As a Mom, it's important for me that my kids look up to me and see me as a professional, so I want to pass along some of my passions to my kids. My daughter has already shown an interest in learning photography and "computer work" as she calls it (she's only 4), but as a creative professional, it's important that I help bring out the creativity in my own children. Over time, I'd like to find myself back in a position of directing a creative group or department. I'm a good leader, and am equally good at strategizing and executing marketing plans. Plus, I like fixing things. So being able to fix an organization's marketing mishaps and get them back on track to be successful resonates with who I am as a person.
Any last thoughts or encouragement for others trying to decide what they want to do “when they grow up”? Have dreams. Pursue them. Don't give up. But don't think there's one magic button. So many times in life, whether personally or professionally, we think that if we just get past this, things will be where we need them to be. And I'm here to say that isn't always the case. I've learned that life ebbs and flows, and the decisions we make to fit our life today doesn't mean we have to be living by them in 10 years. It's okay to change course as the need arises. It's okay if we make a decision that we realize later wasn't the best one. Change it. Again. It's okay. The majority of the time, the path we're on isn't straight...it's curvy and bumpy with U-turns and stoplights. Sometimes we run out of gas. Other times we're singing out loud to the radio with the windows down. So don't be afraid to chase your dreams, but realize that the chase may be the hardest part of the entire process. Just stay true to yourself, your family and your faith, and don't let anyone else write your song.
Thank you so much for sharing your story, Jenna! If you're interested in learning more about her, visit her website.
Previously on Mrs Robbins Sparkles...
