[00:00:27] Jay: Hi, everyone. Welcome to The First Customer podcast today. I'm lucky enough to be joined by Jen Crompton, founder of Something Creative. Jen, hello, thanks for joining me.

[00:00:35] Jen: Thanks for having me, Jay. I appreciate it.

[00:00:38] Jay: So digital strategy, all sorts of stuff that's very relevant to lots of different business owners out there today. But let's start with where'd you grow up? And did that have any impact on you being an entrepreneur?

[00:00:50] Jen: Yeah. So I grew up in South Jersey and, I think one of the biggest things that impacted me when I was growing up that kind of led me to be an entrepreneur is, my family. So my grandfather was an entrepreneur. He actually, fun fact, he owns the Colonial Theater in Phoenixville for a short time. and my uncle.

Was also an entrepreneur and, I just kind of watched them and really appreciated the lifestyles that they lived and the fact that they had a lot of family time, but they also, you know, were. driving a business. and I don't think I really came to appreciate that until I got a little bit older, but I definitely think that, you know, it was in my genes and it was something that I was drawn toward, even though I could tell you and be perfectly honest that until I got to college, I don't think I knew what the word entrepreneur even meant.

and people didn't throw it around as freely as they do these days. So, which. Makes me sound old and I'm not that old, but 

[00:01:45] Jay: No, for better for worse, they definitely throw it around much more now than they did even 10 years ago. So how'd you bounce back from being fired four times?

[00:01:56] Jen: yeah. So in my journey here, one of the things that I think was, a bit of a defining moment for me was, I went to grad school and I was a, grad assistant. I had an assistantship with the director of marketing at Rowan university and I loved it. I loved being in that environment. I really loved my mentor and it was, The best and worst thing that he could do to me was he basically threw me into a project. And I said, uh, you know, Ed, I don't know anything about building a marketing plan because I went to school for communications and then I was going to grad school for PR. So I really didn't take any marketing courses.

And he said, you know, Jen, I think you can do this. And if you can't, I'm right here. I will help you use your resources, use the tools that you have, and you can absolutely do this. And I was like, oh, okay. So I believed him and I went ahead and tried to do this project. And I say it's the best and worst because, It was such a great experience for me to dive into something that made me feel very uncomfortable and something I didn't know a whole lot about. But also it was a great experience for me to just kind of say you know what, someone else believes in me and I'm a smart person. I can figure this out.

Let's do this. And so that was a really great opportunity for me, but because he offered so much autonomy and because I am a very independent person, As I got into my career, I kind of realized that working for someone else wasn't really going to work for me, and a lot of that had to do with, the speed that I wanted to work at, the speed I wanted to advance, the fact that I, you know, was young and eager and excited and could absorb a lot of information quickly, and I just really wanted to see things go a little bit quicker than, you know, anyone felt comfortable with them moving, and so, you know, I was fired.

I remember the first job I was fired from I it wasn't that terrible because I really didn't want to work there anymore and I wasn't really using my best skills. It was just kind of like I needed a job and I got one. And then the second time I was fired, that was like a real job. And that was a bit devastating because, It was actually only devastating because I was worried what other people would think about it.

I looked at all my friends who were like, so many of them at the time were in pharmaceutical sales, doing really well. And I was like, Oh my gosh, I'm a failure. I went to grad school. I was fired from two jobs already. Three jobs at that point. I don't even know. and then by the fourth time I was fired, I was happy because I had already started doing work on my own on the side.

So I took phone calls in the morning before I drove into work or on my way to work. I took phone calls in my car at lunchtime and I would just find like pockets of time to do work. And so when I was fired, you know, and Literally a week before I was fired, I had said to my then boyfriend, now husband, you know, I'm building up such a great client base on the side.

I'm going to have to make a decision. And he's well, do you think you're ready to make that decision? I was like, ah, I don't think so. You know, cause here I am thinking like retirement and health insurance and all those fun things. And, and then I was fired. And my only question was, Will I get health insurance?

And they said, yeah, you can go on COBRA for six months. And I was like, okay, well then I'll see you guys later. so it was definitely, you know, it was that, and I always get quotes and adages wrong, but it was, it's something about you know, the failure isn't, it's not a failure, it's a redirection.

And that's really how I looked at it was, I basically said, I'm terrible at making decisions, with this kind of weight tied to it, but they made the decision for me. So I said, here I go. I guess this is the universe telling me that's the direction I need to be taking, that I shouldn't be working for someone else and that I should be working for myself and that I have the potential to pursue this full time.

And that's really where it should be going.

[00:05:31] Jay: Love that. Love that story, and I love that you were starting to build something on the side. you hear a lot of times people, you know, don't want to start something until they've left somewhere else. and I did the same thing you did, and I kind of built something up as I was kind of doing a 9 to 5 job and got fired.

And it was the same kind of deal, and it was, what's the deal with insurance? I mean, I had a bunch of kids at the time, and I still do. but, you know, it was scary at the moment, but, I think it's a good push in the right direction and I think a lot of people can kind of glean something from that. so was that the first business you tried to start? was your consultant, I mean you've been doing this for what, 17 years I think I saw for something creative? Is that, was it the first one?

[00:06:08] Jen: Yeah. I mean, so I, well, technically I like to say that my first business was, when I was younger and I made my friends do dances to boys, to men, and I recorded them on videotapes, This is old school, right? So it was like a video recorder that you, had like a little tiny tape and then you had to transfer that onto a VHS tape.

And so I told all my friends that if we could learn this dance and that we could do a good job, then maybe we would, we could sell it to our parents and our friends for 10. Per VHS. And so that was my first, I think, experience getting into the entrepreneur world, because I was like, we can make something that no one else can make because we are the only five people that can dance this way.

You know, it didn't work so well, but our parents did buy the VHS tapes. But I also learned that, you know. You had to buy the VHS tapes to begin with. I had to borrow equipment. so maybe it wasn't the most profitable venture that I went into. and I also always say that, I had a paper route and I don't know how many people you've interviewed that have said that, but.

I loved having a paper route and I really think it was such an important part of my experience of learning like how to do things on your own and how to be responsible for it, although it was a family paper route because anyone who had one knew that the Sunday papers were very heavy and very hard to roll.

So, so my dad was very involved with my paper route. But my business of consulting social media was how it all started at the time. And that was my first like real official type entree into consulting and running my own business. And, I've tried lots of things since and throughout and during, but that was really my first like official business.

[00:07:47] Jay: How did you get your first customer at something creative?

[00:07:50] Jen: Yeah. So it was really interesting because what, how it all kind of happened when I first started consulting was I started talking to, So when I didn't have a job, I talked to absolutely everyone I possibly could. So networking, right? So networking is so big and it was important for me to just meet people.

So I would go to meetups, I would go to, you know, just about anything that was in the area that was marketing PR involved. And, as I was talking to people, I kind of started to hear that, you know, there was this social media thing. And, I was just. Slightly ahead of most other people, but because I was slightly ahead, people kind of looked at me as Oh, she knows what she's doing in social media.

And that really just kind of became like who I was, like I was this girl who could do social media and I can teach people how to do it. And my biggest, The biggest part of social media at the time was Twitter. And so I would be tweeting and tweeting about marketing and tweeting out articles and things that I wrote.

And, a friend of mine who, well, colleague of mine at the time, who was also a friend, he said, you know, I think I have a small company, they're out in Westchester. I think they might, you know, need some of your services. I know you're working, but would you have time to, you know, meet with them and see what it is that they need?

And. You know, maybe they want to hire you full time or maybe not. So I, uh, went out to meet the people, it was a packaging company. I went out to meet them in Westchester and they were like, you know what, we would love to have someone like you, but we can't really hire anyone full time. you know, what are your consulting fees?

And at the time I wasn't really doing much at all. So I was like, oh, I will get back to you on that. So, you know, I went home and Googled what I should charge and I was trying to figure that out. And, uh, you know, I had to Google how to make an invoice and all that fun stuff. And, now that I look back, cause I was just, I was thinking about it the other day before we were doing this interview and I was like, let me look back and I believe my rate that I charged was 25 an hour to start.

and so it was. They were definitely getting a great deal, but I definitely didn't have all the experience that I do now. Uh, and it was my longest standing client until I had to part ways with them, because of my choice. And it was just because of my workload. And it was, I believe it was right when I was about to have my son who's eight years old now.

Uh, but it was, you know, it was networking, it was word of mouth, and it was being in the right place at the right time, but also. Being open to embracing that opportunity. So the fact that I didn't really have any clients at the time, it wasn't, you know, I could have just said Oh, I don't know what I'm doing and you know, this isn't right.

And I'm scared or whatever, but I didn't ever look at it that way. I looked at it as, Oh, wow, I can really help this company. This is exciting. And this is exactly what I want to be doing. I'll figure it out as I go, which that goes back to what I was saying about when I worked at Rowan and, Ed threw me into this project and said, you'll figure it out as you go and you're smart enough to figure out how to figure it out if you don't.

And, and that was kind of the approach that I took with that first client. I said, you know what, I will make sure that I will service them the best I can and I will deliver and I will do a great job. You know, if I don't know what I'm doing, I'll find someone else who does and I'll find mentors and other people who can guide me through it.

So that was really how I got that client. And it was,I think your first customer, your first client is so important because it gives you the confidence to keep going if it's a good partnership, right? It's almost like anything else. If you try it and it doesn't work out and it's like your first effort at it, what it does is it teaches you whether or not.

It matters to you. So I say that because if I started working with this client and we were doing marketing and social media and, you know, they didn't love it and they told me I was terrible or whatever. And I wasn't passionate about doing that. I would have thrown in the towel and been like, okay, that's it.

But fortunately it was a great relationship. They were really great company to work with. They were patient. They were, you know, I was exactly what they needed at the time, but they were exactly what I needed at the time. So it was very important, I think, from both perspectives of like me trying to start the business, but also me getting the confidence of saying wow, I.

Someone's actually paying me direct for my services and saying, I have value and I'm worth this. And after being fired four times, well, actually that was three times at that point. I, you know, didn't know what my worth and my value was. And, you know, a lot of my confidence had taken quite a hit just from, you know, the redirection of my journey and all the things I was doing from a professional perspective.

[00:12:16] Jay: Right. Well, Ed sounds like a great leader, uh, first and foremost, to be able to kind of push you to do those things, which had such a big impact on your career. It sounds like you were ahead of the curve with social media, ahead of the curve with TikTok dancing, because that was, you know, certainly years later when you were, when you had your first business. but, uh, so how do you differentiate yourself today in a very crowded, Digital strategy space. I mean, there's a million and a half companies that are digital marketers and they'll help you with all your stuff. who is your customer today and how do you kind of differentiate yourself from the other, you know, noise out there?

[00:12:57] Jen: Yeah, well, I'll try to make this as succinct as possible, but I wanna add one thing into this story, which is in 2015, my husband and I opened up a brick and mortar shop, and that was our fitness studio, and we opened that up because fitness was always something that was really important to me and always something that I've enjoyed.

And I was a cycle instructor. actually one of the times I was unemployed, I borrowed $350 from my dad to go to a spinning certification class. So I could get certified to be a cycle instructor. And the whole reason why I did that was because when I was looking for a job, I would get up at, you know, 5 AM and go to the gym.

And I, it was like a full day, right? I acted like I was still working. So I got up, went to the gym, worked out, would look for jobs, do what I needed to do, but I kept my routine.

And so I remember showing up to the gym one morning at And the instructor was not prepared. And she was like trying to do the cycle class and like fiddling with her iPod.

And all I could think the whole time I was sitting there was I could do this and I could show up for people and I could give them an incredible experience. And that's exactly what I want to do is and to back up a little bit more, when I was younger, I was a camp counselor. And when I was a counselor, I remember.

you know, we'd all hang out, uh, after work every night and we'd have a good time and whatever. But I remember this one time where I showed up and, I was not feeling great because we did have a great time the night before. And I remember thinking like, I can't be short with these kids.

this is their summer and I'm a counselor. I'm responsible for this experience that I'm giving these kids and They didn't go out last night. I did. So why should they have to deal with me being cranky and tired because I made a bad decision or.

Maybe not a great decision. Let's put it that way.

So, I've always been that person who's been like, you know, if you're here, give it a hundred percent, like it should be a great experience for everyone. So when I opened up my fitness studio, what my, the whole premise of it was, I didn't want people to go into a fitness space and feel, you know, Like they were, people were staring at them or they didn't fit in regardless of where they were in their fitness journey.

I wanted them to feel welcomed, excited, but I wanted them to get an amazing workout regardless of where they were in their fitness journey. I didn't want them to worry about what they were wearing, who was looking at them. I didn't want to have creepy instructors who were weird, you know, Like inappropriate.

So I was very protective of what that environment was and what it was that we brought and how that was different from all the other experiences that they were getting. so then going into, uh, we ended up closing our studio in 2020 at the end of the year due to the pandemic and, you know, trying to like, hold on to, or trying to pay overhead when no one was actually going into the.

into the physical space, which was not fun. So we ended up closing our studio, but our lease was expiring anyway. So it was not a bad thing. I actually enjoyed the five years that we put into it. And then we did some online classes and things like that. And anyway, but what I've really looked at, if I look at.

You know, this ongoing theme of what I've always tried to do. It's always about experiences. It's about providing really great experiences for people, for, you know, reaching out to a client before they reach out to me, because I'm giving them a status update because I know that they're going to want one.

So it's it's building trust. It's. Creating an experience that everyone feels good about. Right? So my philosophy was always I'm not going to waste your time and I'm not going to waste your money. So I will charge you what it's fair, but I will make sure that it's efficient and that I'm giving you everything that you need and the time that you need it.

So that's how I continue to try to differentiate myself with what I do is, you know, I'm going to give you great quality stuff. And I feel confident saying that because Transcribed I've been doing it and that's what I do and that's what I strive for. But I'm also going to, you know, make sure that you're not worried about what I'm doing because, you know, being the type of person that I am, I also get anxious about when you know, when you hire someone and you have a limited budget every day, you ask yourself if that's the right investment, right?

Because you're like, that's my money. I am saying that I'm giving you my money because I think you're valuable. Show me the value. So I always try to take it from that perspective of if I'm working with a client, I'm definitely going to make sure that they're satisfied, that they're happy. And if something happens, we're going to work through it.

and I always say to them, look, if in three months, you're not happy with what I've done, that's okay, then we can go our separate ways. But it's like dating, right? you don't know until you get into it. Once you get into it, you can kind of know pretty quickly if you're going to, if it's going to work out or not.

And if it doesn't. It's just, it doesn't mean that was a bad company to work for, or that I'm a terrible person to work with. It just means it wasn't the right fit. So I always try to keep that in mind. But again, it's about delivering that service of, you know, doing exactly what you say you're going to do.

And it's amazing how many people don't do what they say they're going to do. I'm not even saying you have to go above and beyond. I'm saying you just have to do what you said you were going to do. And that, that in itself will differ on GEU. Okay. 

[00:18:02] Jay: And I hope everybody heard. Reach out to your clients before they reach out to you. That may be one of the best lessons I've ever heard on this podcast and never heard anybody say directly. And some people take that for granted. But goodness gracious, does that make a difference? Sitting back and waiting is not the right thing to do.

And I think good business owners just kind of innately know that. And they get a sense of hey, you know, it's been too long or it's there's enough. change happening where I should reach out. and I feel like our customers have kind of appreciated that as well. Especially kind of in our space doing software testing.

Like it's very much the end of the line and like things are waiting to go out and it's always been a big thing to make sure you over communicate. because you can certainly solve problems much easier before they happen than after they happen. So, I think that's a really good thing to take out of that.

Alright. What would you do now? Non business related, if you knew you couldn't fail, anything on earth, what would you do, one thing, if you knew you couldn't fail?

[00:19:12] Jen: Gosh, I've,

[00:19:13] Jay: a bucket list item, anything, you know, whatever you want it to be.

[00:19:17] Jen: well, I've been thinking, I've actually been thinking a lot about this recently because I've been trying to figure out like what my next step is in my career in general. But I would say if there was something that I could do that I would not fail at,I'm not exactly sure what it would be, but I, the thing that I crave is like making an impact on kids.

And that's, but I never wanted to be a teacher, not like a, not an elementary school teacher. I teach, but I teach, you know, college students, I teach them about digital marketing and I teach them about service and things like that. But I've always really wanted to make like an impact on young kids.

And the more after having a kid, which I think totally changes you in more ways than you even are prepared for. I was like the first four years of a child's life are so important. And. So many people don't have the privilege of being able to spend their time with their kids during those first four years and they're so formative and I would, you know, totally try to do something that would like, open up a, I mean, this is my pipe dream will be like opening up this, daycare, but I hate to use the word daycare because I feel like it gets such a negative connotation, but like this fun center for kids who are, you know, from zero to four and it would be paid for, but it would be, you know, beautiful and nice. And the people that work there would be paid well, and they would be happy to be there and they'd be taking care of your kids and you would feel great.

Dropping your kid off in the morning. And then when you pick them up, they would be like so happy and they would have a great time. And, you know, they would learn things about their values and morals and how to be a good person in the world. And that would be my ultimate dream. If I were to like dream up what my life's purpose would be and what I would accomplish from a business and from a personal perspective, that would be the most fulfilling thing.

But I haven't quite gotten there or figured this out yet. And my husband's always you can't solve all the world's problems. I'm like, but I can try, 

[00:21:07] Jay: you can try, and I'm sure, you know, it sounds like Jen's, kids fun center may be something that eventually happens. So I think that's a great answer. alright, where can people find you, if they want to reach out, if they have questions, if they want to talk to you,or something creative if they want to engage in your services.

[00:21:23] Jen: Yeah. The best thing would be on LinkedIn. and, that's probably the place I go the most. So either that or email and my LinkedIn, my profiles, Jen Cohen, Crompton. So I think it's like slash Jennifer L Cohen, because, you know, we had to establish these back before we changed our names and then, my email address.

I usually just use my Gmail, which is Jennifer Lynn Cohen at Gmail. And I check my email every day and my LinkedIn almost every day. So you can reach me on either one.

[00:21:52] Jay: Alright, well I'm sure people will reach out. Jen, you're great. I think you had a great story and some really cool lessons in there, so thank you for joining us today and, enjoy the rest of your week, alright?

[00:22:02] Jen: Thank you. And thanks for having me.

[00:22:03] Jay: You're welcome. Thanks, Jen. See ya. 

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