Hi, I'm Jacey
The editor of Damsel in Dior. My hope is that this space offers you with the inspiration, tips and tools you need to approach every day never feeling like a damsel in distress, but always like a Damsel in Dior.
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HEREThe editor of Damsel in Dior. My hope is that this space offers you with the inspiration, tips and tools you need to approach every day never feeling like a damsel in distress, but always like a Damsel in Dior.
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When they announced that Kim Kardashian was the keynote speaker, I’m pretty sure this weekend’s Create & Cultivate conference in Los Angeles takes the cake for best blogging conferences out there.
This was my first time speaking on a panel at C&C and now I understand what all of the hype is about. WOW. The brands, the food, the energy, the organization… I was simply in awe by it all. Planning an event of this magnitude does not come easy. In fact, it comes with a ton of hard work, discipline, and noticing a void in an industry that is swimming in the deep-end to survive. But then one day, Jaclyn Johnson created a life boat.
She is the founder and chief executive of Create & Cultivate, an online platform and conference series geared toward women entrepreneurs in the digital world. She is also the founder and CEO of No Subject, a digital marketing and events agency. Both companies are based in Los Angeles.
Jaclyn sat down with me after yesterday’s Create & Cultivate conference so I could pick the brain of this Forbes magazine’s “30 under 30” rockstar.
Hard work. Determination. Hard work. People see success and they don’t see the struggle. They don’t want to see the struggle, because the narrative of telling yourself that X person doesn’t deserve to be where they are is much easier to digest than, I’m not working hard enough. You have to work hard. And then work harder and be nice along the way. That’s how it goes for every successful person.
I like to get in early—oftentimes before the rest of my staff so I can go through my inbox. That way by the time they start to roll in I feel ready to hold a staff meeting. Roll through to-dos. Then it’s calls. So many calls. From calls with sponsors to new leads to press interviews to venue plotting. All the calls! Then I tend to meet with my teams individually. The editorial and social team will roll through immediate to-dos and last minute must-discuss items. Same with production. I leave around 6:30, but during the week of a conference we all burn the midnight oil. There’s no other way around it.
Water! I chug water all day long. I think it’s the only thing that keeps me alive.
I love being onsite the day of the conference. It fills me with motivation to hit the ground and do it again. The joy from attendees and speakers is infectious. Least favorite? Being the boss is lonely sometimes. No one will ever care as much as you, and that can feel very isolating.
By surrounding myself with a stellar team. Creativity doesn’t happen in a solo. We workshop ideas together. Our graphic designer is great at executing vision. Our editor in chief thinks in taglines. We don’t lock ourselves in our offices and put our heads down. We put our heads together.
I was a new, young entrepreneurial woman and I couldn’t find the resources I was looking for—namely, how to get through the first year of business and finding like-minded women. I had questions and Google didn’t have the answers. So I create a community that had the answers.
Also, almost an impossible question to answer. I’m excited to see the vision of 6 months of hard ass work in the flesh. I’m excited to see what the “biggest conference to date” looks like. I am excited to see the energy of the crowd rise when our amazing speakers take the stage. I also have a soft-spot for our walk-on music for speakers. I did a little dance around the office the other day just totally giddy about it.
Oh man. It takes time and practice, but I will say this. Stop thinking about yourself. You’re not the most important part—the audience is the most important. Think about them like you’re talking to a friend, or your mom even, and you’ll speak from the heart. When all is said and done, the audience won’t remember the words you used or how smart you sounded, they will remember the STORY you tell.
And have some faith in yourself. Know that people put you on a stage and gave you a mic because you earned your place there.
That’s such a hard question to answer because it’s crazy to see how much the company has grown in the last five years. I hope that we have a huge community of women kicking ass. I hope to still be delivering amazing content to an even larger group.
Michelle Obama. I don’t know if I need to do any explaining here. If Obama came, that would be OK too. Also Joan Rivers.
I think there are really a few essential pieces, an amazing backpack, a great long blazer, a refined sneaker all go into the mix.
Your reputation is your resume, I actually have no idea where I hear this but I took it to heart and it truly has played into my career along the way. If people like working with you they will continue to work with you and recommend you.
Start by Starting. Don’t overthink it, take the leap and be prepared to iterate.
The conference, which takes place three times a year in various locations nationwide, gathers over 800 women eager to hear tips and advice from other successful businesswomen and to get inspired to cultivate the career of their dreams.
In addition to Create & Cultivate, Jaclyn just launched Work Party which will be a book, podcast, tour and essentially a guide for young and aspiring entrepreneurial women. You can pre-order the book now which will be officially released in August 2018.
I cannot wait to see what the future holds for this bombshell of an entrepreneur. Thank you Jaclyn for taking time to be in our Q&A.
The editor of Damsel in Dior. My hope is that this space offers you with the inspiration, tips and tools you need to approach every day never feeling like a damsel in distress, but always like a Damsel in Dior.
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