Meet Jessica Maloan

We were lucky to catch up with Jessica Maloan recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Jessica with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

When I was growing up both of my parents had multiple jobs. They had full-time 9-to-5s and taught classes at the local university. My dad was also in the national guard. We were always busy. I had lots of interests and my parents encouraged me to pursue them. I would go to piano lessons, soccer practice, ballet and lots of other clubs. My mom went back to school to pursue her doctorate degree when I was about 12 years old. She would drive an hour + away for each of her classes and work late into the night on her assignments. She said something to me that has always stuck with me: “You have to work twice as hard to be treated the same ” (if you are a woman). My family did not believe in excuses. They put in the work to provide opportunities for my sister and I.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I own a gift shop in East Nashville, Tennessee, called Gift Horse. We specialize in stationery, paper goods, and unique gifts. We stock our shelves with handmade goods from independent artists and illustrators. We strive to have items that are different from what you see in other stores. We opened in August of 2016 in the Shoppes on Fatherland, which is a block incubator spaces for locally owned businesses.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I studied graphic design in college and knew I wanted to do something in a creative field. I wasn’t sure exactly what that looked like but I took my first full-time job at Davis-Kidd, a beloved local bookstore. That really sparked my love for working in retail and made me realize the importance of third spaces. I loved getting to know the regular customers and developing a sense of community with them. After that bookstore sadly closed in 2010, I worked lots of places including a local bike shop, the library, a screen printing shop, and at a local jewelry studio. I really enjoyed working for small locally owned businesses and always kept my dream of having a store in the back of my mind.

I think working in different industries can be very helpful. Make note of what you like about your place of employment — does your boss make you feel like a valuable part of the team? Do you feel like a cog in a wheel? Is it important to you to feel like you’re contributing to your community?

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

I feel overwhelmed a lot! It’s so difficult to balance all of the tasks required for self-employment while also remembering to take breaks and make time for your life. I allow myself to sign up for classes that interest me that aren’t related to my job. It’s been so nice to know that I have that on my calendar to look forward to.
I also go to therapy and take loooots of walks. I have to remind myself that my to-do list will always be there and most things can wait.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://gifthorsenashville.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/gifthorsenashville.com
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@gifthorsenashville

Image Credits

Kelli Dirks