Jo Skillman shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Good morning Jo, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
I’ve had my own LLC since 2018, but only ever planned to use it for side work, not a full-time business. I was most scared of business development — having to find enough work to pay all my own bills, vacations, etc. was VERY off-putting. But it turns out I’m pretty good at it! Staying in touch with people I like or that I think are working on something cool comes very naturally, and then the work seems to follow.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m a freelance creative director who works with companies and/or creative agencies to build brands and engagement campaigns, often in the civic or cause-based space. Sometimes I’m hired to lead a team of creatives; other times I AM the creative and I’m the one copywriting or designing. I’m often hired when the client is sticky or unhappy, or when the subject matter is complicated. This week I’m designing a logo for a national brand, wrapping up an annual report for a veteran nonprofit, pitching in on a B2B presentation deck for a large re-insurance company, and writing a proposal for visual branding for a global nonprofit. If I hear back from my AI consultancy client, I could also be writing a manifesto. Being able to do copywriting AND visual design really helps me get (and keep) business.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
Several years back I worked on a client that was helping women access birth control in response to a very in-depth, grassroots medical research project. The findings that came out of that project were mind-blowing to me — just very different attitudes and learnings than what I would’ve guessed based on my own knowledge and experience. And this is something that happens to me pretty regularly. Having a job that constantly forces you to re-examine what you thought you knew about the world and the people in it is something I wish more of us could experience. It’s really humbling.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
“Don’t underestimate practice.”
In one famous interview, Ira Glass talks about “The Gap,” which a lot of creatives experience. It’s basically having the taste level to know your work isn’t that great, but not having the skill level to know how to fix it. And the only way through that is to practice. To just do a whole bunch of work and experience a bunch of struggle until you ARE a better designer or writer. We know practice is the answer to all kinds of things, like learning a language or a sport or an instrument, but for some reason we don’t tend to apply it to our professional endeavors.
Even when I went fully self-employed a couple years ago, which was due to being laid off yet again and not because I wanted to, I discovered about six months in that suddenly everything felt way less stressful. Yet again, the difference was just practice — I’d actually gotten better at the new things that came with being self-employed. Practice.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
There’s a lot of fear in the creative industry now that AI is taking our jobs. I don’t think it is at all.
Right now, AI provides us with the opportunity to superpower ourselves — to solve problems quicker and with a wider range of solutions at hand. What your job is actually in danger of is being taken by someone who knows how to use AI better than you.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. If you laid down your name, role, and possessions—what would remain?
A person who really gets to lean into their estate sale-ing hobby.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.joskillman.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jo_skillman/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joskillman/
Image Credits
Alan Nguyen, Brownsville chamber of Commerce, BWash Media, Speakerbox Media
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