Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Janna Volmert. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Janna Volmert, so great to have you on the platform and excited to have you share your wisdom with our community today. Communication skills often play a powerful role in our ability to be effective and so we’d love to hear about how you developed your communication skills.
While I would never claim that my communication is perfect, it absolutely developed through various job positions held. These jobs included being self employed as a musician, working in retail, attending sales communication courses and holding a professional office job.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am a small business owner of a multi-faceted formal and bridal design business. Services include custom bridal and formal design, re-design, alterations and accessory design. The niche is custom making and what I feel is the most exciting. I love designing and making something completely one of a kind for such special occasions.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
As a designer and maker sewing knowledge is absolute. I actually did not know how to sew until I attended fashion design school. So I would argue at any age you can become highly skilled in a craft. Communication is high up there and I think having a sense of “always a student”. It’s easy over time to become stuck in your ways or think you know it all, Always be open to absorbing new information and skill.
What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?
This is such an interesting question! I think playing to your strengths is a safe way to go and good to capitalize on, but I would argue that working on areas of weakness would be valuable as well. You would need to do some objective self evaluation such as, are these areas of weakness relevant to my areas of strength? Would developing be worth the value if I succeed or can apply? Assuming that these weaker areas apply, at least working on to some degree would absolutely make you more well rounded or at least be able to communicate with others better.
An example of this for me was a recent project I worked on, a bridal jumpsuit. I hadn’t designed, made or problem solved pants since my time in college. Not only was I out of practice but also just didn’t have the expertise. I took on the project anyway knowing it would be a huge challenge. I was able to connect with another professional who helped me problem solve during the course of work and now have that experience to take into another future project of the same.
A non-work related instance of purposely working on a weakness was running. I had always hated running. I wasn’t good or fast but seeing others love it, and an easy way to move the body I was determined to at least make it not such a daunting task. I picked a running program and even signed up for a race for extra motivation. Slowly but surely I actually started to enjoy it once I figured out my perfect spot or pace that worked for me. I ended up running two half marathons and get this, I didn’t hate it!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jmcouturiere.com
- Instagram: @jmcouturiere
- Facebook: @jmcouturiere
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janna-volmert-6733b3152?trk=contact-info
Image Credits
Amanda Musselman Photography KHulett Photography Layken Sommerer Photo Mitchell Bennett Photography Kiley Ann Photography
