Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jennifer Jerde. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jennifer, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
Sometimes I am confident. Sometimes I am not. Early on, I wore confidence kinda like clothes. Really great clothes that wrapped me on the outside and insulated me from my inside. I was able to tap into a vein of faux bravado that worked for a time until I realized that this bullshit is what undermines self esteem. I read in a Brené Brown book that we trust the people who ask us for advice. Think about that for a minute. Not the people who have all the answers. It makes great sense that younger people want to prove themselves. When we are young, we are proving ourselves to ourselves as much as others. I recognize genuine confidence in others. For one, they are not universally confident all the time. They might be gifted in certain ways but to a person, they are open, fallible, delighted in seeing others talents. The minute my sense of me is dialed up too high, its just like Icarus. It’s not too long before I end up on my butt. When I think about the people I work with, we are really good. I find immense confidence and comfort in US. WE. In culture, the individual genius is what is celebrated and that’s not going to change anytime soon but I do not buy it. Self esteem continues to emerge for me as I get clear about my limitations. For years it was self help books, then it was School of Life books and today I have a Teacher and a meditation practice. Meditation is absolutely nothing like I thought it would be and I cannot say enough good things about it. If one person reads this and tries it every single day until it becomes a habit, this article will have been worth it. Suffice it to say that I can hear myself now. I pay attention to how I feel and I try not to fake anything at all. I feel insecure sometimes, sometimes all the flipping time but less and less. I am just getting more and more comfortable with learning to be with the feeling of insecurity. I do not hold myself in the highest regard. I can say with the utmost confidence that my sense of self can be wobbly and I can sometimes feel grandiosely awesome but I do not trust it.
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’m 58 years old. I want the beloved brand identity firm known as Elixir Design to endure beyond me. I want the same kind of awesome people and brands and organizations to continue coming to us because not only do we help them in spades, but because it is a joy to do really good work.
I am really excited to share that gifts we have brewed up for clients and friends over the years will become available on our store (and in a handful of stores that we love). elixircabinetofcuriosities.com.
My husband and I and the Elixir team and a handful creative friends are spearheading a new event venue in a gorgeous old bank building in downtown Petaluma, California. It is called Hall of the Above. halloftheabove.com
We work with all manner of people and resisted specializing which is very difficult. Business experts rightly maintain that specialization is incredibly important where renumeration is concerned. So, yes, we know a little bit about a crazy -wide array of things and then a ton about starting brands, re branding brands, retail, and raising money (for start ups, non profits, etc.)
Regarding myself, I spend a lot of time making things in real life, privately, primarily in sketchbooks and also crafts, needlework, stuff like that.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
BE REAL
Own your mistakes. Never point fingers. Do not over apologize yet don’t defend yourself either.
LISTEN
Always show clients what they are asking for first and if you think there is something that could serve them better, then show it to them too. You think you know what will work but you don’t. Try things. Sometimes things that sound really bananas work beautifully.
TRUST YOUR INTUITION
In the relatively short list of very hard clients that we have worked with over the years, a pattern emerged. No matter how hard you try, you will not be able to do great work for them. In fact, they do not want you to.
Best to get out of there as soon as possible.
If people are challenging in the proposal process, it will not get better. Walk away.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
Know your strengths and weaknesses. It’s not super easy to get to them.
Work with others —especially those that are better than you. Ask others for help.
For the one-man band, ask yourself how many songs you hope others will listen to?
For those within earshot of a one-man band, how many songs do you want to endure?
Is there anything more fun than making music with others and sounding great?
Contact Info:
- Website: https://elixirdesign.com
- Instagram: @elxrdsgn
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferjerde/
Image Credits
(Portrait of me with dog) John Dolan
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