We were lucky to catch up with Jordan Carda recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jordan, so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?
I read a book in my early twenties, (Chillpreneur by Denise Duffield-Thomas) that covered a whole host of things regarding business ownership and making it work for you, not against you. One idea that stood out to me most from this read was having a mindset of abundance. That there’s plenty of business to go around whether you recognize it or not. Any time I’m feeling lesser than my competitors or admiring something they do well (insert imposter syndrome), I just keep that little gold nugget in mind.
I also attribute a lot of my optimism to the way I was raised. My parents divorced before I turned 5 – on one side I saw blind optimism and on the other, deafening negativity. We were never wealthy and my mom had some interesting hacks to live as a single mom with two small children on a budget. It was primarily just the 3 of us for most of my childhood, she still did her best to take us on vacations, even if it was just a camping trip on the other side of the state, and even remodeled an entire house with only her teenagers’ help. It taught my brother and I lot about perseverance and self-reliance. We often made a family vision board to daydream about what we’d do when we saved up a little bit more. Somehow we always managed to make it happen, creating the believer in manifestation in me.
Fast forward to today, my mom is a very successful business owner herself. She vacations frequently in luxurious destinations and is living her best life, no longer in survival mode. When I’m frustrated or stressed, I just remember that she was able to do all of that with a lot more on her plate than I’ve ever had to face.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I grew up in a town fewer than 700 people, got a 2 year college degree in business & marketing, and entered the world of corporate marketing in a nearby city at the age of 19. I started off my career as a Promotions Assistant to a cluster of radio stations. From there I moved onto a Community Marketing Coordinator role with a franchise of Raising Canes. The franchise was unfortunately dissolved during covid, and I started my job search in another city. With a sour taste of the corporate world, I decided to look for something with more of a small-business feel, where my ideas would be more impactful.
I landed an administrative role with a real estate team in Omaha, where I was introduced to the idea of real estate photography. It was something I quickly became interested in and decided to take a leap into business ownership, where ALL of the ideas were my own. I never had any formal training in photography but was always something I found joy in growing up. I never intended to pursue it because of course, the first thing that comes to mind is families and wedding photography. Neither of which sounded very appealing to me. I’m somewhat introverted and I like having evenings and weekends to myself. Real estate photography seemed to eliminate all of those concerns, so it seemed like a good fit.
Humble Bee Media was born in 2022 and quickly became very popular in the Omaha-metro. I was a bit caught off guard at just how quickly my business would take off. I suddenly felt more connected to a community than I ever had before and it just felt right. Word spread quickly amongst realtors and related industries and I was being approached about all kinds of projects.
I was connected with an interior designer to shoot some of her recent work, which was a bit of a shift for me, but in the best way. It’s similar in that you’re still shooting houses, but now with a different goal. The goal now was to help other small business owners market their services with a beautiful portfolio of their own talents. This wasn’t just turning on every light in the house and making it look as big as possible. The interior projects added a creative element that lit a fire in me.
Similarly to my real estate clients, my designer clientele were excited to share our magazine-worthy content and I saw an increase in the demand for that sort of work. Today I’m shooting for designers and builders all over the city, while continuing to serve many of Omaha’s top real estate agents.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Here are the 3 qualities that I feel have been the most impactful for my success – open mindedness, confidence, and authenticity.
To be completely honest, I never knew what direction I wanted to go professionally in high school or in college. Which is why I opted for a 2 year degree instead of a 4 year university. I didn’t want to commit to one pathway or another and then come to find out that wasn’t a good fit. A quick business degree seemed like a safe, universally applied degree that would t least get my foot in the door somewhere. I have absolutely no regrets about going that route. All of this to say, keeping an open mind about all of the possibilities and opportunities that were out there opened so many more doors for me than if I’d had a very distinct idea or path. Even after being laid off, my first thought was to look for another marketing job, instead I realized that if I looked at other roles where my skill set could be applied and kept an open mind, I might have more options.
Confidence is something that I still have internal battles with on a regular basis. But without taking a leap of faith, or having the audacity to start my own business, I might be stuck climbing the corporate ladder which gave me no sense of fulfillment. That was a huge show of confidence for me. Confidence isn’t all grand gestures though, I apply this on a day to day basis on a much smaller scale. Like when I get pangs of imposter syndrome, I remind myself to be confident in that my clients choose me because they like what I have to offer and appreciate that I’m not just like every other photographer out there. And even when someone chooses not to work with me, I feel confident knowing that it just wasn’t a good fit, but there are so many people out there who are a good fit.
Finally, authenticity. This is something I’ve lived my whole life based on. As a kid in a small, rural community, I NEVER felt like I fit in. I always had different ideas and thought processes and I was insecure about that. But as I got older, I came to realize that outside of that small town, my individuality was appreciated. And I embraced that, finally feeling a sense of normalcy. As a business owner, I still feel very strongly that my work will align with clients who value me exactly as I am. I don’t want to be a one size fits all. I don’t want people to think of my business and only hear marketing buzz words, I want them to think of my business and see a human being who’s excited about contributing to their success. My authenticity is the only business model I operate on and it’s given me an incredible amount of fulfillment because I feel genuine connections with those I do business with. I think they feel that connection too because they keep coming back, and telling their friends.
How would you describe your ideal client?
My ideal client is someone who’s not afraid of being bold. Whether that’s in their design choices or the goals they have for their own business. If someone is bold enough to make a statement, I want to help them bring it to light and share that energy with others. I find that confidence so inspiring.
In terms of design, I’ve seen thousands of homes, trendy has lots its touch. Sure they’re still pretty and practical, but if it’s the same old thing, it’s going to inspire more of the same.
Maybe this client wants to win an award or be featured in a magazine, it takes a lot of confidence to say that their work is worthy of such accolades. That’s bold and I like it, let’s do it, I want to help you see that success.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://humblebeeomaha.com
- Instagram: @humblebeemedia
Image Credits
CM Portraits (headshot)
Humble Bee Media (interior photos)
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
