We recently connected with Jori Halpern and have shared our conversation below.
Jori, thank you so much for joining us today and appreciate you talking about a sensitive topic. It’s unfortunately relevant to so many in the community as layoffs have been on the rise recently, and so we’d appreciate hearing your story and how you overcame being let go?
Being fired or laid off is never a good feeling, but I am very thankful for the times this has happened in my life. The first time I was fired, was from what I thought at the time was my dream job. At the time I felt helpless, I didn’t really know what my passion was. As someone who was always a worker, I began to question the value of my existence outside of working. It was the beginning of the summer and I had decided to take the summer to really learn about me and explore my passions. At this time I had started to get more into photography, which had always been a passion of mine, but one I didn’t really practice. It helped that I was 26, living in NYC, and had a group of friends who were already creatives. This essentially is what kicked off my path down owning my own business and having the opportunity to really do something I am passionate about.
The second time I was fired, was about a year or so into my journey of being a creative entrepreneur. At the time I had been thinking I wanted to work for a media company, and so I found a job with a media company. I began working there, and soon realized that the dynamic of the company, and the over all type of brands they were working with was not something that interested me. I also felt very stuck at the job, and felt guilt over wanting to leave. When I was fired, I was upset of course, but shortly after I was relieved. I felt so thankful because I could continue finding work that I am also passionate about.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Hello! My name is Jori but I also go by JayCharlii. I am 28 years old, and am a creative entrepreneur based in NYC. I am very passionate about storytelling, conveying words through photos, with a background in hospitality. I focus on content creation like photos and short format video. I also help small business like restaurants and bars, as well as wellness and lifestyle brands build their social media presence, develop programing for F&B and events, and brand partnerships. While I am based in NYC, I work with clients all over the U.S. and would eventually have clients around the world. I also working with local music magazines as well as artist directly to capture their live events and project visuals.
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?
When looking back on my path, or doing the zoom out as I call it, I think the three skills or qualities that have impacted my journey are passion, communication and resilience. One thing I have really learned is you have to roll with the punches. When you are working for yourself, you are the project manager, the accountant, the creative, the owner, and more. I think if you aren’t passionate about what your doing, it can be easy to give-up. For me I have to keep myself engaged, and I have found the way to do that is to follow my passions. I think you also have to have good communications skills. If you are running your own business, a lot future clients come word of mouth, and if someone had a bad experience working with you, they are not likely to recommend their network to you. In communication is also networking. So you want to make sure to always be respectful. When working with people, you don’t want to get a bad rep because of a difference of opinion or value. And ultimately you have to be resilient. Nothing happens overnight. Be resilient to all the no’s you will receive, know that everything thats meant for you is coming. If you don’t get that job you want, or that client you want, maybe it isnt your time for that job. Keep your head down and keep developing your skills.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
I am so excited to answer this question. Let me preference it with I am not a reader. Ever since I was a kid I haven’t loved reading. HOWEVER….. I the 50th Law by Robert Greene & 50 Cent and The Creative Act: A Way Of Being by Rick Rubin are AMAZING reads. Both these books have incredible lessons which are graspable and relevant to anyone building their own business, especially creatives.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jaycharlii.format.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaycharlii
