We caught up with the brilliant and insightful JONELLE LOVE a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
JONELLE, thank you so much for joining us today. Let’s jump right into something we’re really interested in hearing about from you – being the only one in the room. So many of us find ourselves as the only woman in the room, the only immigrant or the only artist in the room, etc. Can you talk to us about how you have learned to be effective and successful in situations where you are the only one in the room like you?
Growing up as a military brat, as well as a military spouse, I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to travel around the world, experience and work with various cultures in both private and public sectors, to include working in the military myself as a civil servant — I am no stranger to being the only one in the room that looks like me.
However, growing up in a traditional Asian household as the youngest and only girl, I was raised to be respectful — do not question authority or rock the boat, be small, follow the crowd, do as you are told, and do not stand out or draw attention to yourself. My parents tried to raise me that way at least!
As a young Asian-American entering the workforce while trying to find my identity, there was always an internal battle with the dichotomous relationship between the Asian culture I was raised with versus the American “land of the free” culture I grew up in — If I’m in a meeting and have an “outside the box” idea, will I be disrespecting someone’s authority? If I’m the only person of color in a room and address something someone says based on their unconscious bias, will I rock the boat? If I am the only female in the break room, do I sit in silence and enable the male locker room talk around me? I found myself walking away from certain situations disappointed in how I handled them (or didn’t handle them at all) because I did not speak up or stand up for myself or what was right. That ate at my soul.
Over the years, I got tired of being quiet and I learned to find my voice. I learned how to speak up to be true to myself and honor what I believed to be right and good. I learned to not only acknowledge and embrace my differences, I learned how to OWN them; while simultaneously celebrating others for theirs. If done right — with kindness, professionalism, and respect — I learned it was possible to speak up and it be received well, as long as you have the right approach. With each moment that I spoke up — whether for myself, for others, or to improve a situation — there was a level of confidence that I built as I worked through the adversity and set the right example for my peers. In turn, this helped me organically gain respect from my colleagues, fostering a much more collaborative and effective work environment.
Because of my personal life experiences, today, I work as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion for my “big girl” job in corporate America. As the wife and mother of a bi-racial household, I also incorporate what I learn into our home to teach our children how to navigate uncomfortable conversations and how to address unconscious biases with their peers.
However, as a fairly new Content Creator with a niche in building, woodworking, and design; once again, I stand out and do not fit the mold as your traditional woodworker or builder. Studies show that women make up only 10% of construction workers and just 8% of woodworkers, with only 2% of woodworkers being Asian.
Mindset is everything, right? Despite representing just a sliver of the builder or woodworker demographics, I use my differences to my advantage and highlight every single thing that makes me stand out. There is something about a girl using power tools and building things for herself that fascinates people. I totally lean into standing out in this male-dominated industry as a female minority with a passion for building and transforming spaces, all while working a full time career with travel and raising a family too. And I. OWN. IT. After years of trying to avoid standing out; in this particular trade, I aim to be seen and I want to use my platform to inspire others to do the same — Lean into who you are. Be proud. Stand up for what is right and good. Celebrate your differences and OWN IT. Then be amazed at where that authenticity takes you in life. Just for being YOU.
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?
Before all else, I am a believer. I am a proud mother and wife. I also work a full-time career as a medical sales professional (with required travel), then I am a content creator when fatigue allows. I assure you, I am not allergic to sitting down and I do occasionally like to sleep. Like many, I stumbled onto content creation during the pandemic while I was stuck at home changing every single thing I didn’t like about my house. I figured if I had to stay home and quarantine while the world was flipped upside down, I might as well create a space that I loved to be in, right?
What initially started as an outlet to document all of my quarantine projects (and a very expensive alternative to therapy for the deep depression caused by secondary infertility), eventually turned into a very rewarding and cathartic second career. Now, I create content for all things DIY, interior design, and renovations, with a little bit of family, lifestyle, and shenanigans in between. I love sharing my projects, designs, and my creative processes to offer inspiration to my community.
The best part in all of this (besides being covered in sawdust and paint) — my community! I’ve met some awe-inspiring creators in the same niche, with their own story, who are all about uplifting and celebrating one another. Professionally and personally, I am a people person — I build relationships in my corporate job, which bleeds over into my career as a creator. I love partnering with brands; and its even more rewarding when I can nurture long-term partnerships and grow with the brands through repeat collaborations over the years.
My ultimate goal? I want to use my God-given abilities and talents to spread more love and kindness into the world. I want to do mission trips and build for the less fortunate — whether that’s building schools or playgrounds in impoverished countries, homes for homeless veterans, or shelters to keep battered women and children safe from domestic violence. I am a firm believer we are all put on this Earth with unique skills and talents that we should be using to spread more goodness into the world. I always laugh at the irony around my secondary infertility — I found a fire in my soul for DIYing, building, and transforming spaces; but the one thing I really want, I cannot actually create. Life is a jerk sometimes, amiright? After many losses over the years, I’ve learned to accept that maybe a third child wasn’t in His plan for us because I need to focus my energy and efforts into building other things for other people right now. And I’m good with that <3
I’ve been blessed to experience tremendous growth over the last couple of years across multiple platforms. One exciting new thing my followers can look forward to is the launch of my website this year! I will be sharing my woodworking plans, project inspiration, tips for organizing and maximizing spaces, and even some family vlogging — I’m a mom of teens that drive me absolutely crazy, and sarcasm is our family’s love language. Apparently that is extremely relatable. Stay tuned!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Looking back at my journey, I think the three most impactful qualities or skills that helped me along the way were:
1. Persistence
2. Gratitude
3. Being authentically ME
People laugh when I tell them that content creation can often be more difficult than my actual big girl job — and I’m in a medical sales role that involves total account management for dozens of accounts plus travel, so that should tell you something. As Creators, not only are we the talent, we are the director, the producer, the editor, we are management, finance, marketing, outreach, legal, contracts, and the list goes on. Not to mention for those that are in the DIY/building niche, we actually have to build the darn things just to create the content. It can get pretty overwhelming and consume you if you let it. I will be the first to admit that I am guilty of that and a current work in progress.
That said, if I have any advice surrounding what helped me in my journey, it would be:
Persistence — Content creation is a marathon, not a sprint. Sure, some folks go viral and hit 100K overnight; but you have to remember that you are on your own journey. Don’t let comparison steal your joy. Don’t just chase after the numbers; instead, try to build a loyal community of followers who genuinely care about you. Trust and credibility takes time to build. Give yourself grace and just create. Just post. Don’t overthink it. If you stick to it, the results will follow.
Gratitude — ALWAYS have an attitude of gratitude. Nothing is owed to you. Thus, if you don’t expect things, you won’t be disappointed when they don’t happen ie) if a deal falls through, or your dream brand chose to work with another creator, or the tv show didn’t work with your family’s schedule. By maintaining an attitude of gratitude, no matter what goes wrong, you will still be grateful for what you have in front of you. Celebrate those milestones and appreciate where you are in your journey. Again, don’t compare yourselves to others; run your own race.
Be authentically YOU — We see a lot of perfection on social media. Perfection is overrated. People don’t want to see perfection. They want to see your real life — it makes you relatable and fun to watch. It reminds people that you’re human too. Lean into what makes you YOU. And OWN IT.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
While I love partnering with brands and promoting products I believe in, I am very passionate in working with companies that advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Overall, I simply enjoy working with brands whose greater mission is to do good and spread more kindness into the world. It would be my dream to find the right organization or group of people who are involved in philanthropic building or construction missionary work! I do believe I was put on this Earth to use my skills to help others, not just make my house look cute!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jonellelovesdiy.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonellelovesdiy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonelle.love/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonellelove
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jonellelovesdiy
