Jennifer Carolan Helps Customers Attract Their Dream Clients

Please share a brief introduction about yourself and your business:

I am the founder of JJ's House of Copy and Brand and a personality-driven copywriter who coaxes out the most magnetic parts of my customers' personality and voice, so we can write copy that attracts their version of a dream client.

Who are your customers?

I write for service-based entrepreneurs who are making a positive impact in the world and want to do so with 100% authenticity and no sleaze.

What was your background prior to starting your own business?

I am a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and specialized in working with individuals with Autism.

What made you take the leap to start your own business?

I started my first business as a side hustle and passion project, and quickly learned that I loved the art of copywriting more than the side hustle itself.

Did you always know you wanted to be an entrepreneur?

It's in my blood! All my life, I grew up under the wing of my grandfather, who truly lived by the phrase, "If you love the work you do, you'll never work a day in your life". He built a printing company from nothing, from a press in a basement, and that company spanned generations. I always wanted to create my own legacy, too.

Take us back to when you first launched your business; what was your marketing strategy to get the word out and did it go as planned?

When I first launched, I had a network of life coaches I could tap into and start writing for immediately, because I was also a certified life coach. I'd run a business coaching program for a long time called The Coach's Playground, and I was also an expert in group coaching. So when I pivoted to copywriting and brand strategy, it was easy to explain that I'd now be practicing what I preached - living my passion.

What is the biggest challenge you have encountered along the way so far and what have you learned from it?

I have been an entrepreneur through working across 3 different businesses; through a divorce; through a pandemic; through raising 2 kids and then raising them as a single mom. I've held on to my business through many, many ups and downs, and by far the hardest part was constantly pivoting to meet the needs of my changing life, and the changing needs of the market. I've learned to stay closely, closely connected with my community so I can always understand them at any given point in time.

What accomplishment are the most proud of to date in your business?

I am the most proud of playing the long game. I've been in business almost 20 years now - not always as a copywriter, but always making money on my own terms with my own gifts.

Do you have any recent wins from the last year that you'd like to celebrate with our community?

Celebrating wins is one of my favorite games to play! Let's do it. This year, one of my greatest wins was finding an incredible business partner whose gifts in brand and web design compliment my gifts of voice and copy. Together we created a full service agency. Finding sisterhood inside of entrepreneurship - when I have always been a lone wolf - was the highlight of this decade.

What's next for your business? What can we expect to see over the next few years?

Next year will come the launch of my School of Soulful Writing community (actual name TBD! I'm letting my community choose what they want to call it). I love to teach, and want to create a very manageable and affordable option for service based entrepreneurs to learn the skill of copywriting. Without it, businesses are sunk - it's WORDS that make the strategy work. Stay tuned or hop on the wait list if you want that killer Founder's Rate I'll be offering! www.jjcarolan.com/copyschool

What is your top productivity tip? 

As a human with ADHD, productivity can be extremely elusive, in the traditional sense. I've organized my business model to work with my ADHD gifts. First, I have a ritualized way I sit down to write - binural playlist, drawing an oracle card, lighting a reiki infused candle, and doing a quick meditation on behalf of the client I'm about to write for. Then, I live and die by the Pomodoro timer.  I've created a business model where I work only in VIP days, which means deep productivity in a short time - perfect for a hyperfocused brain!

On the flip side, how do you avoid burnout?

My VIP Days allow me to also take days "off" through the week. I only work during the hours my children are in school. When my body is unfocused or "unproductive," I honor it - even if there's a deadline looming. I've learned that forcing myself through anything means work that is stale - and my clients know this. They're always happy to wait a day for 150% of my brain power.

What is your approach to work-life balance / integration?

My kids are my compass. As long as I am able to see them to school, have my hour walk/workout, and end my work day before they get home, I feel balanced. 

Sometimes, because I love my work, I'll purposefully save some for a weekend morning with coffee, in my bathrobe or at a cafe - something about that feels like total bliss and integration. And sometimes, when I'm at deadline and uninspired, I plop me and my laptop at a sports bar, surrounded by chaos, order dinner, and feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

When hiring, what is your go-to interview question?

When I ran my full service agency, my #1 question was, "How do you handle it if you are unable to meet a deadline?"  In an agency, deadlines ripple down, and I need to know if they're a good communicator about their work load or not. Deadlines will be missed - I need to know if I'm hearing about that in time to course correct.

Are you a Mamaprenista? If so, please share your best advice for simultaneously managing a business and a family

B-O-U-N-D-A-R-I-E-S. Boundaries that run in EVERY direction. My kids know my boundaries around when they can and can't interrupt. My clients know that my kids come first and my work hours end at 2. My parents and the rest of my family know that, just because I "work for myself," doesn't mean I'm available during my work days. I keep my lines clear.

Do you have a co-founder? If so, how did you find the right one for you and what are your best partnership tips?

This year I did start a new business, ReBrand with Ease, with a co-founder. We were brought together by a mutual client, an astrologer, who knew we would be a great fit. I wish I could put into better words how we work together so seamlessly. It's simply been that way from the start. One thing we DON'T do is hold back. If we need something different from the other, we say it. It works, because we adore each other.

What's the one app on your phone you absolutely cannot live without and why?

If I could throw the thing in a lake, I would.

What is your favorite business tool or solution and why?

There are some writing tools that I love and are so fun to play with. Free headline generators, copy test sites, and new tools like that pop up all the time. Technology creativity partners are my favorite!

What advice do you have for aspiring Entreprenistas?

There are peaks. There are valleys. Stay calm. After 20 years I can tell you - the long game works out. Pivot, talk to your audience a lot, pivot more, and stay the course.

Learn more about the Entreprenista League and join today!

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