Shontavia Johnson (00:00):

What’s up, y’all. Welcome to The Shontavia Show, where my goal is to help you start a business based on your life’s vision. This ain’t gonna be your daddy’s business advice. I’m laser focused on entrepreneurship in the 21st century, vision and breaking the traditional mold. If you can get with that, you can get with me, be sure to visit shontavia.com for more episodes, blog posts, and other content. Thank you for listening. The show starts now.

Shontavia Johnson (00:28):

Hey, everybody. Welcome to another episode of The Shontavia Show, where I want to inspire you to build a brand, a business and a life that you love. And I am so happy to have with me today, Jess Avolio. Jess Avolio is the founder of J.Avolio, which is a creative studio based in Ontario, Canada, with a focus on building and designing, authentic brand identities. And while anti-oppression work has always been an important aspect of how the business is run, including the clients they choose to work with, which I love, I have so many questions for you about that Jess’s goal in the business and, and through her work is to invest more deeply in situating anti-oppression at the core of the business and making that practice more apparent on the public facing side. So Jess thank you so much for being here. I’m really excited to get to talk to you today.

Shontavia Johnson (01:19):

Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it.

Shontavia Johnson (01:22):

Yeah. So I, I found you through a Facebook group and I visited your website. And the thing I love about your website is there’s a bar at the top that says “Is my business anti-oppressive?” It’s a question and you can click on it. And when you click on it, obviously your business is anti-oppressive, you have links, you have books, you have like suggestions of people to follow and all kinds of things. And I’m wondering what made you decide to do that, particularly in a time, like right now, where statements about anti-oppressive behavior and anti-racist sentiments can be divisive. I wonder why you’ve decided to let people know right up front that your business is anti-oppressive as you call it.

Jess Avolio (02:09):

For sure. Well, I think it’s so important that, I mean, I kept seeing conversations of people doing the internal work and, you know, exploring anti-oppression and anti-racism on their own terms. And then I really thought about, you know, like there are so many ways to take action in terms of like implementing anti-oppression and like, my business is such a big part of what I do and who I am. And I was really thinking like, how can I really bringing anti-oppression to the forefront of what I do and do it in a more public way and really help support others and, you know, educate, help, educate, provide that information for other businesses. And, you know, cause like businesses are microcosms of society. Like, like we really need to be thinking about how we can incorporate anti-oppression into like all aspects of what we do. And I felt like it was really important to include it as part of my business because I really think that’s the future, you know, really thinking about social justice and progress. And that’s super important for me as a person, but then also I don’t want to be creating a business that you know, as you like, it has the oppressive practices, that’s maybe building off the backs of other people. Like that’s not something I want to be and I want to be, you know, you know, moving forward with my business in a positive direction. So.

Shontavia Johnson (03:35):

That’s awesome. That is really awesome. So I have so many questions and I think fundamentally though, like what does your business do day in and day out? How did you start even in this particular space? What is your story?

Jess Avolio (03:49):

For sure. Well so my background’s sort of always been in art and design. I’ve worked at a ton of different marketing agencies, creative agencies as like an art director, but I felt like in these roles, I felt like they never truly supported the way that I wanted to create. I was always creating brands for like these rich white people. And I was like, you know what, these, aren’t the type of people that I even want to be. I don’t, they don’t need my support. They don’t need my creativity. Like, so I don’t know with so many, I had a lot of conflicts in these positions where I was like, Hey, I feel like I’m not being valued in my role. Like my skills aren’t being utilized. And a lot of times like that would end up with some conflict with some of the higher ups in my business.

Jess Avolio (04:35):

And eventually it just kind of got to this point where I’m like, I’ve kind of always dreamed of being a freelancer, but it was, it got to a point where I was like, I really need to try this and do this on my own and see how that works out. So a little bit less than two years ago, I went out on my own and I was like, I mean, as much as there’s so many stresses of being an entrepreneur, you know, you have to wear all the hats. Like it was so awesome. Being able to express myself creatively in the way I wanted, create my own processes that really supported the way I wanted to create. And then also being able to choose the type of people that I worked with and supporting other businesses and maybe like other women, a lot of women entrepreneurs as well and support them on their journeys to becoming entrepreneurs through, through the brand process that I do. So I do mostly on a day to day basis. I create a lot of brand identities for people. So like their logos, their palettes, you know, creating their strategy and their brand voice and things like that. And that’s so important to how people run their business. And it’s such a great tool to support people and their business growth as well.

Shontavia Johnson (05:39):

And so many questions, including how did you decide to take the leap, right? To leave a consistent salary, a consistent paycheck to wearing all the hats and doing everything yourself, what made you decide today’s the day? And was it scary for you to do that?

Jess Avolio (05:59):

Yeah, I was terrified. Like I think I just reached this, I don’t know, boiling point at some of the jobs I had, right. It just never felt, I don’t know. I felt like I just, wasn’t living up to my full creative potential and I just kept feeling really limited. And every time I would speak up and say, Hey, I feel like I’m not being valued. I’m not being paid what I’m worth. There was always, you know, like butting heads and those sorts of conversations. And, and I’m like, you know, what, if I go out on my own, like, it’s terrifying. As it was like, you know, I can discuss like setting my own rates, conveying the value of what I do, you know, making all those sorts of decisions. So it just felt like a lot of just who I am as a person really aligned with being a freelancer running my own business. So it really just felt like the right fit to make that jump.

Shontavia Johnson (06:49):

Yeah. That’s really cool. And so you mentioned having all this freedom to set your rates and do all these different things. How do you go about doing that? How do you particularly like in your line of work, you’re working with lots of different people. How do you figure out rates, how do you figure out systems and that kind of thing?

Jess Avolio (07:09):

Oh my gosh. I feel like that’s such a can of worms. How do you figure out your rates? I, I heard this quote once that, I mean, well, if we can dig into this a little bit more later, but if you charge three people in a row, the same rate for the same package and they all say, yes, try bumping up your price.

Jess Avolio (07:27):

See if, you know, if you’re getting like yeses on every time you quote, like maybe you’re undervaluing, what your service is worth. And another thing I heard, I mean, these are just sort of like broad strokes. They don’t necessarily apply, but if you are booked out three months in advance, maybe consider bumping up your prices again. Cause obviously if you’re booking at such a frequent rate and people are like connecting the value to the price, like try just sometimes asking for more. And a lot of times people are like, yeah, I agree that this value that you’re charging aligns with the service that you provide. A lot of times people just say yes, and it’s a little bit of trial and error, but yeah.

Shontavia Johnson (08:08):

No, I love that advice. Especially if you’re booking three in a row at the same rate, bump it up because I find often I work with a lot of women of color and often we undervalue ourselves and I’ll look at the rates that they’re charging or the things they think about charging. And I have never, truly never worked with a woman of color who when they come in the door and they say, here’s what I want to do. And here’s the rate. I never think, Oh, that’s too high, but very frequently I think, gosh, that’s really low for the value that you bring. So I love that, that you articulated it that way. And I may steal that in the future. That’s really cool.

Shontavia Johnson (08:51):

And so, and so in your work you help people build the brand that they’ll be using in their business. What does that mean? What is the brand identity? You talked a little bit about like the logos and the colors and the color palettes, but what else is included in a brand identity?

Jess Avolio (09:07):

I mean the brand identity is such this broad term. Like a brand is really all about like how others perceive you, you know, the tone that you speak in the visuals. And like what I sort of do mostly with the brand identity aspect is really direct all the visuals of the brand and make sure they are really aligned with what the brand ethos is and also really appeal to the people that they’re wanting to target. So kind of creating all those connections with their brand and their brand visuals and making sure those visuals really, you know, connect to all those different aspects of their brand and coming from a really strategic point of view as well, and really digging into the core of the business, you know, what sort of values they want to convey what sort of people they want to attract and yeah, just connecting those visuals to all those different points.

Shontavia Johnson (09:54):

Oh, that’s cool. And so what about like when you and your target audience might look a little different or perceive things differently? How do you align the brand of you with what you want to convey to other people?

Jess Avolio (10:09):

For sure. Like, I don’t know– I feel like there’s so many instinctual aspects and really connecting with people on a really deep level throughout the brand process. So I have a pretty in-depth workbook process and workbook review process at the start, before I even jump into any sort of design I send thim basically a whack load of questions for them to answer that really digs into, you know, all the nitty gritty.

Jess Avolio (10:36):

Every time I send people, these workbooks, they say, you made me think about things about my business I never even considered, I never even put it into words. So it really like pulls out all those fun golden nuggets and like you can find different trends throughout the workbooks that you can really pick up on. You know, find the things that really make their brand distinct and make their brand stand out and makes them, you know, different and unique and really leverage that with their visuals. And, you know, like anything from say, I dunno, say they’re a therapist. They really want to convey a calm presence. You know, like what sort of colors can I use that would convey that feeling? What sort of fonts can I use? You know, there’s all these like visual, like subtle visual cues that we connect with certain words and feelings and vibes that, and it’s all about sort of finding those cool connections between those concrete things and those abstract thoughts, you know?

Shontavia Johnson (11:31):

Yeah. That’s, that’s really neat. So if you’re a new entrepreneur starting from ground zero, you don’t know where to get started. You mentioned when people work with you, they say, wow, I hadn’t thought about that. What are the maybe two or three things people need to think about when they’re starting their brand process or creating a base of business? What some of the things people say, Oh, I never thought about that. What, what should we start? Where should people start?

Jess Avolio (12:00):

Um I think, I dunno, I guess, I don’t know if this totally answers the question, but so many people just have a fear of jumping in and they think maybe that they have to have everything perfect. They have to have everything clearly defined before they jump in. But sometimes it’s just about jumping in and figuring out things as you go along. Like, I think as much as it’s great to sort of come up with a plan it’s so hard to predict what sort of direction your brand will take. But I find a lot of businesses, they jump in and they like sort of anticipate what sort of direction their brand will take. And then they find a year, maybe year and a half, two years into their brand journey, that things just sort of shift like their niche shifts, their focus shifts. So I don’t know. There’s so much unpredictability with building a business. I think a lot of people should just sort of, as scary as it is, just take that leap and sort of figure things out as they go along. That would be my advice like, yeah.

Shontavia Johnson (12:53):

No, that’s great advice. Because I think sometimes, you know, particularly if you’re a person that’s multi-passionate you have all these ideas in your head and you don’t move forward because there’s just too much in there. One of the things I hear, I think it’s Danielle Leslie says this a lot, “done is better than perfect.” So like you said, you just take the leap, you just jump right in.

Jess Avolio (13:17):

Absolutely.

Shontavia Johnson (13:18):

And I’m curious what you think about like when you’re jumping in, what are the things you really need to do? Like do you really have to have a consistent color scheme at first. You really need like a fancy logo. What are the things you think you really should do these upfront? And what are the things that you think like, like you were saying, they shift so much. Are there things right now, if you’re going to jump, you should do.

Jess Avolio (13:42):

Yeah. Well I think to touch on your first point, like as much as someone could really believe in their own, you know, service or product they’re providing, like to really consider, is this something that other people are asking for? Is this something other people are really needing and also, I mean, as much as you could create a really beautiful product or really beautiful service you also have to think about you know, your processes behind that as well. So I mean, as a brand designer, like as much as it, maybe I could create a really beautiful brand is my onboarding process really smooth, are my project management tools sort of in place.

Jess Avolio (14:21):

So I think considering like all of those elements as well, they sort of all go hand in hand. So as much as you could have. So even if it was somebody who did, e-commerce like, is their website really accessible? Is their website easy to use? Do people not get like tired and annoyed or they like clicking on popups or anything like that? Like all things that really aid in the experience of people, either in tracking with your products or with your services, like really thinking about all those different aspects as well. So I think that me on the first part of your question, I hope

Shontavia Johnson (14:53):

No. Could I, can I ask a follow up to that? Cause I think that’s so interesting that, you know, most people, when they think about brands, they think about colors. They think about logos, they think about all these other things, but you’re right. The user experience is what keeps people there, right? Like you don’t want a beautiful product that either nobody wants or nobody can access because your systems aren’t really in place. So I love that you mentioned the user experience and I just like, you’re blowing my mind a little bit because the brand like that user experience piece is just so critically important. So I so appreciate you mentioning that. And I know there was another part to what you were going to say earlier, but I wanted to make sure I followed up on that because that’s so important.

Jess Avolio (15:38):

Yeah. And even like, even extending into like how you ship your products are you creating like really nice opening? Like when people open their packages in the mail, people feel like it’s Christmas, right? Like, are you like putting nice messages inside, maybe cute little sticker packs and things like that. And I think there’s like really fun ways people can sort of like it, like having a strong brand visual is definitely super important. And I think having consistency throughout your brand really builds that trust with the people that are interacting with your brand. But also thinking about the process from start to finish and really thinking about how people are interacting with your brand and how like what sort of feelings you can bring up when they interact with your brand as well. Yeah.

Shontavia Johnson (16:22):

Yeah. No, I love that. So, so how do you, is there a way to predict some of those things? So like how people feel when they connect with your brand, what do you suggest people do? Is it as simple as going out and talking to some of your ideal customers? Is it, I mean, I don’t know how, how can entrepreneurs, particularly when you’re really getting started, are there ways you can predict what some of those experiences will be like?

Jess Avolio (16:46):

Yeah. Well, I think a lot of it is sort of, you can always ask your customers, like I would say anytime you can ask your customers or clients like how they would value your service or what their impressions are of your service or product. I think that’s a great, straightforward way to approach it, but also like analyzing internally, like what sort of things do you really appreciate? Like some as somebody who’s really involved in branding and marketing, like I’m always thinking about the brand posts. Like, am I enjoying myself on the website? I’m on, am I enjoying the checkout process? Am I enjoying the way that they shipped the product to me? And like, those are the sorts of conversations I can have with my clients. If we’re designing, say packaging, or if we’re designing a brand, like what sort of feelings are we wanting to bring out of the people that and what sort of stories can we tell as well?

Shontavia Johnson (17:36):

That’s great.

Jess Avolio (17:36):

Yeah.

Shontavia Johnson (17:37):

No, I really like that. And so from the visual standpoint, are there things that you really should be thinking about? So you mentioned something thinking about colors and what colors convey, the message you want to convey. Where should people start with some of these visual aspects beyond obviously hiring you or someone like you to walk them through the process? What do you do at ground zero when you’re thinking about all these things?

Jess Avolio (18:08):

For sure. Well, I think there’s lots of people offering like a lot smaller packages to get your foot in the door. But I know there are a lot of financial barriers to, you know, investing in a good brand, but I think a lot of people sometimes see the pricing and they’re like, oh wow, that seems like a lot. But if you’re thinking about, Oh, this is an investment that’s gonna last me 10 years, you know, if you divide that over 10 years, it seems like a much more attainable thing. But I mean, I think there’s, there are tons of resources online that people could search.

Jess Avolio (18:39):

You know, if I want my brand to look, you know, calm and cool, what sort of colors can I use? And you can sort of build your own, you know, color palette. I would maybe suggest if you’re wanting a logo, just finding a really nice font that you like and, you know, typing that out. Like that could be a good stop gap before you get to that point where you feel comfortable and ready in your business to work with an expert, because somebody who’s really involved in the brand is really gonna draw out all these like really important things about your business that you wouldn’t have considered. And the goal would be to totally surpass what you could have envisioned for the visuals for your brand. But yeah, yeah. In the meantime, I think there’s lots of resources. People can sort of seek out themselves to establish, like, I think consistency is really key.

Jess Avolio (19:25):

Like having consistent fonts, having consistent colors, having a consistent logo. I think that’s a really good starting point for a lot of brands.

Shontavia Johnson (19:34):

So at what point should a person work with a branding expert? So like at what point do you find your clients are most ready for you? Is it a year or two years in? I think I saw some things on your website about working with people who are about two years into the process. Is that about typical or are there earlier times maybe when someone should think about a branding expert or later, what are your thoughts about that?

Jess Avolio (19:59):

Yeah, I feel like I do sort of have a division, like I do work with a lot of people who are just starting out and haven’t even launched their business yet. It’s just like a new idea that they have. I find in those cases, it’s a little bit more difficult to build up the brand because they don’t completely, maybe they have a vision for what their brand will be, but they don’t totally understand their audience or their niche yet.

Jess Avolio (20:20):

But I mean, that’s still a very possible if they have the ability to financially invest in a designer even before they start their business. Like, I think that’s totally a worthwhile investment. Yeah, but the stage that I often like working with is people who are about maybe two years into their business or more. Cause I feel like at that point they kind of have more of an established viewpoint for their business who their audience is. And I find at that point, it’s a more smooth of a process for me to sort of convey all that information to a fully formed brand for them.

Shontavia Johnson (20:55):

So what makes a good client? So how can entrepreneurs be a good client for a marketing branding expert? Do you come with all your files? Do you let the branding expert handle all these things? What does a good client look like for you?

Jess Avolio (21:12):

I mean, I personally love working with people who have like a really open mind. I think seek out somebody who you feel like you could put your full trust in. Like find somebody who you feel like not only has the skills, but you feel like you connect with their process, you connect with their business outlook and all these different factors. And if you can really trust the marketing and branding expert that you’re working with and you can kind of let them creatively take, you know, some of your ideas about your brand and like everything about your brand and convey that visually, I think they’re going to do a better job with a little bit more flexibility and freedom and surpass what you had envisioned with your band, because I can work with a lot of– so many creatives, they have great taste, they have so many creative opinions and they come to me with them. And a lot of the time my job is to sort of refine their ideas. But I feel like when they approach it with more of an open mind, a lot of trust in the process, I find it ends up going way farther than we anticipated and way stronger in the end.

Shontavia Johnson (22:11):

Yeah. So I was thinking that as you were saying, you know, working with creators, creators might think they know better, what their brand should look like. And so coming in with an open mind– that sounds like a really smart idea period. Right. But obviously some of the things you’ve even talked about today, like with consistency, with logos and fonts and designs and even systems and processes, those are things– we all don’t have those backgrounds. Right.

Shontavia Johnson (22:44):

So, so you mentioned finding someone that you trust and one of the things, like I said at the top of the show, I found so unique about you, is you saying, Hey, not only do I do this work, but I do it in a way that is committed to anti-oppression, it is committed to anti-racism and that’s hard to find particularly, you know, like I am a black entrepreneur, I am looking for someone who, you know, believes that my life matters and believes that black lives matter. And I’m wondering if you’ve gotten any feedback about like your very public way of saying, I am a person who believes these things. And I’m wondering if I just wonder your experience with it, with, with being very public about your views.

Jess Avolio (23:35):

Yeah. I mean, I’ve gotten some, like a lot of positive feedback on the link that I included on my website and in my Instagram bio. But I feel like, I don’t know, it’s, it’s not like people ever come to me and be like, Hey, I’m working with you because you sort of have an anti-oppressive stance. Like maybe they’d come to me and they see that sort of language being used on my Instagram feed and throughout. Because my Instagram is basically solely my marketing tool. Like I hope that they see the sort of, cause I try to create a really inclusive, educational, welcoming feel with how I portray my brand. And I hope like that’s at least my assumption. I’m not, I can’t say a hundred percent for certain, but I think maybe people see that and think, Oh, this is somebody that is, I’m perceiving to be safe to work with, who is going to value who I am, is going to value the underlying anti-oppressive you know, currents within my brand. And I think maybe they just connect on that level. That’s always my assumption.

Shontavia Johnson (24:43):

No, that’s great. I, I assume so for many of those reasons, and you’ve also said the way you choose clients is very similar. Right. So how do you go about figuring out if your client’s values align with yours? Do you just ask outright? Are there these clues or signals you’re looking for? How do you figure that part out?

Jess Avolio (25:07):

For sure. Well, I feel like I’m so lucky that I have so many people that already come to me who sort of have those values in their life and in their business as well. So I feel really grateful that those are– tend to be the type of people who are drawn to my business anyway. But I mean, as soon as I sort of connect with people, I kinda, you know, I go into meet their Instagram, their website. And then I also asked some inquiry questions before I even get started. I say, you know, tell me a little bit about your business. What are your pain points? And usually I find with them, like the first little bit, you kind of get a good sense of what are sort of the underpinnings of people’s businesses. I mean I can dig into a little bit about the types of businesses that I work with.

Jess Avolio (25:50):

If people want examples of that. Like recently I worked with a therapist and she practices from, you know, she considers like how class, how race, how gender, like orientation, all those different factors play into mental health, which I think is something a lot of therapists, like it’s not part of their practice and there needs to be more therapists who have that. So like people like that. Um I also worked with a tarot card reader who really considers accessibility and also gender identity and the way that she does tarot readings. And then also, you know lash experts who maybe cause like a lot of the beauty industry and the lash extension industry is very focused on, you know, white skin, Able bodied. But a lot of people who are really like digging into the diversity, like how do I do lashes on different ethnicities? You know, things like that. I think there’s like all these like little undercurrents in a lot of the businesses I work with that do have these sort of anti-oppressive leanings. So–

Shontavia Johnson (26:55):

No, no, I love that you say that because it’s hard, unless there are these signals, right, to show you that a business really believes these things and that is not superficial. And so like you were saying through your Instagram page, through your website, a person just perusing can see those things. It’s not just like the black box, that says black lives matter. And then you go back to business as usual.

Shontavia Johnson (27:22):

And one of the reasons I really wanted to talk to you about this is because at least in the United States, when we started having these protests and this very significant and frankly scary racial unrest that exists in our country right now, with– I mean, in and around so many different things, right?

Shontavia Johnson (27:45):

But there were so many brands when all of this started, and I know this has been going on obviously for generations since the founding of our country, but with the recent instances of police brutality and violence and racism and oppression from so many different levels of our government and in our local systems, brands were afraid to talk about these things at first. Brands were afraid to say, yes, we believe black lives matter. Brands were afraid to do the things that you’re talking about.

Shontavia Johnson (28:17):

And this is one reason I just love what you’re saying as a branding expert, that this is so important and it doesn’t harm your business, but it actually helps you bring in different types of clients and perspectives. And so I’m wondering if you think there are businesses who should shy away from these conversations around racism, around oppression, or is this something that fundamentally should be part of everything?

Jess Avolio (28:44):

I totally think it should be fundamentally part of their brand, because I think as more and more people get on board with anti racism and anti-oppression, more people are being educated about it. Like I think in a few years time, people are going to, I hope, drop these brands that aren’t using their platforms. Like, especially these huge corporations. Like I have a lot less to lose because I’m a small business. It’s just me. I just hire out freelancers. I don’t think I’ll ever be growing a team. So, but these huge corporations, they have such a platform to be, that they could speak from and they can really reach a lot of people. And it’s like, why aren’t you being on the right side of history here? Like, I really think that they all should be using their platform to be speaking for anti-racist anti-oppression for sure.

Shontavia Johnson (29:35):

Yeah. And it’s good business. It’s not bad business because, and there were so many, I do some work in this space with large corporations and there are so many people behind closed doors who say, this is bad for our business to get involved in political conversations or, you know, whatever they call those things. But I love your perspective that this is actually really good for business. Not just today. When you think about the future of where we’re going, we need to have this within our toolkit. And not just because it makes you more money, but because it’s the right thing to do.

Jess Avolio (30:08):

Absolutely. And even if it is bad for business, like who cares? It’s like you said, it’s the right thing to do.

Shontavia Johnson (30:17):

Thank you, that is so important. That’s exactly. Even if it is bad for your business, imagine what it’s like to be on the other side of racism. Right. The other side of oppression, it feels much worse for those folks than you losing a few million dollars or whatever.

Jess Avolio (30:33):

Absolutely.

Shontavia Johnson (30:34):

Yeah. So how can people work with you? I know that you have a lot of different ways that you work with people. I know you’re now offering some new one on one designer training. Could you talk a bit about the work that you’re currently doing and the way people can work with you, if they’re interested in the type of services you have to offer?

Jess Avolio (30:52):

Absolutely. so my, the main focus of my businesses on creating brand identities, so that’s really creating a strategy and clearly defining your business. I love working with small businesses. I love working with, you know, women entrepreneurs, people of all sorts of different, you know, backgrounds and orientations and gender identities. Like I love working with all sorts of different people and helping them support, you know, their goals and dreams and like creating the visuals for their brands, like their logos, you know, creating a cohesive color palette and fonts and creative creating patterns and packaging design and all sorts of things and creating that cohesive look for their brand. So that’s sort of the bread and butter of what I do.

Jess Avolio (31:35):

And that also extends into Instagram strategy as well. So creating, you know, an overall look for your Instagram, you now, revisiting your bio, what your highlight covers look like what we could create post templates together, you know, all things that sort of create the cohesion throughout your brand.

Jess Avolio (31:52):

And that’s sort of my job to create that cohesion. So everything you do, like every post you make, all your logos, the colors, the fonts, they all feel totally aligned and cohesive with each other and are truly representing your brand on a visual level and connecting with the people that you want to work with. So, yeah, that’s sort of, at the core of my brand is creating those brand identities. I’m doing Instagram, that’s something I’m focusing a lot on as well.

Jess Avolio (32:18):

Um and then, so the one on one design your training is because so many of my followers on Instagram or other fellow designers, and I love using it as sort of an educational tool, my Instagram platform, and like sort of educating other designers on the design process. And I feel like, like I’ve been at it for almost 10 years now.

Jess Avolio (32:41):

So I feel like I I’m like really into digging into all this sort of cool, like design tricks and different skills and different ways to approach the design process. So I feel like, like I historically had a few designers who approached me and just did one on one with me. Would you like a screen share and video chat, And you just sort of go through the design skills that they wanted to build on. And I love doing that so much cause they are so grateful at the end of it. They’re like, Oh, I feel so inspired to do the work. Like I’m so happy I have all these new skills like, Oh, I have a way to approach this design trick. Now that is way more efficient than the way that I was doing it before. So it’s like all these different ways that can make like support fellow designers as well.

Jess Avolio (33:22):

So I decided to start officially offering the one to one design training as a surface. And it’s just kind of a nice way for me to spend like an hour or two with like one-to-one with designers, because I feel like a lot of people, like, at least me personally, I struggle to pick up information if I’m just watching like a YouTube tutorial on creativity. Like I find if I have somebody just talking directly to me and like holding my hand and walking me through it that at least helps me learn so much more. So if I can provide that service to other designers, like I haven’t seen other designers offering that really. So I think like it would be really nice to be able to, you know, build on that part of my business and keep working with other designers and support them in that way.

Shontavia Johnson (34:09):

No, that’s great. That is, that’s really great. So, so how can people find you if they want to work with you? What are the, where can we find you on the online, on social? Where are you out there?

Jess Avolio (34:20):

Um the easiest way to find me is probably on Instagram. Cause I find that’s where I’ve put the most energy into my business. So my handle is @J.Avolio. You can see it up there, but it’s also— I mean I can spell it too. So it’s J.AVOLIO, or you can just go to javolio.com. That’s another way to find me. So I find those two methods are the best way to get ahold of me. Great.

Shontavia Johnson (34:49):

And I will drop some links in the show notes to your website, to your Instagram page. And it looks like your hashtag back there is #irregularbranding. So I will be following your hashtag on Instagram to figure out some strategies for myself. This has been really, really great. Thank you so much for spending some time with me today. I really appreciate your insights.

Jess Avolio (35:13):

Yeah. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it.

Shontavia Johnson (35:18):

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of The Shontavia Show. If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to like, subscribe and leave a comment wherever you’re listening. You can find me on social media everywhere, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and wherever else @ShontaviaJEsq. You can also visit me at shontavia.com to find a transcript of this episode along with other show notes. While you’re there, please be sure to subscribe to my email newsletter.

Shontavia Johnson (35:49):

The information shared in this podcast and through my other platforms is designed to educate you about business and entrepreneurship and I love to do this work. While I am a lawyer, though, the information I provide is not legal advice and does not create or constitute an attorney client relationship.

Shontavia Johnson (36:07):

The Shontavia Show is a LVRG Incorporated original. The show is recorded on site in South Carolina and produced at Sit N Spin Studio in Greenville, South Carolina. Original music and sound design is by Matt Morgan and Daniel Gregory. Mixing and mastering is by Daniel Gregory and the video is by GVL Media.