We were lucky to catch up with Jess Goodkey recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jess, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later?
Looking back at the past few years,I’d have to say no! I genuinely believe everything happens for a reason, and usually at just the right time. Every bit of my experience and knowledge has led me to where I am now, and I couldn’t be more grateful to have not one, but TWO careers that I absolutely love.
Prior to launching my brand and web design studio, I was a conference planner for a not-for-profit healthcare association. Like many, I dove head first into my career, ticked all the boxes, and put my heart and soul in event planning, including volunteering on event committees outside my 9-5 and even started a wedding planning company.
No one in my family or circle was a business owner, so entrepreneurship was completely foreign to me. But I was determined to show my dad that I could choose an “untraditional” career path and succeed. Bright eyed, bushy tailed, I put together a business plan, built my own website, and began to promote my services on social media. I still remember vividly that I only made $3,500 in my first year! As a naïve 25-year-old, I didn’t want to ask for help from my industry peers because I thought it would make me seem weak and inexperienced, so I kept trekking on doing everything myself.
Despite receiving 5-star ratings and local award nominations over the next couple of years, I started to feel lonely and uninspired. Deep down, even though I loved weddings, I realized I didn’t *really* love being a wedding planner. But I felt like quitting would mean I had failed. So I held on for another 9 months until the universe serendipitously intervened in 2020, forcing me to slow down, reflect, and really sit down with myself.
It was a now-or-never moment.
I gathered up my courage and made the difficult decision to shut everything down that year. I felt like a giant boulder was lifted off my shoulders and I could finally breathe. In listening to that little voice at the back of my head, I then channeled that energy into my next venture, which is now my full-time design studio! I took all the failures and lessons learned and decided to do everything differently this time. I invested in myself, surrounded myself with industry peers and mentors, and built a business for ME, instead of someone else. In my first year, I matched my corporate salary, took the leap into full-time entrepreneurship the year after, and haven’t looked back since.
If there’s one takeaway, it’s this: there’s no shame in pivoting or quitting if something doesn’t feel aligned anymore and I wish that was normalized more. When something is sucking the joy out of you in your career or business, it might be time to start looking at different options and start prioritizing yourself.
The best part about my journey? I still get to be part of the wedding industry, just in a different way. I traded in my clipboard and headset for a laptop and a pair of Lulu’s! Now, I have the joy and honor of designing meaningful and impactful brands and websites for wedding professionals, lifestyle founders, and creative service providers. And I wouldn’t be the business owner I am without the lessons learned that led me along the way.
Jess, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Absolutely! For those who don’t know me – I’m Jess, a wedding and event planner turned brand and web designer who is obsessed with equipping small business owners with a brand that not only helps them stand out, but is a true extension of who they are.
Believe it or not, for the first 28 years of my life, I never thought I was creative enough. Growing up in a household with immigrant Chinese parents, I was never asked the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” or given that permission slip to dream big. A traditional career path was paved for me and off I went… until I realized that I was doing myself a disservice by following what others wanted for me, listening to my self-limiting beliefs, and ultimately choosing fears over my dreams.
As I looked around, I started noticing more and more women that would be hiding their talents, brilliance, or confidence just because they didn’t feel like they were “______” enough or felt like they couldn’t go after their dreams without having all the boxes ticked off. And in a world of never-ending comparison, one can easily lose sight of who they are in an instant.
That’s why I’m all about creating brands that go beyond pretty visuals. It’s about feeling confident and comfortable showing up as your true self.
At Studio Crescent, I build strong, resonant, and personable brands from the inside out. It all starts with getting to know who you are and who you aspire to be. As a brand strategist and web designer, I take a laid-back and collaborative approach working with clients to really understand them beyond the nitty-gritty of what they do. I love connecting the origin stories and learning more about who they are as a person first, business owner second. The more someone shares with me their personality, quirks, interests, the more I am inspired to design a brand that stands out and is unmistakably them. I love finding subtle, intentional ways to infuse who they are into their brand and website while strategically still ensuring we are attracting the right clientele through high-quality visuals and messaging.
To me, that’s the magic – bridging the personal and strategy to stand out from the noise.
When we give ourselves the permission slip to be ourselves in business, not only does it allow for deeper, meaningful conversations, but it also gives others permission to do the same.
And isn’t that why we all started our business in the first place: To carve our own path and do what we love – on our own terms?
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I’ve seen (and experience) first hand what happens when women choose courage over fear and harness their authenticity in business. Magic happens.
Growing up in a culture where women are often known to be quieter or compliant, I want nothing more than to empower the next generation to feel comfortable, confident, and celebrated using their own voice and chasing after their dreams. It’s not just all about having all their boxes ticked off because someone told them to, but rather, having the courage to pursue the life they want and redefine their personal version of success.
With the rise of social media and all the highlight-reel content, it’s so easy to get caught up in what everyone else is doing. We often forget to think about what we truly want for ourselves, beyond what society traditionally considered “successful”, but it’s important to remember that success isn’t a one-size-fits-all concept, just like there isn’t “just one way” to build a business.
Personally speaking, I feel more in alignment than ever when I stopped chasing someone else’s dream and started listening to myself as to what I want. So it’s my sincere hope that everyone can define and pursue their own versions that will fill their cups and make them happy; that way, we can all build a more sustainable business and live a more fulfilling, authentic, and balanced life :)
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
While there are still days I still get intimidated by what to post on social media or not wanting to say “the wrong thing”, it has also been an incredible marketing platform for my business. In fact, I’d say over half of my inquiries are from Instagram! So for those who are starting out, my advice would be to…
Start before you feel ready! Don’t wait until you *are* or have something big to launch. Social media, like anything else, takes practice. Showing up takes practice. Knowing what to say and how to say it takes even more practice. The earlier you start, the easier it gets over time. Before I officially announced my business to the world, I had created an Instagram account months before and spent time experimenting with what to share. It wasn’t a pretty grid and had a lot of mish-mash but overtime, I started to get the hang of it and also began to connect with people within my industry, which brings me to my next point…
Relationships before sales! Yes, social media marketing is “marketing”, but people also buy from people. They don’t just make purchases because of a perfectly curated post or a trendy reel—they buy because they trust and relate to the person behind the brand. Share your values, the things you love, and take the time to make genuine connections. When you focus on giving rather than getting, you build trust and rapport. This trust fosters brand authority and loyalty. Plus, it makes social media more enjoyable and sustainable for you!
Lastly, invest in high-quality visuals for your business, such as brand design and brand photography to help with content creation. Not only can they help tell your brand’s story, connect with your audience, and convey credibility… but it can save you so much time (and pressure) figuring out what to post, especially if you’re not ready to jump into videos just yet but want to connect with like-minded people. You don’t have to be on every platform and be posting everyday – just pick 1-2 where your ideal client hangs out & start there.
At the end of the day, social media isn’t going anywhere and in fact, it’s ever-evolving and expanding everyday. I’d really encourage small business owners & service-providers to use social media not just for marketing and sales, but as a way to directly connect with your audience and scale your brand.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://studiocrescent.co
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/studiocrescentco
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/studiocrescentco
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessgoodkey
- Other: https://pinterest.ca/studiocrescentco
Image Credits
Sarah from Amarah Creative Productions