We were lucky to catch up with Jenna Lambertz recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jenna, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Any thoughts around creating more inclusive workplaces?

Advice I would give to my future self or anyone wanting to create a passion into a career – would be to not pre-define who you are suppose to be and stand for. The world places people in career fields within certain standards, my goal was to normalize passions into careers unapologetically. Without fitting myself into a box or under estimating the influence I could have on people with my trades.

Growing up I worked multiple jobs that gave me the knowledge to work with customers and how to run a business smoothly. Confidently I can say that without that grind of working non-ideal jobs I was able to grow myself in perseverance and empathy for those that I served. Being able to work enough to accrue the expenses to convert my passions into a career was empowering.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is Jenna and I am located in the midwest. I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Landscape Architecture and have always been a creative minded person. Going through the design curriculum at my college felt like home – constantly being surrounded by like-minded and driven people was the initial spark of imagination. Seeing that you can truly do whatever brings you joy and creatively pushed me as an artist. Learning the fundamentals of art, design and the physical exercises of drawing helped aid my careers today.

After college I transitioned photography into a job, taking on all types of session requests. Developing everything I needed for my brand myself; logo branding and identity, social media presence and web design. One thing about myself is that when I have an idea or vision I tend to go 110% to bring it to fruition. Making sure to utilize my trades along with the customer service skills I’ve gained from my youth, I tried to curate a unique identity to my business. Developing strong relationships for word-of-mouth advertising but to maintain a solid clientele. Creating goals throughout the journey to keep in the forefront of my mind to achieve with my actions. Eventually I was able to navigate and find my niche and what types of sessions fueled my creativity, meanwhile making it a unique experience to set me apart from other artists.

After 5 years I felt like I needed another challenge, what other trade can I learn? I have always been a multi-tasker, keep my schedule full and a productive kind of person. So after being able to narrow down the specialties I offer with my photography business I though about tattooing. I have tattoos myself and was always fascinated with the process, visually watching and learning whenever I would have an appointment. I received my first tattoo gun from my significant other and his support of pushing me to take it seriously. One year later I opened up my tattoo studio specializing in fine line tattooing. Unsure if it was going to be something that was going to be successful in the demographic I am in – I went in with the idea of receiving support from friends and family. Within one month of opening my books I had over 200 inquiries. When I say my jaw dropped, I nearly had to pick it up off the floor. I was extremely humbled at the fact of complete strangers in my community trusted in me to bring to life their ideas. For someone who has never worked with me for any of my jobs, really spoke to the presence I was trying to give off.

When opening my shops my main goals were to offer a specialty in tattoo that is not currently established in my community, but also to house a space that was inviting and modern. I wanted my first-time tattooing customers to feel safe and confident in communication with me throughout the entire experience. For those that have had tattoos done as well to want to come back to me, not only for my work but for their time in my space. Allowing my customers to have the safe space to be vulnerable meanwhile capturing or creating captivating pieces of art. I try to make each experience intimate and personal from the moment of inquiry to generating the long-lasting client relationships.

This fall I decided to leave my regular full-time job to open up a multi-use studio to become the home of my two careers. I am a full-time photographer and tattoo artist. Oddly the two seem to seamlessly work well together and share common experiences. This April was the 1 Year Anniversary for Ink By Jen and I put together a photo event combining my trades to capture and highlight what a great year it has been. Inviting women that I have tattooed and photographed the art we created. Gifting them with beautiful photos and bridging a community of women. It was such a humbling experience sharing the home where art was created, sharing tears of joy, courage and sadness behind the tattoo chair with these women. Hearing sentimental stories and memories. Being a friend, cheerleader and supporter to these women. I am so proud to be a part of these journeys both big and small. I would not be where I am now without the continuous love and support from my family, friends and clients.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I have always been the person to have 2, 3 or 4 jobs growing up. Being busy and having consistency made me be consistent in my personal life. Without structure I would lose my creativity. I believe this was instilled in me from youth and there is something rewarding from having something show of your hard work. Whether it is the money to spend on nice things for yourself or others or working hard for others to see the value in yourself.

Working jobs that may have not been my dream job or ideal job is what funded my basic needs and for my family. If I was able to financially support my lifestyle and develop business skills along the way, I was going to do that as long as I could. Meanwhile working the jobs I loved on the side, taking photos and doing tattoos in the evening and weekends. Eventually I was able to confidently transition out of my regular full-time to open my studio and do photography and tattooing full-time. This allowed me to book more clients during my business hours and I was able to give myself boundaries. That evenings during the week are for my family time and one-on-one time with my son while he is young. Limiting my weekends to select hours for photo session and the rest spent resting and time for myself.

The biggest drive to working for myself full-time was to manage and be in control of my time. Time is limited and rare spent with those that you love. My son is so patient and comes with me for a lot of the sessions. I felt that I owed it to him for all the time he has given to me. I can say that working for myself has been one of the greatest achievements in my career. That I was able to logistically be in control of my schedule and prioritize my personal time successfully. Burnout is real and I would find days and weeks so drained and my health was reflecting it. I wasn’t as motivated to do the jobs that I loved, and I knew something needed to change.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

Absolutely, for new clients I have them submit a thorough inquiry. Intaking information on their requests and learning about them. I try to reflect as I would want to be treated as a client. Communication is so important in tone, timeliness, and authentically. Establishing a professional but meaningful relationship is a priority in my brand. Making sure my clients feel comfortable from the moment they step into my studio until they leave. Allowing them to feel as if they can reach out for questions and concerns after their sessions. A lot of the times we receive work and it is purely transactional. I like to touch base with all clients after to see how the healing process is going and typically my clients will book another session before stepping out of the studio. I do offer a loyalty program with punch cards – every $50 you spend you receive a punch. Allowing you to tier up towards future discounts. This definitely has gotten my clients to book more sessions even without designs in mind.

Contact Info:

• Website: inkbyjen.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/ink.byjen
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/ink.byjen
• Other: www.tiktok.com/ink.byjen

Image Credits
Lambertz Photography & Design LLC