Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jessa Purdue. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jessa, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?
Growing up, I played a lot of sports throughout the year (mostly softball and cheerleading), along with the sports I was a high school student who was on the honor roll. My parents wanted me to be a kid and enjoy school and sports while I had the opportunities, you are only in high school once. Because of this my parents would not allow me to have an after-school job, they were afraid of my schoolwork suffering or my commitment to my sports. What I did to earn money was babysit for various family members and friends when I could be available. Due to not having a frequent steady income and being a high school student who wanted to do things the typical high school students wants to do like go to the movies, shopping, and attend spring break, my parents taught me how to properly save money so I could still do these things. Back then with no bills to pay of my own they taught me how to always put some of the money I had made from babysitting to the side (into savings), so they when things come up I already have the funds to do them, instead of having to sit out and miss out on things. Now being an adult when bills to pay, student loans, and still wanting to do things fun in my life I have implemented this saving style to my current life, breaking every paycheck up into four categories. The first being for my monthly bills, this would include my car payment, student loans, ect. The next category being my savings, this is something that I do not ever touch, being for a future house or things of that nature. The following category being my everyday spending, this being for groceries, dinner out with friends, and or a McDonalds Coke (for other people coffee). Lastly the fourth category I like to call my ‘Fun Fund’, this being used for trips, concert tickets, and presents for others. The ‘Fun Fund’ is designed for experiences, so you are not pulling money out of your savings, but also not having it affect your weekly grocery budget, and still getting to experience things that life has to offer you and enjoy.
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.
For my everyday ‘day job’ I am an administrative assistant at a local country club that is located in Grosse Pointe Farms. I have been with the company for almost 10 years, allowing myself to grow within the company through different jobs as I grew through college and my degrees and my work experience. Along with that I am a high school varsity cheerleading coach for one of the local high schools also located in Grosse Pointe. I started with the program as a substitute tumbling instructor when their current tumbling instructor (who was my former coach in high school) at the time was too far along in her pregnancy to fulfill the job, so I stepped in to help her out. While substituting I found my love for the sport of cheerleading again. I believe the coach at the time saw my passion for the program and the kids, and asked if I would like to join the program full time as one of the coaches. I quickly agreed and have been with the program going on its third year. Lastly, I am a micro content creator/influencer. I visit different restaurants, breweries, and events throughout all of Michigan, but mostly throughout Metro Detroit. I share my experience at these places through my social media, giving my followers a look at different places that maybe they have never heard of and may want to try, along with giving the business the exposure that they deserve.
How did you build your audience on social media?
I started out on social media as a typical high school kid in the mid 2000’s, over posting anything and everything, trying to make myself look as ‘cool’ as I could possibly be. Eventually, I started college, and focused more on my school work and social life, and less on looking ‘cool’ on social media, but still posting occasionally. Eventually, I took a college class that taught some of the tips and tricks with the analytics with some social media, Instagram being the main study. When learning about these things I became more interested in social media and how I could get my content noticed and how and why certain posts were doing better than others and things of that nature. I started learn what my audience preferred to view, and what content was thriving of mine while other content was failing. What I really learned is that my audience enjoyed more of my everyday life, what was more organic and not designed for the ‘likes’. That when being myself my audience got a better understanding of me and who I really am, and not what I was trying to pretend to be. I am a real person, with a real day job, with a real average life, but I love to share it through social media, and it works pretty well for me.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
I would say my goal is to stay true to myself throughout social media. I tried so hard for so long making content that wasn’t who I was because I thought it was what people wanted to see, and that it was what was going to get me noticed. I learned that when I stay true to myself and post organically about the places I visit and my life, that both my mental health is better along with keeping a real connection with my followers.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/princesspurdue/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/princesspurdue
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/PrincessPurdue
- Amazon Storefront: https://www.amazon.com/shop/princesspurdue
- LTK: https://www.shopltk.com/explore/princesspurdue
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@princesspurdue_?lang=en
- Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/princesspurdue/
- Linktree: https://linktr.ee/princesspurdue