We were lucky to catch up with Jaime Wright recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jaime, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

My business origin story is a little unconventional, and it took me awhile to come to grips with how it began. My business wasn’t a long-standing dream that came to fruition nor was it an evolution of a side hustle to a full-time job, like some of the more common origin stories we hear about small businesses. Very simply, my business is the result of having a job one day, then waking up the next day to an email from my former boss saying it was all over. There was no more money to keep operating, and the small business I was working for was effectively closed at that point.

Paychecks stopped showing up consistently a few months before that, yet somehow I didn’t allow myself to see the writing on the wall until I read that email. I felt shocked and betrayed by my former boss, but mostly ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​I was angry at myself for allowing myself to be taken advantage of. At that point, I had been working (mostly) without pay and was not in a great financial position as a result because I was waiting on those promised paychecks to show up once we got through what just seemed like a rough patch. The benefit of hindsight is that it allows us to see past experiences more clearly, and this experience definitely taught me many lessons of what NOT to do when running a business.

As I considered my next steps, I immediately started applying for jobs in my town, then I realized that I didn’t want to return to a “normal” full-time job. My previous position was a remote job before remote work became popular, and I had grown to enjoy the flexibility it offered. As I inventoried my knowledge, skills, and abilities, I knew I wanted to continue in the marketing field and work with small businesses. My father had started a few businesses of his own when I was growing up, and while I always thought that someday I would have a business of my own, I never really knew what that business would be… so I decided this was the time to bet on myself and step into the world of small business ownership.

In a matter of days, I had come up with a name, created a logo, bought domains, filed for a business license with the state, and designed and printed business cards. As exciting as those actions were, I was terrified that I was going to fail. I was angry about being in the position where I needed to start my own business. I was struggling with imposter syndrome because who was I to think I could run a business well when I didn’t even recognize that the business I was previously working for was struggling?

That’s when I knew that the only way my business was going to be successful was to trust God and to dig deep for the gifts and skills I already possessed that would help me on this journey. Drive? Check. Tenacity? Check. Willingness to work hard? Ability to build client relationships? Commitment to being fiscally responsible? Check, check, and check.

Fast forward almost 10 years, and Embellished Brands is still going strong by the grace of God. The marketing company that began from a place of survival has since blossomed into a business that empowers other small business owners and nonprofit organizations to develop and grow their own endeavors. I never wanted another person go through an experience like mine, so I bring the branding and marketing strategy, listening ear, and pep talks to my client experiences so they KNOW they’re not alone on the business journey.

Being a small business owner is not easy, but the experience of betting on yourself, building something great, and serving others well is worth it.

Jaime, 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?

Small businesses and nonprofits have the power to change their communities, and I want to help them share their stories with their target audiences. What I’ve found to be true for most of my clients is that while they might have an idea of what they SHOULD do to be successful in their branding and marketing, they don’t know HOW to approach it.

Sometimes it’s a gap due to lack of knowledge or skills. Sometimes it’s a bandwidth issue, when marketing is the first thing to be put on the back burner because other competing priorities emerge. Other times there’s a disconnect with the brand and being able to clearly articulate it to an audience. Many times a client simply lacks technological know-how or interest, and in today’s world, that can lead to a lack of online visibility. No matter what the initial hurdle is, my job is to learn about the organization, help them identify, understand, and overcome any roadblocks, and give them knowledge, strategy, and tools so they can better connect with and serve their audience.

Hi! I’m Jaime Wright, founder and CEO of Embellished Brands, a boutique branding and marketing firm. The company was established in 2014 after I lost my job at a marketing company I was working for at the time. As I considered my next steps, I chose to bet on myself and step into the world of small business ownership to work with other small business owners and nonprofit organizations. As with any small business, there have been twists and turns along the path of self-employment, but the journey to building something of value is worth it!

There’s a breadth of knowledge and experience that is brought to every branding and marketing client experience, including business, marketing, hospitality, special events, web design and development, graphic design, plus prior work experience in the nonprofit sector. In 2023 I became an Accredited Small Business Consultant(R), adding a higher level of knowledge and skills to my company’s services. Anything my clients need that my company can’t provide is outsourced to another small business. And therein is my secret weapon to success: wielding the power of small businesses to serve and grow other small businesses (and nonprofits).

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Lesson: “It can wait until tomorrow.”

Before I became self-employed, I worked the typical 8 am – 5 pm job in an office. There was usually a daily commute, plus an expectation to be accessible after work hours as needed. In one particular job that eventually led to severe burnout, I was expected to put almost six weeks of overtime into a busy season at my job as a salaried employee (with no overtime or annual leave compensation). I was so conditioned to do whatever needed to be done to be successful that I was always “on” for work and viewed everything requested of me by my team as urgent and important.

This led to a future manager at a different job recognizing this unhealthy pattern in me and gently counseling me with questions like, “Can this wait? Is this critical? Is this a matter of life and death? Do YOU have to be the one to complete the task?” (over and over and over) for me to see that it wasn’t just me being a “helpful” employee or a “highly motivated” employee. I had been trained to accept that it was normal to put work first, all the time, even outside of work. With her help and guidance, I learned that most things, in fact, were NOT emergencies. If there was an emergency, it was likely not MY emergency (nor was it my job to fix the emergency). I will always be grateful to her for caring enough about me to help me see this area for improvement.

When I became my own boss, I found myself getting back into those bad habits. It was easy to do because I wanted my new clients to be so happy with my services that they would recommend my company to their networks. Over time, I started realizing that I didn’t have good boundaries with my clients. I didn’t have a healthy work/life balance. I couldn’t take a legitimate vacation without a client reaching out with an emergency (and it usually was NOT a true emergency). I recognized that I was headed towards burnout again, and I needed to put a stop to the behavior that was contributing to the problem.

To do this, I set (and honored) formal office hours and added boundaries into my client service agreements. I made myself less available and brought on a virtual assistant to help place a buffer between myself and my inbox. I delegated more tasks to others when my involvement was not a critical component of a project. In short, I began evaluating whether anything coming my way was an emergency, and if it wasn’t, it could wait until I had time to address it (unless, of course, there was an actual deadline that needed to be met).

Over time, simple practices like these helped give me important perspective that I needed to ensure that I could still serve my clients well while also taking care of myself.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

From day one, referrals have always been the best source of new clients for me. I believe this stems from core business values of providing great service, doing great work, and building connections. The vast majority of referrals have come from previous clients, and another significant source of referrals has been from personal or professional connections.

There’s a saying that “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” I believe both parts of that saying are true, though the personal connection is often the element that can open the door to a connection with someone. A caveat I’d add on to that part about “who you know” is to be sure you’re doing more giving than taking in your relationships with others. Seek to build genuine, reciprocal, and high-value relationships with others. While not everyone will necessarily reciprocate, your actions and efforts will demonstrate time and time again that you are a trustworthy person that is worth the referral.

One of my favorite ways to build connections with others is to say “yes” to invitations I receive, participate in and support a friend or acquaintance’s project, or initiate an invitation by asking someone to meet for coffee or an informal Zoom chat.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://embellishedbrands.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/embellishedbrands/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/embellishedbrands
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/embellishedbrands/

Image Credits

Chanel Nicole Co.
Frames and Letters Photography
Jama Finney Photography
The Proof Photography