We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jamie Cox a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jamie, thanks for joining us today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

I’m happy as a business owner! I wouldn’t say happier and I wouldn’t say any of this work is easier than having a “regular,” 9-5 job, but I feel a sense of peace and control now that I own my own business.

In my daily work as a founder and strategist, I make so many decisions—for not only my business but for my clients, too! There’s an element of decision fatigue with all of that. Sometimes, I fantasize about going back to a 9-5 where someone else calls the shots and I just do what I’m told.

But when I look back on my corporate career, I remember how much I resented being told what to do. Part of that makes me a great business owner, though. It helps me lead with empathy and have some self-awareness around requests I’m asking of my team at Strange Salt.

Jamie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m a brand strategist and the founder of Strange Salt, a creative collective. I started my business in May of 2020 in what I (naively) thought was the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a scary time to leave my seemingly stable corporate gig, but I also knew something I had to change. I was working at home, I was living at home, and I was really struggling to feel like my work mattered in the grand scheme of things.

I saw other people leaving their jobs (or being laid off) and starting their own businesses. And I thought, “Hmm…these business owners could use someone like me.” I was working as a creative director at a strategy-focused marketing agency and I had a lot of experience and understanding of what makes a good brand and how to create effective marketing campaigns that spoke to audiences in a meaningful way. So, on one rainy Friday in May of 2020, I quit my job.

I started out freelancing as a designer (I also had lots of experience in this space!) because I knew that was an immediate need a lot of people had. My first year was all about discovery—I would be hired to design a brochure or a website, and then I’d just say things like “Have you ever thought about trying this approach instead?” and it opened the door to those more strategic conversations I was interested in having. I landed my first strategy client through a Nashville networking group and everything grew from there!

I continued doing 1:1 work with solpreneurs and entrepreneurs, then in late 2021, I realized how lonely I was. I had a lot of former colleagues and connections who were also freelancing and we were all having the same conversations—I’m tired of doing admin/contracts/design/whatever—I just want to focus on the thing I really enjoy! For me, the things I enjoyed were strategy and the administrative side of the business. I wanted to take a step back from design and instead empower the people in my network to take on that work.

So, in 2022, I officially launched Strange Salt, a creative collective that brings freelancers together to build brands. I brought on our first few members and we just started sharing work and referring as much as possible. Strange Salt took on its first project in May of 2022 and it was incredible! I was able to handle all the client communication things I love while also tackling strategy, we had an incredible messaging strategist working on all things words, and a talented designer building a brand identity and website. It was like the good parts of being back at the marketing agency, and none of the bad. We were all able to work on the work we wanted to and stay in our lanes of genius. The client loved knowing who was doing what and seeing each of our unique perspectives to help them build a brand.

Since 2022, we’ve grown to 16 members in 5 different states (plus two digital nomads). We’ve worked with everyone from vocal coaches to start-up founders. It’s been really powerful to see our client roster grow by tapping into our collective network, and it’s been fun to see our members collaborate in ways they never would have before Strange Salt. We all have a sense of ownership in the collective and we live by the idea that a rising tide raises all ships.

Our clients have the opportunity to work with top-tier creatives and don’t have to scour the internet and LinkedIn looking for them. We have such a vast network that if you need something done—a photoshoot, a product built, social content created—we can find someone to do it. Everything we do is strategy-driven and we use our strategy for each part of the brand-building process. That means if a client comes to us with an idea they saw somewhere, our team will come together and make sure it actually fits with our strategy. If it doesn’t, we’ll come up with a new approach that does so we can reach a similar (if not better) outcome.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I’ve always led with honesty! This is true with my clients, with my team at Strange Salt, and also with my podcast, Scope Creep, which I host with Liz Talago. I’ve never been afraid to share my unpopular opinions and I believe that sharing those things brings the right people toward you, and repels the wrong ones.

I believe honesty is a form of kindness. One of the most frustrating things for me when I worked in corporate America was how quick my teams were to say “yes” to any idea, no matter how good or bad it was. It was all about who the idea was coming from. If they were the CEO, the director, or a stakeholder, the answer was always yes.

But the fact of the matter is, some of those ideas were TERRIBLE. And I wished there was someone in the room who would have been honest and offered a better approach. It would have made a huge difference for the team of doers who stayed late at the office to make magic happen and it would have made a big difference for our bottom line. For this reason, I like to give the Strange Salt team autonomy and let them choose which projects they do and don’t work on. If it doesn’t align with their values, for example, they don’t have to work on it. If they feel overwhelmed, they can say no. We’ll find another person to work on it, or we’ll pass on the offer!

One essential way I bring honesty to my business is by being upfront with clients whom I don’t think we can help. If we work with a client and we feel like I’ve reached a dead end, I’ll let the client know. A lot of people in my shoes would take the easy money. They’d plug away at the work and do the bare minimum for the monthly retainer. But I only want to work where I can make an impact. I’ve been called strange for this, but if it feels like a waste of my time, it’s probably a waste of your money.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

I believe that to receive, you have to give.

I’m an open book to anyone who has questions about business—whether they’re starting out freelancing or looking to build something new. I’m more than happy to share my knowledge and help them as much as I can. I do this because I really do enjoy these connections, but I also know that some of these conversations may turn into new business leads.

There’s some level of gatekeeping in business ownership and I’m trying to fight that. If someone reaches out and says they want to build a creative collective, I’ll give them a step-by-step plan of how to do it. If someone asks me how to make the brand more impactful, I’ll give them some advice. At the end of the day, I want to see people succeed and build something they’re proud of.

Sharing this knowledge often opens a door to future conversations and introductions. Someone I talk to about their brand but don’t end up working with may say to a friend “Hey, you should reach out to Jamie. She runs Strange Salt and they are SO GOOD at this!” and that’s the brand I’ve built—one that people brag about even when I’m not in the room.

Contact Info:

• Website: strangesalt.com, jamiercox.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jmercox/, https://instagram.com/strangesalt
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamiercox13/

Image Credits
Photos by Tanja Jurek