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

Jeanine, appreciate you joining us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

The biggest risk I took was to leave the corporate world and create Dressedtothej9s LLC. There were a lot of unknown variables, but I was ready and willing to take that chance.

I refer to myself as the “evolution of consulting for a modern world” and a Solopreneur/Creative Visionary. I am constantly learning, adapting, and changing and it is truly freeing to be out on my own. While clients may choose me, I respectfully also have the option of who I work with, it’s a great two-way street, so to speak.

I have networked and met so many amazing new people who share my beliefs, visions, and values. While there is a lot of husting and time spent pitching to potential clients, I see it as every day there is a new opportunity to be found and I have so much knowledge from these experiences. Plus, networking can only lead to good things!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I spent my career in a creative marketing environment curating newsletters, presentations, trends analysis, corporate concierge programs, and offering visual direction.

As mentioned, several years ago I decided to leave the corporate world of fragrance marketing to venture out on my own, I had many visions of what my business could be and I realized that while you can have a set plan in place, you must also be adaptable.

I started with my love of fashion, street art, and interactive events, and began writing and blogging about my experiences and what I was wearing while partaking. My name is Jeanine, and everybody calls me J9. I thought about the term “dressed to the nines” and what a perfect fit it would be to call my new business Dressedtothej9s LLC.

Then everything evolved, I created a Menu of Services that included marketing, social media, concierge & event planning, writing, and much more, that I can adjust per client needs. No limitations as long as it is creative, operable, and something I wanted to work on. With my business, I wanted to take this to a new level and branch out to different industries, as well as always grow and learn from my clients.

My approach to success is positivity, no drama, and hard work! I humbly have been told that my enthusiasm is infectious, and I truly believe this is what makes clients want to work with me.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Social Media, as we all know is a great marketing and PR tool, but it can also be quite frustrating. Dealing with algorithms, strategy, bots, comments, and day-to-day maintenance is time-consuming. Shifts such as we are seeing now, to more videos and Tik-Tok-based content propose a challenge for those who rely on the beauty of the photo and storytelling.

These media sites are constantly changing, updating, and adding tools. My advice to those starting out is to focus on your account, research relevant hashtags, @tag appropriate businesses, etc, and do not compare yourself to others. Followers are not necessarily a true sign of interaction for smaller businesses, as they can be bought through third-party apps. DM potential clients or businesses that you would like to reach. It is better to post less content that is of higher quality, than posting just to have a placeholder. With this, it does not need to be perfect as honesty and trueness are core values.

One last thing, many do not realize the amount of time that goes into social media marketing or see it as just a fun thing to do, value your time and efforts.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The most effective strategy for me is honesty and organization. It may sound basic, but my clients appreciate it and it’s beneficial to growing a working relationship. I don’t believe in calls or meetings for no reason, only if there is something to discuss. Time is so precious and my clients appreciate it that I contact them if necessary, otherwise they know I will get the job done. I put everything in writing when warranted, so there are no discrepancies.

Also, since I work with social technologies, I am my own IT department. With this, I do calls or meet-ups with friends or colleagues and discuss what’s new in tech, keep in touch and brainstorm with Apple support, and read and test features out on social channels. #knowledgeispower

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dressedtothej9s/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dressedtothej9s/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeaninepedersen/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/dressedtothej9s
• Other: https://seekrecs.onelink.me/7yqo/dressedtothejnines Follow me on the Seek app for everything NYC!