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

Alright, Jeanne thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Has Covid resulted in any major changes to your business model?

After spending almost a decade in corporate, I found myself in the end of 2019 at cross roads: to advance my career further up in the corporate ladder or to forge my own path. At that point, I knew what I wanted – and it was definitely to never work for another boss again.

Luckily at that point, I was freelancing for 5 brands while holding down a 9-5 Global Director of Digital Marketing job. I took a leap of faith and started Maison Matador in December 2019. I treated the opportunity with a rigorous schedule as though it were my main job and luckily had enough ramp time to nail down a few contracts before the pandemic.

By the time the pandemic hit, brands quickly realized in order to survive they needed to migrate online, have a strong D2C presence and an organic/paid social strategy in place. With hard work and good timing, Maison Matador quickly grew during the most uncertain time of Covid.

Jeanne, 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?

My original goal was to go to college and figure out my life from there. However, given the obscene cost of college tuition, I had to really evaluate the potential burden student loan by asking myself, “Is this the investment I really want?” I looked around and everyone in their 30’s+ was struggling to pay off their loans, let alone buy a home. I knew, this false promise of the College-Industrial complex was not it for me.

Despite seeing my friends off in college, it was fuel for me to recalibrate my perspective on what “experience” really meant. I took every job opportunity and used it as a “paid experience” for what I could have learned (or not learn) in college. This is what set myself apart from my co-workers – I wasn’t there to work, I was there to learn and immersed myself in what I really wanted to do.

A lot of young people who ask me how I end up finding out what I wanted to do in life. My answer is simple. Pick a direction (even if it’s vague) and take baby steps in your job. For example, if you want to be a chef and don’t have the skills, then start in the kitchen and prove yourself. With determination, work harder than others, and learn, learn, learn. With baby steps, over a decade – that’s leaps and bounds.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

The first most important thing is that you are nothing without your team. Ensure you hire with slow caution, set expectations and clearly communicate your goals.

Personally, at Maison Matador Agency, our rule is straight forward. From 9-5, be prepared to come and work hard with a great spirit – but I don’t want to hear from you after 5pm and definitely not on the weekends.

If everyone can come with 100% work attitude, then it makes all our lives better off after-work. We all value a balanced work/life. They often say, work hard and play hard.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

One of my favorite YouTube channel is called Academy of Ideas (https://www.youtube.com/@academyofideas). They have endless videos on the philosophy of stoicism and psychology that have really changed my perspective on how I approach life.

From the most basic and fundamental level, I wake up every day with gratefulness knowing that a new day is not a promise, it is a gift. In Japanese, there is a phrase ‘Ganbatte’ which is a saying to “Do Your Best.” This practice is ingrained in everyday, mundane task. In both my personal life and at Maison Matador, I believe in giving it your all, in everything you do.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://maisonmatador.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maisonmatador/

Image Credits
Photo 1 – Honor The Gift, Photographer: Irida Mete Photo 2 – Marie Kondo, Photographer: Ye Rin Mok Photo 3 – Marie Kondo, Photographer: Ye Rin Mok Photo 4 – Marie Kondo, Photographer: Ye Rin Mok Photo 5 – Honor The Gift Photographer Photo 6 – Honor The Gift Photographer Photo 7 – Honor The Gift Photographer