Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jen Malloy. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jen , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

What it takes to be successful is to identify what success means to you, first and foremost. My husband and I co-own our business. We have 20 employees based all across the United States, and we currently serve about 130 senior living communities on all of their marketing and public relations needs. Our business grew larger than I ever imagined, and at this point, I hope it continues to grow. We’re now taking all the steps, 7 years in, to ensure our team is as strong as ever, that the business could run without us, and that it continues to be profitable. It’s non-stop, and not just in the daily needs of the business – it’s non-stop in learning and growing and understanding business in general, and leadership in general. You must have drive and compassion and deep vision in order to run and grow a business. It’s so much grueling work. And it’s wonderful work.

For the past several years, however, I’ve taken a step back from work successes, and these days I rate my overall success by: if I started my day with movement, if I enhanced my mind, if I ate well, if I was present in my interactions, and if I ended my day with love and laughter. For me, what it takes to be successful is to have a strong, loving marriage, to have my family and friends close-by, to learn every day, and to keep my health at the forefront of most of my decisions.

So what it takes to be successful is to know what form of success you want in life. And then to question that form of success over and over again – to make sure it’s right for you and your own personal north star. Nothing we believe needs to be set in stone, nor should it.

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.

I co-own and am the CEO of Craft & Communicate, a senior living marketing and public relations firm. I got into corporate senior living marketing out of pure luck back in 2007, and almost 10 years later, I left the corporate world in order to start C&C with my husband Rich. 7 years later, we support over 130 senior living communities with anything they need to drive leads: websites, digital ads, SEO, marketing automation, traditional media, public relations and crisis communications. We have a team of 20 employees based all across the US, and we are steadily growing.

What sets us apart is that several of us came from senior living – we worked in communities or corporate, so when I say we get this industry, we really get this industry. And we lead with heart. We don’t nickel and dime, we don’t use marketing jargon, and we lead every interaction with our core values – kindness and accountability.

What I hear most often from our clients is that we are dedicated, trustworthy, and patient. One thing that makes us different from other agencies is it’s not about us – it’s never about us – it’s about them. We simply support them, in anything they need to get more qualified leads. When a client comes on board, we are literally on their team from that point on – their success is our success.

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

The most effective strategy for growing your clientele is to care about your clientele. If you wake up every morning thinking of your current clients and how you can help them meet their goals, make their lives easier, or provide better service, you will absolutely grow your business.

Also, you have to really understand your clientele. What keeps them up at night? What will make them perform better for their boss, their team, the people they spend their days with? How can you support them and help them reach their goals? If you understand them, if you respect them, if you answer their needs and help improve their lives, your business will grow.

How’d you meet your business partner?

This one is a fun one for me to answer because my co-founder/business partner is my husband. We met on a blind date 20 years ago and I had never in my life laughed so hard or had so much fun with another human being before. :)

And so with that little piece of info, I will add – you have to love your business partner. It doesn’t matter if they are your husband or your friend or a long-time acquaintance, you have to love them. You will spend more time with this person than you will your own family. I am one of the lucky ones as I get to share C&C with my spouse – and yes, that is a challenge in and of itself that we could write a book on. Just remember that you have to love and like this person. Spend a lot of time with them beforehand – years if you can. Pay attention to how they treat the waitress, what they do when they walk past a piece of trash, how clean their car is, how they make you feel when you leave. You wouldn’t marry someone who you didn’t know extremely well, and you shouldn’t go into business with someone you don’t know extremely well either.

And they need to be as opposite from you as you can manage. When I talk about C&C being successful, there’s absolutely no way it would be successful without Rich. For starters, we would have no employees as he’s WAY more fun than I am. And mostly, he has the vision, and the strategy, and the grit, and the deep understanding of where society is headed. This man without any “real” business background has better business and leadership skills than any boss or company founder I have ever been around.

So make sure this person that you go into business with meets you in the areas you lack. Pay attention to how they treat people. I got lucky with my life partner and my business partner, and I will never, ever take that for granted.    

Contact Info:

• Website: craftandcommunicate.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/craftandcommunicate/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/craft-&-communicate/mycompany/?viewAsMember=true

Image Credits
Amber Shumake