We recently connected with Jen VanEe and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jen, 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 ask, and get asked often if I’m happy I decided to go out on my own, and the answer is always a resounding yes! I’ve had regular jobs, so I know what I’m missing out on. Although, the thought of being a delivery driver and listening to podcasts/music and being alone without the pressures of business ownership sounds nice sometimes.

In all seriousness, I think there are people that are wired for entrepreneurship and the pressures, as well as the fulfillment, that it brings. There is a lot of discomfort in business ownership, and unless you’re a serial entrepreneur, you’re often making decisions and having to do things that you’ve never done before. That can be really scary, especially if you’re an overthinker like me.

I, luckily, can confidently say I am a very happy business owner. While the steadiness and benefits of a regular job would be great, it would be a very difficult transition for me at this point and would require giving up some of the freedom and flexibility that gives me my vibrancy.

Jen, 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 graduated as a communications professional at the height of the 08′ recession if that tells you anything. Everyone in my field was losing their jobs. I started saving money and planned to move to Chicago in the fall of 2011, where I knew there would be more opportunities. However, those plans were foiled when I was hired for an in-house marketing role that summer. I worked in the A/E/C industry for the first 6-7 years of my career before being headhunted into a management role in corporate at a top 200 CPG company.

While I was excited about the progression I was gaining in my career I didn’t know what was ahead of me. Corporate was a culture shock for a growth-oriented, people-focused leader like myself. It was not kind to a woman in her early 30s starting to build a family. After years with the company and some of the best performance numbers in the country, I was let go from my position at 6 months pregnant because “they wanted to go a different direction with their leadership.”

This was a big blow… to my ego and our family’s finances as we prepared to welcome a little one into the family. While I didn’t see it then, this was probably one of the most fortunate events in my career. I was unfulfilled, unmotivated, and told that “sometimes I would just have to put my head down and do what I was told” (anyone that knows me knows this is like a dagger to my soul) but I was making really great money and there were few other employers in the area that could offer similar compensation.

It was at this time that I initially got to work on Wright Touch, not realizing that having a baby and launching a business at the same time could be potentially challenging. Given my prior career experiences, I didn’t want to go back to work because I needed money, I would only take a role within an organization where if the culture sucked I would be in a position of authority to change it. All that to say, I ended up taking a leadership role with a communications agency, later becoming its President. In that role, our team had some incredible achievements that included becoming a Michigan 50 Company to Watch and making a Forbes Top 200 list. In my final year with the organization, we became one of only 4.2% of women-owned/women-led businesses to gross over $1 million in revenue, which is an achievement I’m particularly proud of.

So now you’re probably asking, with all of these achievements, why would you leave? Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, I came to a lot of realizations about what was important to me and who I did and didn’t want to be as a leader, mom, and wife. Diplomatically, I was feeling the culture of the organization slip through my fingers and even as the President had lost the ability to make some of the changes I felt were necessary for the sustained growth of the organization. It was an incredibly difficult transition, but one that was necessary, and I’ll forever be grateful for my team and the leadership lessons in that role.

Having now had a traditional agency experience, I reshaped what I wanted Wright Touch to be from what I initially planned in 2018. Wright Touch is not a traditional agency that will execute all of your marketing functions for you (although we can step in to help when needed). Instead, I work with companies to develop their brand and marketing strategy and then help them hire, train an internal marketing professional and continue to work with and develop them to execute that strategy. Agency implementation is expensive, with most companies paying upwards of six figures. Marketing execution will ALWAYS be better when someone internal or close to the organization is the one executing it. Wright Touch’s model is designed to help companies create a self-sustaining marketing machine that is far more affordable while still giving them access to a senior-level marketing professional.

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

Leading with authenticity and building genuine connections with others. Most of my clients have come to me from either a previous relationship or from a referral. So word-of-mouth marketing is still incredibly effective.

Instead of focusing solely on sales and transactions, I’d rather establish meaningful connections. I aim to understand the needs and challenges of my clients and genuinely care about their success. I often say that their success is the measure of mine.

Networking also plays a crucial role in expanding my client base. Engaging in my community is something that is important to me, so I actively seek out opportunities that align with my interests. I strive to make a difference in every room I’m in.

And at the end of the day, the work speaks for itself, I find that consistently delivering exceptional work and exceeding client expectations is the best way to grow. Satisfied clients are more likely to refer others to my services, expanding my network through positive word-of-mouth.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Lead with Transparency and Empathy.

Transparency is essential for building trust and creating a sense of openness within a team. It involves sharing information, goals, and expectations openly and honestly. When team members have a clear understanding of the organization’s vision, objectives, and their individual roles within that framework, they feel more engaged and empowered. Regularly communicating updates, challenges, and successes with the team helps to cultivate a culture of transparency.

As a leader, it’s important to recognize that team members are individuals with their own unique experiences, strengths, and challenges. They wear a lot of other hats outside of “employee”. Actively listen to their concerns, be understanding, and consider their perspectives and be open to sharing some of your own experiences to relate with them. Demonstrating empathy as a leader creates a safe and supportive space for open communication, where team members feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas without fear of judgment.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.wrighttouchmarketing.com
• Instagram: @jen_vanee
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wrighttouchconsulting
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wright05/