We were lucky to catch up with Jenna Libman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jenna, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

I wonder this all the time! Sometimes I am a little jealous of my friends who have health insurance, benefits, and similar additives. They also have a form of structure that I occasionally miss. They can completely “turn off” at 5:00 everyday, and on vacations. I do not have that luxury, especially in a job like social media.

Then, I remember how much I hated the routine of school for all of my life. Waking myself up at the crack of dawn before my body is ready, having to ask permission to go to the bathroom, dress codes, stuck in a desk all day surrounded by people when my social battery is dying, etc. I also remember what a control freak I am, and how things not being in my control adds stress to my life.

In the new era of remote work, many of those factors would be irrelevant now. However, I would be capping myself at a monthly salary. Unless I got a raise or bonus, that would be the most I would ever make. The thing I love about entrepreneurship is that the possibilities are endless. There is nothing limiting me from making more money on my own schedule by doing something that I love.

Jenna, 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?

If you don’t know me yet, hi! My name is Jenna. I am 23 years old, and a full time serial entrepreneur. I have been a creator and entrepreneur all my life in many ways. I started dreaming of being a business owner as young at 5-6 years old. I played video games that would put me in that position and I’d play them ALL. DAY. and dream about that lifestyle for myself.

At 16, I started my secondhand clothing business, Driven to Style, which served as disposable income for me as a teen. It then did the same through college and helped with college student bills as well.

I graduated in May 2020 with a marketing major and entrepreneurship minor. At this point during the pandemic, no one was hiring, but I found myself questioning whether I wanted a “real job” anyway. I always figured I’d sit in a 9-5 like everyone else and grow a business or two on the side, because that’s what you were “supposed” to do. I saw this as a blessing in disguise, and never got into the corporate world. I started freelancing shortly after graduating.

As a social media manager for the last 2+ years, I’ve worked with many interesting personalities in industries I am passionate about. I have helped businesses, both locally and around the world, navigate their social media during uncertain times. I have also saved them a ton of time; they don’t have to manage it all on their own all while running a business and living their lives.

I have also been leading myself right down the path of burnout. Learning how to price and time yourself as a freelancer is one of the most difficult things. I have taken on too many clients for too little pay more than once. I have also had negative experiences with clients that have led me to question why I am doing this to begin with? And if I “quit.” what would I do with myself? Instagram changes that have come up recently have also hurt us a ton. I’m supposed to be the expert, and find myself questioning my capabilities when Adam Mosseri throws yet another update at us that hurts our clients.

These experiences and questions led me to start making UGC for brands. UGC, user-generated content, is content that you see everyday and that you may have even made yourself. If you’ve sent your friends a review of a makeup product in the form of photo or video, that is UGC. It has allowed me to express a side of creativity that some social media management services limit.

I am still working in social media management as well, but I have better learned to balance my time, and not put all my eggs in one basket. I have found this new branch of working in social media that I deeply enjoy. Having both sectors will help me prevent burnout, since I am not fully immersed in one subject.

I love both sides of my business in different ways. I love being able to serve businesses in their social media in one way or another. I love hearing of my clients’ satisfaction when a TikTok I made for them goes “viral,” and ends up resulting in some great conversions.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Throughout my experiences, if I am going through something traumatic or difficult, I submerge myself in my work. This is sometimes not the healthiest practice, but seeing those invoices and payments go through, and seeing my clients and customers happy, also makes me happier.

As a senior in high school, I lost a childhood friend and boyfriend very suddenly, tragically, and just a few months apart. I wanted to wallow, but instead I threw myself into my clothing business and put a lot of pressure on myself to not fail out in my last semester of high school. I didn’t take a day off of school. At that point, it resulted in my best sales months yet, and I graduated just fine, with a year of college credit under my belt. Looking back, I wish I had let myself breathe a little more, but throwing myself into my work was all I knew, and it did end up paying off.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is pure independence. I want to have freedom to achieve the life I want, live in the town and home I dream of, and have complete control of my time. I want to be able to run errands in the middle of the day as I please. I want to be able to say “I can’t meet today” because I am having a low social battery day (life of an introvert.) I want to be able to listen to my body, and know when I need to rest, and then actually rest. I also dream of a day I can go shopping (one of my favorite activities) and not worry about how much I am spending, lol. I want to be able to go on vacations around the world, and hopefully someday be able to “turn off” while doing it. And I don’t want all my hard work to pay someone else’s paycheck in a 9-5.

Contact Info:

• Website: daffodilmktg.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/daffodilmktg
• Facebook: facebook.com/daffodilmktg
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenna-libman-59892918a/
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@daffodilmktg?_t=8WCRnqI9pgQ&_r=1

Image Credits
Photos all by Taylor Felts Photography But also it did not let me upload my pics so I will email them to you