We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jennifer Wise a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jennifer, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.
Just about everything, to be honest. Right now there are a lot of incredibly average options for preserving photos and memories both digitally and in print, and Forever stands out from the crowd in every way I can think of. Let me touch on both digital photo/video storage and print products like photo-memory books.
Forever was created well over a decade ago because its founder couldn’t find any company he could trust to store his digital photos and videos in the cloud that would guarantee both their privacy and security. He was looking for a company that would store his memories without selling his data (or photos!) and would also guarantee them to be available in years to come for his children and grandchildren. He couldn’t find even ONE! So he created one.
That alone makes Forever Storage stand out from the rest, but Forever goes much further. My photos and videos are triple backed-up using bank-encrypted security, and Forever will migrate my files if they become outdated. (So, if JPEGs ever become obsolete, I don’t have to worry about it–they will change the file formats FOR ME!) So many other companies have unacceptable fine print (like they may discontinue their services at any time with or without notice, or that your account terminates upon your death). It’s astonishing that these companies conduct their business this way while at the same time charging a monthly fee (which Forever doesn’t)! Forever is a public-benefit corporation, meaning it must serve public interest. It’s exactly what I want for my memories.
Likewise, Forever does print better than the industry standard, too. Photo experts say that print remains one of the best ways to store and share photos since you’re never at the mercy of technology (dead phone battery, corrupted files, etc.). I like to say that Forever is an impressive place to “store photos” in print, but it’s also an easy place to do so!
The Forever Print Shop uses acid-free and lignin-free pages, archival-quality inks, and a PUR binding which is the absolute best in the industry. (Google it–the PUR method is a chemical bonding process, so the binding doesn’t yellow and crack like glue does, causing pages to fall out.) This is what my memories deserve! Lots of photo-memory book companies have popped up over the years, but I’m only willing to use one that ensures my books around for years to come.
Forever is an easy place to create photo-memory books (and other photo products like blankets, ornaments, mugs, planners, etc.) because you get exactly what you want! If you want something fast and easy and beautiful, you can do that. If you like the creativity of digital scrapbooking, you can do that. Most companies have one option, or an additional slight variation on their one option. Forever has 3 different platforms you can use for preserving your photos and memories in print. AutoPrint is the “easy button” where you choose photos and they get plugged into a book for you so you can quickly just add text. Design & Print is (free) professionally-designed templates so you can simply place your photos and text in your chosen pages. Artisan is different because you have full creativity and flexibility (using any font on your computer, for example) where you can design your own pages using digital art and your downloaded Artisan software program. I really, really love that every person can get exactly what they want.
I was with a different memory-keeping company for many years before I met Forever, so I have a special perspective on how much Forever does differently from the industry standard. This becomes obvious to me on a regular basis when I introduce Forever to someone and they discover that it’s exactly what they’ve been looking for!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
You know how we have so many photos, but we aren’t sure the best ways to preserve them, so it feels overwhelming? Well, what I do is give people the peace of mind that comes from organizing and fireproofing their photos, scrapbooks, VHS tapes, and such, so that they can ditch the overwhelm and just enjoy convenient access to all their memories in one permanent home. I coach using my favorite memory-keeping tool, and–believe it or not–most of my coaching is free!
I have always been a memory-keeper, journaler, and scrapbooker, but I never even dreamed of making it my business until 2005. At that time, I was a busy mom of 3 kids under the age of 7, and on top of it, I’m a die-hard introvert. I tend to think that’s all the proof anybody might need to know that I believe strongly in what I do! We all need to access our memories, photos, and stories, not just to accumulate them. Over the years, I have enjoyed helping people do this, but I have also enjoyed learning how GOOD FOR YOU it is. Photos have been shown in studies to increase both happiness and relaxation. Memory-keeping, or recording our life experiences with our photos, has a grounding and strengthening effect, increases gratitude and connection, and even helps us cope with grief. Studies also show that kids who know family stories have a stronger sense of self and higher self-esteem.
There are so many photo problems these days: overwhelm, disorganization, and trying to find a secure and trustworthy place to store photos digitally and create photo-memory books to house our stories. I help solve these problems in a variety of ways using the best tool I’ve seen in almost 20 years, Forever. The app is convenient, the services are the best in the industry, and I’ve found that Forever really is the answer to any photo need we have these days.
One of the things I’m most proud of in my work is helping people to accomplish their goals. People who don’t think they are going to be any good at preserving or organizing photos ARE! I am pretty good at breaking things down into steps, and I have over 100 tutorial videos on my YouTube channel to help with a variety of photo and memory-keeping needs. I have been writing at my memory-keeping blog since 2009, so there are a lot of articles I can point people to if they want more information (or just inspiration!) on a given topic. I’m proud of the resources I have developed to help people along the way.
I also help people solve their photo problems by teaching classes–most of them are online and free–about photo organization, making easy photo books and photo gifts, making creative digital scrapbooks, methods for catching up preserving photos, how to transition from paper to digital scrapbooking, how to start a memory-keeping habit in 10 minutes a day, and much more. I also teach a Yearbook Boot Camp class where we preserve one year’s worth of photos in one high-quality book in just a few weeks, both online and in-person for Arapahoe Community College’s community education program. And, in fact, I teach classes by request, too, on a variety of topics of interest.
In addition, I offer free 20-minute initial Zoom Consults to answer questions and help people get started memory-keeping with Forever, whether that’s uploading and organizing photos into Forever Storage, or learning how to use one of the print programs for photo-memory books, or learning about Forever’s digitizing services for old memories stuck in VHS tapes, slides, etc. For my regular memory-keepers, Zoom Consults are always free.
I’m a solution-finder and problem-solver, and I love helping people. I know the mental, social, and emotional benefits of photos and memories, and I want individuals and families everywhere to have them! I am service-oriented, not sales-oriented, so I’m easy to talk to. I’m responsible, organized, and responsive, so my clients can always count on me.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I like to think I’m a pretty quiet person who likes stability, but it turns out I’m all about pivoting!
In life I have pivoted based on the changing needs of my family as well as myself–in the last 20 years, I have lived in Washington (state), Israel (yes, really), New York (state), and Colorado. I was a memory-keeping consultant for many of those years, which required me to meet new people in each new place. I tried officially networking for the first time after moving to Colorado. I started writing a memory-keeping blog and making tutorial videos on YouTube, too. I have learned so much in my 18-year journey as a small business memory-keeping consultant! I have grown in many ways. Being a mom is its own journey, and a whole nother article!
In my career, I made an enormous pivot in 2019. I was a stay-at-home mom since my oldest child was born, and being a memory-keeping consultant fit so perfectly into that (working when and as much/as little as I wanted), but in 2019 I decided to build on my background in American Sign Language. In 2019, I decided to both get a Master’s degree in Teaching American Sign Language and become a certified ASL interpreter. Both were entirely out of my comfort zone, even though I certainly had the passion and ability for them. I ended up earning a Master’s degree during a worldwide pandemic and graduated with my M.A. (and a 4.0 GPA) three weeks after I turned 50. In the middle of all that, I passed my interpreter certification tests, too. I am now an adjunct college ASL instructor as well as a certified ASL interpreter where I work at various locations throughout the community–neither of which I would have ever dreamed of just a few years ago.
I ended up having to pivot in my business a couple of years ago as well. The company I began my photo & memory-keeping business with way back in 2005 went through some changes that made it no longer a good fit for me personally or as a business. It was a difficult reality to accept, but I’m so glad it led me to Forever. I love being able to offer people exactly what they need for their photos and memories now, and offer so many options for solutions, too!
I don’t naturally think about pivoting or look forward to pivoting, but I have definitely learned that pivoting is not only required, but sometimes better than you can imagine.
We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.
Keeping in touch with clients is a priority for me, and I think keeping in touch should go both ways. I want to be both accessible and approachable. I love it when clients reach out to me. I hope to help them eliminate “Sorry to bother you…” from their vocabulary when they have a question or a need. It’s not a bother! I’m here FOR YOU. I do this job for that very purpose.
I try to keep in touch with clients in a variety of ways. Mainly, I have a once-a-month newsletter with inspiration, upcoming events, etc., but I also try to be “out there” in lots of other ways, too. I have a Facebook page, Facebook group, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube channel. I also blog, with the intent that my articles can be inspiring and helpful with more information and details than you would get just on a Facebook post or at the website.
I think being where my clients and potential clients are is vital. Maybe you wouldn’t read a blog post, but you’d watch my YouTube video about the differences in popular cloud storage options. Maybe you prefer seeing a quick something on Instagram, but maybe your friend would prefer reading a blog post all about the 3 different platforms you can use to create a photo-memory book.
I honestly don’t worry much about fostering brand loyalty because I have seen, repeatedly, that Forever speaks for itself. I do try to make sure I’m always posting or otherwise sharing the perks of Forever, the ways I personally use Forever, client satisfaction with Forever, etc., but it’s just so different from anything else out there that I really only see people come to Forever and stay. It’s a pretty fantastic position for all of us to be in!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.forever.com/ambassador/jennifer-wise
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/photoandstorytreasures/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/315067088563826
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-williams-wise-3264904a/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/JenniferWiseHM
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@photoandstorytreasures
- Other: Our Facebook group is above. Here’s our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/heritagemakerswithjennifer
Image Credits
headshot by Christine B Photography