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

Jenny, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

As a small design studio, we’ve found that we fill a unique space for our clients. We aren’t a large marketing agency with high project prices, increased overhead, and more individuals involved, but we also aren’t a one-person freelance team with limited capacity and capabilities. With 5 people on our team, we are multi-faceted with collaborative minds to work together to strategically solve design problems, while having each other’s backs to account for stress-free time off. We have talent of designers who have worked in-house, in marketing agencies, and owned their own businesses, but with lower overhead and adaptability to pull in additional necessary resources when projects require outside skill sets.

In addition, I’ve set a strong precedent for work life balance. Many agencies I’ve worked in previously, and through experiences I’ve heard from other individuals in marketing agencies, late nights and weekends are often worked to meet client deadlines. At Jenny Tod Creative, we choose to value our team’s family time and off hours strongly and all pitch in to ensure the team isn’t asked to work beyond the work day. We’ve shared with our clients this value and there has been a mutual respect for this approach, knowing that our team pitches in to support one another making sure deadlines still get met. We offer our team week long holiday breaks and summer breaks to prioritize time off throughout the year, along with encouraged PTO.

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’m Jenny Tod, the CEO and Creative Director at Jenny Tod Creative. I have over 10 years of experience in the visual design space, where my career has taken me to multiple marketing agencies, in-house at a tech startup, and into the world of entrepreneurship. I’ve been interested in art since I was little, but got into design after a part-time job working with a photographer in high school. She opened me up to the world of creative occupations and gave me opportunities to start flexing my graphic design muscles with small projects here and there. Jenny Tod Creative is a 5 person design studio that blends strategic thinking, great design, and hand-crafted illustration to provide uniquely personal and insightful solutions for our clients. We have a deep design aesthetic with strong skills in branding and design—we’re designers, photographers and illustrators, but we also have a head for business. We know how to listen, ask the right questions, and find the right solution. The answer could be a fresh logo, brand or identity, but it could also include UX, content, a new name or simply a strategic focus.

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

Our most effective marketing strategy has been referrals. We work hard to create incredible experiences for our clients through consistent communication, intermittent and meaningful client gifts to show our appreciation, and coffee meetings and lunches for face-to-face connection. We also stretch ourselves to put out exceptional work we can be proud of and so can our clients. They are connected to like-minded companies that are many times, seeking similar services, and we feel honored that they continue to refer us out.

Any advice for managing a team?

I’ve seen a ton of growth in myself and my leadership over the last two years as I’ve grown my team and worked hard to develop a culture despite a team that works 100% virtually. It was important to me that my team members know that we’re all human—I care about them first as people and second as employees. We’re apart of a team to support one another and I care about their growth professionally and personally. I do bi-weekly 1:1 meetings with each of my team members where we discuss difficulties they are facing, strengths, opportunities, and the goals they’ve set for growth. We connect as a team monthly or bi-monthly for face to face interaction as well. In addition, We offer fringe benefits to our team to show them we care—bi-weekly coffee orders sent to their homes, quarterly virtual yoga sessions, monthly health stipends for their mental and physical health, disability and 401k.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jennytod.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennytodcreative/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JennyTodCreative
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jenny-tod-creative/

Image Credits
Sarah Kriner Photography Leah Trib Productions