We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jessica McDevitt a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jessica, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.

My parents are my biggest champions and have always encouraged my independence in learning lessons for myself. I originally applied to college theatre programs and showbiz is certainly not every parent’s dream for their child’s future. While my parents weren’t over the moon about the chosen career path, they knew choosing a major would be the first of many decisions I’d make as a now adult. Looking back, my parents easily could have deterred me from theatre and presented options for me, versus choosing for myself. The irony of this lesson was I chose to attend the one college who did not accept me into their theatre program, and thrived towards an entertainment business degree instead.

Jessica, 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?

Absolutely! My name is Jessica and I am the founder of amplify services, a social impact consultancy connecting artists to non-profits. Amplify connects fans & artists to initiatives driving impact and social good. In 2023, you can find us building ‘amplify the arts’, (bringing arts education to inner-city youth), expanding partnerships like our work with Seacrest Studios, and collaborating with clients on philanthropic strategy.

I also am the proud creator & host of More or Less, a podcast centered around music & mental health. We create a warm space for artists and industry professionals to chat wellness, creativity, and burnout. Previous guests include Hunter Hayes, Lawrence, JP Saxe, Chelsea Cutler, and more.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

Amplify was always my north-star, and I ultimately left a full-time role to pursue it headfirst. I found myself yearning to immerse myself into the world of social good, and scaling amplify allowed me to do so. For a long time, I balanced my passions by working in music by day and volunteering for mental health non-profits by night which inevitably led to blending both worlds professionally. I think it’s important to identify the gaps in the market, conduct market research, and project your numbers prior to jumping in the deep end of entrepreneuership. Ultimately, betting on myself is the biggest risk I’ve ever taken.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I can speak to this via More or Less’s social media! Social media is not one of my strong skills so I’ve been lucky to work with some wonderful contractors to promote our podcast. We’ve always tried to keep content engaging, and visually appealing from our brand colors, fonts, etc. While I don’t have too much advice to share, I’d highly recommend being as collaborative as possible on socials — whether it’s a collab’d post, re-posting, giveaways, — reaching other audiences beyond your own can really invite new engagement.   

Contact Info:

• Website: www.letsamplify.net
• Instagram: @jessicaamcd
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-mcdevitt
• Youtube: youtube.com/moreorlesswithjess
• Other: www.moreorlesswithjess.com