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

Hi Jessica, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

I am the youngest of five children and I feel my parents really had it all figured out by the time I came along. Expectations were clear yet I was given the space to explore and be me. I never had the feeling of having to please my parents. I grew up in a safe space with just enough boundaries but not too many (if that makes any sense). As most teenagers, I had my “moments” and they made sure I knew there would be consequences yet never faltered in their unconditional love. When I was in second grade I packed up a paper sack with clothes and walked down the street determined I would be running away. I got to the end of my fenced backyard and snapped out of it real quick. When I walked in with my paper sack filled with clothes…they paid me no mind. Instead, they encouraged me to put my things where they belonged and told me to join them at the table for dinner.

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?

I have loved fashion, glamour and style magazines for as long as I can remember. As a child I would play dress up with my baby dolls and do wardrobe changes multiple times a day. At church I would pass the time looking at people’s shoes to see if it was a “yes” or a “no”. For the record this is not my proudest moment. However, it makes perfect sense that as an adult I now dress people for the occassion, family photos, vacation and the like. I pride myself in hopping into a person’s wardrobe and consulting them on outfit combinations, what is missing and assisting with how they can speak without saying a word.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I fell into yoga as a means to soothe my aching back. Boy was I in for the ride of my life! Yoga has taught me about stepping away from too much structure and allowing things to ebb and flow. This was at an integral time for me as it was also the philosophy as I launched and grew with my business. Business ownership is not for the faint of heart. It takes consistency, perseverance, comfort with things that are unknown and the ability to stretch. In addition, the philosophies of yoga have taught me to be still, breathe and let things go. As simple and faux paux as it might seem it is exactly what has made my journey as an entrepreneur both sustainable and rewarding.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

When I started on my new venture and walked away from 15 years in corporate america I had zero social media. It was overwhelming to not only have to learn these platforms, but also to figure out how to brand myself. It seemed as I would get comfortable on one platform two more platforms would emerge. It became a full-time job posting and creating content to an audience of zero. I loathed social media but understood it was a necessary evil. I struggled with how often to post and how personal and open I would be. The more I stuck with it the more I learned and was able to observe what was working and what was authentic to me and the person I wanted to share. Sometimes it feels like I am throwing a whole bunch of spaghetti at the wall and only a few noodles are sticking. I have posts with 300 views and others with 300k views. It always seems to be the things I am convinced people will engage with is quite the opposite. One piece of advice I would offer to someone who is just starting out is to find your niche and your personal voice. Don’t regurgitate concepts and content that is already out there. Be original. Be you. As long as you are authentic and organic in how you reach out on social media the audience will come to you.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.fash-fwd.com
• Instagram: @fashfwd
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fwdfash/
• Twitter: @fwdfash
• Youtube: @thewardrobeguru7808

Image Credits

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