We recently connected with Jill Morrison and have shared our conversation below.

Jill, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

I launched my marketing company in 2021. As a millennial in marketing, everyone’s immediate assumption was that I focused on social media. That is not my passion. I don’t geek out over the algorithm, I don’t want to follow the next trend in reels and I certainly don’t want to track the best practices for paid ads on Meta. Plus, I realized very quickly that it is not cost-effective for me to manage different social media accounts as a solopreneur. I was making $2,000 per month (impossible to live on) and experiencing consistent burnout. Quite frankly, virtual assistants in other countries can provide a similar product, for much less money. I saw that. I understood the numbers. I knew what I wanted for my business. Yet, I heard constant feedback from well-meaning friends to “give people what they are asking for,” “owning a business means sometimes doing things you don’t enjoy” and “this is how you make money.” I didn’t accept that. I knew there had to be a better way to make a decent income and do something that actually provides value. At about this same time, I had a friend reach out about teaching on social media (ironically) at her company’s annual meeting. This was a pivotal moment for me. From there I joined a Speaker Training Academy to learn how to build out a business speaking. I immediately had visions of traveling the world to present on marketing-related topics. I wanted it so badly, but nobody knew me. It’s pretty difficult to get hired when no one knows they want to hire you. I had an idea – I would write a handwritten note to every real estate association in the country with at least 500 members. (This size ensured they could afford to pay me) I pulled a list from the National Association of Realtors, had branded cards printed and embarked on writing 480 handwritten notes. It took me about a month. I then followed up with each of them via email. I sent an individual email to each of the associations, personalized to the education director. That took me another couple of weeks. From there, I was booked to speak in 5 states. Most of them were virtual, but all of them were paid. This was huge. I was finally getting paid to do something I was good at and that I enjoyed. I pulled the same list again this year, had new cards printed and wrote handwritten notes to all of them. My determination to build a national speaking business is unmatched. I am willing to do things the right way, even if it is difficult and takes longer. I don’t have a huge budget to throw at it. My business is the entirety of my income – I have a mortgage, utilities and living expenses that need to come out of it, along with any business marketing expenses. As a result, my budget may be limited, but my effort is not. I have a big dream and I’m willing to put in the sweat equity to reach it.

Jill, 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?

After graduating from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing & Economics, I dove into the workforce during the throes of the recession. It was extremely difficult to find a job and even more difficult to find one that included marketing. As a result, I started selling insurance. I did that for 3 years and then stumbled on a marketing representative position with a title company. I had no idea what title insurance was, but at least “marketing” would be in my job title. I worked there for 3 years and then took a job marketing a branch of a mortgage company. I worked for the mortgage company for another 3 years (sensing a theme?). Over the course of working with the title company and the mortgage company, I met one-on-one with over 350 real estate agents and mortgage lenders to help them create marketing strategies. We discussed their goals, their personality style and their skills to develop a marketing plan that was unique to them. After 6 years of essentially doing marketing on the side, I was ready to take the leap and start my company. I work quite a bit in the real estate field, but that certainly isn’t the only industry I help. Over the course of the last 3 years, I’ve worked with an auto mechanic, a roofing company, a boudoir photographer, a logistics company and even an in-home botox provider. I love helping business owners find cost-effective, creative ways to market and reach their goals. We sit down with a white board, comb through the numbers in their business and lay out a plan to elevate their marketing (hopefully saving them some money along the way).

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

I didn’t. I quit my full-time job with $1,300 to my name and no confirmed clients. I tend to do my best with my back against the wall. I hit the ground running, took any project I could get and figured out how to pay my bills each month. Looking back, I wish I would have applied for a new business loan before quitting my job. It is so much easier to get funding when you are pitching an idea, not showing actual profit/loss statements. It would have been nice to have a bit of a buffer so I wouldn’t have to take SO MANY small jobs, just to make ends meet. It felt like I was working 15 part-time jobs while also building out my classes, expanding my reach as a speaker and writing a book (hoping to have that completed by the end of 2024). It has been a lot, but it was possible.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I worked for 9 years building a reputation, sneaking opportunities to build my marketing skills and doing a lot of work for free. Some of my initial clients for my Bee Memorable Marketing were from networking groups I joined while selling insurance, 9 years prior. I leveraged every opportunity to learn while working in title and mortgage. I would have conversations about marketing, try out new strategies, immerse myself in event planning, and listen to every struggle a business owner was experiencing. I also spoke for free for 4 years before getting paid to speak for the first time. I wrote my first class in 2017, didn’t present it until 2018 and didn’t get paid to present that specific class until halfway through 2023. The best thing I did to build my reputation was to leave my ego at the door and put in the work. I created my own social proof. I busted my butt for free and I earned my reputation.

Contact Info:

• Website: bee-memorable.com
• Instagram: @beememorablemktg
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beememorablemktg
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jill-morrison-a2b093b6/