We recently connected with Jillian Livingston and have shared our conversation below.
Jillian, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Has Covid resulted in any major changes to your business model?
In March of 2020 I felt as though I had arrived. I was holding charity events in penthouse suite apartments. I was putting on events for businesses with standing room only. I was bringing in sponsors, and then it all came to a screeching halt and in the silence I realized that I was doing what I could to help others but not getting back what I required. I needed to create a culture of community through memberships so I also felt supported.
We are almost at 80 business members now and we are all feeling so rewarded for generating work for each other and providing support and connection where there was none.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My love for documenting my life adventures through film and writing led me to study film in Boston and then to work in publicity for Simon and Schuster in NYC.
I moved to Aspen in 1990, met my husband, and together we had three boys. As a way to document the magic of raising children. It wasn’t long before I became known as a mommy blogger and began travel writing, receiving invitations to stay at the top resorts in Colorado.
When the boys became teenagers I switched my blog to become a destination site for Aspen and In 2018, I began holding events to better connect my community in a steadfastly changing valley, producing panel discussions in some of Aspen’s most popular resorts and nightclubs.
During the Pandemic, I created memberships to continue to connect the professionals of our valley together. Since September that network has grown into an incredible group of business professionals known for excellence in customer service, products, and services, and together we support each other and drive traffic to our businesses.
Now I continue to hold networking events and there is a business directory on the blog promoting my members.
I am proud that I have built platforms large enough to help others and that my engaged audience has grown organically. I also have a lot of fun creating content for my members on social media and marketing them through storytelling.
If anyone is wanting to connect with the Aspen audience in an authentic manner, I am the person to reach out to. We offer advertising packages and the opportunity for brand immersion.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
I was working too hard and not making enough money and feeling frozen with anxiety. I began infiltrating my mind with business podcasts and meditating for up to 2 hours a day. It was then that I realized that what I wanted was not to be too big but to be living in my own flow, not dictated by what I thought others wanted of me. That was when it all clicked into place and became clear that I was trying to be too many things for too many people and so I dropped the huge burden of creating daily content for the destination site and began to focus on the one thing that was growing all of our bank accounts, my professional social network.
I now am able to be in the flow of my creativity, am working fewer hours, and making more money. This has been a huge lesson, that if one stays mindful and focused, without allowing any room for doubt, one can achieve their dreams.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I always had this misconception that I was all creative and therefore not a good business person, and thus would get excited about bringing on anyone who offered to help me. This almost always sapped me of my energy with people who wanted to change me and my vision. I have learned that I actually am a capable business person and leader who thrives on making intelligent executive decisions and so I no longer say yes to everything and everybody and I am so much happier.
I also used to give too much of my services away to show my value. I wish I hadn’t done that for so long. It’s tough to offer low prices and then transition to the price you are worth, it’s much smarter to not cheapen the product from the beginning in order to attract the right clients.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://aspenreallife.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aspenreallife/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aspenreallife
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillianlivingston/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/aspenreallife
Image Credits
credit for the two photos of Jillian in the beige blazer and leather jacket: Michele Cardamone Photography
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