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

Jillian, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think it takes to be successful?

My husband Nathaniel and I created our band The Bergamot in 2009 when we were in college and shortly after we launched our first album alongside a cross country tour. Back then little did we know that when we started doing music that our band would end up being our brand. And in many ways I am grateful that I had to learn the hard way how important our brand image is and what it means to build trust with our audience. Of course I have failed forward in many areas of our business and with our brand but in failing forward I have tasted great success. Which is why I love this question on what I think it takes to be successful.

During this era I believe the three things you need to be successful are grit, ingenuity and integrity. First off, you need grit to be able to dig deep, not quit and persevere past the difficult times, especially the days when you’re overwhelmed and feel like you’re losing momentum with your business.

Grit really kicks in to help you get scrappy and refocus on doing the real work it takes to push past your worst doubts during tough weeks when you’re feeling the grind behind building your company.

Up next, I believe ingenuity plays a crucial role in creating a bright original path. Ingenuity plays a crucial part in thinking outside the box to growing your business. You have to be bold enough to take risks because “no risk, no story”.

Last but not least, having personal integrity is one of the most incredible qualities you can hold and cultivate in yourself through your lifetime in building trust and fostering new and old relationships. As we all know great relationships are key in thriving in this new world.

Jillian, 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?

Oh of course, so my name is Jillian Speece and I am one-half of the indie-band The Bergamot! I grew up in South Bend, Indiana so I am a midwesterner at heart even though I have spent most of my adult life living and working from NYC and LA!

When I was 15 years old I met Nathaniel Paul Hoff (aka the love of my life). We became high-school sweethearts and 10 years later we got married. Our wedding day was the most dreamy day of my life as we got to celebrate our love surrounded by all of our loved ones which totaled 375 people. It was an incredible day that I often refer to as our love-festival.

Ahhh, but I digress… once Nathaniel and I met in high-school we started writing songs together which eventually led us to graduating college and making a pact to pursue our dreams of becoming full-time singer-songwriter performing musicians together.

In 2010 after we graduated college we planned to hit the road (unbeknownst to our parents) to do a cross-country tour and promote our new album.

So a few weeks later we broke the news to our parents (which didn’t go so well) and then proceeded to pack up our gear into our station-wagon and then we hit the road anyway. (as we figured life is too short, not to take chances… right?)

That was our first tour and taste of the music industry. Out on the road we performed original music across America at venues and at private events totaling over 48 concerts from coast to coast.

Fast forward, too today and we have toured Europe three times over and have performed in all 50 states. Together we have created a thriving business that revolves around touring with the purpose of uplifting people’s spirits through original art (with our music as The Bergamot and now with our award-winning film “State of the Unity”).

We have been creating music and film together for over a decade and we love getting to share our hearts and mission for creating a more peaceful and beautiful world. With all of that being said, we are unconventional, fearless and we work very hard to create community around our music and storytelling through film.

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

When I was a young girl I was always stepping outside my comfort zone as an entrepreneur to create unique businesses. The first business I created was the classic lemonade stand, which led me to create a lawn mowing business, then I added on a babysitting business and pet sitting/house watching business. Oh also in high-school I would sing at weddings, do special concerts at an old italian restaurant “Francesco’s” and sell handmade bracelets out of my locker.

So from a young age I had this hustle.

By the time I got to college I had saved up $19,000 and was able to use my own capital to invest in building up a studio with Nathaniel.

The seed money was money I had toiled away to make and save for the beginning of my early life. And I also worked extremely hard to land a full-ride athletic scholarship which paid for college. So as I worked through the summer’s I was able to save money to put towards strategically growing our business and playing better shows.

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

Contact Info:

• Website: hebergamot.com
• Instagram: @thebergamot
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBergamot
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBergamot
• Other: Our Film’s Website: stateoftheunity.com My Women’s Retreat: wildwondrouswomen.com

Image Credits
Will Johnson Adam Raschka Luke Jackson Marc England III