Jess, Serial Entrepreneur & Founder of Wild Soul, Builds Luxury Websites for Female Business Owners in 12 Hours

Please share a brief introduction about yourself and your business

Hello, I am Jess, a serial Entrepreneur and self-diagnosed busy body, I've never met a business idea I didn't like. I currently spearhead three businesses, a hair salon, candle company, and web design and branding agency. I also dabble in real estate as well! I love chaos and having my hands in a lot of things. I am married to my soul mate and Mom to the craziest babies, we have three dogs and a grouchy Father-in-law that lives with us too. Our house and hearts are always full.

Who are your customers?

I like my marketing geared toward high-performing female business owners that are looking for a luxury experience without having to wait 6 weeks for a website. Time is money after all and I can get a masterpiece website launched in 12 hours.

What was your background prior to starting your own business?

I am a licensed hairstylist, but I have degrees in marketing and even went to school for photography for a little bit.

What made you take the leap to start your own business?

I have found that not everyone is cut out to punch a clock and build someone else's dream. The whole concept behind a 9-5 job never really sat well with me, working for all those years to retire and only enjoy 10 years of your life is for the birds, in my opinion.

Did you always know you wanted to be an entrepreneur?

Nope, never a thought in my mind. I always thought I would just punch a clock like everyone else. Until I hit 30, and then something clicked inside. I really looked at what it took to start your own business and realized it wasn't as daunting as I thought it was, you just need an idea and the will to start.

Take us back to when you first launched your business; what was your marketing strategy to get the word out and did it go as planned?

I started my salon suite, Beauty and Whiskey, in 2016. I used local Facebook groups to market myself and things grew from there. I started advertising on the Knot, wedding website, and scaled my salon business to 6 figures rather quickly. Growing into Google and IG ads. Our candle company took a more grass roots approach, only because we started it during the Covid shut down in 2020. Again, I was selling on Facebook before I even had an online presence and now, we ship country wide. I designed all the branding and websites for those companies and decided I really enjoyed the idea of being creative without having to leave my office, so that's how Wild Soul was started.

What is the biggest challenge you have encountered along the way so far and what have you learned from it?

As a people pleaser, you just have to know with everything inside you, that not everyone is going to like you or what you're selling. There will be a lot of no's but that's ok because those offers weren't for you anyway.

What accomplishment are the most proud of to date in your business?

I am most proud that my husband has been able to take the time that he wants to stay home with our boys. I love to work, it makes me happy, but he is a better Dad and support system for me than he is an employee.

Do you have any recent wins from the last year that you'd like to celebrate with our community?

Last year was rough for small business owners everywhere, I don't think that's shocking news for anyone but, I am very glad that I am entering 2025 with a clear mind and am able to navigate my businesses to the best of my ability.

What's next for your business? What can we expect to see over the next few years?

I want to grow Wild Soul into a full agency and be able to serve bigger clients that need a more specialized approach to their online presence. I would love to add a staff that specialize in SEO, Marketing, and Copy, I know those are not my strong suits and I think we could complement each other well.

What is your top productivity tip? 

I love an old fashioned, hand-written, to do list. There's something about being able to cross off what you accomplish and see that you're making progress throughout the day. I time block my days so that I don't get distracted. As an ADHD millennial, reeling in the shiny object syndrome can be hard but with some systems in place, eases the overwhelm.

On the flip side, how do you avoid burnout?

Self-care is something I take full advantage of with massages, facials, mani-pedi's. I try and find ways to travel as much as I can, it really helps to keep the creative juices flowing to immerse yourself in other cultures.

What is your approach to work-life balance / integration?

Being self-employed and a business owner and someone who enjoys work, it's hard to shut it off. There is always one more email or one more client or text that could be a new lead. But I do have a hard work stop during the day unless it is something special like an event or something.

What is one thing you wish you had known when you started your Entreprenista journey?

I wish I would have known to start small with the community, to not throw yourself in entirely because you I am not one who can retain all of that information. Don't get me wrong, the information is amazing and being an Entreprenista is an amazing tool, and I've made so many great connections already, but the info comes at you hard and fast!

When hiring, what is your go-to interview question?

I always like how the new hire likes to learn. I am a hands-on person, I do not like to sit and be spoken to for hours. That's not my jam. I like to know if they learn from doing or listening or seeing. My husband can learn something from a book and put it into action, that's not how I learn at all.

If you've raised capital for your business already, what are some of your best tips or lessons learned?

Thankfully I haven't needed to raise capital for my business yet, everything has been personally funded.

Are you a Mamaprenista? If so, please share your best advice for simultaneously managing a business and a family

It's hard, but my schedule is what gets me through it. Sometimes I have to work before they get up in the morning or after they go to sleep so that I can coach basketball or have lunch with them as their golden person or whatever it's called lol.

Do you have a co-founder? If so, how did you find the right one for you and what are your best partnership tips?

I like to say that all the businesses are made by me but in actuality my husband has been packing orders with at all hours of the day around Christmas and he has swept hair for me. He is my biggest support, and I am truly lucky to have him.

What's the one app on your phone you absolutely cannot live without and why?

Such a good question! I have screens and screens and screens full of apps too! I would probably go with my Google calendar. It keeps us in line.

What is your favorite business tool or solution and why?

If were talking hardware, I would be lost without my laptop and I go nowhere without it, same goes for my camera. Software would be the Showit Web Design platform I use to design all our clients' websites; I just adore using Adobe for branding.

What advice do you have for aspiring Entreprenistas?

Take it all in, when they said community, they meant community. There is so much to look through and so many connections to be made. But keep an open mind and don't be afraid to speak up, as an Extroverted Introvert, it's always the easiest but it helps to show that you have a voice and that you are in the room too

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