Jennifer Jurgens of 1 Bold Step joins us to talk about marketing in the modern world. Did you know that every dollar counts? Find out about 1 Bold Step and how to use those marketing dollars in today’s Money, I’m Home! From Finance to Fitness!

Transcript:

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00:00 Lynne Jarman-Johnson: Money, I’m Home. Welcome on in. I’m Lynne Jarman-Johnson with Consumers Credit Union, and we talk every week finance to fitness and bring you some great leadership tips as well. And today we have a wonderful guest with us. She’s a business partner, friend, Jennifer Jurgens; she is the CEO and founder of 1 Bold Step. 1 Bold Step, that sounds cool. What is it?

00:30 Jennifer Jurgens: It’s really cool.

00:33 LJJ: It is.

00:34 JJ: It is, it’s really cool. 1 Bold Step is a marketing technology and marketing strategy organization in Grand Rapids, and we help companies with all of the wonderful technology that is now core to your marketing.

00:47 LJJ: That is an interesting thing, when you say technology and marketing being synergized together. I’m going to talk a little bit about your background, Jennifer, because I think that when you think that, when you start thinking about technology and marketing, well, wait a minute, but everything’s so digital now and data is so critical. How did you get started in all this?

01:08 JJ: Oh gosh, how did we get started in it? I think it came from working for other organizations and recognizing this overlap. So early in my career, I was with a lot of custom software development organizations, so technology was really where I started. But we were doing custom solutions in the sales and marketing space, so integrations with CRMs, lead management, a lot of work with manufacturers, and we realized that this is coming together in ways probably that no one, no one really thought. I mean, when’s the last time you bought something without first Googling it?

01:46 LJJ: Right.

01:47 JJ: Can you think of one really?

01:48 LJJ: No.

01:48 JJ: No. And that’s just one example of buyer behavior is changing. We’re all reliant on digital to get our information these days, and with that marketing has to change to be where the buyer is at as well, right? So combination: Technology advances, buyer behavior changing, and you get this collision of two categories or spaces that you wouldn’t think, like marketing and technology, you wouldn’t think that those two would mix but today they really do.

02:17 LJJ: Best marriage ever.

02:18 JJ: Yes.

02:19 LJJ: So tell me what’s your stages? Like, how did you all of a sudden decide, “I am going to own and run a business that truly has a vision for helping people of all business levels succeed in that realm”?

02:36 JJ: Working for larger organizations and being in charge of large marketing budgets myself, I always came under fire when a marketing budget was called into question as far as, “Well, you had this much last year and it’s just overhead,” marketing budgets were one of the first things to get cut and that drove me crazy, because in our world marketing is no longer overhead, marketing is value-add. Digital marketing especially and the marketing process, anymore, can be tracked and it can be attached to sales opportunities, and when those opportunities close you really should be able to prove return on marketing investment for every dollar that you spend these days.

03:21 LJJ: What is really interesting … I loved the analogy, and this has been said year over year over year, but it still seems to happen, which is, I’m having a going-out-of-business sale, and so now I’m spending marketing dollars to have a going-out-of-business sale.

03:36 JJ: Oh, why wait so long? Why would you wait so long, right?

03:39 LJJ: I don’t know.

03:40 JJ: The “spend money to make money … ” And it was, I think it was John … I think it’s Wanamaker who famously said, “Half of all the money I spend on advertising is wasted; I just don’t know which half,” and that’s no longer true. Every dollar that you put in, you should be able to see the dollars that are coming out.

03:58 LJJ: I think that is an absolute aha moment for people who are fearful of spending those advertising dollars. And is that because there’s this disconnect of, “How do I find out really how much it was worth”?

04:13 JJ: Well, there’s an investment that goes into the systems and the processes that are necessary to have in place to track this kind of work, and so I think it’s that one bold step of investing in the technology, or at least really going through and looking at your current sales and marketing process and documenting it, so that… Even old school mailers, you know, you would put, or radio ads, you put a special code or “ask for Hal when you call us.” And even in… One of my first jobs in trucking, if somebody asked for Hal we knew that the flyer was working.

04:50 LJJ: Was… So…

04:51 JJ: And you could always do it. Now we’re just a lot, we’re a lot better at it, a lot more advanced.

04:56 LJJ: Do you think sometimes people get overwhelmed?

04:58 JJ: Yeah, oh absolutely.

05:00 LJJ: Because of that, there’s so many ways to track and there’s so many things to do and, “Am I doing it right?”

05:03 JJ: Yeah, it’s …

05:04 LJJ: How do you help that?

05:05 JJ: Oh, you know, we actually prescribe, too, what’s known as an Agile Marketing Methodology, which breaks down gigantic projects, and it kind of goes along with the naming of our company, that all it takes is that first bold step; every project can be broken down into small measurable iterations. I like to take small bets, I like to test things, I like to see if they’re successful, and then I like to tweak them and test again. We don’t go in with, “We’re gonna make a plan for the next year, and it’s gonna cost hundreds of thousands of dollars,” we go in with, “here’s a plan for the next 90 days, and here’s what we think it can produce and here’s what we think it’s gonna cost.” But we’re gonna continually improve it and tweak it along the way.

05:53 LJJ: And assess it.

05:54 JJ: And assess it along the way, absolutely.

05:56 LJJ: So not only are you running a very successful organization, and we really love our business partnership here at Consumers, you also are very vested in the community.

06:00 JJ: Yes, very much so.

06:00 LJJ: What’s your favorite … if you have one. I think I know. But you know that you are invested in quite a bit of community outreach programs.

06:19 JJ: One of my absolute favorites is an event that I’m a part of in Muskegon, called Standup for the Cure, which is a paddle boarding event. I got involved six years ago, when they had events in Miami, Los Angeles …

06:32 LJJ: Oh, I like that.

06:33 JJ: And they were looking at Muskegon.

[laughter]

06:35 JJ: And I said, “Oh, I wanna be a part of this Muskegon team.” And it has become the largest event for the organization. Yes, we raise more money for breast cancer awareness, and screenings, diagnostics, and research. And all the money stays in West Michigan, by the way…

06:51 LJJ: Wow.

06:52 JJ: Than any of their other events. So it’s been fantastic.

06:56 LJJ: Your journey is very personal.

06:58 JJ: Yes. So I was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was 37 years old. And I found it extremely early, which made my journey comparatively easy to other people. I also lost my mother to breast cancer when she was only 36.

07:14 LJJ: Wow.

07:15 JJ: So when that happened to me, and if you ever look me up on LinkedIn, you’ll be like, “Wow, there’s this strange left turn on her career path.” Where I went and worked for Susan G. Komen for about four years as my way of giving back to an organization, and a movement that I believe helped me have the resources to find breast cancer early and beat it. And I think everybody deserves that opportunity. And that’s why that is still so core and such a passion for me and my whole family.

07:43 LJJ: So when the actual paddleboard, Stand Up for Cancer happens, how can people take part in that? Is that easy to do or you have to be a part of a team?

07:52 JJ: No, it’s super easy. So the website is standup-for-the-cure, so suftc.org, standup-for-the-cure.org.

08:00 LJJ: Okay.

08:01 JJ: And I think the Muskegon event should launch in the next month or so, but it’s always the second weekend in July. We usually get some celebrity guest to show up, and WZZM helps us out among others. It’s… Mercy Health sponsors the entire event. It’s a wonderful day on the beach, Polynesian dancers, yoga classes, standup… instructors, and races, and kids races, live music. But it’s a blast.

08:29 LJJ: It’s a great day.

08:29 JJ: It’s a blast.

08:29 LJJ: That’s a great day.

08:30 JJ: Yeah.

08:31 LJJ: So on a day-to-day basis, it sounds to me like you’re extremely busy as a leader. What’s your favorite part of a day?

08:39 JJ: My favorite part of the day, this is actually a little bit of a competition between me and my business partner, Adam.

[chuckle]

08:46 JJ: It’s when we take somebody’s really messy problem, like they’ve got a ton of systems, and they can’t fit them together. Or they’ve been trying to scale for years and they’ve just been stuck, or they… You know and we help them so much that, not only were they grateful, but that we might have gotten a hug. So this is like an ongoing competition with us is…

[laughter]

09:09 JJ: Did you get a client hug today? Which is quite… Which is funny, but to have that kind of impact Lynne, I mean that feels so good.

09:17 LJJ: Well …

09:17 JJ: It feels so good, yeah.

09:18 LJJ: It means you care and they care.

09:20 JJ: Yes.

09:20 LJJ: You know, that trust and that connection.

09:22 JJ: Yeah, yeah. I call those beautiful messes, because we love to go in and straighten things out. I mean, my background is supply chain management. I’m by trade a process geek. [chuckle]

09:32 LJJ: Yeah, you’re just, “Let’s get this on track.”

09:35 JJ: Yeah, absolutely.

09:36 LJJ: Oh, I absolutely love that. Well, you know I’ll tell you, there are so many people listening that in the back of their minds they’re thinking to myself, “Oh, oh, oh, I could use that. Oh, I could use that.”

09:46 JJ: I hope so. [chuckle]

09:47 LJJ: Yeah absolutely. So tell us a little bit about your thought process. You’re a very amazing mentor to women.

09:56 JJ: Thank you.

09:58 LJJ: And you inspire so many people. Is there readings or things that you think of in your mind that… Or is it just, “You know what? This is the way I was born.”

10:09 JJ: Oh, you know, there’s a lot of books out on that about grit, right? And about mindset, I think Dr. Dweck has a great book on mindset. It’s this idea of resiliency, this idea of determination. I think part of that comes from within, or maybe… I come from a line of strong women, who were very stubborn in going to get it done. But it’s been also a part of what I’ve been seeing from a leadership revolution, I would say. If you have not read, Leaders Eat Last, by Simon Sinek, you absolutely should. Because of the… just what’s happening within the brain chemistry of the people that work with you and for you. It’s a fascinating read, and it gives so much credibility to why we need to treat people the way that we would want to be treated. And how people work better and do their best work when they feel safe, not pressured, safe.

11:03 LJJ: Safe.

11:04 JJ: Safe, and I absolutely love that work.

11:06 LJJ: You know, if you dig a little deeper into this, there’s been such great conversations. And see I lead with great conversations, not saying there’s been this divide of generations. People say, there’s this generational divide, but I believe there’s great conversations just waiting to be had.

11:26 JJ: I would absolutely agree. And I find, especially with the younger women, that they just need one person who believes in them, and who can say things like, “Go for it. I’ve got your back.” Right. Simple things, “You can do this. I’m here for you. I’ve got your back.” And in my experience, not one of them have ever really needed me, they just needed me to be there, right? And I think that that’s something really powerful that female business leaders in town should continue to do and to say. Words are so powerful.

12:00 LJJ: You know, when you look back on your life and your work, I know that there was one mentor that at the time, I didn’t realize she was a mentor. I didn’t. I mean, I thought she was a business friend, and we did… you know, got… had great advice, but if I look back on it now, I literally wouldn’t be able to work the way that I work today, if it weren’t for Lorraine. And that’s the point. You know, you don’t even know when you’re helping.

12:29 JJ: Yeah, you don’t. You don’t know at all. I look… It’s so easy to look back and find them.

12:33 LJJ: Yeah.

12:33 JJ: But at the time, at the time you didn’t know how valuable they were. I had the opportunity to work with Bev Wall for years. And boy, she was just amazing, and you know she knew when to push; she knew when to support. And she was just amazing for me in the common years especially. And Dr. Jackie Taylor, oh my goodness, how have any of us gotten to where we are without Dr. Taylor?

12:55 LJJ: That is absolutely true.

12:56 JJ: Yeah, and then a really random one is G. Scott DeGaynor, from one of my first jobs at Ice Rentals in town. Who is the most optimistic… talk about determination, and grit, and optimism, pure leadership by example, servant leadership, I would say.

13:14 LJJ: So now that you are owning your own business, you’re dealing with multiple generational levels on a day-to-day basis, what is your mantra?

13:25 JJ: I don’t know that I have a set mantra. I do know that I would never ask anybody to do something that I wouldn’t be willing to do myself. I also believe in showing up. I still think that I have to work harder than anybody else who works for me to the point where the people who do work for me will tell me to please stop and go home, they’ve got it.

[chuckle]

13:51 JJ: I just think it’s important to not just say it, you have to walk the walk, right?

13:56 LJJ: You have to live it.

13:57 JJ: Yup, absolutely.

13:58 LJJ: Right, right. So what’s on the horizon for 1 Bold Step?

14:02 JJ: My goodness, we are ourselves trying to figure out how to scale, right? So a small organization, some great customers, and I think our next step is to see what we can do in a more scalable and repeatable fashion. Otherwise, we will continue to be a very small, but happy, and successful consultancy, which might be okay, too.

14:23 LJJ: Right. So it’s time to really kind of dig deep.

14:26 JJ: Yeah.

14:26 LJJ: Right.

14:26 JJ: Absolutely.

14:27 LJJ: So we love to end our podcast with one final question. And that is, was there ever a time in your life, could be recent, could be past, that someone gave you or you read about a financial tip that just went, “Aha.” And that you still live with today?

14:44 JJ: Yeah, and you’re gonna think this is crazy. I moved to Hawaii. I stayed in Hawaii after a vacation. I had two suitcases and $500, and I decided I wasn’t going home.

[chuckle]

14:55 JJ: And I met this woman. I met this woman there, and she said to me as I got my first job doing data entry. She said you have to pay yourself first, pay your future self, first. She said, “I don’t care if it’s $10 a week, I want you to take a set amount and have it automatically taken out of every paycheck you receive.” And so when I was 23 years old, I set up my first Oppenheimer fund.

15:20 LJJ: Wow.

15:21 JJ: And in the two years I was in Hawaii, I saved $500, and it… You know, I have never sold that. It has meant the world to me that from that day forward. I always paid myself first, my future self. And I think that was… I look back on that, and I’m so glad that she said that to me.

15:39 LJJ: So this is truly what we talk about every single day. And it doesn’t matter your age, you know. Even if you feel like, “Well, I’m not 23, and I’m 42, and I’ve missed the boat.” You have not missed the boat.

15:53 JJ: No, start, start paying yourself.

15:55 LJJ: Well, thank you so much. Wonderful words to live by and a wonderful interview. Thank you so much Jennifer.

16:00 JJ: Thanks for having me here today. This was fun. Let’s do this again.

16:02 LJJ: Let’s do it again. We will. I’m Lynne Jarman-Johnson. And listen up, Aaron, thank you so much for all of your unbelievable production skills. Money, I’m Home, from finance to fitness, with Consumers Credit Union.

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