The best business advice, ever.
The Make Lemonade Community is made up of radically unique, awesome, and genuine people. Meet one of the ‘lemons’:
Jasmine Williams (she/her)
🔗 jasminewilliams.ca
⭐️@jasminewilliamsmedia
🐥@TheJasWilliams
💼 @asminewilliamsmedia
Published March 2022
What do you do and why do you do it?
I'm a content marketing consultant and freelance coach. I'm a content marketer because I love writing and strategy and working in this field allows me to marry the two. I'm a freelance coach because pursuing freelancing full-time has honestly changed my life but I made a lot of mistakes in the beginning. I want to help other creatives avoid these mistakes and also build thriving, successful businesses.
Tell us about a time that life handed you lemons. Did you make lemonade? *
Early on in my freelancing journey, I lost a contract that was about 60% of my income. It was a pretty big blow as you could imagine, but it also really kicked my butt into gear. At that point, I was coasting a little with my business, working mostly with friends and family. Losing that client pushed me to put myself out there more and market my business properly.
What's the best piece of business advice you were given?
One piece I always come back to is, "People don't care about how the sausage is made. They just want the sausage." I love this advice because it's a little crass but it's also really true. Us business owners, we often get so caught up in the technicalities of our offers but people really don't care how many modules your course has or what software you use to edit videos. They just want the results. The transformation. So you should always talk more about that. You know, benefits over features.
What does success look like, feel like, taste like, and mean to you? How do YOU measure success?
Oooo I like this question. Success to me looks like time freedom. Working from anywhere isn't so fun when you feel like you're chained to your laptop. I feel successful when I can take time away from my business and know that it won't fall apart and hopefully soon, have it run without me. Success also looks like working on cool sh*t with cool people (can I swear?). I feel successful when I truly enjoy what I'm doing and who I'm doing it with and right now, I can say that's very much the case and I love that for me.
Do you have a quote or saying that inspires you? What is it?
"Great people do things before they're ready. They do things before they know they can do it. Doing what you're afraid of, getting out of your comfort zone, taking risks like that — that's what life is. You might be really good." - Amy Poehler
Name someone, past or present, that you admire.
I'm obsessed with Issa Rae. I love the creative empire she's built and how she really lifts while she climbs and celebrates her roots. I'd love to work with her someday!
How does community play a role in your success?
