Jordan from Scrunch Social AKA your friendly neighbourhood copy hero (check her out here)
Is more than a copy here to me! She helps me with my copy, (hello amazing website copy), she is one of my clients, one of my biz besties and ALL round amazing human!
I have been lucky enough to see her grow and flourish into a badass business babe and fill out her client base quickly after leaving her corporate gig. She has been a true inspiration to me in business and everyone needs a girl like her on their side while navigating this thing called business life.
Do yourself a favour and dive into the blog post and read about her brand, her hopes and some of her setbacks.
1. What is your brand story? Tell us a little bit about what makes you, you! And why you got into business?
Scrunch was another one o’ those 2020 lockdown biz babies, where I was working in a corporate government job with ZERO creative outlet and bucketloads of time to spare. So, I whipped out my laptop, started an Instagram account and got cracking!
I was heavily invested in building a community on the ‘gram, mostly because I wasn’t [yet] in business to make money. I had a job, but what I *didn’t* have was a community and creative outlet, and this focus on community is how I landed my first [and second, and tenth!] client!
Fast forward a year later and I quit my day job and took Scrunch full time! My core focus is crafting fully customisable social media management strategies that work for each unique business, and I’m now STOKED to have an almost full portfolio of clients for the next three months. What a JOURNEY!
2. What has been the biggest challenges you have faced during your career/business? And how did you overcome it?
The biggest challenge [so far!] has been navigating full time work on top of a side hustle. Scrunch was a side hustle for a year and a half, and there was a LOT to navigate with time, energy and, of course, noncompetes!
My solution was pretty simple – just quit! LOL. If I’m honest, though, that WAS my actual solution. I was lucky enough to have a super supportive community, a steady stream of clients coming in and a few big opportunities in the pipeline, so I could take the “easy” option and leave the challenging situation. It meant that the cashflow was a bit tight for the first month, but as I said, I was lucky enough that I had some Big Biz Things in the pipeline before I took the leap!
3. What is something you are super proud you have achieved?
I am SUPER proud of two key things [sorry, it’s cheating, I know!]. The first? Having a pretty-much-full client portfolio a couple of months into doing this whole biz thing full time. I thought I’d be returning to my uni days of two minute noodles for dinners and all holidays on hold, but I’m just really bluddy proud that I’ve built a community whose got my back!
The second thing I’m proud of is teaching. I’ve just started presenting monthly social media content planning workshops in Chromatical Club, and I’m so honoured that industry professionals not only believe in my abilities, but they like me and my brand and my business enough to invite me into their spaces [full disclosure, I’m also a Chromie, so it’s not like I’m an outsider in this space].
4. Who are the women you most admire in business?
Wowee, this is a big one.
If I’m honest? My mum is a huge inspiration. She’s just kickstarted a new business in a totally new industry, and I find it inspiring that she’s ignoring all the tropes of fifty-something-middle-aged-white-women that suggest she should be slowing down, not speeding up [and at full speed ahead, mind you!].
It goes to show that you can do literally anything you set your mind to and that you CAN start a new career at 30, at 40, at 50. And for us twenty-somethings, it takes the pressure off finding the *right* career right off the bat. We’ve got time. We’ve got space. We’ve got endless possibilities. And that’s pretty bluddy cool to realise!
5. If you could go back and give advice to your younger self, what would it be?
I’d tell my younger self to trust her gut and back herself more. I’ve always felt like the youngest in my industry and that I’m going to be discredited because I don’t have “10 years of experience in the field”. But I think I also struggle with confidence because I didn’t have the confidence [ironically] to ask questions of my previous employers.
There’s an expectation in corporate jobs that you do what you’re told and that’s that. Yes, you can make suggestions, but you shouldn’t expect it to be considered [or even acknowledged]. It’s a tough spot to be in for a young woman who doesn’t know she CAN ask questions or make suggestions or show her creative side. I was a people pleaser and always kept myself small, and leaving those positions were the best thing I could have done ‘cause I’ve realised that my feelings, experiences and expertise is valid.
So, I’d tell my younger self to keep her chin up. Show up with confidence. Ask questions [no, you’re not being a pest!]. Do everything your gut is telling you to do and don’t ignore it just to keep yourself small.
