Today we’d like to introduce you to Jen Rhoton.
Hi Jen, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
After graduating college, I was traveling 1.5 hours each way via metro to and from my job with The Performance Institute in Arlington, Virginia. My husband and I wanted a lifestyle more conducive to starting a family, so, in December of 2005, we moved to Raleigh, North Carolina. At that point, I was the Senior Graphic Designer at the Institute, where I revitalized all their print collateral, established brand guidelines, and managed two other designers. I stayed on board with the company, as I was able to work remotely.
By October 2006, I had grown all I could in my role and had been dabbling in freelancing on the side. Knowing we had future plans for a family, the flexibility self-employment provided
Wowsas. I had no clue what I was getting into!
There was a steep learning curve into running your own gig, and lots of hours pounding the networking floors to build key relationships. I’ve never been short on determination, though, so I got on my way. And being in business for myself did provide so much flexibility during the season of my life in which I had our two sons, Hudson and Liam, as well as when I explored the competitive circuit of the Spartan races.
As I have matured into my role, so, too, have the types of clients with whom I work. We are truly blessed to work with clients of all sizes and in so many different industries.
Over the years, I also found it necessary to widen my service offerings and stay as agile as possible. I had started as a print-only designer, and through my journey have learned web design and WordPress, email design and programming, HTML5 ads, social media, and the list goes on. I crave personal growth and accomplishment so the challenge of learning new skills has always been fulfilling.
Now that my boys are older (almost 13 and 9), it’s been nice to refocus on my business.
It took me several years of pondering and searching to figure out where I wanted my work life to take me and how I was going to get there. During that process, there were a few key milestones that inspired me to want to make a greater impact as a business owner — one, a disastrous recruitment call made me realize I could never work for anyone else; two, we had a truly magical experience in Bald Head Island watching a mama sea turtle lay her eggs; three, I had a client say “it sounds like you want to be part of something bigger,” which resonated deeply with me; and four, I watched the documentary “Chasing Coral” and was incredibly inspired by how Richard Vevers used his ad agency skills for conservation.
I still remember, I was training for a race, running sprints one morning in the dark, and it all clicked into place for me: Yes. We CAN make a lasting impact through creativity and design. And YES. I will be a part of that.
So, the Create(for)Good initiative was born. A purpose of passion. A mission to help save the world through design. Every day we use good creative to tell clients’ stories. Why not, then, use these same skills to Create(for)Good? Tell the stories of those who cannot. Give to those who never asked but so desperately need. Create a small moment to inspire big change.
Every quarter in 2021, we have donated design services for a different conservation cause. We plan to continue these pro bono efforts as well as increase our partnerships with more mission-driven organizations as paid clients.
We continue to welcome and meet the needs of our existing clients, and at the same time, I am so excited about this new trajectory for my business!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
As often is the case, worthwhile achievements don’t come easy, and you almost always get out what you put in!
The benefit of having your own business is you can meld what you want out of it. The downside is there’s no “clocking out” — especially when you have taken years to build relationships with invaluable clients and provide a livelihood for others. Those are both responsibilities I take very seriously.
All that being said, it takes a lot of effort to strive for that work-life balance. The woods and outdoors are my sanctuary and time to unplug. I welcome vacation spots with terrible cell service and wifi! For those reasons and others, Bald Head Island, North Carolina, and Snowshoe, West Virginia, are my two happy places.
Aside from that, there are two memorable times of hardship in my 15 years of business. The first was right after my second son was born. At that time I was very much a solopreneur, and with his arrival, I was not able to put in the necessary time and energy into fostering existing relationships and continued business development. That was a hard but valuable lesson.
The second was the shutdown of many businesses, including some of my clients, in early 2020 due to in COVID. That was such a stressful time for all — personally and professionally. I forced myself to use that time, however, to really figure my sh*t out, get my necessary business rebranding completed, and lay the foundation for the next chapter of my business.
I have also had two health crises over the past five years. In 2017, I suffered a concussion from a snowboarding accident and was out of commission for nearly a month. In September 2020, I started my unfortunate COVID long hauler journey. Both instances proved tenfold the value of building a team you can rely on through thick and thin.
We have a company joke that we are all rowing the boat. Sometimes we have to rely on others to row a little harder for us, but we all know we’ll repay the favor!
I am big into mantras. My current go-to is “gratitude and grit.” I am profoundly grateful for what I have accomplished and who I have around me, and for the grit that gets me through all the rest!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
At Jen Rhoton Co., we have built a strong reputation of being easy to work with, responsive, talented, and professional. That is evident in the loyalty of our existing clients and the referrals we continue to humbly receive.
We are not huge, and we don’t aspire to be. We are an award-winning boutique graphic design agency, and our team brings together exceptional creativity with analytical thinking and an obsessive (*not an exaggeration*) attention to detail.
We live by the concept of “intelligent design.” We are problem solvers, not order takers. We take time to learn the ins and outs of the brands we represent, and we warmly welcome client collaboration to offer a holistic approach to both the brand and problem at hand.
Did I mention that we are detailed as hell?
We offer brand strategy and development, communications design, digital design, and event and trade show design.
Outside the artboard, we are athletes, “van lifers,” equestrians — some really cool creatives — who bring an enthusiastic mix of perspectives and talents.
As previously mentioned, our latest initiative Create(for)Good aligns the goals of successful creative with impactful change — an opportunity borne of the desire to advocate for our world’s precious creatures who cannot advocate for themselves. We are passionately determined to help make a difference and leave our world a better place.
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@jenrhoton.com
- Website: jenrhoton.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenrhotonco/
