Influencer Spotlight: Jessamyn Stanley

Let me in on something you may not catch from a quick look at my LinkedIn. I have jumped from freelance, to corporate work, then back freelance, and again to corporate work, then back to freelance all over again. In 2020, I consciously selected to go back to freelance work as the pandemic left open full-time positions few and far between.

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It’s a new year and I’m so grateful that I was able to speak with “the one”, the only Jessamyn Stanley– influencer, entrepreneur, speaker and author.

Not only is she an internationally acclaimed leading voice and wellness, but she was one of the very first influencers that I ever represented.

We worked together for many years, and I had the pleasure of championing her illustrious career. It’s not every day that somebody you’re on an all of entrust you to build and manage their career. But this is what Jessamyn gave me.

She gave me her trust.

She believed in what we could accomplish as a team.

And I’m eternally grateful for the exciting ride that we took together.

She was the first influencer I ever booked featured on a national commercial, the first multi six figure deal I ever booked for anyone, and the first client I had, who was organically featured in The New York Times, POPSUGAR, Glamour magazine, Elle Magazine, and just about every single publication you could name.

She even got the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine (which is still sitting somewhere in my house because I’m like a proud mom!). And that’s what she feels like–family.

That’s her gift. She connects so beautifully to the community she’s built, and she makes us all feel welcome. I knew in 2022 I wanted to shift this podcast just bit to reflect more voices in our industry and get excited because that includes having some of the top influencers of our time join us here. I want us to learn from them, hear about their wins and get to know how we can all make this industry better.

So when I decided to invite on influencers, Jessamyn was my first ask… and my first get. 

Jessy:

Oh my goodness, so Miss Jessamyn Stanley, I’m so happy to see you–

Jessamyn:

Oh my goodness, the feeling is so mutual.

Jessy:

Really, really, truly lovely to see you know that you’re happy and healthy. And I am just looking forward to reconnecting and then we’ll also probably talk about some influencer marketing.

Jessamyn:

You’ve been such a huge part of my career, of my life. Paths came together at a very specific time, and I’m so grateful to be in community and to connect and… I’m stoked to be here. Honored that you would think of me.

Jessy:

I am very stoked to have you here, you know? Yes, we have such a history; I think that we were in each other’s lives at very pivotal moments. It’s been a really exciting ride, from knowing you and going and seeing your success as if I’ve had any, any contribution to that. Lucky for me to be able to be part of your journey. I am the biggest fan and a lot of people who are going to be tuning in to this conversation are probably thrilled to hear from you. Beyond having this incredible presence on social, I feel like you just have an incredible presence in the world. A lot of people have taken notice of that. You’ve been written up in a lot of really impressive places. You’re very well known in the influencer space. That’s one of the wonderful things that I loved most about you–you fit into this description. People would, for sure, call you an influencer, but I would never call you a traditional influencer. I fee like you’re doing it in your own terms and in your own way. With all of the notoriety that you’ve had over the years, I would personally say that the one thing that I’ve been most impressed with you about is just how grounded and humble you’ve been throughout the entire process.

So first and foremost, thank you for being one of my first clients ever. You know riding this ride with you, growing in my career and being able to just have so much fun together. So, welcome, Jessamyn. How are you today?

Jessamyn:

Oh, my goodness, I am feeling so very blessed and grateful to be here to connect with you. It has been far too long, and I think that it’s just a really great time to be doing the work that we’re doing. Honestly, I think, as a society getting into the “why of that”, “why do we connect in this way”, “why are we so drawn to one another”, and it feels something real. I think that it is a really noble community to be a part of. So, I’m grateful to be in community with you. And, it’s cool to be able to catch up after; it’s been a few years! And, you know a lot has changed. It’s cool to be able to talk through some of that.

Jessy:

I agree. I agree. So much has changed, and yet I have faith that so much is still the same and a good way to also wanna catch everybody up with a handful of people that are maybe listening who aren’t as familiar as I am with you. Tell us how did you even become an influencer in the first place.

Jessamyn:

You know, I’ve always been really interested in social media and in blogging. Since middle school had been into blogging, and I got on Instagram, around the same time that I was really beginning to deepen my yoga practice. And this was back whenever Instagram was really just like a bunch of college students. It was not the editorials center the way that it is. Now it’s more. It was more chill than that before. And I was just trying to connect with other yoga practitioners. I wanted to find community outside of my home. And what I found immediately was the I did not get that many people who were like, “oh, yeah, you love yoga, I love yoga”. It was mostly people being like, “I didn’t know the fat people could do yoga”. I was just like, “why do you think fat people can’t do yoga? Fat people do all kinds of stuff all the time”. And I really realized that there’s just a huge visibility issue. Less so now. Actually, I think that in the years since I started posting on Instagram, there’s been a huge shift in the sheer volume of people who are sharing their practices and from all different lifestyles, bodies, goals, mindsets. But back then, there were a lot of people who were like, “wow, I didn’t know that people could practice yoga.” So I was like, I’ll show my practice.

Jessy:

And what year are we talking?

Jessamyn:

So this would have been like, some time between 2012 and 2014 like.

Jessy:

I think that’s important to say, Yeah, you know, it’s been almost 10 years.

Jessamyn:

Yeah, it’s been a minute and a lot has changed a lot and continues to change and evolve. And that part of it is really cool to me. Like I love the change. Oh my god like that. Every time there’s like some new platform or like a new style or trend or something, it’s just fun. You know? I love the game of all. This is such a good time anyway. But yeah, so back then I was just like, I just want to share my practice and that, I wouldn’t say that I was like trying to influence anyone, even though that’s what I was doing. I was really just like, I’m living my life and I’m going to show my life. And that has been a really important marker for me in the tone of all of my businesses is that they have to come from a very authentic mission of very true just it this is not about how far can we take this? Or what product can we make? Or like, Where can we go? No, what is the what is the message? What is the soul of this? And so that, for me as a motivator, even now, like I still think of my social platforms as like, my journals. Ultimately, when I look at my Instagram, I’m like, I’m looking at a decade long journal that I’ve kept up my yoga practice is really cool. It’s cool that brands are able to be a part of that, too. That’s really cool. But it’s also just cool to be able to connect with other human beings and to be able to tell the truth about myself and to tell my story. That’s how I got into influencership, which I’m so glad is like less of a dirty word. Now, you know what I mean? There’s a period where people are like, “I don’t want to be called that”.

Jessy:

Do you prefer the word influencer creator?

Jessamyn:

I definitely identify as a creator. Like, that is a huge and it feels like it’s a mindset, you know? Because the creation is just like, it’s like, I really feel like the kids on Tik Tok identify, like, are the best at this, I think right now. Like they’re so fucking good and just, like just erupt, like just whatever the thing is that you can’t get out. Just let it out. And that’s what creator means to me. And I think that influencer is different influencer is stepping into the influence that we all have, like, my grandmother was like, the most influential person, like she could get anybody if she was into something. Everybody was doing it, you know what I mean? And I’m like, that’s, I’m just carrying her I’m doing a bad Marvella Baldwin, you know what I mean? Like, I’m like, I feel like we’re all just carrying influence and that you put it and that’s what’s been so cool to to see one of the changes, especially through the pandemic, is that now, like, everybody’s on social so that everybody like the micro influencer ship is the like, most glorious thing to me is so magnificent. I’m just like, Y’all, you better come through with like, 2k followers that are like down for you, you know what I mean? Like, they fuck with you and bless you. And you were able to… it’s all about, it’s all about perspective. I mean, like, obviously, if you have, like at this stage, so you said earlier that I’m grounded. One of the reasons I’m grounded is because I’m actually CEO of these businesses. So like, I’m actually doing the day to day work. And there’s a lot of morale in that. When you’re at a scale, where you have employees and you have departments and you have all different kinds of products that are being managed. Then the way that the influence hits is different the way they show up to the influences, it’s a little bit different. But I think it’s all the same. It’s like just you got 10 followers, you got 10 million followers, it’s all the same. Like we’re all just out here sharing what we care about telling our stories, and it’s just a cool fun thing. So yeah, creator and influencer for sure.

Jessy:

I think that a lot of your passions and skills have sort of culminated into what you are doing for a living. I think that you are this incredibly… I hate using the word luck, or, like, zero amount of work and you are such a hard worker… but it’s incredibly serendipitous almost, that you’ve been able to cultivate and architect us a career that really truly combines all of these wonderful passions of yours. So, you know, you are not only on social media, you are published author, you have an you’ve had an incredible podcast of your own. So, you know, you’re a writer, you’re a public speaker, a professional speaker. You know, in addition to that, I mean, you have a film background. You graduate and studied film in school. So I think that, you know, being at your core, a storyteller and somebody who really truly prioritizes the spoken word and just language and the importance and weight of it, it really shows in your work. I think that it shows in lots of ways. I think that you know look like let’s bring it to influencer marketing for a second right. So, in my eyes, the most successful influencers, creators, whatever you want to call them, they’re the ones who are cultivating communities so that it is absolutely not a one way conversation where it’s like, “I’m Jessamyn, here’s what I do”. It’s not even a two way conversation where it’s like, “that’s cool. Jessamyn, let’s talk about it.” It’s a community conversation where your community is speaking amongst themselves. When you are sleeping and running your other businesses, that is a marker of a real successful creator. What are your thoughts on that?

Jessamyn:

Wow, that is such an incredible question in such an incredible way to look at it. And frankly, I really agree with you. I think that the the community and really, I mean, I think that’s the success is such a hard thing, because it’s so different for everybody. I think that it just comes down to what you care about in this world, and what matters to you at the end of the day. I think that what ends up mattering to me is the way that we can all be connected to one another, and the way that we can learn from one another, and the way that we can all heal together and the way that we can heal this planet. And I think that ultimately, it’s hard whenever the conversation is solely about what you as an individual are doing, what you care about, what you like and want to share with the world. From a business perspective, I think it’s a little bit short-sighted in the way that you can monetize, because it really relies on one voice as opposed to being able to expand too many voices. And that just makes the lifecycle of business a little bit shorter. I think that if you are able to understand the real meaning the real message that for yourself even like what is it that you’re seeking. I got on social media seeking community, and even in the process of finding community, finding so many people like me who are practicing yoga or doing whatever wellness practices in their town feeling isolated and “like we can all meet up online”, finding those people, yes. But through that, starting the Underbelly, that community really came from like, okay, there are no wellness spaces where you can just be yourself, like, it’s okay to just do your thing, you don’t have to make an excuse for what you look like or where you come from. And that I think is so much bigger than me. It’s bigger than yoga, it’s bigger than the internet, It’s something that all of us are hungry for. And so like thinking about the messaging from that perspective, allows for thinking about the message in the community, and who, what are you a part of who do you serve, that is the bigger question. I think has the bigger rewards.

Jessy:

Have you ever thought about just coaching or teaching or educating other people who are coming up behind you and want to have a platform and want to make the impact that you’re making? Have you ever thought of doing that?

Jessamyn:

So I am actually writing a book right now about this concept of believing in yourself and what it means to really see the link between the individual and the community. My second book, my yoga of self acceptance is about what happens when you take that practice of finding balance within yourself. When you take that practice off of your yoga mat and into the deeper questions within yourself when you’re talking about self shame. fatphobia, racism, white privilege, whatever the things are white guilt, whatever the things are. Being able to practice yoga in those parts of yourself in the same way that you do in your physical body, that is something that I’m like, “okay, yeah, this is what yoga is.” But there’s also this understanding of yoga where it’s like, you’re teaching yourself, ultimately. You are teaching yourself, you’re making space for common peace and balance within yourself so that you can be in community with other people, so you can show up as a, whatever the thing is that you are, if you’re an entrepreneur, if you’re if you’re a parent, if you’re a friend, if you do anything that touches another human life. Being able to lead from within yourself, as opposed to looking for it outside of yourself, that is also yoga. And so yeah, I have thought about it. And it’s something. But I don’t think I’m learning from everybody around me, you know what I mean? Like, I feel like when you said that about successful creators, I was like, there’s so many people that I deeply admire, who I think are really getting to the point of this.

Jessy:

Can I put you on the spot? Ask you?

Jessamyn:

The first person I’m thinking of is Nabela Noor. I love her so much. So deeply, I feel like the content in it, because, you know, we all are showing ourselves to the world. And she is showing many vulnerable parts of herself. And I think that, you know, we’re, it’s just to bear witness to that, and to be able to also be a creator and a human being, and to be able to learn from that just feels like a gift to me. And I think that the way that she has merged philanthropy and commerce is really innovative. And I think is just something that I am grateful to be in community and grateful to be able to learn from her. And there are a lot of I could go on so many people that I just think are incredible. But but one of the things with that, too, is being able to see that like the product, there’s multiple product streams, like multiple revenue streams that are anchored by products, and anchored by individual brands that are not just like, I think that is so crucial. And that’s one of the things that I really learned from her and also the, the incorporation of philanthropy and the understanding that we’re all part of a village somewhere where you had to take care of ourselves, we got to take care of each other.

Jessy:

So let’s talk about the business side of it. And those multiple revenue streams a bit. I mean, it’s really refreshing, that it seems like all of your endeavors have a purpose are rooted in all of your beliefs about you know, the world and kind of like what you want to put out there. And from that you have so successfully and very smartly identified quite a few different revenue streams for yourself. Again, I’ll use the word successful. And I agree with you, everyone’s define success in different ways. But inevitably, it just means that you’re doing something, right? Right. So if I can, I would say that, you know, you’ve successfully navigated that, and will continue to learn and evolve and grow, of course, but also is all business people do. I think that it’s a really impactful powerful thing, that you’ve been able to parlay your positioning on social media, into multiple businesses and into, you know, a profession with longevity, with people that now work with you for you. It’s an incredible thing that you’ve created. And there is no way to overstate that. I mean, I guess my question that I’d love to dig into, is really about those businesses. I’d love to learn from you, the different revenue streams that you’ve explored for yourself, and just a little bit specifically, which have been most successful for you.

Jessamyn:

Oh, my goodness, wow. That’s a great question. Okay. Let’s see, well, okay, so the biggest thing for me has definitely been solidifying all of the individual brands, but that has come with time. And I think that they’ve all been successful. But I think that there are some that have long longevity in a different way. And I would probably start with the underbelly as being the brand that I’m just so proud of and grateful for and learn from every day. Oh my goodness. But part of what works really well with that is that the product is it does not require that I physically do it all the time. Like I do not need to physically be shooting new content for the underbelly all the time. And so that means that that product can really work itself in a way that some of the other products can’t in the same way. And that product is an incredible community builder, the community on Facebook, on the app on Instagram, the number of people that meet each other, through the underbelly that are practicing together across continents, like that kind of thing is like, it’s speaking to something bigger than yoga bigger than the internet, it’s like it’s making lasting connections that will go and that when we’re talking about success, that’s what really matters for me.

Jessy:

Well, you’re putting people you’re putting like minded people together, who may have never been in contact with each other otherwise, literally, never. And people are inspired through their practices to make incredible shifts in their life incredible changes. And I think that that is something that I definitely wasn’t thinking about when we started. Like, it was not like, I wasn’t thinking like, Wow, maybe this will happen. It’s been like, wow, this is that’s why we’re here. But that revenue stream, I think, is the one that has longevity in a different way, because it really does not require me Jessamyn Stanley at all. Like I think the end, we’re already expanding into new Wellness modalities, new instructors, like growing it beyond where, where it started, which really, in the beginning, I was like, I just want to make sure that my yoga classes are somewhere that anyone could find them day or night, like because I can’t one of my other revenue streams is teaching live yoga classes, which now I do less and less. But I want to do more and more. As it happens, there were years where I practice, I taught classes all over the world constantly, like I was away from home most days of the month. And that I think, is a great way to start. So when you’re like building new revenue streams, I think that it is great in person events. But I think that there is a life cycle to that very clear life cycle. And so it’s important to, I’m noticing a lot of people doing online courses in general, but having some sort of digital class of some sort, and everyone has something that like could be taught to someone turning it into a course that can be easily accessed and Subscribe to I think subscriptions are particularly good as opposed to a one time payment, because it’s the gift that keeps on giving for everyone. I think that that is a really great way to get going. But if it’s only in person, if you have to physically do it, it’s just harder. And so what are your thoughts on creating the underbelly where it was initially, just you, you know, being the face of it and now expanding to other instructors? Do you feel like you’re excited about that? Are you a little like Rehman, like a little hole, pushing control and having to change?

Jessamyn:

I have so many feelings about it, because I definitely am the mother hen who sits very close to everything. And I’m like, I think that the message of the underbelly is so important. And so that feels very close to me. But at the exact same time, there is no way that we are really going to spread our wings the way that we need to if I am the person that everyone has to come to every day, and also wellness as a concept is so much bigger than Jessamyn Stanley and so much bigger than how I understand wellness. And I think that for us to really make space for our collective healing, there’s a need for more voices and for a broad community. And I think that I think that’s kind of the beauty of being founders that the message is I know the message, we got the message, but there is that also that part of me has to be like you can’t do everything just it’s got to be you know, like there’s there’s definitely that’s hard.

Jessy:

It is very clear vision, you’re passionate about it, you put blood sweat and tears into creating it—

Jessamyn:

–literally. So I have I got projects coming down the pipe, Jessy, that’ for real, like I saw I was having an emotional moment the other day about like, wow, like, I’m not gonna be teaching all the time anymore, like blah, blah. And then I was like, how are you kind of develop these other projects and be doing that at the same time, like the need to the kind of storytelling that needs to happen and the kind of opportunities that my platforms have allowed me to have are so far beyond what I’m currently doing that it’s like there’s this need to spend so weird, like, no. You use the word empire and like I think sometimes people use it to show off or be like. Yeah, I’m building an empire, you know, but so the I’ve just been like I’m just over here with my little hammer, you know, I do my thing like I’m digging. And then like as overtime, like people come over you or one of these people come over, you’re like, I got a shovel, we can build some things, what do you want to do? And then it’s like years later, I’m looking up and I’m like, oh shit, I build an empire. Okay, wait a minute, there’s a lot going on back here. And so now I’m at this place of like, my day to day is HR training, and oh, my goodness, benefit packages, and so much corporate infrastructure that it’s beyond being able to teach all the time. And I just, I think that um, I love that I love it so much, because that means that the other people who come in who bless us will, they can love it that much to me that that’s the kind of the space that I sit in about it.

Jessy:

And so how do you find great partners? How do you find great people to work with you and rock when you while you’re doing what you’re doing?

Jessamyn:

The universe has been so generous with me. Many people that I have worked with have come to me organically, you came to me organically, my manager came to me organically every time my current agents came organically. So I have been to your point earlier about luck. I feel you about like, like you say this, something’s lucky. And it’s like, you’re kind of it makes it seem like, Well, you didn’t really work for that. And I’m like, there was a little bit of luck. And luck is a lot of things, many things combined. But there’s definitely been, I think, magic at play for me. And that has been a key component. But another thing that I have learned. So one thing that I see a lot of people do is fear around hiring, especially as you’re like expanding. And I was very fearful of hiring, I felt like, you know, do I, especially as you’re scaling multiple businesses at the same time, it’s like, Do I really have it have the bandwidth to take on these team members. And it’s gotten to a place where I feel like, if we can find the money, we need to hire somebody, we need to get somebody in here because there’s they can shine they can do what they are meant to do. And we can all grow as a result. And that process of finding people has been like the most amazing part of all this like so there’s this whole this whole period of organic people coming toward but now we’re in this period of like, okay, so it’s mostly, here’s a job that somebody should have been doing a long time ago, that somebody else has been doing in addition to their job. And now we’re going to turn it into its own job and we can reach out and I have done a leap. We typically use like LinkedIn. And honestly, the my-name-is-Jessamyn social channel to source talent. And it has been incredible because the people who are in our communities are incredible human beings who have or are incredibly talented, and the place that this has been actually. So that’s on the on the side of the underbelly and gIass Inc, which is the company that holds all of Jessamyn Stanley’s work. So teaching, writing, speaking, etc. But my other company we go high, which is a cannabis justice advocacy group, we are based out of North Carolina, but advocate for cannabis justice all over the country and really all over the world. But we focus on the United States, and really specifically on North Carolina, we go high has been a labor of love. It was something that was started by my creative partner and I literally just out of this needs to exist, there needs to be a space where people are not ashamed of being cannabis users. And it’s been just like, it was a side hustle for us, like we were just will do it as we have time. And over time, so many people have come to us organically, who they follow. We go high on Instagram, they do whatever. And they’re like, this is what I do in my day job. I am 100% as passionate about this as you are. And I am willing to give whatever extra time I have. And it’s people who are so talented. their day jobs are doing all kinds of things. I’m like, oh, okay, so you spend and it’s like we’re all doing incredible things. But there’s also this need to build community period, regardless of whether or not money is involved. Don’t community, lift up the voices of people who are not being heard, and make space for other people to give free. And ultimately, that’s really what all of my brands are about is making space for other people to get free and to be free within themselves so that they can be free in the world. And I think that if the message is there, then the people who hear that message will be there. And actually I think everybody knows this. It’s like if you are you do some dope, there will be people who are right there ready to be a part of that with you.

Jessy:

I would like to think that everybody knows that. I I think that there are a lot of influencers out there, creators–whatever term you want to use–who haven’t quite gotten attraction that you’ve gotten. Some of them are doing incredible things, and are brilliant minds. And, you know, you could attribute it to that it’s a very oversaturated industry now, or maybe they just didn’t have the luck or your words magic, which I prefer that word every day. And so I have a question for you. So when we were working together for years. You know, predominantly, my job for you was to cultivate and negotiate and facilitate your brand partnerships. That was a lot of what our work was together. It was fun when we got to do the other things. Predominantly, that was my role, right? And look, I mean, you know, this, you’re not the easiest to sell all the time.

Jessamyn:

Beautiful way to say that.

Jessy:

I’ll keep it real. Like, I mean, this isn’t anything new. Like you, you know, this. I mean, you know, when it comes to the branding space, theoretically, you need to be brand safe, whatever the hell that means. You need to have–I don’t know, there’s no better way of saying it. You need to be safe in so many different scenarios. And I know why I think that you are magical, I’m going to keep using that word. And I know why your your community thinks you are and how incredibly engaged they are. But the fact that you talked about cannabis well-addressed and when yourself a fat Yogi really turns people off, regardless of how many other things you had going for you. And so our journey in terms of brand partnerships together, you were never necessarily a volume booker. Like you were never gonna book, you know, five campaigns in a week, but you are always one of my top performing clients because what happened is that when you were really right for a brand partnership, like you were their ambassador, you were their only one. And they were willing to, you know, pay a pretty penny to invest in the partnership simply because there was nobody else to even take that spot. Like you are just that right for it. So my question for you is, how have you navigated through the years in terms of “oh, gosh, do is it okay to put this out there? Should I not? Should I do it?” Like, let’s be real about it. I heard their house strobe in moments. Oh, yes, questioned it. And I’m curious how you’ve navigated that.

Jessamyn:

Oh my goodness. You know, well, here’s, here’s the thing of it. I have never felt that brand partnerships should be the centerpiece of my revenue stream structure because it is so tenuous, and really has a lot to do with likeability. And I have never wanted to focus on being liked. And so even from the beginning, because my brand has always been irreverent, and very, I think, edgy, it pushes that a lot of deep set beliefs that people have about health and wellness and self worth. I just have never felt that that is where my focus needs to be, that my focus really has to be on authenticity and telling the truth. But even with that, there are lines. And so for years, I never talked about cannabis at all. And it became… it got to a place where I felt like I wasn’t telling the truth in interviews, when people would be like, “tell me about your wellness practices”. And I’m talking about yoga, and I’m like, “oh, I’m just like, not gonna talk about cannabis at all.” And it’s maybe more important than yoga. Okay, that’s great to know. Also, my silence and this makes me complicit in the war on drugs, so that’s cool. Also, I have this platform that what’s the point of it if I’m not going to use it, like, what’s the point? And so, for me, it’s always been about like, why have this platform. What what’s the point of having someone’s attention. What’s the point of influencership. Point is to say something that matters. And so I had a whole process around deciding when I was going to talk about being a cannabis user, when I was going to come out. It was literally I was waiting for certain contracts to end that had language in them around what I was allowed to say and what I was not allowed to say. And when I did it, it was very much like I’m leaping off of a cliff. And I wanted to do it also this was before the underbelly launched, it was before, before a lot of things it was before Dear Jessamyn, it was before yoke came ou. All of these things were still under my control. There were not as many voices in the room; I could still make the call. And that was why I did it. Because I knew that if I didn’t do it, then I wouldn’t be able to do it later. Because there are a lot of people who literally are exactly like me, who use cannabis, and would never talk about it because of the impact that it could have on them. And there’s some things that like, I’m fat, I’m black, I’m queer. These are not really thing. I think now trendy selling points to brands, but like, they’re just my truth. So it’s not really like a thing to talk about. But cannabis is something that I could have definitely kept to myself. But realizing that it’s bigger than this moment, it’s bigger than contract. And that has meant that I’ve had to literally the number of brands that there’s had to be like a direct conversation about like, this is something that Jessamyn believes this is something and that knowing that we are pushing the envelope in that way feels very important to me, because it’s again, it’s not just about right now, this is we’re expanding the industry, we’re making space for other people to be free.

Jessy:

And I’ve witnessed that, Jess, and I can speak to the number of people that I know working in the influencer marketing industry that those conversations are not happening, but they absolutely were happening in your orbit, which are just pushing people to broaden their minds a bit. And it’s really commendable that you not even have the audacity to do that, but your your team was doing that. Because you were the first line of defense. So I think that for any influencers watching, how important it is to have your team absolutely be in alignment with some really core values in terms of your business, because they could have to shut that conversation down immediately, simply because the conversations never been had previously. But doors were opened, and opportunities were cultivated, simply because you had a team who was willing to go there with you. And that’s a really wonderful thing to see.

Jessamyn:

Yeah, the team really cannot be understated. There’s no way like I really… it’s been so interesting, because it happens significantly less now. But certainly in the beginning of the Underbelly people would like write in and be like, “hey, Jessamyn, so blah blah blah”. Like thinking that, like I’m doing everything I guess, like that there’s I’m like, there are so many people who are making this happen, who are living their truth who are doing and that I think is probably my biggest, I don’t even know if it’s a tip, an advice that I’m trying to still follow, which is like know, the things that you are not good at and find people who are good at that. Like who are meant to do that thing. Because the level of compassionate negotiation that is required in order to bridge these divides in order to have these conversations in order to like to say that thing that is hard to say that is something that like, I’m literally not doing it, I’m asking someone else to do it on my behalf. And it is something that I think, a talk about noble and I mean, there’s everybody has their way of doing it. And I just think I would be nowhere without them. True.

Jessy:

And so I love for you to give a little bit of insight into just how you work and your mind. Every influencer, creator is going to be different. But I’d love to hear like for brands that are like, I would love to work with Jessamyn and like I want to create something really successful together. What advice would you give to brands or agencies, potential business partners that want to work with you?

Jessamyn:

Really consider the person who is going to receive your message. Really think about not just who you think the consumer is, but like what is happening in their life, what feels true to them. Because then I think it makes it easier to really take the perspectives of–yes influencers–but also just to really see a bigger picture of whatever the brand messaging is going to be for campaign. I think that sometimes in the pursuit of trends and buzz-worthiness there is a–especially as diversity stays trending–… there’s like a one dimensional nature that can happen with the messaging where it doesn’t feel authentic to the consumer and it doesn’t even necessarily feel authentic to the influencer, to the Creator. And so it doesn’t have the intended result; you don’t meet your goals. It doesn’t have the impact. So I think that really thinking about like, who is going to receive this message, what do they need in their life, what are we trying to say. That I just think is missing sometimes, and it’s because we’re all learning and figuring out how to communicate with each other. But it does make a really big difference in the work. And I think that it’s important to take a chance on people and on on brands that are different, that are maybe something that you’re like, “it does this make me feel uncomfortable, I’m not sure what’s going on. It’s this is kind of weird, they’re into that thing, they’re into that thing”. They’re probably into something that your consumer that you’re trying to understand that they’re into. So if it’s weird, that probably means it’s of the moment. And so it would behoove you to lean into the weird, get into whatever, like, if you’ve, the less you understand it, the better it probably is going to be for your profit margin. So like, if you just take a leap, be on the cutting edge. Don’t chase the cutting edge. I think that now we’re seeing so much there’s so many things that people are talking about now that like five years ago, even you would have had no idea that anyone was going to be talking about and really, especially in influencer ship, it’s just coming down to like trusting people, trust their message, trust what they’re saying, even if you don’t get it, it’s cool.

Jessy:

And so your favorite brand partnership to this day, what was it? Name names or don’t, that’s okay. But like why do you think that it? Why was it your favorite?

Jessamyn:

I’ve had a few different partnerships that I’ve loved. I think that my favorite overall is my ongoing relationship with Adidas. I have been blessed to be a part of a number of their global campaigns and a number going into 2022 as well. And we just have a lot in the works for the next couple of years. And it feels like the kind of, to your point of ambassadorship, that level of connection with a message and telling a story over a long period of time, not just, you know, not just like a one and done type of thing–not even just like a year and done type of thing–but something where you are really telling a larger story and connecting to the community in a more substantial way. That kind of project is really exciting to me. But I have been blessed to work with a lot of brands that I really admire that I think are super cool, and that I am proud now. Now having a team in place that can really support all of my endeavors, it’s just exciting to get to work with brands that like that I really fuck with. And I think is everybody should know about and it’s fun to share influence.

Jessy:

Well, it’s so cool to hear that you know that Adidas partnership is going strong. You know, I remember getting it. I remember negotiating it and the promise and the potential that it had. But to give them so much credit, I knew from the beginning just by the tone and the way in which they were approaching that partnership, it had all the makings of being successful and a true partnership. And I think that like beyond the longevity, beyond the money, all of that was fantastic. But beyond all of it, it was the tone that was being set and the opportunity that they were presenting and that they were excited about. And it was so in alignment with your goals and what you wanted to put out there and how you want it to interact with a brand. Nonetheless, like I said, the brands that you work with, they’re no brainer as it makes so much sense that you would be partnering with them. I love to hear that you’re still partnering with them. My last question for today. I’m so sad that we’re out of time. But my last question that I’d love to ask you is: if you could close your eyes, if you could wish for one thing in 2022 What would that be?

Jessamyn:

Oh my goodness: grace… and patience. It’s not one thing, it’s technically to things. But to have the grace to wear everything, to wear the hats, to wear and carry the weight, to carry it with grace and patience with myself and with my team, with the world. Patience that with time all is coming and that the change is good and that it’s okay to not knowing is important.

Jessy:

It brings tears to my eyes to be honest with you, if I’m being super candid. You made… you make the influencer industry so much better. You make the world better.

Jessamyn:

I love it. I’m telling you, I love it. I went through a period of being like, oh my god, I cannot with this,I just, you know. I had years where I was just like, I want to delete everything. I cannot oh my god, what maybe I can do? I don’t know. And now I’m just like, this is amazing. I feel like the less it’s a competition the and like, yes, obviously there’s metrics and like, yeah, there’s a scoreboard and like, we’re all on it. But it’s very, like Ready Player One. Like, we’re all just out here playing the game. Like, it’s fun. And I’m just excited to be in the game.

Jessy:

Dude, it’s like anything in life. It’s how you do it. It’s how you approach it. Everybody can work on the same thing and do it entirely differently. You know, it’s a creative outlet. It’s an opportunity to reach people cultivate community, get your ideas out there in the world. I don’t know if there’s a better job in the world, I don’t know what it is. I’m so grateful that you could come on today, have this conversation. Like I told you selfishly, I just wanted to reconnect and feel you and I just I’m so appreciative that you could join us today. So if anyone listening, wants to get in touch, we will drop all of her social links in the show notes of this podcast episode. Jessamyn, it’s been a pleasure.

Jessamyn:

Jessy, you are a gem. I’m so grateful for you. Thank you. Thank you for having me.

JESSAMYN STANLEY

Influencer | Entrepreneur | Author | Speaker

Her New Book “Yoke” Is Out Now
HBIC. @theunderbellyyoga @jessamynscloset
Author. #everybodyyoga #yokebook

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