Client Case Study Christina Jacobs - When I Grow Up

Client Case Study Christina Jacobs - When I Grow Up Um, do you know that Ive coached hundreds of women since I started offering dream career guidance in 2008? And that these women are freakin rock stars, leaving soul-sucking jobs and traveling the world and launching creative, grown-up businesses and simply doing work that fits their lifestyle goals? Well ya do now and youll hear their stories firsthand in my  Client Case Studies series! Christina and I worked together back in 2010, and Ive been following her journey from advertising strategist to artist with so much excitement and love! Shes been a Woman of the World (as I like to call being a full-time entrepreneur) for under a year, and has so much wisdom to share. Enjoy! Why did you decide to work with a creative career coach? Ive always had a pretty risk-averse personality. I knew that if I was going to make the leap into running my own business, Id need a concrete plan to follow first. What were you doing work-wise when we started our sessions? I was working in advertising as a strategist. I had stints at several agencies over my 12 year career before I finally quit in 2015. What was your biggest takeaway from our work together? I learned two things that were so incredibly valuable. One: reward yourself for taking small steps. And two: surround yourself with people who understand what youre trying to do, and will support you. Through my group coaching sessions with Michelle, I met two other amazing ladies who were also in the beginning stages of their career changes. Weve cheered each other on for years now! Was there anything else you tried to do as a career between the time we stopped our sessions and what you do for work now? If so, how did it inform your current career? I wouldnt say that I changed course, but I definitely focused in more exactly on what I wanted my business to be. When I was working with Michelle, I was still saying yes to anything, trying to figure it all out. I did a lot of custom graphic design work. Sometimes the results were screen printed, but many times that part wasnt what our clients valued. I eventually realized that sitting in front of a screen all day was my least favorite part of what we were ultimately creating for people. Thats when we created our paper goods brand, Arsenal Handicraft, and focused on making a tactile product line. What would you tell someone now that was in your shoes when we first started working together? Whats your best tip to allow them to make a grown-up living doing what they love? I had a mentor who worked with me in advertising at the time. I used to ask her for advice a lot, and the best answer she ever gave me was youre going to bump your butt along the way. Learn from your mistakes, and dont take anything too personally. If you have your own biz, whats on the horizon for your business? Wed love to hear about any upcoming offerings or goals! Arsenal Handicraft has an upcoming glow-in-the-dark screen print release with a gallery in Brooklyn that Im super excited about. Were also working to add new things to our wholesale line before our usual craft fair tour begins in a couple of months. And for fun, were going to paint/screen print/wheatpaste? a piano at a summer music festival in Detroit. I havent really figured out the logistics of that project yet, but plan to keep it loose! Im looking forward to doing something purely creative and crazy.