J-Birds of a Feather with Jess Curtis

Jess Curtis: As you grow, the website should too, your digital assets should change with you. And I think that helps people not hit that stalemate of like, okay, my website has been the same thing for five years and it is this concrete structure that doesn't change.

And it's like, if it changes with you, it can be more fluid and, you know, be able to change and grow with you and your brand. 

Chris Hill: Welcome to We Built This Brand, the podcast where we talk to the creators and collaborators behind brands and provide you with practical insights that you can use in growing your own business. Today, we're talking with Jess Curtis, the founder of J-Bird Digital Designs. Jess is a digital expert, and her business handles everything from web design and SEO to e-commerce solutions.

I got to know Jess after we met each other at Remedy Coffee several months ago, and that conversation led to her doing some work for us at HumblePod. She did excellent work for us, and it was such a delight to have her helping us in the process of working with her that I wanted to make sure she got her chance to shine here on our podcast.

In this conversation, Jess and I get to talk about her journey to becoming an entrepreneur, her work at J-Bird, and how she supports local artists. You'll also get to see our new studio, which I'm in right now, and it's pretty awesome. We're still working out some kinks, so if you have opinions on the space, let us know.

So, without further ado, here's my conversation with Jess Curtis of J-Bird Digital Designs.

Well, Jess, welcome to We Built This Brand. It's great to have you here today. 

Jess Curtis: Hi. 

Chris Hill: Um, today I wanted to bring you on the show because you've done some work with us. You've helped us with our website a little bit, and we, you know, had kind of a random encounter where we actually got connected and stuff too.

It was like, um, kind of wild. So you've been really fun to get to know. Thank you. I've loved working with Jay Berg Creative. And, um, yeah, it's just been really fun, so. 

Jess Curtis: I appreciate that. Yeah, I love an organic meet, honestly. Those are my favorite. 

Chris Hill: Yeah, I can't, I can't even remember everything, but I remember sitting next to you and being like, this girl's doing something really cool and creative.

I need to ask her what she's doing. Yeah. I'm very curious. 

Jess Curtis: And you were very articulate and ask good questions. And so that's memorable to me. 

Chris Hill: Well, thank you. 

Jess Curtis: Absolutely. 

Chris Hill: And then, and then the funniest thing I remember is like we had talked about, "Oh, well maybe you can help and stuff," and then you went and vetted me.

Jess Curtis: Yeah. 

Chris Hill: And. It was like everybody you knew, I knew. And so it was just like this really funny moment of like discovering like, Oh yeah, how do I not know Jess? 

Jess Curtis: And we're both in the digital realm and the brand realm, so I think we're just naturally curious in that way. It's like, "Oh, okay. So what's your website?"

You know, like, you know, immediately it's like, how can I support you? And where do I find you at digital platforms? So, I feel like that digital handshake was. Good, you know?

Chris Hill: For sure and it was it was just really fun getting to know you, and then of course, you learning about HumblePod and us being able to work together on updating one of our web pages.

It's been awesome. 

Jess Curtis: Mike's on I have since subscribed It's been amazing. You should too. 

Chris Hill: Well, thank you. It's been a fun show to produce and we've got a lot of exciting stuff coming. So yeah. Yeah, I'm excited So with that I always like learning, obviously this podcast is not just big agencies and stuff. I like talking to smaller that are really getting their start.

And, um, we'd just love to hear from you how J-Bird Creative got started and really how you got there in the first place. 

Jess Curtis: Yeah. Well, it's been quite a story. I mean, this, the classic story of I worked for others. My first job I worked for there for five years, and I really felt like I was truly mentored and really found my way in tech as a woman and felt encouraged to do that.

And so that mentorship really allowed me to show up in a, in authentic way in tech, and then from there I kind of just gained more and more momentum, and I'm very self-driven. And so if someone, you know, I was a secretary, and so that's where I found my way into tech was I was just, I was like, I can't print things and staple things and like, be really happy in that position.

It just felt especially as a woman. I was like, I just don't think I want to be a secretary. I think that's what people think I should be. And so that's when I was like, I'll just rebuild their website for them while I'm while I sit here and answer calls. And that's kind of where that multitasking came in.

And then someone asked who built the website. And I said, "I built it," and they were like, "Oh, well, that's really good. You know, I'm a web developer. You want to be hired?" That was that mentorship. And then I think I just kind of felt like I outgrew everywhere I was and I just wanted to like honor that growth.

And that's J-Bird. 

Chris Hill: That is so cool. So what, um, What's in the name? Yeah. Obviously there's a lot to a name. It's not just "Jess Creative" or "Jess Curtis Creative," it's J-Bird. So where did that name come from? 

Jess Curtis: Yeah, I think it comes from me. I don't fit like an exact mold. Like I am an entrepreneur. I am a lot of things, and you know, that's what my clients are too, is, you know, I feel like a lot of people feel like they have to silo and like know their market, know their brand and stay that way. And so J-Bird is just something that's authentic to me and my story. My granddaddy would call me a "naked jaybird" because he said I was an odd bird, and I had a big mouth.

And, and I also was naked a lot as a child on 40 acres, I mean, with no siblings, like there was a lot of, like, why should I wear clothes, you know,? And I feel like I take a naked approach to marketing, and like, I also take it to branding. You know what I mean? It's like, I'm just going to strip down all this fancy stuff that everyone says is like industry expertise and just like raw dog it.

Does that make sense? Like, you know what I mean? It's just like, I'm just like, let's not make it look more beautiful than it is because I think the transparency is, is the brand. And so that's what J-Bird is to me is just like transparency into who I am and the flexibility to be able to change that. Um, and so I wanted a name that reflected that, that didn't silo me.

Chris Hill: I absolutely love that. And I have a three year old daughter right now. She, if she's not in a dress dressed as a princess, she wants all of her clothes off. So I get it. 

Jess Curtis: Praise. 

Chris Hill: I get it. 

Jess Curtis: Zero to a hundred. Yeah. As she should. Yes. 

Chris Hill: Just wants to be free. 

Jess Curtis: Yeah. There are different safe spaces. Both exist. 

Chris Hill: That is so cool.

So yeah, I, I love that approach and, um, and I also love the fact that I've noticed a lot of birds in your marketing. You're not just leaving it at, "make it as a jaybird." Yeah. As the phrase would go, but you're, you're really getting into, um, you know, you're really getting into like some really cute cartoons and illustrations and stuff.

Jess Curtis: Yeah. 

Chris Hill: So. 

Jess Curtis: And supporting other people's creative process, you know, I can be a web developer and not be a graphic designer and not be a social media, you know, I mean, I can, there's such a big realm to what is marketing now, and I think people are like, "Oh, my social media manager, my content creator, my web developer," you know, "my SEO expert," like, those are all one person.

It's like, in an ideal world, yes. Like, when it was all more diluted, yes. But now, every single one of those has its own weight. Every graphic designer has their own creative approach. And so, by asking other creatives to come in and collaborate with me, I can say, I'm just a web developer. This person's a graphic designer.

This person's an illustrator. This person's a creative in a different way. Um, and I think it just empowers them to hold that space, and I don't have to take it up because I, I'm not a graphic designer. So it really allows me to kind of let them own their space so that I can own mine, and it's empowering that way.

Chris Hill: Well, and I think that's smart too because, um, bringing in designers and everything really helps you understand the, um, like that there's not just one set design that's going to work for every client and I've learned over the years working with designers that everybody has a different approach and your designer's style may help you go further, but it may also hinder you, or it just may not be a good fit for the client so it's always good to have a book of designers and folks that you can reach out to and work with, and I think sometimes clients kind of take some like, "Oh. Why would you oh, you don't have someone right on hand?"

I'm like, "No because it every need is different." 

Jess Curtis: Yes.

Chris Hill: And every project is different. 

Jess Curtis: And I think everyone's take on J-Bird is different, and I'm interested in that, and that's curious like from a branding standpoint, from a data standpoint. It's like, what is your interpretation of this bird? Like, what is the, do you think of a flamingo?

Do you, you know, like, what is a bird to you? You know, it's very subjective. So it's like, I love being able to just see and not dictate like branding is the specific thing and you have to receive it a certain way, but instead just being this constant and collaborative thing that's like what is your interpretation of my brand?

Oh, that's cool. You know, like, either way. 

Chris Hill: That is so cool. For me it is a chicken. 

I loved chickens growing up and I did some really stupid thing actually one of the things that got me into podcasting had to do with chickens. 

Jess Curtis: Stop. I'm so excited. 

Chris Hill: So serious. Um, so I, uh, this is like in middle school, uh, there was a radio station that was doing a contest to see if someone could guess what their big prize was going to be.

And I called in, it was my first time on air. I called in and I said, "it's going to be a, it's a chicken." And it was super awkward and funny and the radio host was just trying to find his way through the conversation, and I loved it, and I was so entertained by it, um, that eventually we tried to like prank call the station and get back on the air.

And I was just obsessed with getting on the air. 

Jess Curtis: Yeah. 

Chris Hill: And for like being a caller because that's what I thought like when they had characters on radio, like that's how I thought they got started was just doing that, and so that's what I wanted to do. And so we, we, we did this whole thing where I was the chicken leader, and I had my other friends get on a call with me and we all called in to like try 

Jess Curtis: Amazing.

Chris Hill: and talk to this guy.

Jess Curtis: Yeah. 

Chris Hill: Yeah, he, um, he did not, um, 

Jess Curtis: Take to the chicken. 

Chris Hill: They did not take the chicken, but it was hilarious to get on there and actually say, 

Jess Curtis: That wasn't his brand, but it was yours. 

Chris Hill: It was! 

Jess Curtis: If you're trying to package an audio of your voice and it's like, this is how I would market that. I mean, genius. 

Chris Hill: Yeah. And so that led to a series of things where all of a sudden my family just assumed that I loved chickens, which.

I ultimately did out of that whole situation, but um, but it was, it was something that like was foisted onto me of like, you're going to, you're going to be chickens and you're going to love, you're going to be the chicken guy. And so, yeah, I mean, it got to the point where I made a full chicken suit for myself.

Jess Curtis: Yes. 

Chris Hill: Okay. 

Jess Curtis: I do know about that. I did check lineage back enough to get to the chicken. And from a digital perspective, it's like, I got to do my digital audio all the way back. You know. 

Chris Hill: I had a photography studio for a little while called Screaming Chicken Studio. 

Jess Curtis: Ooh. So you really leaned into it for a while and then you chickened out.

Bu-dum-shhhhh. 

I'm just kidding. It's okay. We can bring a chicken back in at any point. 

Chris Hill: You're gonna have to cut that. Yeah, I'm kidding. That was good. 

Jess Curtis: Edit that . 

Chris Hill: No, we're keeping that in. That was great. Um, but yeah, so like, so, so that, that's when I heard "bird" and "J-Bird," like that's why my brain projects that because I have all these fond memories of like silly chicken jokes and silly things. 

Jess Curtis: Yeah. I love that. 

Again, what is a bird to you? Like it's completely subjective. So it's like the way that you can You remember it because there wasn't a lot of rigidness in it, right? Um, and so I think that's the cool part. 

Chris Hill: Yeah, and so you're you're basically bringing an artist then interpret that is that a monthly thing that you're doing?

Jess Curtis: I try to do it monthly for sure if I can. Not all collaborators are that available. Um, I have a lot of stokes in the fire and a lot of people want to do it because I do really give them like, they'll be like, you know, what are your colors? And it's like, I'll give them my colors, but other than that, it's like your interpretation.

So I don't give them a lot of direction and that can be very cathartic for them where they're getting a lot of direction in other ways. It's like, I really want your interpretation. I think that speaks more to your artwork than anything. Yeah. So I really like empowering them in that way. And it empowers me to not have to come up with social content because it's like, this is hard. So it's like, what's your interpretation of my, of my brand. It's like, that just seems very tangible and organic for me. 

Chris Hill: Yeah. It's, it's kind of, I wouldn't quite put it in the user generated content box just because you're commissioning people to do it, but it's very much in that same vein and it does give you content, which is awesome.

Jess Curtis: Yeah. And I think it empowers paying artists. You know what I mean? It's like, I'm not asking them to do it for free and doing like submit, submit this and I'll choose my favorite. You know, it's, I pay for every single illustration. I put 50 percent down. I empower them to do that. If they don't already have that process, I recommend it.

Um, and so it empowers them to, to really take that stance that it's like digital illustrations are worth this much and I'm willing to pay this much. And, you know, hopefully that helps them and their brand too. 

Chris Hill: Which is another good point because a lot of artists don't know their own value. 

Jess Curtis: Absolutely. Or feel empowered to even put in a process because they feel like they're not worthy of that.

And it's like, it would save, it would help you and it would help the client. 

Chris Hill: Yep. That's awesome. That is so cool. 

So what does J-Bird do outside of cute bird drawings? 

Jess Curtis: Yeah. So we empower, uh, our makers, artists, and entrepreneurs. So we really work to make sure that there's a digital space for them and their brand, whether they know what that brand is or not, or they, that businesses or not.

Um, again, working with lots of entrepreneurs, there's lots of stokes in the fire and I really like quilting it all together, taking all the patchworks and the patterns from these entrepreneurs and small businesses and bring it all together into one cohesive experience, digital experience. And so that's where my web development comes in, tech stacks, you know, really thinking through processing, but it also empowers artists who feel like there's a lot of chaos, be able to just be like, it's not chaos. It's just you, and then we package that and that can be the brand and you can have all these facets of who you are that, you know, that make up the brand, and so I really, I'd like digitally reinforcing kind of the chaos of artists and entrepreneurs and makers. 

Chris Hill: I love that. 

Jess Curtis: Yeah. 

Chris Hill: That is so fun, and what's what's really cool is not only have you of course worked with HumblePod, but you've also worked with some other folks in the area. Yeah, you've worked with Booth Booth Andrews. Yep And helped her with her website. We worked on her podcast for years. 

Jess Curtis: Yeah, Bonnie. 

Chris Hill: Bonnie, yeah. 

Jess Curtis: Intuitive by Nature. 

Chris Hill: Yeah. We've consulted with her a little bit and all that, and she was a guest on previous guests on the podcast. Yes. So that's, yeah, folks like that are just good people and knowing, knowing that your heart is with them and helping them, like just as a really good indication of the work you're doing so. 

Jess Curtis: Same for you. I mean, honestly. Like, you're also promoting and elevating brands and allowing people to have a voice in an audio. You know, I don't have to call in as a chicken. You invited me here, 

Chris Hill: Oh that's a good point! 

Jess Curtis: and I appreciate that about, you know, I'm serious. Like you're honestly like putting out the hand to make the handshake of like, this is a collaboration, you know?

And I think it takes a lot of effort to like, just be able to like invite people into that space and give them that voice. So I think you're doing that too.

Chris Hill: Well, thank you. 

Jess Curtis: Yeah. 

Chris Hill: Thank you. Yeah. We, we try to elevate folks in the community and definitely great to be able to do that with someone like you.

So. Awesome. Okay.

So, um, so moving on. So J-Bird, what are some, um, what are some things with the business that, um, you have like, challenges with, or what's a problem that you've solved that you're really proud of? 

Jess Curtis: I would say, I mean, being only two-and-a-half years old, you know, I'm still just kind of a baby, but I think that's the interesting part, you know, as an entrepreneur, stepping into entrepreneurship, you know, I feel like I wish I'd done it 10 years ago now, but it was always as scary as it was always going to be.

Right. And it is still scary. And so, um, I think really learning and fine tuning from other people's mistakes and my own. I mean, I would say, you know, changing my contract to safeguard me against those to feel empowered to do that. I know that sounds like kind of boring, but like 

Chris Hill: That's smart. 

Jess Curtis: to have my contract, like, you know, social slander isn't something, when I started my business, I thought I would have a clause on that just says you cannot socially slander my business, um, or my brand. Um, and it's just something that you agree with before we work together. Same for, you know, reporting something on a credit card, you know, like getting reported on a credit card and like not knowing that that was fraud on their end. Like these really random gray conduits that, you know, aren't so much with the collaborators or even the clients.

It's just these, these weird things that happen. And then I feel empowered by. That mistake or by not knowing that by learning that from someone else. And then I feel like that's the part I enjoy is kind of the ups and the downs feeling disempowered and then empowered again. 

Chris Hill: Yeah. And I mean, I think, I mean, it might be boring, but the legal stuff, I totally understand because as you grow, you realize, well, that was dumb.

Jess Curtis: Yeah. 

Chris Hill: You make a commitment to something or you realize it's not in the contract until it's too late, 

Jess Curtis: Mm hmm.

Chris Hill: and you can end up in some awkward spots. Just recently, we were able to leverage our contract to break an agreement And I say recently and yeah a while now we might cut this out. I don't know But I'll tell you anyway Um, but it was one of those situations where it was like I didn't get a good feeling and I just knew, look, based on the situation, I was in my rights and I was glad we had that paperwork signed.

So that was just a very clean and easy process to be able to, to move on. Um, but yeah, it, it empowers you and I think that's a good thing. And a lot of small entrepreneurs, small businesses, entrepreneurs don't think about that. 

Jess Curtis: Absolutely. And I mean, I think that's learning from your mistakes helps empower, like, I don't have to go through that experience if I learn it from you, potentially I could just feel empowered to add that clause.

So I think that's the sharing of resources and not, you know, really saying, okay, this is worth a certain value. I'm only going to tell you this if you pay me. It's more like, let's share the resources of entrepreneurship and making mistakes. Um, and then that way we can all be better at it and safeguard ourselves and our clients.

I mean, my contract was originally just for my clients. It was like, okay, I'm doing this for you. And it's like, oh, but I, I need to feel empowered to, to stand up for my brand and my business too. And so, you know, now thinking through what I need and also ensuring that, you know, their assets are represented. That I'm not going to go dark on them. That they own their assets. That they own their domain. If you buy a website from me, that is your business's asset. Like you, it's yours. Um, and letting people know that they have that right versus in other experiences with tech companies. A lot of the time it's like, okay, well, you gave us all this content and now we own it, and it's like, "What? What do you mean you own my pictures?" And you know, "my content and my URLs and my domain?"

And like it can be a very scary experience being locked out of your assets. 

Chris Hill: Right. Yeah. I'm not being able to legally use and share the things that you created and you produced. So. Yeah, maintaining that. One of our clauses that I like to have is to make sure that we have basically a final say so that if the client does something that we feel is incredibly stupid, we can at least come back to them because we're in podcasting, right?

People are going to say things. It's the internet. But if we feel like somebody really went a bridge too far. We can say, "Hey, they went a bridge too far and we're going to enforce this clause in our contract and make sure that this doesn't get into the episode." 

Jess Curtis: Absolutely. And I think that enforces the integrity of your brand, you know?

Chris Hill: Right. 

Jess Curtis: Absolutely. 

Chris Hill: That's a lot of what it's there for, but it's also for the client's sake to make sure they don't end up in hot water, so. 

Jess Curtis: And that's kind of what I ran into and why I created J-Bird was I kept running into like my integrity is my own. And so it's really hard when I worked for other people that my integrity would be like, well, I'd be willing to do this.

And it's like, okay, well the, you know, we need a revised scope of work. And it's like, huh, I guess, you know what I mean? Like I would just, you know, and so I think that allows me now, you know, consulting is valuable. Um, but I'm also just not. You know, if I, if what I can say in an hour gives you enough to afford me in a year, then that's, that's worth it.

That's my buy in, you know, my intellectual buy in, you know, I'm willing to just give you this advice and these recommendations and the things that I think of, you know, in honor for you to grow. 

Chris Hill: Yeah. 

Jess Curtis: And so I, I had to create my own business to truly do that in, in good integrity without, you know, potentially offending anybody.

You know, it's like, Oh, our business doesn't give away free information. It's like, Oh, well mind us. 

Chris Hill: Yeah. 

Jess Curtis: You know, J-Bird does, if only because that's, that's, I've seen it work. It does have a return. Um, and as those clients grow, they honor me and. That's the most empowering part of all of it. 

Chris Hill: I mean, we're still in an era of permission based marketing, right?

So people want information that's going to help them and educate them. So I think doing that and bringing people in and sharing information is a way of helping guide them on their purchasing journey. So I think, I think it's a good thing to do. 

Jess Curtis: Thank you. Yeah. And that's just, you know, I, I really wanted to be protected in that and to feel confident.

Like if it's something I'm willing to tell you, then something I'm willing to tell you for free. 

Chris Hill: Yeah. 

Jess Curtis: So, you know, I think that's part of J-Bird is being able to consult so that, cause a lot of people don't know what they need. 

Chris Hill: Right. 

Jess Curtis: They have no idea much less the right words. It's like, "Oh, can I have a box?"

It's like, when you say a box, do you mean like a computer, a website, a button, a blog, you know, like, what do you mean? Like there's so many, again, interpretations of, "what is a bird?" and, "what is a box?" and, "what is what I need?" And so I think that's me really siloing everything and saying, "This is the priorities. Let's prioritize." It really is a simpler than it feels. It feels like there's a lot you can do because there is. Yeah. But that doesn't mean we have to do it all because that wouldn't make any sense. 

Chris Hill: Yeah. And I think it comes down to making sure that you've got, um, you got the right information from them, of course, but also like it can be hard.

It could be like a, almost like a come to Jesus moment at times when you get a client that comes to you, "Well, we want to do this website." "Okay. What's on the website?" "I don't know." 

Jess Curtis: Yeah. 

Chris Hill: And all of a sudden you find out that there's all these dysfunctions in the company and the team, and I'm not bashing anyone because we've not had that issue in ages, but like, but I've definitely seen it happen of, like, this de-evolution of the business or the organization because they, they just don't know what they want because they never took the time to define it.

And then you find yourself going back to, like, really basic strategy and marketing principles just to help coach them on those things. 

Jess Curtis: And a lot of the time, I mean, makers and artists, they're not digital gurus. They're not in tech, they're not in tech stack development and operations, and you know, they're not doing that.

They're just trying to, you know, make something, you know, cool. You know, they're potentially working with glass or metal or you know, I mean- The medium of digital marketing isn't their medium. So that digital realm is my medium, and so that's where it's like I can come in and just be like, "You need an e-commerce." You know, and it's like, "Okay, we can't build an e-commerce if you don't have a logo." I empower someone to get you a logo. That's not me, but I can consult for that to happen. Empower them to hire someone that helps them with the logo so that we can build the website and the e-commerce. Um, and I think those very tangible, actionable steps and prioritizing that helps people really be able to take those steps in a way that they don't, you know, have that fight or flight response. It's like, can I do this? It's like, you don't have to do all of it and that's how you can do it. 

Chris Hill: Yeah. So every business has that moment especially early on, you said you're only two-and-a-half years into the company. You're building it, but every business has that moment of what I call "validation" in the business It's that moment where you're like, okay, this is a real thing.

I'm not just doing this as a hobby between jobs. It's gonna be a real career, real business for me. What was that moment for you? 

Jess Curtis: Yeah, I would say, again, being young, you know, hopefully this just grows more as I grow. But, you know, I feel like the first year was so hard. I was constantly had to advocate for myself, for my expertise, for who I was and what I did, and how I was different.

And I really trailblazed a trail that didn't exist yet. It was, it's my personal route, you know, and so I trailblazed that trail. And this year I just kind of get to walk it. It's less sales. It's less. It's advocating for what I do and how I do it because I've built that portfolio on my own name, and it exists.

And so I feel like now people can more organically find me and I don't have to be that person that I'm not. That is the salesperson. Like why this is important. It's like they potentially already come to me because they know it's important, and I absolutely love that, and it makes just the wheel turn a little bit easy.

It's like the WD-40. You know what I mean? It's like, okay, this doesn't have to be so, it's this, I don't want to advocate for something you don't think you need. And it just eliminates that. 

Chris Hill: So would it be referrals or just people find you and they know that when they look at your website, they're coming and filling out forms?

Jess Curtis: It's referrals. It's success stories. But it's also being able to even turn people away and say, "You need a logo," and, "You need to go to a graphic designer," and instead of me being that wall, that's like, "Okay. It's not me." I can provide a directory of resources and say, "Here's six people I know that do do exactly what you need. Go put your time, your money, your effort, and your momentum there." Or ignore me, and pay me, and I, I can do it anyways. You know what I mean? But I don't recommend it. That wouldn't be, and so that allows me to really be able to offload people to what they need and then feel empowered to do that because someone actually told them, like, you don't need a website, you need a logo. You need content. You need to know your brand, you need to know your services. Whatever it is. 

Chris Hill: Yeah. 

Jess Curtis: Um, and so yeah, I think it really just empowers me to, to send people back into the universe to get what they need so that they can come back with what they need. 

Chris Hill: That's cool. 

Jess Curtis: Yeah. 

Chris Hill: That's cool. And it's always great to have that moment of like, "Okay, this is finally working the way I wanted to, everything's moving along."

Jess Curtis: Yeah. 

Chris Hill: You're making money. 

Jess Curtis: And I think it allows me to come back in from the tech side and say, "Okay, let's update photography now." Like I can make those recommendations because I've made them before, and they worked, and they trust me. And so it allows me to say like, "Okay, we've built the e-commerce. What if we changed the, the homepage? What if we, now that you know who you are," like one, like, and as you change and as you grow, the website should too, your digital assets should change with you. 

Chris Hill: Right. 

Jess Curtis: Um, and I think that helps people not hit that stalemate of like, okay, my website has been the same thing for five years, and it is this concrete structure that doesn't change, and it's like, if it changes with you, it can be more fluid, and you know, be able to change and grow with you and your brand. 

Chris Hill: That's really cool. Yeah. 

What are some things that you're looking forward to this year? 

Jess Curtis: Yeah, I think it's to continue those collaborations and consultations, like to be able to continue to consult, and help people grow to have people the ones, you know, if they're someone I sent somewhere else that's watching them come back.

That means they've grown, that they've found those things, you know? Um, and so being able to continue to see the lineage of like all of these entrepreneurs and makers and how they've changed and how they haven't, and, and I think it's really subscribing to each and every one of their stories and seeing those stories come back to me.

I think that's the most exciting part is to continue to be a part of that change. 

Chris Hill: That's exciting. 

Jess Curtis: Yeah. 

Chris Hill: What are some things like maybe from a technical perspective that you're interested in? 

Jess Curtis: Yeah, I would say building more websites, a hundred percent, always. Love web development and e-commerce is, um, to continue to help consult, to help with tech stack audits and automations.

To help people just really find that they don't have to do everything that sometimes we can automate things to do things and that the website can work for you, the assets can work for you. And so again, just continuing to watch those numbers grow, the clients, the websites, the women-owned businesses, you know, just continue to watch all of it grow like that is my growth.

Chris Hill: Yeah. Automation is really cool to me and saves us a ton of time. 

Jess Curtis: I love it. 

Chris Hill: So I'm, I'm a really big fan. What kind of automation software are you using right now? 

Jess Curtis: Yeah, I will. I really love to use Zapier right now. I'm a big zap girl. I think eventually, and especially with the algorithm and the AI is being able to like build it out for you, really getting those third parties who weren't friends that, you know, to be friends again. Like, I love being able to make, you know, when I have a client on board, I have a form that creates a contact in my CMS that immediately creates a Google calendar that sends out an email. You know, it does all these things that it's like, this is how I want someone to feel supported and I can guarantee that digitally.

Um, and so I use a lot of zaps. Honestly, integrate them as organically as possible so that they don't break and that you don't run into that. "Oh, this broke." Um, I really like trying to find the most organic way for them to be friends, and then that way, hopefully that's just the sustainable solution. 

Chris Hill: Yeah.

Yeah. Cause you can get overly complicated with those and they can create issues and do things. Sometimes I feel like Zapier does have a mind of its own, but, um, but it is, it is nice. Like you said, to take those things that aren't friends and make them friends. 

Jess Curtis: And I mean, I think that's the thing with like WordPress or any platform is they're constantly trying to make those relationships on your behalf too.

So it's like the plugin. It should exist, you know, really being able to vet those things like, you know, Shopify and add ons. Like there's all these options out there that are consistently learning and growing. And so being able to utilize them and set of just not knowing. And it's like, Oh, actually this could have been doing a lot for you.

And it's like, could you imagine if it was doing that this whole time? Yeah. 

Chris Hill: Yeah. That's, that's really cool. 

So as we wrap up. I always like to ask the question, what brand do you admire the most right now? And I'd just love to hear from you. 

Jess Curtis: Yeah, I would say Google. I know that that's kind of a generic answer, um, to some extent, but I think, you know, there I'm having these custom illustrators that changed the Google graphic every day.

Amazing. Like, truly astounding, like making those collabs. They have a custom illustrator who literally just comes up with the different Googles to honor different holidays. Like, I love that they are always changing, but they're still constantly the same. Like, I love the, the contrast of those two things, you know, that it's like, I love that they're big, but they've always done exactly the same thing.

I hate that they're changing their algorithms, but like from a brand perspective, not like the SEO algorithm perspective, you know, it's like, I love the creativity that they've never stopped the creativity side of it and the collaborative side of it. Um, so I think that's the brand I admire the most in that way that you can just go to Google today, and it's going to be different than tomorrow.

And it's always different. And I love that. 

Chris Hill: I mean, it's, it's definitely fun. I mean, Google has a, a really, um, fascinating backstory. Like you said, with all that stuff and how they make all those changes. So that's cool. 

Jess Curtis: Yeah, 

Chris Hill: that's really neat. 

Jess Curtis: I think it brings back in that J-Bird collaboration and creativity, you know, that it's like, what is, you know, how can you keep something consistent and grounding for someone while also having fluidity and change, you know. How do you make both exist and honor both in a brand? 

Chris Hill: Yeah, but I definitely hate them changing their algorithm. 

Jess Curtis: No Yeah, we won't talk about that. I get it 100 percent No I'm not, I don't recommend that.

I just like the, I really love the Google OG page with the different illustrations. That's what it resonates most with me. 

Chris Hill: Nice. Nice. I don't think I ever go to that page anymore though. 

Jess Curtis: Are you kidding? 

Chris Hill: No. 

Jess Curtis: It's one of my absolute favorite things to do, like Women's Day, you know, uh, like all these holidays I've never known before. You know, like Thanksgiving, they're going to have a great 

Chris Hill: You didn't know about Thanksgiving? 

Jess Curtis: Google illustration for Thanksgiving.

Well, I mean, not until Google showed it to me. I'm just kidding. Maybe that was the algorithm though. 

Chris Hill: That's what it was. 

Jess Curtis: Tech jokes. 

Chris Hill: Oh, Lordy. Um, well, that's great. 

Well, Jess thank you so much. This has been a pleasure to have you on. Um, where can people find out more about you and connect with J-Bird? 

Jess Curtis: Yeah, you can follow on Instagram to see all the different collaborative J-Birds.

That's @jbirddigitaldesign. No "s" because I was late in life on that, I guess. And then I've got my website, jbirddigitaldesigns.com. That's where I have a lot of, again, collaborative images that represent different case studies, different clients, different stories. I mean, one size does not fit all for J-Bird.

And so every single case study and portfolio piece is completely different. And that really speaks both to our clients and us. 

Chris Hill: All right. Well, Jess, thank you so much for coming on. 

Jess Curtis: Thanks. 

Chris Hill: All right. 

Jess Curtis: Bye.

Chris Hill: Thanks for checking out this episode of We Built This Brand.

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