Jessica Manning-Brose- Content and Contentment

Jessica Manning-Brose takes us on a journey through her unique cultural upbringing and creative evolution. Growing up in Sweden with a Swedish mother and a musician father from Harlem, Jessica's family faced significant challenges when they moved to Minneapolis. The cultural differences in family support and financial hardships only strengthened their family bond and set the stage for Jessica's creative path.  

Jessica shares how the COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed her shift from live music to becoming a content creator, allowing her to embrace a love for fashion, design, and thrifting. Her aesthetic journey reflects a harmonious blend of vintage and contemporary styles, creating a timeless look that resonates both online and offline. Embracing authenticity, she highlights the empowerment found in building a genuine social media community.

In the realm of business ownership, Jessica candidly discusses the complexities of managing finances and insurance as an influencer while balancing personal and professional life. Emphasizing the power of slow living, she encourages listeners to savor life's small moments and pursue passions at their own pace.  

www.slightlyprod.com

Episode Transcript

Jessica Manning-Brose (00:00):
You know it's interesting because when I
started doing this, thelandscape of social media was so
different than it is now.
There's a misconception thatit's just kind of like something
you can jump into and it justis like great, and it's good
money and it's easy and you getfree stuff, and that can be true
, but it's also a lot of workand it's a business.

Jennifer Coronado (00:21):
Hello and welcome to Everyone Is I am your
host, jennifer Coronado.
The intent of this show is toengage with all types of people
and build an understanding thatanyone who has any kind of
success has achieved thatsuccess because they are a
creative thinker.
So, whether you are an artistor a cook or an award-winning
journalist, everyone hassomething to contribute to the

(00:41):
human conversation.
And now, as they say on withthe show, I think it's very
important for the audience toknow that I am what one would
call a Gen Xer and therefore Iam also what one would call old,
but I still find the world ofinfluencers fascinating.
So I was lucky enough to beconnected with Jessica
Manning-Brosé to discuss theinfluencer life and how she got

(01:05):
there.
So welcome Jessica.
To Everyone Is Thank you.
Thank you so much for having me.
I start off with the samequestion every time.
It's going to get boring forthe listeners at some point.
But where did you grow up?
What was your origin story?

Jessica Manning-Brose (01:18):
I have kind of an interesting origin
story.
I think I was actually born inStockholm, sweden.
My mom has Swedish heritage andshe studied abroad there in
university and then kind offound her way back and planted
some roots.
And my dad was a musician,growing up in Harlem, new York
mainly, and found his way toSweden as well, playing music
with different groups.

(01:38):
And, yeah, my brother, sisterand I were all born there.
So that's the beginning of mystory.
My family found their way backto the Midwest, which is where
kind of our extended familyresided, and I grew up, most of
from six on, in Minneapolis,minnesota, one of the Twin
Cities.
The Twin Cities, yes, very cold.

Jennifer Coronado (01:58):
I know your father is a singer.
He was a singer and a chef.

Jessica Manning-Brose (02:02):
Yes, correct.
What did your mom do?
My mom did a number of things.
When we were in Sweden sheworked actually for the Swedish
Airlines, so she was astewardess, she would say, at
SAS, and that was kind of whatshe did predominantly, but then
also just raised us in Swedenand then when we moved to the
States she found herself in anumber of jobs.
She worked in the food industrya lot as well as my dad,

(02:25):
catering things of that sort.
Yeah, kind of mainly aroundfood, I would say.

Jennifer Coronado (02:29):
I have to imagine.
I mean, you're only six, soyou're really little right.
Yeah.
And so you move from Sweden andall of a sudden you're in
Minneapolis, and what they havein common is they're both cold,
yes, but, and it gets dark earlyduring the winter.
And lots of Scandinavians inthe Twin Cities too.
Lots of Scandinavians.
But what were the things thatstruck you as being different
when you first, like, came tothis new home?

Jessica Manning-Brose (02:51):
You know, I think it's funny now I have
all of these things that I canreally differentiate between the
two.
Now as an adult Don't know howmuch I realized that when I was
younger, but I do think therewas a pretty stark difference in
just culture and how peopletreated families and young
families and the care that wasgiven to young families.

(03:14):
When we moved from Sweden toMinneapolis we pretty quickly
started to struggle justfinancially.
Most of my youth growing up inthe States was very riddled with
financial struggle, so that wassomething that I felt for sure.
I don't know if I could put areal finger on it Now I can.
I kind of understand some ofthe reasons behind that, but

(03:35):
yeah, I would say that just thecare for young families and for
people was quite different.

Jennifer Coronado (03:40):
I would say yeah, when you say that, when
you say the care for youngfamilies, because you mentioned
your siblings, are you theoldest, youngest?
Where do you fall in?
I'm the middle, ah, you're themiddle.
Yes, how did that manifest inyour life and like your day to
day, like the care that you saw?
That was different.

Jessica Manning-Brose (03:56):
Well, for starters, I think just
availability that my parents hadto be really present in raising
us shifted pretty quickly just,you know, by way of working
many jobs and, you know, makingsure bills were paid and keeping
food on the table and things ofthat sort, versus in Sweden.
You know, I don't know exactlyhow different it is now, but,
for instance, my parents had, Ithink, collectively a year and a

(04:17):
half off for each child's birthto really be present and raise
the kids, and it's prettyencouraged by the Swedish
government that you take thattime and really settle in with
your family, and then that'sjust not really something that
we do here.
So things like that, you know,just having a present family
unit at all times was a hugeshift.

(04:38):
So I really honestly I foundmyself really leaning on my
siblings a lot.
We became really close kind ofin childhood because of some of
the circumstances, and I'mactually very close to both my
parents as well and I think itin some ways made us stronger, a
lot of that struggle.
But yeah, I think that's a hugepart of it, you know, just to
access, to be together and spendtime together and kind of learn
how to be a family.

Jennifer Coronado (04:58):
So you know we talked about the music that
your father did, and I know thatyou ended up doing music
yourself.
You were a singer and asongwriter.
Was that something you sharedwith your family as a young
person, like where did thatstart?
Where did that sort of creativestart for you?

Jessica Manning-Brose (05:14):
You know, I've thought a lot about that.
I think it's sort of just in myfamily, it's just kind of a
part of who we are, not just myimmediate family, but my
extended family Actually on bothsides, I would say.
But on my mother's side she isthe daughter, she's one of five
kids, the daughter of a pastorand a pastor's wife.
And my grandmother, my Oma, shewould have, had she not become

(05:37):
a pastor's wife, she would haveprobably gone on to be just like
a world-class pianist.
She was an incredible musicianand my grandfather, my Opa, was
also an incredible singer andloved the opera.
So they had a very musicalupbringing and therefore my
mother kind of instilled that inus as well.
And then my father grew upsinging in the gospel church and
so it's very much a part ofeverything in my family.

(05:58):
And then I think it kind ofbecame a little bit of a
survival mechanism for myimmediate family as we went
through just a lot of differentchanges, moving to the States
and even in Sweden, I would say.
But yeah, it kind of becamesomething that we leaned on.
You know, music really pullspeople together and that was

(06:19):
definitely something that we allshared, shared.

Jennifer Coronado (06:21):
Yeah, it's really interesting you say that
because there's so manycommunities, when you know, when
there's challenges, a linearound music to find joy in
families, culturally, indifferent communities, and I
think that's really interesting.
That was something that yourfamily tapped into and like when
did you start?
I know you play guitar, yes, alittle bit, and I know that you

(06:41):
write songs, but when were youstarting to put pen to paper and
thinking about like lyrics andexpressing yourself in that way?

Jessica Manning-Brose (06:49):
Yeah, this kind of comes back to
family as a whole as well,because I was gifted an acoustic
guitar by my uncle when I wasprobably, I want to say maybe
around 15, maybe even a littleyounger, maybe 14.
We had been at their house fora holiday and he also is musical
, the whole family is musical,people married in and the like.

(07:09):
But he had a little guitar thathe kind of had out and about
just in the house and I wouldoften pick it up when we were at
their house and just kind oftinker around and, you know,
just see what I could create.
And I think he had picked up onthat, which was huge for me at
the time because, as I said, youknow, we just didn't have
really any extra to even thinkabout purchasing a guitar in our

(07:30):
house or purchasing things thatwere kind of hobbies.
So that really changed a lotfor me and it was also just kind
of a pivotal point in life.
You know, when you're 14, 15 andyou're, you know, going through
those hormonal periods and alsojust struggling in family and
struggling with friendships andall these things.
So I had a lot of things that Iwanted to say and I just kind

(07:51):
of started to teach myself howto play.
I never took lessons, I justkind of, you know, tinkered
around and learned things by ear, learned a lot of my favorite
songs at the time, and then Ijust fell into writing, you know
, I put pen to paper and justand had things that I wanted to
say, that I don't even think Irealized I had a lot to say
until I had that vessel to kindof, you know, be the path for it

(08:13):
.
So Tell me what your favoritesongs were Like.

Jennifer Coronado (08:15):
what were some of the songs that you
taught yourself?

Jessica Manning-Brose (08:18):
I was listening at the time a lot to,
like you know, John Mayer wasbig at the time.

Jennifer Coronado (08:23):
He was going through his midlife crisis at 25
.

Jessica Manning-Brose (08:26):
Yeah, a lot of that like just kind of
acoustic angsty those types ofthings.
But I really did lean towards,I leaned very far into
songwriting that was reallytelling some kind of story.
That was always what Igravitated towards, rather than
maybe the mainstream pop at thetime Although I guess John Mayer
was mainstream pop but reallyjust storytelling, kind of

(08:51):
heavily lyric, focused music.
So yeah, that was really thestart of it for me and it
honestly in many ways saved mefrom a lot of pain.
At that time I found myselfoften saying no to plans because
I wanted to stay home in myroom and just play guitar all
night and then my brother wouldknock a broom on the ceiling
from his downstairs bread roomfor me to be done playing the
instrument at two in the morning.
You know it's time to go to bed.

(09:12):
So so yeah, it really it becamemy really just a cornerstone of
my kind of sanity day to day atthat time.

Jennifer Coronado (09:21):
And when was the first time you actually
performed in front of otherpeople?

Jessica Manning-Brose (09:24):
I would say it started with like little
open mics around town, likelittle coffee shop things that
people would say you know we'rehaving, you know we do on Friday
nights you can just kind of hopup for 10 minutes and play a
few songs.
I started playing the guitararound 14, 15.
Maybe I performed around 16.
It was definitely high school,like kind of beginning of high
school, and there were liketalent shows.

(09:48):
In high school I became friendswith, you know, some of the
other musician types.
Then we would kind of gettogether and cover things
together and hop into talentshows.
So yeah, I would say somewherearound 16 is when I kind of
started to perform.

Jennifer Coronado (09:56):
What made you think like OK, I'm going to get
up in front of a group ofpeople Because, as you mentioned
, like being a teenager, being14, 15, like you feel so exposed
in everything you do, like youfeel like everybody's watching
you and the reality is nobody'swatching you, but you still feel
on display.
So how did you get yourself upin front of an audience and have

(10:17):
that sort of empowerment foryourself?

Jessica Manning-Brose (10:20):
I really am not sure.
To be honest, I think I'vealways felt very passionately
about connecting with people andkind of getting to a deeper
place with really anybody, andthat's thanks to my mom.
Like, I'm just a connector and Iwant to know more and I want to
share in our experiences and Ithink that's always been in me.
I was always called the oldsoul, since I was honestly young

(10:43):
six even the old soul since Iwas honestly young, six even.
And you know, I'd be the friendthat was in the kitchen talking
to your mom all night when Icame to hang out and not really
hanging out with my friends.
So I think there was maybesomething in me whether I knew
it to be that exactly or not atthe time there's something in me
that I think wanted to justshare my words and share my
experience in hopes that maybethat it would, you know, connect

(11:03):
with somebody else, especiallyin high school and those kind of
difficult years where you'rereally just trying to figure out
who you are.
I was definitely nervous itwasn't without fear, but I think
it felt important for somereason.

Jennifer Coronado (11:18):
What was the first time you felt like you had
done it successfully, like whatwas?
There's always a moment whereyou're like I hit this, you know
, when you're a performer, andyou're like ah, that's the
moment that you're always kindof looking for as well, you know
.

Jessica Manning-Brose (11:32):
I think and this is actually interesting
because and we'll get to kindof to this part of it because
I'm not really doing much musicanymore but the thing that I
always connected with the mostwas the process of writing the
music, because it was just a wayto get things off my chest.
And then the after ofpotentially having someone come

(11:53):
up to me and say that reallymeant something to me, like this
particular part of this songaffected me or I felt so seen
because I'm going throughsomething that feels so similar.
So I think that was always whatI kind of measured the success
with.
It wasn't really so much likeoh, that was just like we killed
that performance and that was,you know, the best we've ever

(12:15):
played that song and you know,eventually, when I had a band
and things like that, you know,obviously there are moments
where it's like better thanothers because you're just like
in it and that feels successful.
But I think it really felt mostsuccessful when I had like some
really cool conversations withpeople I'd never met at like the
merch table after, and I reallyfelt like I made some kind of a
difference just by sharing myexperience.

Jennifer Coronado (12:37):
So it's almost the after and the
interaction that meant the mostthan the performance itself to
you.

Jessica Manning-Brose (12:43):
Yeah, it just felt like it meant
something bigger than me.
Yeah.

Jennifer Coronado (12:46):
You know you mentioned you don't do music as
much anymore, and I'm curiouswhat made you move away from
that and do you miss it?

Jessica Manning-Brose (12:54):
It's such a mystery to me still.
Actually, it was never really aconscious decision, but I've
done a lot of thinking around itbecause essentially when COVID
happened, you know, there was anabrupt halt to any performing
and any of that.
So that was kind of the likecatalyst into a pivot in my life

(13:15):
.
But I think I'm just realizingnow that it was maybe just for a
season and it was the purposeof it for me was to heal through
some things and to navigatethings in life that I've now
kind of gotten through and Idon't really miss it.
It's bizarre, it's a verybizarre thing because I was
doing it so intensely, trying tomake it a full time thing, and

(13:37):
it was such a beautifulexperience.
But I do think it wasn'tspecifically the performing and
being a performing artist.
That was the thing I waspassionate about.
It was the deeper connectionwith other people and also just
the practicality of kind ofhealing through my own stuff and
getting things on paper andgetting it out of my vessel and
into the world, and I sort offeel like I accomplished that

(13:57):
and maybe that was all it neededto be.
So I mean I never say never.
I'm you know, maybe I'll becalled one day to just sit down
and write some more and I'mabout to have a kid, so maybe
that'll inspire me to want towrite some more for that phase
of life.
But I feel very kind ofsatisfied with how that chapter
tied up.

Jennifer Coronado (14:17):
It's great to hear that, because so often
performers, when they let go ofperforming, it isn't necessarily
because they've wrapped thatchapter.
It's because that chapterdidn't work in the way that they
had hoped it had, so that'swonderful to hear.
Yeah, I want to move into theinfluencing of it all now,
because I wanted to start with.
Where did you come from yourcreative base, right?

(14:37):
Yeah, so in your mind, whatdoes being an influencer mean,
and would you even call it beingan influencer?

Jessica Manning-Brose (14:44):
Great question.
I don't love that word.
Yeah, I think a lot of.
I think you probably hear thata lot.
I think a lot of people saythat, yeah, the influencer thing
number one.
I think you know it's fair.
I understand where that comesfrom, but everybody has
influence and I think it wouldbe naive to say that we didn't.
I think it's important to knowthat in the world, if you show
up in front of other people likeyou have influenced.

(15:07):
And I tend to call myself acontent creator and that
graduated high school, Iactually always had a big love
of design and fashion and I loveNew York City, and so I went to

(15:29):
college for a short timebecause I couldn't afford to
stay for the full degree.
But I went to college atParsons in New York City for a
year.
I couldn't believe I got in andI was like I'm going to make
this work and I really wanted towork in fashion.
That was my dream.
And then when that didn't workout, I was back in the Twin
Cities and I kind of leaned intomusic because that was the
other thing I had and that'ssort of how that snowballed.

(15:50):
So when the influencer worldkind of blew up, I had already
been utilizing my social media,namely Instagram, for kind of a
visual diary of my life.
I'd always done that because itwas just kind of something that
I enjoyed prior to doing musicas well.
So when I did music Iincorporated a lot of that.

(16:10):
You know, the styling elementsand the creative direction for
all my music videos.
That was some of the most funthat I had was styling and
creative directing my musicvideos and coming up with
concepts and storyboarding.
So in many ways I feel likeI've always been doing some of
this content creation justthrough different mediums.
And then when COVID happenedand I wasn't doing music anymore

(16:32):
, I kind of just got a fewopportunities from brands who
had to take their productionsfrom large productions to
individual creators while stilltrying to keep a business afloat
and launch products and thingslike that.
So I ended up getting moreopportunities by way of COVID,
which is really interesting, andwas able to kind of dip into
that more from home.

Jennifer Coronado (16:54):
You went to design school at Parsons, so you
have for you an aesthetic isimportant.
How would you define youraesthetic, or would you, and how
does it evolve for you as yougo through different phases?

Jessica Manning-Brose (17:07):
I definitely think it's ever
evolving and I definitely thinkI pull a lot from a lot of
different places I love.
I would say the cornerstone ofmy aesthetic or my style,
whether it's my home or mypersonal style, is classic.
I like to lean into classicsbecause I just I'm not huge on
trends in general.

(17:28):
I think they can be veryfleeting, obviously, but yeah, I
would say classics.
And I actually think a big partof that is because growing up
we really didn't have much.
My mom was like the most amazingthrifter you've ever met in
your life and so I really grewthis huge love for thrifting and

(17:49):
finding things secondhand andantiques and vintage things and
things that other people didn'tsee the value in but I could
really reimagine in a new way.
So that, I feel like, is kindof a long-winded answer, but
that's sort of how I woulddefine.
My style is that I feel like Ipull from vintage, thrifted
older items paired with neweritems that are more modern to

(18:10):
maybe create something that's alittle more eclectic and new,
but yeah, I would say cleanlines.
I like to lean into neutrals,with pops of interesting colors
and shapes and things like that,but I would lean into classic.

Jennifer Coronado (18:23):
I've looked at your social media and some of
the things that you put forwardand you have such a.
There's such comfort in thethings that you have too.
There's some beautiful classicdesign elements to it, but it
doesn't.
You know how sometimes you canwalk into like the MoMA, and
you're like this is all anglesand hard edges and I can't sit

(18:45):
anywhere and it's not veryinviting, but it's not.
I don't feel invited in.
I feel a little bit attacked bythe museum so your stuff is very
beautiful and very inviting andinvites you in.
But I'm curious, cause I'venoticed the products that you
share on a weekly basis.
You know some skincare linesand some accessories and I just
want to know how do you decidewhat you want to showcase Like?

(19:06):
How do you make your choices?

Jessica Manning-Brose (19:08):
That's a that's also a great question and
something that I'm constantlycoming back to.
It's something that I have tosort of like level set all the
time.
I'm now working with a managerfor the past year and a half or
so, and it's a conversation wehave often, probably once a
quarter even, to just make surethat I'm staying true to what I
actually want to talk about,what I actually care to share,

(19:32):
what I actually think isvaluable.
You know, it's no secret thatyou know, in this industry in
general, it can be very muchcentered around overconsumption,
and that is something that Ithink about all the time,
because that doesn't sit wellwith me and so that's a struggle
that I have with this industry.
So I try to be really mindful,when opportunities come in,
about whether or not period oftime to actually try the product

(19:55):
before I talk about it, to makesure that it works for me
Things work differently forother people as well but to not
blindly Well your skin looksgreat.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Yeah, so it's.
You know, it's definitely trialand error and it's something
that I always have to come backto, but I do try to be mindful
about only saying yes to thingsthat really feel authentic to me

(20:18):
and kind of recentering withmyself every so often and making
sure I know what that evenlooks like Definitely not
perfect on it.
There are many things that Isay no to because it just
doesn't feel like a good fit andit may feel like a good fit for
somebody else, but that, Ithink, is important because, at
the end of the day, the job isthe connection that you have
with the community that's thereand if you aren't being

(20:40):
authentic like they'll sniffthat out right away and that's
not.
It's not worth risking that.
That relationship that's thewhole reason you have that job
in the first place is thatpeople want to be there and
support the things that you'resharing.
So, yeah, I try my best.
It's definitely a work inprogress.

Jennifer Coronado (20:54):
I want to go back to something you said just
a few sentences ago, and it wasonce a quarter, and I want to
bring that up, because when didyou realize that, oh, this is a
business that I'm doing now,like I've started dabbling in
this, but now I get it.
I have a manager and I havequarterly reviews and financial

(21:15):
statements I got to look at.

Jessica Manning-Brose (21:15):
When did you realize that?
You know?
Actually, funny enough, that'sjust kind of my brain.
I've always been that way.
I'm a very I'm a Virgo.
Not that I don't know if thatmeans anything to anyone.
Honestly, it doesn't even meana whole lot to me.
I don't know anything except mysign, but I'm very much a Virgo
, I hear.
I'm very regimented andorganized and I like for things
to be clean and laid outproperly.
So even at the beginning ofthis journey, when I started to

(21:38):
get a little bit of opportunityfrom brands and I said to myself
, ok, maybe there's somethinghere like I should maybe tap
into this a little bit, then Ilike I went and bought a binder
and I made spreadsheets ofdifferent brands that I would
feel aligned with and I wouldsearch the Internet for the
right PR contact and I wouldemail 50 different people a day
and you know, and really keepthings organized and treat it

(22:00):
like a business, whether it wasyet or not, and so I've always
kind of been that mind around it.
It kind of helps me keep thingsin order.
But I would say, yeah, I meanthe past really moving to LA, I
guess I haven't even mentionedthat, but I moved to LA four
years ago, october of 2020.
So kind of the tail end ofCOVID, yeah, end of COVID.
And when we moved to LA, thatmade it very clear to me because

(22:22):
it was number one.
The chance to do it at all, tobe able to feel comfortable
coming here at all, wasdefinitely hinged on wow, this
is working Like I have stuffcoming in all the time there's
people that want to work with me, people see my vision, you know
.
And then being in LA, being onthe ground in this city,
definitely also helped to kindof ramp things up and and I mean

(22:43):
I think sooner or later you,you have no choice but to really
treat it like a business.
I think that is kind of thedifference between when, when
you can have success in this andwhen it doesn't work.
I think there is for sure amisconception that it's just,
you know, kind of simple and youget things and it's that easy
and you can charge a lot ofmoney for it and that's it.

(23:04):
But there's a ton of accountingthat goes into it and a ton of
time in front of the computerand relationship building and
emails and negotiating contractsand legal things, and I think I
benefited from seeing it thatway pretty early on.

Jennifer Coronado (23:19):
Do you ever think about how a role like
yours has really fundamentallychanged the advertising world?
Is that something that everoccurs to you?

Jessica Manning-Brose (23:26):
Fully fully.
Yeah, I think about it all thetime.
I think on a practical level,how it has really shifted in.
Like advertising agencies, Iwould be curious, but it
certainly has.
I know that brands allocate ahuge portion of their budget to
individual creators was not athing in the past, so for sure
it has shifted and it's in manyways.
It's very cool because I thinkit.

(23:48):
You know, it allows people topotentially build a career
that's incredibly flexible andpossibly very centered in
something that they care aboutIf you kind of have a specific
niche, or if, you know, want totalk about mental health on the
internet, if you want to talkabout home.
It certainly has given meincredible flexibility and
although I have certain, youknow, aspects of the job that

(24:11):
I'm like, oh I don't love thisor I don't love that, I don't
know that I would trade it foranything else at this point in
my life, because it allows me tobe so flexible and to really
say yes and no to the thingsthat feel important to me or
that feel aligned, and that's ahuge privilege.
So it's really cool.
You know, I think it's beenreally huge for a lot of people

(24:31):
and you get to be the boss ofyourself which is pretty cool
too.

Jennifer Coronado (24:34):
That's the best, and so the arguments you
have about well, I think I needa raise.
Well, it's with yourself,exactly.
Yeah, we can negotiate that.

Jessica Manning-Brose (24:43):
Yeah, exactly.

Jennifer Coronado (24:44):
Have you ever been surprised by a product
that someone wanted you to share?
That is a really good question.

Jessica Manning-Brose (24:51):
There have been, maybe, certain things
.
I've been surprised how much Iloved them.
I'm trying to think if there'sanything specifically that's
coming to mind.
I don't know if I can think ofanything specifically, but every
now and then something willcome up where it's, you know,
the product feels aligned andit's all fine and great and we
agree on a partnership.
And then when I receive it, Idon't anticipate it

(25:13):
incorporating into my life likeit does and being as impactful.
Impactful.
So that is always fun when youfeel very pleasantly surprised
and your expectations, kind of,are met and exceeded.

Jennifer Coronado (25:26):
But yeah, I'm not sure if I can't think of
anything specific I want to askabout the internet, of it all,
because the internet is notalways kind, particularly to
women and particularly to womenof color, which you are both.
So how do you protect yourselfagainst some of the sort of
darker things that happen on theinternet, or do you actually
experience that as a contentcreator in the space that you're

(25:48):
in?

Jessica Manning-Brose (25:50):
I have been, I would say, very lucky
with my community.
I would like to say that partof that is because I try to be
very authentic and very open andvery real, so I think I invite
that to my page and to mycommunity.
And so mostly I have had justreally wonderful people in my

(26:11):
space and so many, so much so,that I feel like I have all
these friends that you know.
If I saw them in the real worldI would almost know who they
were as well and we, you know,would get along and we would
have these, have had theseconversations and DMs and stuff,
which is so cool, and many ofthem I have met and have some
people from the internet havebecome my friends here in LA and
it's been amazing.
This is something I strugglewith sometimes as well, which is

(26:33):
the sort of the duality betweenwork on your social media and
just things that you care aboutsocially that you want to share
on social media because you havea platform and I feel a
responsibility in many cases totalk about it.
That always invites a littlebit of discourse.
I wouldn't say it's necessarilya bad thing.

(26:54):
I've had some really amazingconversations with people
privately and messages aroundthings happening in our world
and the like.
So, yeah, I don't think I'veever really had it super
negatively.
I'm grateful for that, andwho's to say that won't come?
But for the most part I think ifyou invite a conversation
around things, it usuallydiffuses any issue.

(27:16):
I think that, yeah, in myexperience that's been the case.
I will say there's been likeone really strange thing where
someone made a fake pagepretending to be me and that
felt very bizarre.
You know where you go to likethis page that's literally, you
know, just pulled images andpulled video of my family and my

(27:36):
husband and pretending to be me, probably in the hopes of
reaching out to brands from thatpage and getting product or
getting paid or something.
So things like that have poppedup here and there, but for the
most part it's been reallyenjoyable and any sticky sort of
conversation I think can reallybe kind of navigated through
conversation and oftentimes Ifeel like I learned something

(27:58):
too, if there's something that Isaid that didn't feel like it
resonated with somebody.

Jennifer Coronado (28:05):
Well, you come across as very empathetic
to the feedback that they'reproviding you.
You seem to be really open toat least listening, and do you
find that something that hasbeen helped you be successful is
that you talk about when youwere on stage and you would come
off and you would talk topeople after a performance and
you would hear them.
Do you feel like that'ssomething that is part of your
brand?

Jessica Manning-Bros (28:23):
Absolutely and I think beyond yeah, being
part of my brand, I think it'sjust who I am.
I think you know, again, I owea lot to my mother.
This is kind of just who she isas well.
She's a very empathetic personand I think you know.
I think when you go through alot at a young age and my mom
went through a lot for a lot ofher life raising three kids

(28:45):
somewhat on her own, I would sayand really having a hard time
navigating that and, you know,moving back to the States and
all of this and I think ithumbles you and I think it
hopefully kind of forces youinto empathy, because you really
don't know, you have no ideawhat people are going through or
what experiences they've hadthat they bring to each moment.

(29:05):
You know, I can't assume thatanybody's you know, criticism or
judgment or anything like thatis me.
You know, I kind of assume thatit has something to do with
something else that has beenpart of their path.
I mean, I think it's onlybeneficial to show up with
empathy as much as we can andI'm certainly not perfect either

(29:25):
, but I think I owe it to thepeople that show up for me every
day and have pretty muchprovided me with a job, not
single-handedly, but partly.
I owe it to hear people out andhave discourse around things.
And again, I need to rememberoften that I'm just a person
that ended up in this space onthe internet.
I'm just like anyone else and Idon't have all the answers.

(29:47):
And just because I'm the pagethat they're following along
with doesn't mean that I'mcorrect all the time, so I need
to remind myself of that.
I think my community kind ofknows that about me too.
So that's I feel like that'salways good.

Jennifer Coronado (30:01):
Yeah, how long did it take you to build
your community to a place whereyou felt like it became a
community and not just likeindividuals?

Jessica Manning-Brose (30:09):
I would say a while and also, just to be
very blunt, I don't really evenhave a very large community in
comparison to many folks who dothis job on the internet.
I sometimes find myself verydumbfounded by how this is all
working with a very, quite smallcommunity, but I would say,
maybe it probably took me five,six years to really build it.

(30:32):
Mind you, I was also, you know,for some of those earlier days
I was really pursuing music,still heavily in the Twin Cities
and I was using my social mediaas a tool to promote the music
and, you know, share about beingin the studio and talk about,
like you know, my mood boardingfor the next music video and all
of those things.
So I've always used Instagramas a tool for marketing and

(30:56):
visually showing the things thatI'm interested in and working
on.
When it kind of started leaninginto the influencer space, I
just kept using it, but it, youknow, the content shifted a
little bit.
But yeah, it really has beeneven since music.
So it's probably been seven,eight years maybe somewhere in
there.

Jennifer Coronado (31:10):
It takes time to build things, as they say.
I'm curious cause you mentionedInstagram.
I know you're on TikTok as well, but for you, what's your?
Do you have a primary platformthat you focus on, or what are
you thinking about that?

Jessica Manning-Brose (31:22):
It's definitely Instagram I'm.
So.
You mentioned your generationat the beginning.
I'm very much a millennial andI almost feel like I could be
older than that.
I, as I mentioned, like I'mjust such an old soul and so
even like, like any new kind oflike pivot in social media is
always like kind of challengingfor me and I don't really jump
towards it.
I wait and figure out if it'snecessary.

(31:49):
So yeah, tiktok, I'm on becauseI am.
I have an account, but I putalmost no energy into it, which
maybe is a conversation I needto have with my team.
Maybe I eventually should dip alittle bit further into that.
But I also kind of am of themind that you know if
something's working, it'sworking and I don't think we
have to do everything.
Mind that you know ifsomething's working, it's
working and I don't think wehave to do everything.
So yeah, so Instagram is mymain platform.
I often thought about, too, ifI ever wanted to like launch a

(32:10):
blog or like hop over to YouTubeor do something like that.
But I've, it just kind of worksfor me on Instagram and it
feels authentic still and itfeels like a place that I'm
excited to show up every day andjust kind of share bits of my
life.
So, yeah, I feel like in mymind, if it's working, I'm just
kind of going to keep runningwith that.
And I'm also really I'm notsuper interested.
This might sound strange, butI'm not super concerned with

(32:31):
growth all the time and you knowI have my seasons.
Obviously, I want to do wellfinancially every year and I'd
like to grow financially andgrow in how I create content and
how I see things online.
But I don't feel superconcerned with numbers and I
don't feel super concerned withhow many platforms I'm on or if

(32:52):
I'm on to the next new thing.
And that feels really.
I mean, that's a huge privilegeto even be able to say that.
But I think that feels reallygood for me and that feels
authentic to me, which is thething I'm always trying to kind
of tap back into is what feelsright for me in this job,
because if I ever feel like it'sstarting to feel inauthentic,
then I don't want to be doingthis job.

(33:13):
So, yeah, so I Instagram allthat to say.
Instagram is my name.

Jennifer Coronado (33:17):
Yeah, I mean, why be on TikTok?
They show the reels from TikTokon Instagram two weeks later.

Jessica Manning-Brose (33:23):
Right, it's the same thing.
Occasionally I'll have a job,come in where they want me to
post on both and kind of crosspost.
You know, do the do create avideo that goes live on both.
Occasionally someone just wantsTikTok, which I'm like are you
sure there's not a lot of peopleover there?
But yeah, so I kind of I dowhat needs to be done, but it's
definitely not the focus onTikTok for me.

Jennifer Coronado (33:42):
What for you, like other other content
creators that you follow, thatare that you admire or that made
you start thinking about this?

Jessica Manning-Brose (34:01):
I feel, like people probably say this
all the time, but I really dofeel like I just fell into it
because I was kind of alreadyoccupying space on the internet
in a somewhat kind of curatedaesthetic way and it just sort
of happened.
So in that sense, no, but thereare plenty of people that I love
to follow, many who have becomefriends.
Of course, I'm like going toblank now on who those people
are, but, yeah, I actually willsay I really enjoy being on

(34:22):
TikTok as a viewer and I havefound a lot of interesting
creators on there that I haveloved following along with.
So, yeah, and then on Instagram, there are plenty that I follow
and love and have since alsobecome friends, and I find
myself really leaning intosimilar content that I create,
which is just kind of likelifestyle as a whole.
That's really what I'minterested in and passionate

(34:44):
about.
I have a huge love for interiordesign, so much so that,
honestly, when I think back onmy life, I'm like I maybe should
have done that.
I really probably could havegone that route and been really
happy.
But yeah, so I follow a lot ofinterior design pages and just
kind of people who talk aboutkind of slow living, which is
really something that I feelpassionately about.

Jennifer Coronado (35:03):
Tell me about that.
What is slow living?

Jessica Manning-Brose (35:05):
I guess it's kind of become a little
those words have become a littletrendy but just sort of Live in
slow, just sort of appreciatingsmall moments and not really
being so quick to grasp at thenext thing.
And I'm a huge homebody and, asI mentioned, I love interior
design and I love to just likeputz around my house and kind of

(35:26):
rearrange things and findingyou know something at the flea
market that's going to fit thiscorner perfectly, and then
styling that and then capturingsome pretty imagery of that and
I just I feel very content intaking things at my own pace and
sometimes I think that can bevery challenging, especially in
this industry, because it's alot of, you know, everything's

(35:46):
quick and fast and it's a lot tokeep up with and being in LA
similarly, I'm very proud that Ihave actually leaned more and
more into that part of who I amand not felt like I have to
change who I am to be in thisindustry, because I do really
just appreciate, you know, justslow days if I have the option
for that and not a lot on thecalendar, and just the simple

(36:07):
moments being really impactful.
And I think a lot of thatappreciation for that comes from
my family as well and just myupbringing.
Yeah, that's sort of a that'show I would describe slow living
, just kind of.

Jennifer Coronado (36:19):
You can be an interior designer if you want
to.
Yeah, you're in the in just thefreshest part of your life.
You could do anything you wantto do, right?
This is just a chapter you knowExactly.
I'm not going to ask how muchyou make, because that is a rude
question, but what I do want toask you is do you feel like you
make a comfortable living doingthis?

Jessica Manning-Brose (36:39):
I do.
I really have to kind of checkin with myself often, because I
sometimes I find it very bizarrethat I'm in the position that
I'm in financially, andespecially because I grew up the
way that I'm in financially,and especially because I grew up
the way that I did and wereally just didn't have much.
And then going to college and,you know, getting into the

(37:01):
school, that was such a dreamfor me, but only being able to
stay a year because I couldn'tafford to pay enough to register
for the next year, and, mindyou, I'm still you know, I have
like loans from that one yearstill at this crazy expensive
school in New York.
But, yeah, it's prettymind-blowing to me that I've
been able to build this to whereit is today and I definitely

(37:21):
don't take it lightly.
I feel very proud of myself, Iwill say actually, because not
having finished college wassomething that I held on to for
quite a while and it bothered me, you know, like just oh cool,
like I wasn't able to do thateither, I wasn't given the
opportunity to even do that, andyeah, so I think, despite it,

(37:45):
feels very cool to have kind ofcreatively put together
something else that is workingand that is providing me a life
that I was not expecting formyself or wasn't expecting was
an option for somebody like me.
So, yeah, I'm doing good.

Jennifer Coronado (38:01):
Two things I want to ask you, and you can
also say nah, Jen, I'm not goingto answer this question.
You said there is somethingelse I wasn't allowed to do, or
someone like me.
What do you say that?
Something else I wasn't allowedto?

Jessica Manning-Brose (38:15):
do, or someone like me.
What do you say that?
Well, I think, when you grow up, number one core, I mean just
to put it in words and also aperson of color, a black woman,
in a community that doesn't looklike you.
You know, minneapolis,minnesota, I grew up with just
with no black peer.
I mean I was gonna say no blackpeers.

(38:35):
There were some, a few peoplein my school, but very few.
So you, just when you grow up ina community that doesn't look
like you and that doesn'tnecessarily have the same
experience when they go homethat you have, it's you just
subconsciously put yourself in abit of a box.
And again, I don't think it wasintentional, it wasn't like a

(38:58):
very curated thought, I guess,but it was.
You know, it's what you see andyou imprint that on what you
feel your value is.
Yeah, it's certainly structural, yeah, it's a part of what
shapes you.
So I mean I would say I owe somuch to my brother and my sister
really my brother, my olderbrother for kind of setting the

(39:21):
example, to just go for it, feelvery grateful for that.
And then my mother as well,because she just worked her ass
off to make it all work for usand we ended up being okay
because of her.
So, yeah, I think it is veryhumbling to get to a point in

(39:47):
life where you kind of feel like, oh, wow, like I actually got
through that, like I'm kind ofon the other side of it, but it,
yeah, but it's a lot ofshedding of just you know, all
of your experience that youbring with you.
What does your family think of?

Jennifer Coronado (40:00):
you doing this?

Jessica Manning-Brose (40:02):
They love it.
My mom loves it.
Yeah, my mom loves it Cause shegets lots of good extra
skincare and clothes and no,they all love it.
My, my family as a whole isvery creative.
I learned how to be creative atall from my mother, for sure.
Just her efforts of you know,like constantly having to think
creatively about how are wegoing to make this work, that is

(40:23):
to me like where I got it from.
My family has always kind oflike shifted and pivoted and
done this and then done that andthen had another idea for this.
So they're very they're into it.
Everybody's kind of doinginteresting things.

Jennifer Coronado (40:35):
So that's great.
You know you mentioned earlieryou're about to be a mom for the
first time.
You're going to have a littlegirl.

Jessica Manning-Brose (40:41):
Having a little girl.

Jennifer Coronado (40:43):
Yeah.
Has that made you think aboutdifferent ways to approach this
role, this job, in the future,or is that something that has
even come to mind?

Jessica Manning-Brose (40:49):
For sure.
That's a fantastic question,something that I've something I
thought a lot about.
Even before getting pregnant, Iwe knew that we wanted to have
kids and I've always known I'vewanted to be a mother.
I grew up nannying a lot andtaking care of lots of kids and
but yeah, it's certainlysomething I have thought a lot
about because I around it still.
I think I kind of have toexperience motherhood while

(41:09):
doing this job to figure outexactly what my approach will be
.
But yeah, I'm definitelycautious about sharing my kids
on the internet too much or atall.
But then I also know that kidsnowadays are growing up in an

(41:32):
internet age that I didn't growup in in the same way, and so
that's just part of it as well.
But I'm very mindful of notever using my kids to benefit my
job and if ever they areinvolved in some way, that would
be negotiated beforehand andthey would be compensated and it
would be put aside in a fundfor them that's already created

(41:53):
and things like that.
But yeah, it's something Ithink about a lot and I think
that I will just kind of have tonavigate as we get there.

Jennifer Coronado (42:01):
Here's a question for you, because you're
, you know, obviously you haveyour own business and this just
made me think of it, since you,you know, you're obviously going
through, you know, the carethat a soon to be mother needs
to go through from a medicalstandpoint.
How do you cover insurance,Like all that stuff?
Did you have to figure all thatstuff out for yourself as well?

Jessica Manning-Brose (42:19):
Yeah, so well, now I'm married and my
husband works a corporate job,so our insurance is through him
now.
However, before that, I covermy own insurance.
So I've been married for onlyabout a year, a little over a
year, but yeah.
So before that it was, you know, just going on the marketplace
and getting my own insurance andpaying that every month, and

(42:40):
you know just that, alongsideall of my other accounting and
my taxes for the year and all ofthat, and to this day it's
potentially something that wouldhappen again.
You know who knows how long.
My husband's also a musicianand that's how we met years and
years ago.
Now he works a corporate joband does music as well and, who
knows, in the future if he maybe dipping back into working for
himself, and at that point wewould, yeah, we would have to

(43:01):
navigate that as well.
But I will say I'm grateful forsome corporate insurance for
this first pregnancy.
It just kind of eases things alittle bit.

Jennifer Coronado (43:08):
But yes, I know it's a strange question to
ask, but those are all thelittle practical things that
people don't think about.

Jessica Manning-Brose (43:15):
Right, it's definitely a lot and I
think I will say you know, beinga business owner in any
capacity is a lot to take onfinancially.
I think it can look reallydreamy on the outside, but it's
a lot of moving parts and a lotof things that you don't
necessarily account for whenyou're starting.
But for the most part, I feellucky that my expenses are

(43:37):
pretty low because my office ismy home, which is great.
But yeah, there's all thoselittle things that and even
management.
Right, it's like I pay apercentage of everything that I
earn to my management, which isso worth it for me because it
really frees up my days to notbe coming through contracts and
legal things and all of that andnegotiating, and I know I'm
going to be grateful for thatthe second I have this baby.
But yeah, there's a lot ofmoving parts and it's always

(43:59):
shifting and changing.
Prior to this year I was just asingle member LLC and prior to
that I was a sole proprietor andthen single member LLC and now
I'm an S-corp.
So there's different paperworkthat goes in with that and just
discussing with my team and myCPA and all that.
So it's a constant for sure.

Jennifer Coronado (44:18):
So, just for the baseline listener, what's
the difference between an LLCand an S-Corp and why did you
shift between the two?

Jessica Manning-Brose (44:28):
They're both LLCs basically, and S-Corp
is like something that you canelect within an LLC where you
can kind of divvy up.
Instead of being, like, taxedon your entire annual lump sum
of what you brought in, you canessentially become an employee
of your own company.
So as an S-Corp I am anemployee of Jessica Manning LLC

(44:50):
and I pay myself a salary forthe year.
So I'm technically now a W-2employee for my own company.
I'm the only employee and thenyou just get taxed a little bit
differently.
There's some benefits with that, because you're taxed on your
salary and then you're taxed alittle bit differently on the
remainder of what your companyis earning as a whole for the

(45:11):
year.
So it kind of is just a niceway to divide it up and it's
nice to be a W-2 and kind ofhave that like regular coming in
and just see that and count onthat.

Jennifer Coronado (45:19):
So yeah, that's as far as I understand.
How are you as a boss?
I'm great.

Jessica Manning-Brose (45:26):
Very understanding and, you know,
open to time off.

Speaker 3 (45:29):
Yeah, yeah, what was the moment, or like one thing
that happened with your socialmedia that you were like that
was the biggest poster.
Was there one kind of like big,pivotal turning point?
Yeah, something like almostlike a viral moment or something
, yeah and do you get thoseoften, or are you always
surprised by like the ones thatyou get?

Jessica Manning-Brose (45:56):
I think you know it's interesting
because when I started doingthis, the landscape of social
media was so different than itis now.
I think, honestly, even justsince like TikTok came out and
everything like things haveshifted so much since then and
the like virality of things isdifferent than it used to be, I
really feel like I've kind ofalways just had like a slow,
steady climb.
There are definitely certainthings that I see perform even
to this day, like I kind of knowwhat's going to perform really
well or what might not and youmight hear this from a lot of

(46:20):
people who do this job but,surprisingly enough, often well,
it's actually maybe not thatsurprising, but often the like
paid sponsored posts, like askincare thing or something
those are the things that don'tdo as well and brands even know
that like people really want tojust see, like me and my husband
and like me pregnant, like thatstuff really lands with people,
because I think it just feelsreal and authentic and like they

(46:40):
really get a peek into yourlife.
But yeah, I don't think I've hadany like big moments like that.
I will say the things that havebeen really huge in growth are
like the moments that I'vejoined certain ambassador
programs or things like that.
So I guess we didn't evenreally talk about that but and
that's like nitty gritty of thisindustry.
But there are certain brandsthat I work with on a regular

(47:04):
basis that I'm sort of like anambassador for or and that's
kind of what does ambassadormean?
So it's kind of you're kind ofjust a representative of that
brand.
You're sort of within thecommunity of the brand, closer
than just like we gifted yousomething.
For instance, I work with JennyKane very regularly and I've
been working with them for Ithink probably four years,

(47:24):
probably about since I moved toLA.
So I work with them on amonthly basis.
They send product monthly.
I share about it monthly.
I have a discount code withthem that my community can use
at any point and I earnaffiliate commission from that.
From anytime people use thatcode and then occasionally
they'll hire me for like aspecific job where I'm also
shooting specific content forthem and then there's a rate

(47:45):
associated with that.
So when anytime I've joinedlike communities like that where
I'm more a part of theirinternal team, almost I feel
like I see kind of like I seemore engagement in that wake
because you just kind of itgives you a little validity that
you're like really in with thisbrand or really you know you're
kind of more part of something.

(48:05):
And I would say maybe the firsttime that happened was when this
was early days, I was still inMinneapolis and I was actually
this was probably pre-COVID Iwas doing some influencer stuff
in tandem with music.
But I started working withOutdoor Voices, which was like
an athletic brand that launchedyears ago I feel like.
I think they still exist, butit's like shifting.

(48:26):
But they were like very popularfor a time.
It started in New York by awoman that actually went to
Persons as well and it was kindof just like the first like
activewear brand that was likethe activewear for everybody,
you know like just like theirslogan was like doing things and
it was just like get out thereand do something.
So I was part of that ambassadorprogram and involved with them

(48:46):
pretty closely and I feel likethat gave me some, you know,
some eyes on my page and somerecognition.
And then the brands feel morecompelled to post like some of
your content on their page andkind of that cross promotion.
So yeah, I think in waves likethat, but I've never really had
the big viral thing.
Every now and then you'll seelike a big uptick from something
, but it's been, like I said,just kind of like slow living on

(49:07):
my page, very slow and steady,which I honestly love.
It gives me a little anxiety tothink about one day, like
waking up and having hundreds ofthousands of people's eyes on
you and your life.

Jennifer Coronado (49:19):
I don't really know if I would do well
with that, so yeah, I would alsosay if you want to be an
interior designer I brought itup before be an interior
designer because you like it,and if that can bring you joy
and it's something that you canstart setting the stage for
right, you should do it yeah, Ithink about it a lot.

Jessica Manning-Brose (49:39):
I talk about it with my husband all the
time because I swear everyother day he's like you should
do this.
Like our house is you should dothis.
Like that's.
All I want to do in my freetime is like put the home
together.
And I definitely like havehelped friends and I've helped
my mom design things.
She does airbnb propertymanagement now and she's pivoted
a million times but she'samazing, so I've helped her like
do Airbnb properties and thingslike that.

(50:01):
My hesitation is always a couplethings.
One do I want to turn it into acareer, because I'm starting to
be really mindful of like noteverything that I love has to
become a career.
Maybe it would be better suitedto just be something that I
love and that I can like helpfriends and family with on
occasion and take the odd jobhere and there.

(50:23):
I've done a little bit of propstyling, which is in that realm.
I've taken some jobs like thator do I just want to like keep
it for myself and it's just funand sweet and like low pressure?
And then the other thought I'vehad is I love how flexible my
life is, yeah, and I love that Idon't have to leave my house if
I don't want to most days, andyou know.
So I think about that and Ithink that's really the big

(50:43):
thing with this job that I'mlike I just love that I get to
just kind of make all the callsand I don't really have to
answer.
I mean, I have clients becauseI have brands, but it's all sort
of on my terms in many waysstill.
So yeah, I think about that.

Jennifer Coronado (50:57):
I have to tell you my TikTok experience
because we have a TikTok accountfor our production company,
except the only thing I do ispost on it.
I don't really follow anything,oh nice.
Yeah, and we've got nofollowers, so it's fine.
But the thing about it is theycan't figure me out.
They just push like.
I get random things like I kidyou not, babies with fur will
show up in my feed or likenoodles and I'm like why are

(51:21):
these two very disparate things?
Because you're trying to figureme out and you can't.

Jessica Manning-Brose (51:25):
Yeah, they're trying to figure out.
Yeah, they're trying to see.
Like, what do you linger on?
What do you like?
Are you commenting on anything?
Yeah, like, yeah, totally.
I mean, my current page ispretty much food and babies and
pregnant ladies, so it's figuredme out a little bit.
Tiktok is wild.
It can be really fun, but youcan kind of fall down a bit of a
hole on that platform.

(51:46):
That's for sure.
Yeah, for sure, yeah.

Jennifer Coronado (51:49):
Would you advise someone to follow this
path, like if you were talkingto someone who was about to
embark on it.

Jessica Manning-Brose (51:56):
Yes, with a little asterisk, because I've
actually been asked thisquestion a lot.
I've had many people you knowpop into my messages and say
like I want to do this, like howyou know where do I start.
I think I said this earlier too.
But there's, there really is amisconception and I don't want

(52:19):
to give you know, I want to givepeople the benefit of the doubt
, but there's a misconceptionthat it's just kind of like
something you can jump into andit just is like great and it's
good money and it's easy and youget free stuff, and that can be
true, but it's also a lot ofwork and it's a business and
there's a lot more kind of thebasic business stuff, the boring
business stuff that goes alongwith it, than I think people
really realize.
So my answer to people isalways absolutely like there's

(52:41):
always space for people.
I think that everybody has sucha unique individual experience
and voice and I think that'swhat makes the world of
influencer marketing and justthe Internet in general very
valuable, internet in generalvery valuable.
But I do think that it would bebeneficial to really think about
if you're willing to do allthat it takes to build it.
And, like I said, you know I'vebeen doing this in some

(53:04):
capacity for many years andbuilding that comfort and
relatability and, yeah, justconnection with the community of
the people that show up.
For years it took, you know, ittook me a long time to build
that.
That's huge.
You know that's part of thepeople that show up.
For years it took me a longtime to build that.
That's huge.
That's part of the reason thatyou have this job in the first
place.
If people aren't going to showup and trust you and be
interested in your life and thethings you have to say, then
there's no industry.
So, yeah, I think yes and no.

(53:26):
I think treating it like a realbusiness and recognizing that
it is one is the first step tokind of deciding if that's
something that you'd be willingto put time into.
But I say, come one, come all.

Jennifer Coronado (53:37):
So one of the questions that I'm asking you a
few people this round issomething that we asked.
We interviewed a bunch oflittle kids and asked them what
do you want to be when you growup, and what does imagination
mean to you?
And the reason that we did thatwas because it all starts there
, right the things that you pickup on as a little kid and what

(53:57):
you take through your life.
So I think the question I wantto ask you now is what does
imagination mean to you?
What does creativity mean toyou?

Jessica Manning-Brose (54:17):
far beyond what we maybe initially
think of creativity, or what wethink creativity is.
I think it is, as I mentionedbefore, just keeping an open
mind, honestly, and beingwilling to pivot and being
willing to welcome a new idea orbeing willing to make something
work that played outdifferently than you thought it
would.
I really think I mean Imentioned this before, but I

(54:39):
really I learned creativity frommy mother and although she
didn't necessarily work in themost kind of quote creative
fields all the time, she'scertainly the most creative
person I know to this day.
The way that her life hasplayed out is a huge testament
to that.
She is the most creativethinker and problem solver that

(55:01):
I have ever known.
And I think the second we startsearching for, the second we
start looking for creativity injust everyday experiences.
That's when I think you canreally tap into some real
creativity.

Jennifer Coronado (55:15):
Well, that's wonderful to hear about your mom
, and also because of herdaughter, her skin looks
fantastic, I'm sure.

Jessica Manning-Brose (55:20):
Yes, she's glowing, she is glowing.

Jennifer Coronado (55:24):
Well, thank you, jessica.
This has been a reallyenlightening conversation and we
so appreciate your time today.
Thank you so much.
I really appreciate you havingme.
This was wonderful.

(55:45):
Thank you for listening toEveryone Is.
Appreciate you having me.
This was wonderful.
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