April 27, 2023 • 37 mins
Jill King is a singer, business owner, marketing maven, and rancher with deep ties to Wyoming. Jill originally moved to Wyoming to fulfill her dream of becoming a singer, forming her own band, and eventually cutting an album in the heart of country music. Today, Jill is the owner of a local franchise in the publication industry and runs a cattle ranch with her husband near Lander, Wyoming.
In this episode we delve into Jill's background, her family's history in Wyoming, and her journey from working in marketing in New York City to pursuing her passion for singing in Jackson Hole. Jill shares her experience of leading a cowgirl band and the challenges of balancing her music career with her desire to be a mother. She also discusses her passion for marketing and her commitment to supporting her clients through her work with The Scout Guide, a national publication that she bought the franchise for in both Jackson Hole and Bozeman.
Throughout the episode, we explore the evolution of marketing trends, such as the shift from print to digital, and the core tenets of marketing that remain consistent, including the power of storytelling, photography, and editorial content.
Find out more about Jill and The Scout Guide at JacksonHole.TheScoutGuide.com
This week's episode is supported in part by Teton County Solid Waste and Recycling, reminding residents and commercial businesses of Teton County’s food waste programs; the next frontier material in the quest to achieve the County’s goal to reduce, aiming for zero waste. More at TetonCountyWY.gov or at @RoadToZeroWaste.JH on Instagram.
Support also comes from The Jackson Hole Marketplace. The Deli at Jackson Hole Marketplace offers ready-made soups, sandwiches, breakfast burritos, and hot lunch specials. More at JHMarketplace.com
Want to be a guest on The Jackson Hole Connection? Email us at connect@thejacksonholeconnection.com. Marketing and editing support by Michael Moeri (michaelmoeri.com)
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
You are tuned into the Jackson hole,connection, sharing, fascinating stories
of people connected to Jackson Hole.
I am truly grateful for each ofyou for tuning in today and support
for this podcast comes from:
I begin today's episode with alittle quote from Mark Twain.
(00:20):
Censorship is telling aman he can't have a steak.
Just because a baby can't chew it.
And folks, welcome to episode number 239.
Today's guest is Jill King, a mastermarketer, a business owner, rancher, who
has some really long ties to Wyoming.
(00:42):
Jill moved to Wyoming to fill adream of being a singer, which led
to forming her own band, travelingthe region, and eventually cutting an
album in the heart of country music.
Now, Jill is the owner of a localfranchise in the publication industry,
while also with her husband runninga cattle ranch right here in Wyoming.
(01:06):
So hold on to your buckets.
That's the right thing to say andfind out more about Jill's history,
her family's history here in Wyoming,and what she's doing in the world of
business in helping businesses succeedand how relationships are so important.
Thank you for joining me here todayat the Jackson Hole Connection.
(01:26):
It's delightful to have some of yourtime and learn more about you and
what you're doing in the world everyday here in the Jackson Hole area.
it's great to be here and,looking forward to sharing I
offer to the community with you.
Super well, Jill, I start every episodewith people giving their background of
(01:48):
where they were born and raised and howthey landed here in the Jackson Hole area.
So, we're gonna start off rightthere and just keep it consistent.
After, you know, over 200 episodes,, why break a, a good streak on that
one
Yeah.
Well, I'll give you thekind of the short version.
I landed here from New York City.
I came out to be a singer.
(02:09):
was working in marketing, 51st and fifthand, uh, for a real estate company.
And I was singing.
at night and all the clubs,the open mics and everything.
And I was doing thatfor almost five years.
And I decided I just wanted trailblaze, hit the road, become a singer
full-time, hang up my marketing, hat.
(02:30):
And, my aunt was runningthe wort hotel out here.
So I called her and said, Hey,you know, can you, can I come sing
and, you know, can you help me out?
And so, I ended up singing Oliver Jackson.
I had started a cowgirl band.
I sang with the Bluegrass Band.
we had some regional, probably successopening for a lot of, regionally and then,
(02:54):
I went to Nashville and recorded a CD and,and went out on my own with my songwriting
real and then we moved to Austin andI, and I continued it down there.
So that's kind of how I got toJackson Hole was, via my guitar.
All And how do you wannashare how far back that was?
it, it was a while.
(03:15):
Okay,
I guess 30 years ago I came out here, so
cool.
been back and forth from Texas toWyoming for many years and, then moved
back here full-time about 12 years ago.
So
I'm glad you guys resettled herein the great state of Wyoming.
well, my husband has alove affair with Wyoming.
(03:35):
We have a ranch.
It's about four hours away from here.
And, uh, he raises cattle and,he just absolutely loves Wyoming.
I do too, but not the same way.
he loves prairie and love
So tell me about the singing andyou said you started a cowgirl band.
What was the name of the band?
(03:57):
was called the Cow Patsies and,Christine Langdon, who is the
singer out of the stage coach.
she played bass, ShellyRubrik, she played fiddle.
I played lead in's, uh, rhythmguitar, and we sang harmonies.
And yeah, we, uh, we had awhole bunch of fun with that.
And, it was, it was great.
Yeah.
(04:17):
And the CD that you cut, can peoplefind that out on the worldwide
web and find some your songs?
Not quite yet, but, uh, for mybirthday this month, my girls
are putting it all on Spotify.
So, stay tuned.
Excellent.
so you have some kids.
Three girls, Tennessee,Carolina, and Georgia.
who.
(04:37):
you know, are, are just great.
My old oldest daughter,Tennessee just had a baby.
Carolina we call Mimi.
She lives in la.
She's, uh, an art guru and thenwe have one in Boulder, the baby.
So
out.
Spread out the, around the area
keeping us on our toes for sure.
Awesome.
And I'd love to learn a littlebit more about this ranch.
(05:01):
Are you open to sharing, where is it andwhat's the name and how I, I hear your
husband's passion, but it, it takes Big,bold belief to start raising cattle.
That's not an easy undertaking.
It, is, and, and Wyoming is now easy.
A place to, cattle either.
I mean, the ranch is outside of Lander.
(05:24):
It's actually called Jeffrey City, whichis right near Muddy Gap, and next to
a historic site called The Split Rock.
So, it's got a lot of historyout there, but it's, you
know, it's, it's cattle land.
It's not, you know, it's not Yellowstone,it's not it's not, doesn't look like
the Yellowstone at any rate, yeah, we,uh, leased the Slit Rock Ranch next
(05:48):
to us and we have about 1600 acres.
I'm probably not saying that right.
But anyway, we have a lot of landout there, and, he raises and
cares for other people's cattle.
So I think this, this year he saidhe's probably up to about 3000 head.
So he's got a pretty big operation outthere and really loves what he does.
(06:13):
But, it's, it's great.
It's a great, To balance for whatI do in Jackson Hole and be able to
go out there and ride you know, kindof support him and his endeavor and,
his love for ranching and ranchingkind of the old fashioned way.
So neat.
Yeah
I've heard some of the history of Jeffers.
(06:34):
It's Jeffery City.
Jeffries City
Yeah, I, I know I've heard someof the history before, but, I
don't know it enough to repeatit, but it was pretty fascinating
kind of is.
And, and it was a boom town.
and, and then it, I mean,literally there's like 10
people that live there now.
I mean, it was, it was a boomingmining town many years ago.
(06:56):
And, mean, now you justreally drive right through it.
And, of course the Split Rockis kind of a historic site.
That's kind of one of the landmarkson the Oregon Trail and, you know,
the ruts and everything out there.
It's, it's, it's neat that way becauseit's, it's definitely the route
where people were, you know, comingfrom Casper and the Oregon Trail.
(07:19):
So, you know, you canstill see pieces and parts.
of the trail and and it's neat, so,
I, I know there was a bunch of years agoI did a road trip with my first dog that
I had Flash, and that was one of thespots that we stopped was Split Rock.
And it is, it's justfascinating to think about.
(07:42):
You look at that terrain, it'slike, my gosh, people did
to make it out west is just
remarkable
is.
And then, and that's why they wentright through Wyoming, up to Montana,
, because in Montana, uh, Wyoming wasthe last state to homestead, you know.
and grandfather actually homesteadedhere, over near Doll Center still, city
(08:04):
or center, I believe, over near Douglas.
And, it was in the thirties and they hada saw house and you know, all the, all the
three things that you were supposed to do.
You've got, I think 40 acres ofland and you had to improve it, put
water on it and put a home on it.
And he's like living, he waslike living history for Wyoming.
(08:26):
of course, I mean it's, it's justreally hard to make a go of it in
Wyoming at, you know, the depressionhit they just make a go of it.
Wyoming is just not an easy placeto, Ranch or farm or whatever.
It's got a lot goingagainst it weather-wise.
I, I'm very curious to know wheredid your grandfather end up going?
(08:49):
Was he married at that time when he wasout here, and then where did he end up
going after he couldn't make a go of
it
Um, so my grandmother was a teacherand my grandfather a cowboy, he, they
were both from Scandinavia, Danish,and Swedish where their families had ho
had come over from, Sweden and Denmark.
(09:09):
And they ended up going back toNebraska where, all their family
was from because, they gave it a go.
They gave it a good go, but, it just, justkind of fell apart with the depression.
But yeah, they went back to Nebraska and,you know, had a small farm and everything.
They ended up in Loveville,Wyoming afterwards, and they
owned the best Western over there.
(09:30):
So, he had a myriad of things going on,but, I am very proud of that heritage.
My mom didn't, my mom grew up in Wyomingtill about like 18, then she went away to
nursing school and then joined the Navy.
So we were the city cousins that kindalived a different life and it was always
intriguing to us to come out here forthe summer and see Wyoming and, you
(09:54):
know, ride horses and do all that.
you know, I didn't, I wasn't raised outhere, but I had a love for Wyoming too,
in a different way than my husband.
Well, you have some deep roots here.
I do, and, and it's superneat when I look back on it.
And we have a lot of, I have a lotof cousins across the state and, when
you see the pictures of the sod houseand, all that, I mean, it's super
(10:14):
impressive that they even tried it.
So,
A lot of respect forthose folks who lived in.
I mean, we complain aboutliving in a small space.
I mean, in, in today's society,much less a sod house, which was
probably no bigger than 10 by 12.
I don't remember the size ofit, but it wasn't big for sure.
no, no.
(10:35):
And so your mom was in the Navy.
Was she, did she serve in, in, in a war?
Um, she did not, she was a Navy nurse.
And she met my dad.
he was a Navy officer andyeah, they had a Navy career.
And I'm a Navy kid, so we,that's why we didn't, we lived
everywhere but kind of Wyoming
(10:56):
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
There's not a Navy branch
here,
that, yeah, let's put the Navy in Wyoming.
We do have
the Air
that's true.
Got that?
and you.
Let's go back to you being in NewYork City and you were working for
a marketing firm in New York andyou decide, I'm going to Wyoming.
(11:18):
You had roots in Wyoming, but you'relike, I'm going to Jackson, and what
was Change for you, what did it feellike to go from the pace of New York
City to the pace of Jackson Hole,Wyoming, you said about 30 years ago?
So I've been here for 25 years now,so you're only five years ahead of me.
(11:38):
But it was slow then.
I, and so I'm really fascinated toknow, how did you adjust to that?
well, I had a wonder lust sure, and I hada real strong desire that I wanted to,
to see if I could really become a singer.
And so, I guess that wasdriving it and, and actually
(11:58):
I had all my stuff in storage.
I had every intention giving it a go outhere and then going back to New York.
But, uh, of one thing led to anotherand I realized that I was ready to
leave the city and, I knew I wouldn'tlike get married and live there.
I was not.
I knew that wasn't gonnabe the life that I wanted.
so I was kind of ready.
(12:18):
and I mean, it, it is like getting aPhD in life and I loved every minute
of being there and took advantageof a lot of stuff, but, I just knew
that it was, it run its course.
And I was in the whole folk worldof like Suzanne Vega and Sean
Colvin and just a lot of the reallycool folkies stuff like that.
(12:41):
And it was very inspiring, know,that I wanted to kind of break out
and write music and sing and, was aperfect backdrop because I knew people
out here and I, I don't even reallyknow how it all happened, exactly.
But, when I got out here, I realized thatyeah, the pace was a little slow, but,
and I was probably the only girl in townthat had makeup on, The, the, the ratio
(13:06):
of cowboys to, to girls was pretty cool.
It was like eight to onethat was interesting too.
So, had a lot of appealits own small town way.
And of course Jackson Hole,who doesn't love it, right?
So,
for sure.
Who, who doesn't love it?
And you still, you.
There's not many cowgirl bands.
(13:28):
That I've heard of and I give youbig kudos starting your own band and
putting yourself out there, then noless going to Nashville to cut a record
and, you know, make a, a true go of it.
That's, that's awesome.
Yeah.
I.
I gave a pretty good shot at it, butI knew when we had a, started having a
family and we moved to Austin when I, Iwas, I'd had Tennessee and it was still
(13:51):
plugging along trying to, you know, Imade, I cut tape or CD there as well.
And um, it just lost it kind of, once westarted having a family, I wanted to be
a mom and kind of lost, I didn't wannabe out at night and you have to do that
It just transitioned into me being a mom.
So it was, it was wonderfulwhen it happened, but
(14:13):
Mm-hmm.
. it tickles me that you said cut a tape,
I mean, I, everyone still calls it cuttingan album, but like, I'm pretty sure I
think I did have a CD off that one too.
Yeah, I did.
But, it was definitely that eraof tapes, where you hand P, you
know, you put one song on a tapeand you go pitch it with this tape.
(14:33):
And mean, yeah, definitelyThat was a long time ago,
and so, Other than running a ranch,you now have adult children and
living, you're in Jackson some of thetime you go to the ranch sometimes.
What occupies your time now?
So, yeah, I, I bought the franchise, theScout guy, Jackson Hole from Megan Murk.
(14:57):
She, she started it here.
it's a national publication.
and you buy the franchise for the town.
And then I bought it from her.
I was kind of looking for somethingto do as kind of an empty nester
using my marketing background.
and it appealed to me because it,you wear a lot of different hats.
you know, you have events.
You, you sell ads, do the photo shoots,you do the photo styling for the shoots.
(15:23):
write editorial pieces.
do social media.
And so it had a lot of appeal.
just in the wide range of thingsand just serving the community, like
with advertising and supporting,you know, growing their businesses.
And then, I started the ScoutGuide Bozeman here a year ago.
So I'm, I'm doing both cities now.
I'm doing both, uh, publications.
(15:45):
So,
And what's the similaritiesbetween Bozeman and Jackson?
Yeah.
I was seeing, I was seeing a lot ofbusinesses do business in both towns.
I mean, just, there's a lot.
Cowboy coffee, pinkycheese, W R J, Bella Cosa.
you know, Stio is in the, youknow, they're the, the lists.
(16:05):
And I just saw how joined our communitiesare and a lot of people traveling
will start in Jackson, go through thepark, end up in Bozeman or vice versa.
And I was just seeing a trendthat it would be a really great
sister market for me to own.
that it had a lot of crossover businessesand a lot of crossover tourist traffic.
And they're both mountaintowns very similar.
(16:28):
Not in size, but similarin businesses and whatnot.
And I felt like I kind of hada good handle on Jackson, so I
was ready to start in Bozeman.
It was exciting cuz it's a biggercommunity with a lot of more
businesses and I enjoy going upthere, you know, once a month to.
what I need to do.
But yeah, it's definitely a trekbetween Jackson Hole and Bozeman or
(16:51):
through the park right to Montana.
So
Mm-hmm.
it was a good
it is a trek and there's severalways to make it over there for sure.
more hairier than others.
that is true.
We've made it up by, um, s Quake Lake.
Where's
that
you been over by Quake Lake?
Nope.
Oh, you, it's, um, you can eitheraccess Quake Lake, if you're coming out
(17:14):
of West Yellowstone to Bozeman, you'dmake a left at a certain junction.
or if you go through Enis, before yougo straight to West Yellowstone, you
make a left and you follow the river.
I forget what river it is, and thenyou would end up making a right.
But back in the seven fifties,sixties, there was a earthquake
(17:36):
and it created this lake.
And several people, quite a few peopledied from between the earthquake
Oh, that's why they call it
quake like
lake.
Mm-hmm.
, it formed this dam of the riverand then the dam broke as well.
And yeah, it caused some damage.
my wife's father, I think, was inJackson at the time, and I think they
(17:58):
said he could say they could feel it.
Oh wow.
I might've seen it.
I've been in several snowstorms drivingthrough there recently, so covered up.
But, nonetheless, I, I, I enjoy, I enjoyit up there and I enjoy going back and
forth and working out pretty well, so.
And, and tell me about the editorialsthat you are producing in the Scout guide.
(18:24):
What, what could peopleexpect to see in there?
Yeah, well, it's great.
I mean, I think we're a lifestylepublication with the base of like
educating the community on this business.
So I do it through those.
four ways.
You know, we present it throughprint and then move it over, cross
(18:45):
pollinated over to social, andthen we write editorial pieces.
you know, like a wedding blog or a blogon, you know, a 43 architects or Coosa.
Just a, a lifestyle feature onthat business, but it's just a way.
present their business one moretime to an online audience.
(19:05):
and those blogs are great for them cuzthat's seo and that's a different way
for somebody to touch your business.
And digital is super big now.
I mean, a lot of peopleare moving away from print.
um, which I really don't believe in.
I still believe that it's a foundationfor marketing, digital is hot and,
people want that digital presence.
(19:29):
So the blogs serve that form of it.
And, I, I'm very loyal to who,whoever gave me advertising money
that year, I try to just stick withblogs on those people for that year.
and not really do a lot of,you know, outside of that.
I mean, I do have like a dining guideand I do, I am writing a wedding
blog and I do include some businessesthat are not in the guide, just, but
(19:53):
for the most part I'm driven for.
you know, for people that havegiven me advertising money to try
to move them up, the marketingladder and digital marketing's hot.
So it's a great way to serve them.
Digital marketing is hot.
We see that every dayin in, in the business.
(20:15):
businesses that I have for sure.
And it's wonderful that you arecommitted to the people that are
paying you for their advertising,paying you for advertising um that
you support them in that in that
I I've had people say to me like well youonly post on you post on the same people
all the time And I'm like well I youknow that's that's the idea They gave me
(20:35):
advertising money and yeah I do some I dosome lifestyle some Jackson Hole I try to
try to be in you know Interesting But youknow the value in with the Scout guide
is that I've got their back you know andI've I've really working hard for them and
there's a lot of different publicationsin town that just wanna put everybody and
(20:59):
mention everybody and whatnot but we justtry to we try to limit it I can't write
blogs on everybody in town you know andand it doesn't make sense So know I would
like to I like to present people in a verylifestyle way and Like you do like you're
you're picking things about me that noone would ever find out unless you had a
(21:21):
conversation or you read an article aboutthem in a different slant rather than okay
this is my business This is what I do andI want you to buy my business from me You
know Or I wanna buy a product So peoplelove they love the backstory you know
I like to know the backstory I enjoy ittoo I appreciate it because we're all
(21:43):
people I think at times as a businessperson you get identified as the business
versus as who you are as an individual
you've seen it over and over but it'sthe like know and trust factor and
people people buy people and sometimesthat's hard for me personally because
then I feel like they're not buyingme but I'm serving a product right And
(22:06):
I'm the the trust factor behind thatproduct And they people buy people you
know and they buy they wanna learn aboutwhat your product is through you And
it's important It's an important partof it You know having people trust you
and stick to what you say you're gonnado for them and you know be consistent
(22:28):
so true Hey Jill we're gonna take a quickbreak to get a word from our sponsor
and then I want to bring this back intowhat you're doing now to what marketing
was like when you were in New York
great
Jill welcome back we've learned a lotabout how you have deep family roots
here in the state of Wyoming and howyou bought a franchise called The Scout
(22:52):
Guide and you brought your marketingexperience from a previous place in your
life a previous career and applying itto Here in in Jackson and and also in
Bozeman and you were just saying peopleby people could you expand on that give a
little bit more detail of what that means
(23:14):
Well I I think it's just important toknow that you're not just trying to push
a product in in front of somebody Thatare the the trust factor behind that and
you've gotta prove that to people Youknow that you're In it for the for the
long haul you've got integrity or youknow there's there's substance behind you
(23:36):
as a person when they get to know you asa person they're more likely to buy your
product I'm not saying they do but everytime but they're more likely to see that
kind of consistency and I and I and Imodel that in my own business so that I
show the businesses that are in the scoutguide how to do that I feel like you know
(24:00):
I'm the not the mentor necessarily butI'm the of modeling it and then hey this
is what you need to do in your businessfor people to buy you You know I see
businesses show up and then they leave andAnd I see 'em do all crazy stuff around
here and I'm just like oh you know juststay the course you know hang in there
(24:22):
there's no overnight success
really isn't there There's really no easyway to it And some days are discouraging
I'm not really the a salesperson andsales is really a lot of what I do and
so I have to kind turn it so that sothat I'm I'm offering a service and
a product who I am and and what I cando for them rather than just buy an ad
(24:49):
in Magazine you know So for me it's alittle bit bigger than that and I take
it pretty seriously of like who I am Andyou know I think being older helps too
is that I I'm not I kind of see it froma comprehensive perspective you know it's
tough you know I mean advertising salesyou know it's uh there's trends in a lot
(25:11):
of things and right now people are likeanti print or and very prodigal And so
you have to kind of present the strengthsof both or all in one And you know it's
selling and I hate wearing the sales hattell you the truth I think when you when
Oh I know that
I mean I really it is it is not myfavorite hat to wear but I think when
(25:36):
when you're trying to serve them and servethem well you can you're selling your
service rather than you know like Heycan you buy an ad for me Type thing So
Mm-hmm Sure Now I'm this is all veryinteresting and fascinating but I I
enjoy tying together history to currentand what's relevant now Marketing
(26:01):
is different now than it used to bebut there's also some core tenets of
it that will always be the same I'mI'm curious to know from your your
perspective what's what are some saythree items that are different nowadays
but then what are some of those coretenants Maybe two or three of ' that
will always be the same for marketingand I you probably said one of 'em is
(26:25):
you're selling to people you gotta tella story the background So I'm I'm very
curious to to know from your professionalopinion you know that perspective
Well I think I did in in New York wasthis was back in the day where you worked
on an annual report like half the yearand and that catalog that went out to the
(26:47):
um investors was mean that was golden Itwas print and people looked at it they
read we didn't have the internet so theywere like this was compiling all the
information but it was still a visibleway to connect with the investors or the
buyers I guess you would say And to meit was print and that visible product is
(27:11):
still really key I it still connects to mefrom that era to this this era you know
there's more ways to do it now sellingthat message now with like social media
and everything but still it still hasa visible component to it know you're
still posting a photo you're postingthat visible connection to people And I
(27:34):
think that that's one thing that I see Imean even in 30 years is that photography
and the visible touching somebody thatway is is still key I mean telling the
story through photography to me is stilllike golden But yeah so I guess of the
other tenants would be just you knowstorytelling and then also editorial
(27:58):
and telling that story through a writtenpiece I'm I read something recently about
um that people are going back to readingblogs Like there was guess the last three
or four years where blogs weren't thatimportant but now everybody's seeing more
of the value and taking the time to readthose Like it's a mini a mini article
that you would find in the newspaper orwhatever But they're finding it online
(28:21):
people are hungry for substance it lookslike I thought it was very interesting
I wonder what changed that peopleare stopped reading 'em or pulled
away but now are pulling back
I think that mean I I'm just guessinghere but I think the availability of
'em and linking the ability to linkon like story or Instagram and link it
(28:44):
through Pinterest And so it gives youthis really quick opportunity to click
over there Beforehand I think you had tokind of search around to try to figure
out where the blog was and where itlived and and I the accessibility uh
has changed mean I know just now justlike when I link something in a story
to an article and just watch the hitson it got a lot more accessibility but
(29:09):
used to live over in WordPress or livesomewhere where you had to like dig
around to try to find that blog you know
Hmm
and I know the scout guide our platformshave changed a lot to accommodate that
So know we can incorporate a blog inour weekly email blast where couldn't
do that before I just feel like itit's more accessible to kind pop over
(29:31):
and read a a quick blurb on somebody
Fascinating how it all changes over
I know And it's changing every day andup with it is is fun and exciting and you
know trying to stay on top of it is greatAnd you know like with the whole advent
of video and everybody's like oh goshit's just video video video You know and
that that's hot and it is But it's noteverything either you people are still
(29:57):
hungry for I think content and maybe nota long article but editorial pieces So
going back to the annual report it'sinteresting that what you would work
on My dad was a stockbroker and mygrandfather always had invested After the
depression he invested and he paid hisdebts off He invested in stocks and so
(30:22):
as a kid I would as well and I remembergetting the annual report for Nike and
Oh my gosh
Mm-hmm
as a kid Yeah they were cool to lookat They were very engaging to mention
the financials that were in therebut just the way they were laid out
in the in the content the editorialsthat were in there explaining
(30:45):
what the company was doing It was
It was the main marketing piece forwell we were a real estate division
out of from Metropolitan Life InsuranceCompany And that real estate division
then had products or pin well they servedpension funds then they would group real
estate Properties into a fund and peoplewould invest in that fund And so we did
(31:12):
quarterly reports for those funds notlike we had a shopping center grouping
And you know I mean and it would literallyhalf of the year was just for the annual
report and By the time you did it all thedata was like old again then so you're
just working on this annual report allthe time But we also did like quarterly
reports for our investors that showedhow the you know shopping centers were
(31:36):
doing and how their money was beinginvested and stuff So a very basic
perspective you know it gave me a verygood Background in marketing and realizing
what people are I mean they really lovephotography and they wanna see vis visibly
and that still has not changed at all
(31:57):
You're very attuned to your world theworld of editorials marketing publications
What are your top three pictures that giveyou a feeling and what is that feeling
And it doesn't have to be it can be witha scout guide it can be with anything
So my top three photosthat that we've taken
(32:20):
pH photos Yeah
My I guess my very top one is so I'm alsoa stylist I have a styling company called
Styling The New West And so we did a shootup at Flat Creek Ranch We we used to have
an outfitting business before my husbanddid ranching it's and we were we owned
the Flat Creek I guess permit up there andwe would start at the Flat Creek Ranch I
(32:43):
don't know if you know much about the FlatCreek Ranch up there but probably to me is
hard to say the prettiest place in JacksonHole But uh we did a shoot up there and
you know the geese were flying off and flyfishing And I literally it is breathtaking
and not many people find their way upthere you know because it's very hard to
(33:07):
get to and it's this really pristine it'snot really a dude ranch I guess it's a
guest ranch but I You do dude I mean youdo ride horses and whatnot but fly fishing
But it's absolutely one of my favoritephotos ever And just because it evokes
that feeling of that real silence of beingout on the water and you with your fly
(33:30):
rod and you know just telling that storyof what that feels like you know in this
really beautiful serene place you know andcapturing that So that's probably one of
my favorite photos Linley Russ took it Andit just evokes that we've taken a lot of
really great photos over the years we didone with new thought digital and it had
(33:53):
the Sleeping Indian in the background andit was beautiful It was just a the guys
wanted to be on pull this velvet so itwas a velvet or leather sofa on the museum
and just had this very silhouette of thesleeping Indian in the back And it's nice
I mean I a lot of the other editors sayyou just have such a great backdrop Your
photos are so great And then the guidebecause I mean you're so lucky I I'm not
(34:18):
in Cincinnati you know Cincinnati's gota lot of great things in it but you can
always rely on the background here knowthe environment So I don't know Some
other shots that we've taken are probablymore just wedding photos that know evoke
that happiness of destination weddinghere and getting married and is such a
(34:39):
big part of our community probably be it
It's a special place to be marriedMy wife and I were married out
here We did it on the Forest
Oh you
out on uh yeah up in Black Canyon hergrandfather built a cabin there on
Forest Service in holding back in the
What
and her dad still has it It was like oneof those 99 year leases I mean it's no
(35:01):
electricity no running water and so We didour katuba signing at the cabin and then
married in just around the area over thereI mean somebody could have come darting
on a mountain bike through the wedding but
and that would've beenalright too right Because I
it would've been alright
kinda what everybody's expecting outhere is some some kind of wild card cuz
(35:22):
It is It's great That's a great story
it's one very special desk for sureWell Jill I so appreciate you taking
the time outta your day to talk aboutyour background and what you're doing
with the Scout guide and helping peopleshare their stories here in in Jackson
Well thanks for having me on and I thinkmaybe I need to be interviewing you next
(35:44):
time so we can dig in and find out alittle bit more about the wedding story So
my friend Jim Oje and when I interviewedhim he started asking me questions
So it was more flipping the mic
Yeah Well it probably isyour turn next time right
Yes it will be Well thank you Jill Youhave a great day and I wish you all all
the best with a successful season this
(36:06):
you.
We could use it the, we had alot of Cavs status this spring
with the winter, so we'll crossour But thanks for having me on.
You're welcome.
Take care, Joe.
To learn more about joking andher connections to Wyoming and
her business, the Scout Guide ofJackson Hole, visit the Jackson hole
connection.com, episode number 239.
(36:27):
Thank you everybody for listening today.
Get out and share this podcastwith your friends and families,
Instagram and Facebook.
If you know, if somebody would liketo be a guest, send us their name.
We'd love to have.
Take care everybody.
Look forward to seeing you backhere for the next episode of
the Jackson Hole Connection.
You are tuned into the Jackson hole,connection, sharing, fascinating stories
of people connected to Jackson Hole.
I am truly grateful for each ofyou for tuning in today and support
for this podcast comes from:
I begin today's episode with alittle quote from Mark Twain.
(00:20):
Censorship is telling aman he can't have a steak.
Just because a baby can't chew it.
And folks, welcome to episode number 239.
Today's guest is Jill King, a mastermarketer, a business owner, rancher, who
has some really long ties to Wyoming.
(00:42):
Jill moved to Wyoming to fill adream of being a singer, which led
to forming her own band, travelingthe region, and eventually cutting an
album in the heart of country music.
Now, Jill is the owner of a localfranchise in the publication industry,
while also with her husband runninga cattle ranch right here in Wyoming.
(01:06):
So hold on to your buckets.
That's the right thing to say andfind out more about Jill's history,
her family's history here in Wyoming,and what she's doing in the world of
business in helping businesses succeedand how relationships are so important.
Thank you for joining me here todayat the Jackson Hole Connection.
(01:26):
It's delightful to have some of yourtime and learn more about you and
what you're doing in the world everyday here in the Jackson Hole area.
it's great to be here and,looking forward to sharing I
offer to the community with you.
Super well, Jill, I start every episodewith people giving their background of
(01:48):
where they were born and raised and howthey landed here in the Jackson Hole area.
So, we're gonna start off rightthere and just keep it consistent.
After, you know, over 200 episodes,, why break a, a good streak on that
one
Yeah.
Well, I'll give you thekind of the short version.
I landed here from New York City.
I came out to be a singer.
(02:09):
was working in marketing, 51st and fifthand, uh, for a real estate company.
And I was singing.
at night and all the clubs,the open mics and everything.
And I was doing thatfor almost five years.
And I decided I just wanted trailblaze, hit the road, become a singer
full-time, hang up my marketing, hat.
(02:30):
And, my aunt was runningthe wort hotel out here.
So I called her and said, Hey,you know, can you, can I come sing
and, you know, can you help me out?
And so, I ended up singing Oliver Jackson.
I had started a cowgirl band.
I sang with the Bluegrass Band.
we had some regional, probably successopening for a lot of, regionally and then,
(02:54):
I went to Nashville and recorded a CD and,and went out on my own with my songwriting
real and then we moved to Austin andI, and I continued it down there.
So that's kind of how I got toJackson Hole was, via my guitar.
All And how do you wannashare how far back that was?
it, it was a while.
(03:15):
Okay,
I guess 30 years ago I came out here, so
cool.
been back and forth from Texas toWyoming for many years and, then moved
back here full-time about 12 years ago.
So
I'm glad you guys resettled herein the great state of Wyoming.
well, my husband has alove affair with Wyoming.
(03:35):
We have a ranch.
It's about four hours away from here.
And, uh, he raises cattle and,he just absolutely loves Wyoming.
I do too, but not the same way.
he loves prairie and love
So tell me about the singing andyou said you started a cowgirl band.
What was the name of the band?
(03:57):
was called the Cow Patsies and,Christine Langdon, who is the
singer out of the stage coach.
she played bass, ShellyRubrik, she played fiddle.
I played lead in's, uh, rhythmguitar, and we sang harmonies.
And yeah, we, uh, we had awhole bunch of fun with that.
And, it was, it was great.
Yeah.
(04:17):
And the CD that you cut, can peoplefind that out on the worldwide
web and find some your songs?
Not quite yet, but, uh, for mybirthday this month, my girls
are putting it all on Spotify.
So, stay tuned.
Excellent.
so you have some kids.
Three girls, Tennessee,Carolina, and Georgia.
who.
(04:37):
you know, are, are just great.
My old oldest daughter,Tennessee just had a baby.
Carolina we call Mimi.
She lives in la.
She's, uh, an art guru and thenwe have one in Boulder, the baby.
So
out.
Spread out the, around the area
keeping us on our toes for sure.
Awesome.
And I'd love to learn a littlebit more about this ranch.
(05:01):
Are you open to sharing, where is it andwhat's the name and how I, I hear your
husband's passion, but it, it takes Big,bold belief to start raising cattle.
That's not an easy undertaking.
It, is, and, and Wyoming is now easy.
A place to, cattle either.
I mean, the ranch is outside of Lander.
(05:24):
It's actually called Jeffrey City, whichis right near Muddy Gap, and next to
a historic site called The Split Rock.
So, it's got a lot of historyout there, but it's, you
know, it's, it's cattle land.
It's not, you know, it's not Yellowstone,it's not it's not, doesn't look like
the Yellowstone at any rate, yeah, we,uh, leased the Slit Rock Ranch next
(05:48):
to us and we have about 1600 acres.
I'm probably not saying that right.
But anyway, we have a lot of landout there, and, he raises and
cares for other people's cattle.
So I think this, this year he saidhe's probably up to about 3000 head.
So he's got a pretty big operation outthere and really loves what he does.
(06:13):
But, it's, it's great.
It's a great, To balance for whatI do in Jackson Hole and be able to
go out there and ride you know, kindof support him and his endeavor and,
his love for ranching and ranchingkind of the old fashioned way.
So neat.
Yeah
I've heard some of the history of Jeffers.
(06:34):
It's Jeffery City.
Jeffries City
Yeah, I, I know I've heard someof the history before, but, I
don't know it enough to repeatit, but it was pretty fascinating
kind of is.
And, and it was a boom town.
and, and then it, I mean,literally there's like 10
people that live there now.
I mean, it was, it was a boomingmining town many years ago.
(06:56):
And, mean, now you justreally drive right through it.
And, of course the Split Rockis kind of a historic site.
That's kind of one of the landmarkson the Oregon Trail and, you know,
the ruts and everything out there.
It's, it's, it's neat that way becauseit's, it's definitely the route
where people were, you know, comingfrom Casper and the Oregon Trail.
(07:19):
So, you know, you canstill see pieces and parts.
of the trail and and it's neat, so,
I, I know there was a bunch of years agoI did a road trip with my first dog that
I had Flash, and that was one of thespots that we stopped was Split Rock.
And it is, it's justfascinating to think about.
(07:42):
You look at that terrain, it'slike, my gosh, people did
to make it out west is just
remarkable
is.
And then, and that's why they wentright through Wyoming, up to Montana,
, because in Montana, uh, Wyoming wasthe last state to homestead, you know.
and grandfather actually homesteadedhere, over near Doll Center still, city
(08:04):
or center, I believe, over near Douglas.
And, it was in the thirties and they hada saw house and you know, all the, all the
three things that you were supposed to do.
You've got, I think 40 acres ofland and you had to improve it, put
water on it and put a home on it.
And he's like living, he waslike living history for Wyoming.
(08:26):
of course, I mean it's, it's justreally hard to make a go of it in
Wyoming at, you know, the depressionhit they just make a go of it.
Wyoming is just not an easy placeto, Ranch or farm or whatever.
It's got a lot goingagainst it weather-wise.
I, I'm very curious to know wheredid your grandfather end up going?
(08:49):
Was he married at that time when he wasout here, and then where did he end up
going after he couldn't make a go of
it
Um, so my grandmother was a teacherand my grandfather a cowboy, he, they
were both from Scandinavia, Danish,and Swedish where their families had ho
had come over from, Sweden and Denmark.
(09:09):
And they ended up going back toNebraska where, all their family
was from because, they gave it a go.
They gave it a good go, but, it just, justkind of fell apart with the depression.
But yeah, they went back to Nebraska and,you know, had a small farm and everything.
They ended up in Loveville,Wyoming afterwards, and they
owned the best Western over there.
(09:30):
So, he had a myriad of things going on,but, I am very proud of that heritage.
My mom didn't, my mom grew up in Wyomingtill about like 18, then she went away to
nursing school and then joined the Navy.
So we were the city cousins that kindalived a different life and it was always
intriguing to us to come out here forthe summer and see Wyoming and, you
(09:54):
know, ride horses and do all that.
you know, I didn't, I wasn't raised outhere, but I had a love for Wyoming too,
in a different way than my husband.
Well, you have some deep roots here.
I do, and, and it's superneat when I look back on it.
And we have a lot of, I have a lotof cousins across the state and, when
you see the pictures of the sod houseand, all that, I mean, it's super
(10:14):
impressive that they even tried it.
So,
A lot of respect forthose folks who lived in.
I mean, we complain aboutliving in a small space.
I mean, in, in today's society,much less a sod house, which was
probably no bigger than 10 by 12.
I don't remember the size ofit, but it wasn't big for sure.
no, no.
(10:35):
And so your mom was in the Navy.
Was she, did she serve in, in, in a war?
Um, she did not, she was a Navy nurse.
And she met my dad.
he was a Navy officer andyeah, they had a Navy career.
And I'm a Navy kid, so we,that's why we didn't, we lived
everywhere but kind of Wyoming
(10:56):
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
There's not a Navy branch
here,
that, yeah, let's put the Navy in Wyoming.
We do have
the Air
that's true.
Got that?
and you.
Let's go back to you being in NewYork City and you were working for
a marketing firm in New York andyou decide, I'm going to Wyoming.
(11:18):
You had roots in Wyoming, but you'relike, I'm going to Jackson, and what
was Change for you, what did it feellike to go from the pace of New York
City to the pace of Jackson Hole,Wyoming, you said about 30 years ago?
So I've been here for 25 years now,so you're only five years ahead of me.
(11:38):
But it was slow then.
I, and so I'm really fascinated toknow, how did you adjust to that?
well, I had a wonder lust sure, and I hada real strong desire that I wanted to,
to see if I could really become a singer.
And so, I guess that wasdriving it and, and actually
(11:58):
I had all my stuff in storage.
I had every intention giving it a go outhere and then going back to New York.
But, uh, of one thing led to anotherand I realized that I was ready to
leave the city and, I knew I wouldn'tlike get married and live there.
I was not.
I knew that wasn't gonnabe the life that I wanted.
so I was kind of ready.
(12:18):
and I mean, it, it is like getting aPhD in life and I loved every minute
of being there and took advantageof a lot of stuff, but, I just knew
that it was, it run its course.
And I was in the whole folk worldof like Suzanne Vega and Sean
Colvin and just a lot of the reallycool folkies stuff like that.
(12:41):
And it was very inspiring, know,that I wanted to kind of break out
and write music and sing and, was aperfect backdrop because I knew people
out here and I, I don't even reallyknow how it all happened, exactly.
But, when I got out here, I realized thatyeah, the pace was a little slow, but,
and I was probably the only girl in townthat had makeup on, The, the, the ratio
(13:06):
of cowboys to, to girls was pretty cool.
It was like eight to onethat was interesting too.
So, had a lot of appealits own small town way.
And of course Jackson Hole,who doesn't love it, right?
So,
for sure.
Who, who doesn't love it?
And you still, you.
There's not many cowgirl bands.
(13:28):
That I've heard of and I give youbig kudos starting your own band and
putting yourself out there, then noless going to Nashville to cut a record
and, you know, make a, a true go of it.
That's, that's awesome.
Yeah.
I.
I gave a pretty good shot at it, butI knew when we had a, started having a
family and we moved to Austin when I, Iwas, I'd had Tennessee and it was still
(13:51):
plugging along trying to, you know, Imade, I cut tape or CD there as well.
And um, it just lost it kind of, once westarted having a family, I wanted to be
a mom and kind of lost, I didn't wannabe out at night and you have to do that
It just transitioned into me being a mom.
So it was, it was wonderfulwhen it happened, but
(14:13):
Mm-hmm.
. it tickles me that you said cut a tape,
I mean, I, everyone still calls it cuttingan album, but like, I'm pretty sure I
think I did have a CD off that one too.
Yeah, I did.
But, it was definitely that eraof tapes, where you hand P, you
know, you put one song on a tapeand you go pitch it with this tape.
(14:33):
And mean, yeah, definitelyThat was a long time ago,
and so, Other than running a ranch,you now have adult children and
living, you're in Jackson some of thetime you go to the ranch sometimes.
What occupies your time now?
So, yeah, I, I bought the franchise, theScout guy, Jackson Hole from Megan Murk.
(14:57):
She, she started it here.
it's a national publication.
and you buy the franchise for the town.
And then I bought it from her.
I was kind of looking for somethingto do as kind of an empty nester
using my marketing background.
and it appealed to me because it,you wear a lot of different hats.
you know, you have events.
You, you sell ads, do the photo shoots,you do the photo styling for the shoots.
(15:23):
write editorial pieces.
do social media.
And so it had a lot of appeal.
just in the wide range of thingsand just serving the community, like
with advertising and supporting,you know, growing their businesses.
And then, I started the ScoutGuide Bozeman here a year ago.
So I'm, I'm doing both cities now.
I'm doing both, uh, publications.
(15:45):
So,
And what's the similaritiesbetween Bozeman and Jackson?
Yeah.
I was seeing, I was seeing a lot ofbusinesses do business in both towns.
I mean, just, there's a lot.
Cowboy coffee, pinkycheese, W R J, Bella Cosa.
you know, Stio is in the, youknow, they're the, the lists.
(16:05):
And I just saw how joined our communitiesare and a lot of people traveling
will start in Jackson, go through thepark, end up in Bozeman or vice versa.
And I was just seeing a trendthat it would be a really great
sister market for me to own.
that it had a lot of crossover businessesand a lot of crossover tourist traffic.
And they're both mountaintowns very similar.
(16:28):
Not in size, but similarin businesses and whatnot.
And I felt like I kind of hada good handle on Jackson, so I
was ready to start in Bozeman.
It was exciting cuz it's a biggercommunity with a lot of more
businesses and I enjoy going upthere, you know, once a month to.
what I need to do.
But yeah, it's definitely a trekbetween Jackson Hole and Bozeman or
(16:51):
through the park right to Montana.
So
Mm-hmm.
it was a good
it is a trek and there's severalways to make it over there for sure.
more hairier than others.
that is true.
We've made it up by, um, s Quake Lake.
Where's
that
you been over by Quake Lake?
Nope.
Oh, you, it's, um, you can eitheraccess Quake Lake, if you're coming out
(17:14):
of West Yellowstone to Bozeman, you'dmake a left at a certain junction.
or if you go through Enis, before yougo straight to West Yellowstone, you
make a left and you follow the river.
I forget what river it is, and thenyou would end up making a right.
But back in the seven fifties,sixties, there was a earthquake
(17:36):
and it created this lake.
And several people, quite a few peopledied from between the earthquake
Oh, that's why they call it
quake like
lake.
Mm-hmm.
, it formed this dam of the riverand then the dam broke as well.
And yeah, it caused some damage.
my wife's father, I think, was inJackson at the time, and I think they
(17:58):
said he could say they could feel it.
Oh wow.
I might've seen it.
I've been in several snowstorms drivingthrough there recently, so covered up.
But, nonetheless, I, I, I enjoy, I enjoyit up there and I enjoy going back and
forth and working out pretty well, so.
And, and tell me about the editorialsthat you are producing in the Scout guide.
(18:24):
What, what could peopleexpect to see in there?
Yeah, well, it's great.
I mean, I think we're a lifestylepublication with the base of like
educating the community on this business.
So I do it through those.
four ways.
You know, we present it throughprint and then move it over, cross
(18:45):
pollinated over to social, andthen we write editorial pieces.
you know, like a wedding blog or a blogon, you know, a 43 architects or Coosa.
Just a, a lifestyle feature onthat business, but it's just a way.
present their business one moretime to an online audience.
(19:05):
and those blogs are great for them cuzthat's seo and that's a different way
for somebody to touch your business.
And digital is super big now.
I mean, a lot of peopleare moving away from print.
um, which I really don't believe in.
I still believe that it's a foundationfor marketing, digital is hot and,
people want that digital presence.
(19:29):
So the blogs serve that form of it.
And, I, I'm very loyal to who,whoever gave me advertising money
that year, I try to just stick withblogs on those people for that year.
and not really do a lot of,you know, outside of that.
I mean, I do have like a dining guideand I do, I am writing a wedding
blog and I do include some businessesthat are not in the guide, just, but
(19:53):
for the most part I'm driven for.
you know, for people that havegiven me advertising money to try
to move them up, the marketingladder and digital marketing's hot.
So it's a great way to serve them.
Digital marketing is hot.
We see that every dayin in, in the business.
(20:15):
businesses that I have for sure.
And it's wonderful that you arecommitted to the people that are
paying you for their advertising,paying you for advertising um that
you support them in that in that
I I've had people say to me like well youonly post on you post on the same people
all the time And I'm like well I youknow that's that's the idea They gave me
(20:35):
advertising money and yeah I do some I dosome lifestyle some Jackson Hole I try to
try to be in you know Interesting But youknow the value in with the Scout guide
is that I've got their back you know andI've I've really working hard for them and
there's a lot of different publicationsin town that just wanna put everybody and
(20:59):
mention everybody and whatnot but we justtry to we try to limit it I can't write
blogs on everybody in town you know andand it doesn't make sense So know I would
like to I like to present people in a verylifestyle way and Like you do like you're
you're picking things about me that noone would ever find out unless you had a
(21:21):
conversation or you read an article aboutthem in a different slant rather than okay
this is my business This is what I do andI want you to buy my business from me You
know Or I wanna buy a product So peoplelove they love the backstory you know
I like to know the backstory I enjoy ittoo I appreciate it because we're all
(21:43):
people I think at times as a businessperson you get identified as the business
versus as who you are as an individual
you've seen it over and over but it'sthe like know and trust factor and
people people buy people and sometimesthat's hard for me personally because
then I feel like they're not buyingme but I'm serving a product right And
(22:06):
I'm the the trust factor behind thatproduct And they people buy people you
know and they buy they wanna learn aboutwhat your product is through you And
it's important It's an important partof it You know having people trust you
and stick to what you say you're gonnado for them and you know be consistent
(22:28):
so true Hey Jill we're gonna take a quickbreak to get a word from our sponsor
and then I want to bring this back intowhat you're doing now to what marketing
was like when you were in New York
great
Jill welcome back we've learned a lotabout how you have deep family roots
here in the state of Wyoming and howyou bought a franchise called The Scout
(22:52):
Guide and you brought your marketingexperience from a previous place in your
life a previous career and applying itto Here in in Jackson and and also in
Bozeman and you were just saying peopleby people could you expand on that give a
little bit more detail of what that means
(23:14):
Well I I think it's just important toknow that you're not just trying to push
a product in in front of somebody Thatare the the trust factor behind that and
you've gotta prove that to people Youknow that you're In it for the for the
long haul you've got integrity or youknow there's there's substance behind you
(23:36):
as a person when they get to know you asa person they're more likely to buy your
product I'm not saying they do but everytime but they're more likely to see that
kind of consistency and I and I and Imodel that in my own business so that I
show the businesses that are in the scoutguide how to do that I feel like you know
(24:00):
I'm the not the mentor necessarily butI'm the of modeling it and then hey this
is what you need to do in your businessfor people to buy you You know I see
businesses show up and then they leave andAnd I see 'em do all crazy stuff around
here and I'm just like oh you know juststay the course you know hang in there
(24:22):
there's no overnight success
really isn't there There's really no easyway to it And some days are discouraging
I'm not really the a salesperson andsales is really a lot of what I do and
so I have to kind turn it so that sothat I'm I'm offering a service and
a product who I am and and what I cando for them rather than just buy an ad
(24:49):
in Magazine you know So for me it's alittle bit bigger than that and I take
it pretty seriously of like who I am Andyou know I think being older helps too
is that I I'm not I kind of see it froma comprehensive perspective you know it's
tough you know I mean advertising salesyou know it's uh there's trends in a lot
(25:11):
of things and right now people are likeanti print or and very prodigal And so
you have to kind of present the strengthsof both or all in one And you know it's
selling and I hate wearing the sales hattell you the truth I think when you when
Oh I know that
I mean I really it is it is not myfavorite hat to wear but I think when
(25:36):
when you're trying to serve them and servethem well you can you're selling your
service rather than you know like Heycan you buy an ad for me Type thing So
Mm-hmm Sure Now I'm this is all veryinteresting and fascinating but I I
enjoy tying together history to currentand what's relevant now Marketing
(26:01):
is different now than it used to bebut there's also some core tenets of
it that will always be the same I'mI'm curious to know from your your
perspective what's what are some saythree items that are different nowadays
but then what are some of those coretenants Maybe two or three of ' that
will always be the same for marketingand I you probably said one of 'em is
(26:25):
you're selling to people you gotta tella story the background So I'm I'm very
curious to to know from your professionalopinion you know that perspective
Well I think I did in in New York wasthis was back in the day where you worked
on an annual report like half the yearand and that catalog that went out to the
(26:47):
um investors was mean that was golden Itwas print and people looked at it they
read we didn't have the internet so theywere like this was compiling all the
information but it was still a visibleway to connect with the investors or the
buyers I guess you would say And to meit was print and that visible product is
(27:11):
still really key I it still connects to mefrom that era to this this era you know
there's more ways to do it now sellingthat message now with like social media
and everything but still it still hasa visible component to it know you're
still posting a photo you're postingthat visible connection to people And I
(27:34):
think that that's one thing that I see Imean even in 30 years is that photography
and the visible touching somebody thatway is is still key I mean telling the
story through photography to me is stilllike golden But yeah so I guess of the
other tenants would be just you knowstorytelling and then also editorial
(27:58):
and telling that story through a writtenpiece I'm I read something recently about
um that people are going back to readingblogs Like there was guess the last three
or four years where blogs weren't thatimportant but now everybody's seeing more
of the value and taking the time to readthose Like it's a mini a mini article
that you would find in the newspaper orwhatever But they're finding it online
(28:21):
people are hungry for substance it lookslike I thought it was very interesting
I wonder what changed that peopleare stopped reading 'em or pulled
away but now are pulling back
I think that mean I I'm just guessinghere but I think the availability of
'em and linking the ability to linkon like story or Instagram and link it
(28:44):
through Pinterest And so it gives youthis really quick opportunity to click
over there Beforehand I think you had tokind of search around to try to figure
out where the blog was and where itlived and and I the accessibility uh
has changed mean I know just now justlike when I link something in a story
to an article and just watch the hitson it got a lot more accessibility but
(29:09):
used to live over in WordPress or livesomewhere where you had to like dig
around to try to find that blog you know
Hmm
and I know the scout guide our platformshave changed a lot to accommodate that
So know we can incorporate a blog inour weekly email blast where couldn't
do that before I just feel like itit's more accessible to kind pop over
(29:31):
and read a a quick blurb on somebody
Fascinating how it all changes over
I know And it's changing every day andup with it is is fun and exciting and you
know trying to stay on top of it is greatAnd you know like with the whole advent
of video and everybody's like oh goshit's just video video video You know and
that that's hot and it is But it's noteverything either you people are still
(29:57):
hungry for I think content and maybe nota long article but editorial pieces So
going back to the annual report it'sinteresting that what you would work
on My dad was a stockbroker and mygrandfather always had invested After the
depression he invested and he paid hisdebts off He invested in stocks and so
(30:22):
as a kid I would as well and I remembergetting the annual report for Nike and
Oh my gosh
Mm-hmm
as a kid Yeah they were cool to lookat They were very engaging to mention
the financials that were in therebut just the way they were laid out
in the in the content the editorialsthat were in there explaining
(30:45):
what the company was doing It was
It was the main marketing piece forwell we were a real estate division
out of from Metropolitan Life InsuranceCompany And that real estate division
then had products or pin well they servedpension funds then they would group real
estate Properties into a fund and peoplewould invest in that fund And so we did
(31:12):
quarterly reports for those funds notlike we had a shopping center grouping
And you know I mean and it would literallyhalf of the year was just for the annual
report and By the time you did it all thedata was like old again then so you're
just working on this annual report allthe time But we also did like quarterly
reports for our investors that showedhow the you know shopping centers were
(31:36):
doing and how their money was beinginvested and stuff So a very basic
perspective you know it gave me a verygood Background in marketing and realizing
what people are I mean they really lovephotography and they wanna see vis visibly
and that still has not changed at all
(31:57):
You're very attuned to your world theworld of editorials marketing publications
What are your top three pictures that giveyou a feeling and what is that feeling
And it doesn't have to be it can be witha scout guide it can be with anything
So my top three photosthat that we've taken
(32:20):
pH photos Yeah
My I guess my very top one is so I'm alsoa stylist I have a styling company called
Styling The New West And so we did a shootup at Flat Creek Ranch We we used to have
an outfitting business before my husbanddid ranching it's and we were we owned
the Flat Creek I guess permit up there andwe would start at the Flat Creek Ranch I
(32:43):
don't know if you know much about the FlatCreek Ranch up there but probably to me is
hard to say the prettiest place in JacksonHole But uh we did a shoot up there and
you know the geese were flying off and flyfishing And I literally it is breathtaking
and not many people find their way upthere you know because it's very hard to
(33:07):
get to and it's this really pristine it'snot really a dude ranch I guess it's a
guest ranch but I You do dude I mean youdo ride horses and whatnot but fly fishing
But it's absolutely one of my favoritephotos ever And just because it evokes
that feeling of that real silence of beingout on the water and you with your fly
(33:30):
rod and you know just telling that storyof what that feels like you know in this
really beautiful serene place you know andcapturing that So that's probably one of
my favorite photos Linley Russ took it Andit just evokes that we've taken a lot of
really great photos over the years we didone with new thought digital and it had
(33:53):
the Sleeping Indian in the background andit was beautiful It was just a the guys
wanted to be on pull this velvet so itwas a velvet or leather sofa on the museum
and just had this very silhouette of thesleeping Indian in the back And it's nice
I mean I a lot of the other editors sayyou just have such a great backdrop Your
photos are so great And then the guidebecause I mean you're so lucky I I'm not
(34:18):
in Cincinnati you know Cincinnati's gota lot of great things in it but you can
always rely on the background here knowthe environment So I don't know Some
other shots that we've taken are probablymore just wedding photos that know evoke
that happiness of destination weddinghere and getting married and is such a
(34:39):
big part of our community probably be it
It's a special place to be marriedMy wife and I were married out
here We did it on the Forest
Oh you
out on uh yeah up in Black Canyon hergrandfather built a cabin there on
Forest Service in holding back in the
What
and her dad still has it It was like oneof those 99 year leases I mean it's no
(35:01):
electricity no running water and so We didour katuba signing at the cabin and then
married in just around the area over thereI mean somebody could have come darting
on a mountain bike through the wedding but
and that would've beenalright too right Because I
it would've been alright
kinda what everybody's expecting outhere is some some kind of wild card cuz
(35:22):
It is It's great That's a great story
it's one very special desk for sureWell Jill I so appreciate you taking
the time outta your day to talk aboutyour background and what you're doing
with the Scout guide and helping peopleshare their stories here in in Jackson
Well thanks for having me on and I thinkmaybe I need to be interviewing you next
(35:44):
time so we can dig in and find out alittle bit more about the wedding story So
my friend Jim Oje and when I interviewedhim he started asking me questions
So it was more flipping the mic
Yeah Well it probably isyour turn next time right
Yes it will be Well thank you Jill Youhave a great day and I wish you all all
the best with a successful season this
(36:06):
you.
We could use it the, we had alot of Cavs status this spring
with the winter, so we'll crossour But thanks for having me on.
You're welcome.
Take care, Joe.
To learn more about joking andher connections to Wyoming and
her business, the Scout Guide ofJackson Hole, visit the Jackson hole
connection.com, episode number 239.
(36:27):
Thank you everybody for listening today.
Get out and share this podcastwith your friends and families,
Instagram and Facebook.
If you know, if somebody would liketo be a guest, send us their name.
We'd love to have.
Take care everybody.
Look forward to seeing you backhere for the next episode of
the Jackson Hole Connection.
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