Today we’d like to introduce you to Desiree E. Jordan.
Hi Desiree E., we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story began when I was given a second chance to re-enter a 4-year university after I left school back to my hometown (San Diego, CA) for a relationship I am no longer in and a man I am no longer in love with. Do I have love for him, yes! I wish him the best because during that season of my life, I had to make a decision that was best for me. This is something I grew up learning – but when it came to finding true love, I had a deep feeling that I would be embarking on a wild and adventurous journey. Discovering a love, passion, and hunger for becoming financially free was a significant turning point in my life. Being raised in a single-parent household had its perks and obstacles, but ultimately as a team, we struggled. We also found ways to make it work. In 2009, my mother and I started a scholarship fund called Portrait of a Scholar that helped me gain over nine scholarships to the college of my dreams – Cal State Northridge!
That’s why I had to take a chance at getting back in and I did! After changing majors a few times, I decided that marketing was what I wanted to study. The idea of helping businesses reach their most valuable customers by identifying and cultivating unique audiences gave me a thrill. During my junior year at Cal State Northridge, I joined a club called the American Marketing Association and became the Director of Careers and Placement. My key focus within this role was to assist with hosting “lunch and learns” with highly sought out agencies and companies, to develop a newsletter that would reach a whole network of individuals even outside my university with a goal of placing my colleagues into their desired employment positions before they graduated.
A year into this role, I found myself in the process of finding a job before the clock ran out. I was graduating! One of the most exciting and memorable times of my life. My mother – at the tender age of 60-something was able to attend my graduation and it left me with tears of joy! At the same time, I had received an offer letter from a digital media agency in Beverly Hills. I had never seen $35,000 with a sign-on bonus in my lifetime! It might not seem like a lot now, but coming from someone who experienced what living paycheck to paycheck was like, it was a come up!
I took it without question and started a month after graduation. Within this agency, I came to become familiar with many roles which would in the future help me become the CEO I am today. I worked as an Ad Sales Coordinator, which I believed to be the heart of the agency because we were responsible for persuading major companies to work with our list of clients in a world where influencer marketing had just begun. Many companies were new to influencer marketing and hesitant to spend such a large amount on it but they also knew that they had to get ahead of how the digital media industry was changing! At the time, we represented clients like Lea Michele, Ashley Tisdale, Shawn Johnson and Bethenny Frankel – all powerhouses of female talent made it easy for our team to market.
After generating over $200,000 for our clients from working at a digital media agency as an Ad Sales Coordinator on sponsored digital campaigns and activations, I transitioned into the role of an Editorial Coordinator, where I assisted with the creation and syndication of blog content for our client’s digital brands. This was a fun role! This is also when I began to realize that there were lots of people who I felt needed these digital media services within the community that I identified with the most, and that was the Black and Brown communities. There were times when I felt like there was a lack of diversity and representation when it came to these communities within our company. I am saying this not to discredit their efforts in trying to capture these audiences, but I knew it was going to take a lot more people who looked like me working there to be in positions of influence with creative control. One day, I met with the CEO, Luigi Picarazzi and told him that I would have my own digital media agency. He asked me kindly, “Are you sure you want to, though Desiree?” and that led me on a five-year journey to discover that I had what it took to have my own successful business.
That process began with developing my personal skills. My first stop along this new path on my voyage was moving back home to San Diego from Los Angeles to take care of my mother who was fighting Stage 3 Breast Cancer in 2018. Out of all my 32 years of living, there was always a what if, but I was never prepared to lose her. During the three years prior to the launch of Designed 2 Honor in 2021, I was being prepared for my leadership role as a CEO of my own dreams – my first company and living a life without the one person who lifted me up in my time of need through the pressing. In my faith as a Christian woman, the pressing of a grape over time would result in a new wine. Wine is often described metaphorically as a new understanding or way of perceiving things when you consume it, an enlightening from another person. This is something that could be enjoyed by the simple and the complex. I had major mental health battles during these times, had been hospitalized a few times, and my mother would always encourage me to keep going no matter what. Her constant positive reinforcement did something to me. When she passed in 2020, I was determined to launch this business – in honor of the voyage she took in life as a single parent, striving to provide for herself and finally being able to do what she was passionate about, which was to create educational tools for children and their parents through storytelling and songwriting.
Prior to the launch of my business in 2021, Designed 2 Honor – which is now on its way to become the #1 digital media agency in San Diego on Fiverr, I had to develop some professional skills as well. My confidence needed to deepen its roots inside me before I walked into Live Nation Entertainment in 2017 with a plan to do things as an Email Marketing Coordinator that had been never done in their summer season. My star power had to be unlocked and unleashed as a co-host and digital producer of It’s The Session, a women’s empowerment podcast that made it to a Top 10 station on the Dash Radio network in 2017. Great communication and strategic planning skills were needed when my business went viral in 2021 on Fiverr and had an influx of business pouring in and had no room to accept them all. Resilience was needed when the slow months came and I only had a little bit of capital to work with and survive on. My life’s voyage taught me how to develop patience and persistence with myself when things didn’t go as planned and when they went off without a hitch and I am grateful for every step along the way.
For the past two years, I have been working with a major client as a Resident Services Coordinator for Garden Communities, one of the largest property management companies in the southwest region (San Diego, Los Angeles, and Arizona) and I love it! Some of the events that I have been able to bring to fruition by creating and cultivating experiences with our diverse communities are small to large-scale events such as the Foodie Feast, a weekly culinary experience at Casa Mira View in Mira Mesa, a monthly Food Truck Festival in La Jolla called the GC Food Truck Fest and The Breakfast Club with Better Buzz Roasting Company. All of the experiences that I have had to say yes to an opportunity to grow and challenge myself and the status quo is why I believe that my voyage is one to be shared. Though fear of success or failure may be present, and you might feel it, I encourage my clients and those who are a part of my group of influence to do what you were called to do anyway. You are not in total control of the outcome, but you can influence the process and make it a great one. I also want to give a special thank you to all of the people who saw something in me before I was able to fully see what I had in myself and for the chance to create amazing memories for many people. Experiences Designed 2 Honor, my journey, my voyage.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No, it hasn’t by any means. I fought to get to a position where I feel free. Free to create and free from financial bondage. Some of the struggles were my mother passing in 2021, experiencing temporary homelessness, hospitalization, and living paycheck to paycheck to make things happen. Designed2Honor became my creative outlet. A place where I could truly flourish and create the things I once dreamed of. I chose to prevail because I knew that there was an enormous blessing on the other side of the struggle.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My work is very special to me because it came from a place of isolation and testing of my character. Those challenges included managing client expectations, deadlines, and working towards my dreams of having my own digital media agency despite those who did not believe in me. I specialized in digital brand strategy, social media management, and influencer marketing and used my networking skills from college and my marketing experience from life living in Los Angeles. I am known for my persistent work ethic and ability to think outside the box. I am most proud of myself for not giving up on myself from the aftermath of early rejection and abandonment.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I see a few things happening over the next 5-10 years in digital marketing. Those things include:
1. Small businesses leveraging influencers more in efforts to tap into their hyper-focused audiences. I see authenticity being an important factor in the process of selecting influencers because people want a real experience, one in that the influencer is transparent and trustworthy.
2. The use of chatbots will expand as AI becomes smarter and more effective. AI is in its early stages and with machine learning, we can build these bots out as robust as we can and then delegate tasks to it.
3. Niche content will niche down more due to companies like Meta who are working tirelessly to serve you the content experience that you are looking for. Instagram testing out its Topics feature has helped boost my views organically.
Pricing:
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UGC Content – $75-150
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Social Media Content Editing – $300-1,200
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Social Media Content Creation & Management – $575-995
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Website Development – $395-695
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Social Media Influencer Kits – $55-105
Contact Info:
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Website: www.designed2honor.com
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Instagram: www.instagram.com/
iammelodicdee
Image Credits
Julie Anne Grissett (@julieclopino)
