Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Jones.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, how did you get started?
My father was an entrepreneur and owned a small business for 45 years before retiring, so I always knew that owning a business was in my future. I attended a small liberal arts college for Interior Design in Rock Hill, SC (about 30 minutes south of Charlotte). However, when my program experienced some accreditation concerns, I changed my major to business with a concentration in Entrepreneurship. This was in 2002, well before the wave of entrepreneur-obsessed culture came into play.
I knew I still wanted to be in the architecture field, so before graduating, I applied for graduate programs in architecture and urban design to one day own my own design firm. I chose to attend Clemson University and graduated two years later with a master’s degree in City and Regional Planning. I had high hopes to start a career with a consulting firm. Unfortunately, I graduated in May of 2006, right at the start of the recession, so the only jobs available were in the public sector. Fortunately, I was offered a position in Charleston and began working for the government in the planning and urban design field for local government for almost 10 years.
While working as an urban planner for the City of Charlotte in 2009, I decided to start a fashion and lifestyle blog as a hobby to share my love for clothes and other creative endeavors that I didn’t get to express at my day job. During that time, I discovered my love of web design and was introduced to WordPress or rediscovered. I had dabbled in some coding in high school and college and even built my sorority’s first website as part of a business class project in undergrad.
Over time, I connected with other bloggers, friends, and family who wanted help with their blogs and websites and quickly built a freelance business. In 2014, my mother-in-law was diagnosed with aggressive lung cancer, and at the same time, my job had become pretty high-stress and unbearable. After a terrible day in October of that year, I decided life was too short and came home to tell my husband I would finally quit and start my business. He was very supportive, and we worked together to develop a plan that allowed me to stay at my job through the end of the year and kick off 2015 with my new business. I turned in my notice on my birthday (the best gift), and in January 2015, I started my web design business, MJ Creative. Unfortunately, that same week, we also lost my mother-in-law to cancer, so it was a rollercoaster of emotions. I’m celebrating 9 years of business this month (January) and have been very fortunate to have a great network of referrals and word of mouth that have allowed us to grow and stay successful all these years later.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
With business, I joke that it’s like juggling, and at any point, you’re constantly dropping a ball or two on the ground. The highs almost always outweigh the lows, and there are always lessons to learn, even in the struggles. I was fortunate to have a business education. Without that, the road would have been far more bumpy as I felt confident about accounting and finance, management, etc., whereas that may not be the case for most stepping into business ownership.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We specialize in custom website development for high-growth businesses. Our websites are strategically designed and built to help businesses grow and scale to the next level while being flexible to allow the website to evolve as the business evolves. Most of our clients get at least 3-5+ years of longevity out of their website because we work alongside the business throughout the journey to ensure it still meets their needs and goals. I’m most proud of the way I run my business. I strive to be very transparent with my clients and communicate regularly, which they greatly appreciate. Even if I make a mistake or can’t meet a deadline, I own up to my shortfalls, which helps avoid conflict. We have clients who have been with us since almost the beginning, and I’m proud that they like working with us so much that they stay with us for the long haul. Our ability to communicate and effectively manage projects also sets us apart from many other web design companies. Many of our clients have come to us after having a negative experience, either with a more prominent agency or a freelancer, and we strive to be the happy medium between the two, providing them with an affordable white glove experience while being personable and available.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I’ve been so fortunate to have many advocates (predominantly female advocates) over the years who, with me, would be where I’m at. Not only have many of them entrusted and hired me, but they have also recommended the business to their network through word of mouth, allowing me to grow and not have to market myself. First, I would credit Susu Bear of Scoop Charlotte (scoopcharlotte.com), which I would have needed to leave my job. She trusted me to help run her business (website and social media) part-time. She gave me the security of a regular paycheck, allowing me to leap into entrepreneurship. Others who have been pivotal in my success over the years include Rachel Sutherland of Rachel Sutherland Communications and Anna Stallmann of Anna Stallmann Communications.
And I have a wonderful group of highly talented friends who are also business owners who keep me sane when running a business becomes overwhelming. We meet once a month for dinner, and they have been such a light in my life, not to mention many have been partners on website projects and have further contributed to my business success: Meg Seitz of Toth Shop, Julia Rohrbach of Julia Fay Photography, Jen Bishop of J. Leigh Events, and Rachel Martin of Mindful & Good.
Lastly, my husband, my constant cheerleader, and advocate, lifts me when business is particularly frustrating. Since Covid, we have worked in the same office and are together almost 24/7. I don’t know many couples that could thrive in this environment, but we make it work for us and love being able to work “together” (even though he works for a corporation). There are so many more I am leaving out, but those are the key people that come to mind at first thought.
Pricing:
- Clients invest on average between $12,500 and $16,500 depending on the scope of the project
- Website management/hosting starts at $175 per month
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.michellejonescreative.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mjcreativeclt
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pmichellejones
Image Credits
Julia Fay Photography
