Starter Company Plus Spotlight: Alexa Jackson Creative
Alexa Jackson is a Photographer and Social Media Marketing Coach in the Blue Mountains. She offers branding photography, content creation and support to small businesses, to help them generate and shine online! Jumping into entrepreneurship, after a 2-decade career as a Registered Dietitian, Alexa brings wonderful ability to distill the ins-and-outs of what businesses do, into a clear, relatable message and visual story their customers will resonate with. Alexa loves photographing people, capturing their authenticity, personality and what makes them “them”.
Read on to learn more about Alexa.
What is your favourite part about being an entrepreneur?
I love the variety of people I get to work with and encounter each day. Whether it be clients or other businesses owners, it is so much fun getting to the people in my community!
What inspired you to start your business? What drives you?
I first became an entrepreneur in 2020, leaving my 9-5 jobs at the hospital, to start my own nutrition counselling business as a Dietitian. This was in large part to have more flexibility to be with my kids, but also because, after a series of major life events, my mindset shifted and realized that if I wanted certain experiences in my lifetime, I needed to start making them happen for myself. This led me to start making decisions from a desire to find more joy, rather than “shoulds”.
Along the way, I invested in learning about online marketing strategies to grow my business. I gained enough expertise that others started asking for help marketing their businesses as well. Later that year, I began officially offering social media management services to other small businesses. Not long after I took up photography as well, and that’s when things started to come together. I have always had a creative side that I wanted to pursue. Both marketing and photography have allowed me to tap into that creativity.
What services or products do you offer?
I offer social media marketing content creation and coaching, as well as branding photography services. I think of it like a one-stop-shop for your social media marketing. Having well curated images that represents your business and your brand, makes it easy to create killer content that builds “like, know and trust” with your audience.
In addition, I also offer family photography, which I hope to expand on more in the next year!
What’s something you wish people knew about you?
I am really good at troubleshooting and figuring out puzzles. I think that comes from my healthcare background. Health care professionals are trained to gather information, assess everything together in relation to a goal, and come up with a plan. When it comes to business and marketing (or any area of life, really) I find myself going through the same process.
What makes your business stand out?
I think for businesses the advantage is that I offer both social media marketing services alongside branding photography. This allows us to create a more cohesive plan for their marketing, where the message and the visual story work together seamlessly.
When was the pivotal moment when you decided to leave health care and pursue a career in social media marketing/photography?
I actually haven’t left my career in Healthcare. I do both! I now call myself a “Multi-passionate Entrepreneur”. I really enjoy the work that I do coaching and counselling individuals. I continue to see clients for nutrition counselling as a Dietitian part-time at Bayside Wellness in Clarksburg, in addition to social media marketing and photography.
Do you have any advice for aspiring business owners who are still in the ideation phase but have not yet taken the plunge?
Something a coach told me very early on as an entrepreneur was that “you have to move faster than your own self-doubt”. Essentially, we all are going to have moments of self-doubt or feeling like an imposter along the way. That’s normal! But you will never get where you want to go unless you take the first step. So, just start from wherever you are and don’t let self-doubt bog you down.
How valuable have the resources at the SBEC been in the start-up of your business?
To me the biggest asset was being able to tap into this community of entrepreneurs! My mentor as part of the Starter Company Plus Program was a fantastic resource. Being able to get support from someone who knows the entrepreneur experience was amazing. The comradery and support from the other entrepreneurs in the program was invaluable as well.
Who is your biggest cheerleader (and why)?
I am so lucky to have an amazing community of other female business owners as friends. They have been so wonderfully supportive of me, at every twist and turn in my business. They are always encouraging. I love the idea that, as women, we can all help each other succeed!
What does success look like to you – when will you know you’ve achieved it?
Success to me is about having time and balance for the all the things that are important to me – my family, my personal health, my friends, my passions, etc. As an entrepreneur, finding that balance is challenging some days, but I have no doubt that with time I will get closer and closer to this.
What are you favourite local spots to visit on a day off?
I love being so close to Georgian Bay. My favourite spots are where you can find amazing views along the shoreline.
How do you want your clients to feel when they interact/purchase from you/use your service?
I want my clients to feel like they are seen and that I have captured them authentically. Whether it be in their marketing content or in an image, I want them to feel like I have represented who they really are, so that the world can see that too!
What was one new experience you tried that was completely unknown or uncomfortable to you at the time you tried it?
I took ballroom dancing classes (on my own!) about 5 years ago. The last time I took any dance lessons of any sort was probably when I was 7 years old, and was super intimidating being there without a partner. However, it ended up being a great time! Since I was there on my own, I often got partnered with the instructor, which was amazing to dance with someone who was so skilled!
What movie can you re-watch over and over again?
I can watch any of the Indiana Jones movies, again and again. I think it is a bit of nostalgia for me.
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Connect with Alexa to learn more about her offerings.
Instagram: @alexajacksoncreative
Facebook: @alexajacksoncreativepage
Website: www.alexajacksoncreative.com