Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer “Jen” O’Pry.
Jennifer, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Having watched What Women Want in high school, I decided that I wanted to play the part Helen Hunt did for a career. I was a bright-eyed college freshman at the University of Georgia and wanted to make a name for myself in the advertising world upon graduation. My mother was in education and guided me down that path rather than the corporate world so I could easily have a career that I could focus on my future family as well. I graduated from college with my Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education and went and taught 3rd grade in Bartow County at one of the most impoverished schools in the area. It was the type of teaching position that you are a warrior in. Most of the children I taught were from families whose parents had only an elementary level education, were incarcerated, had abandoned them, and/or had severe addiction issues.
After that year, I moved to Roswell North Elementary and continued my passion for teaching students of all backgrounds since it was one of the most diverse schools in the area. During my first year there, I pursued my Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Brenau University’s accelerated Master’s program at night (it was a 2-year program crammed into 1 year-busy, busy!). I began taking on more of a leadership role in the school and took part in a pilot program to teach other teachers how to be more effective with writing instruction. During my 6th year of teaching, I had my first son and decided to take a position teaching first grade online from my home so it would be more conducive to my family’s needs. All of this took place during the time that teachers’ salaries were being significantly cut by the state. I found myself being bogged down with unnecessary paperwork and having less time to spend on creating quality instruction for my students. That is when I started to rethink my decision of having a career in education.
After teaching first grade for a year online (which was very cutting edge at the time and was very much uncharted territory in education), I was approached by the executive director of a Latino educational nonprofit to become their Site Director and eventually their Atlanta Area Director. It was here that my passion for marketing was refueled from college. My job was to use grant money from the Goizuetta Foundation and replicate 2 new after school tutoring programs across Buckhead. It was in this position that I worked as a liaison between the students, their families, the volunteers, donors, and the school systems. I also wrote grants and their marketing collateral, assisted with marketing ideas and with their social media. After working for this nonprofit, I became pregnant with my 2nd child and decided to open my own social media company so that I could make my own hours and have flexibility.
Once I opened Streamline in 2015, it took off in a much bigger way than I ever expected. What I thought would be a few social media clients to have some extra income to spoil myself with, quickly became a full-time venture. Within 2 months of obtaining my first client, I had to hire additional help and am now up to a staff of 6 people. This year, we have expanded our marketing services from being just social media to full marketing. We also have extended our client base to include Emory Center for Ethics, regularly contribute to a social media marketing blog as an expert contributor and also have a regular segment on Business Radio X!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I would definitely say my life overall has definitely had some challenges along the way. I certainly did not live what I would call a typical “teen” life. I started working at the age of 11 and by the time I was 15, I worked two to three jobs at a time ranging in combination from a cashier at Kroger, a fast-pitch softball umpire, cutting neighbors’ lawns, to waiting tables, and oh, babysitting in my free time. I was raised in a family that stressed you had to work to reap anything you wanted in life so things like my first car, clothing, spending money and college all rested on my shoulders. I was the first person in my family on both sides to graduate college. I can remember asking my parents at 16 how much money was in my college fund since I knew an out of state college was out of the budget and had my eye on The University of Georgia. Their answer was that I did not have one and that I should stay at home and graduate debt-free. They were right about the benefit to graduating debt-free, but I didn’t want to stay at home during college. I knew at that moment if I wanted to attend UGA, I would not only have to keep my academics up to par to be accepted and qualify for the HOPE, but would have to sock away as much money as possible to make my dreams possible. I worked 2 jobs all through college and maintained the HOPE scholarship for my entire undergrad, graduating debt free.
Since I did not go to school for business, I have had to learn the ins and outs of owning my own business in a variety of ways. I have spent hours researching various topics online in regards to best business practices, have surrounded myself with many mentors and have networked in order to build relationships and learn from others. Of course, I have also learned some very important lessons from my own failures.
Even today, running a small business with two small children can be a challenge finding work/life balance. I have learned that I am only one person and can’t do it all myself. I have a wonderful husband and support system that helps me carry my load in all areas of life. I have had to learn to trust others, delegate, and let the experts be the experts in different areas in my life so this way I can focus on my business and enjoy time with my family which has been hard since I have a control freak side to myself and am a perfectionist/over-achiever.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Streamline Consulting & Communications – what should we know?
What we do: We provide a full line of marketing services to clients ranging from consultation, creating marketing plans, implementing them, campaign management, to full social media management services.
We specialize in social media and also in helping multi-unit locations and franchises appeal to their audiences on a hyper-local level. We also offer blogging services and mass email services. We also specialize in supporting finance and medical industries.
I am most proud of how quickly we have grown our client base in terms of quality since we started. Of course, quantity is important, but what makes me most proud is when people come into contact with my company and then refer us onto other clients who have a strong reputation in their markets. It truly is flattering to work with the smallest of local businesses all the way to working with names that everyone in the city or even the nation would recognize. To have accomplished this in two years has been a humbling moment for me. My staff is wonderful and shares in my dream and always puts each and every client at the top of their priority lists. I would not be where I am today without my wonderful staff. They are the ones in the trenches every day and keep our clients continuing to give us business.
What sets us apart: Someone described my company’s service level as being the Nordstrom of the marketing world. We truly value our clients, are extremely honest with their needs (sometimes it costs us business, but that is okay) and our approach is truly custom and tailored to each client. We are not a cookie cutter marketing company that plugs clients into algorithms in order to keep their costs low. We provide our clients with a strategic approach and involve them in the process as much or as little as they want.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I feel like perseverance is what has always helped me accomplish my goals in life and has definitely contributed to my success in my business. There have been many struggles in my life and I haven’t let them be excuses for not obtaining my goals. I started my business when I was pregnant with my second son and had a three-and-a-half-year-old at home. I think many people thought I was absolutely crazy, but I just kept my head down and continued on my path. Starting a business is never easy and many times you hear, “No, thank you,” on a regular basis when you are trying to build your client base. Even now, there are things that I try that are not successes, but the most important thing is that I learn from it and persevere on. I have always been the type of person who if something matters to me, I am going to find a way to make it work, and I do not plan on changing. 🙂 My motto is, “Find a way to make it happen!”
Pricing:
- Strategic Marketing & Social Media Consultation-$150/hour (no retainer required)
- Retained Services Begin at $400/month
- Social Media Instructional Seminars-starting at $99/person
- Social Media Webinars-starting at $29.99
Contact Info:
- Website: www.streamlinecc.net
- Phone: 678-408-0705
- Email: jopry@streamlinecc.net
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/streamlinecc
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/streamlinecc
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/streamlinecc
- Other: www.linkedin/in/jopry
Image Credit:
Addie Dobson
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
