By Jill Vater with Jianna Studio Designs

“Clarity comes by way of careful thinking.” – Bonnie Christine

As a 15-year entrepreneur with more experience than I will bore you with here, I have a few tidbits of advice I would love to share with a new or up-and-coming entrepreneur. I would love to have had this advice back when I was starting out, and I hope it helps you on your small business journey.

Trust yourself over anyone else’s advice, including my own. Your journey is what led you to this point in your life, and only YOU can decide what’s right for you. That said, when the road to entrepreneurial success is paved with tidbits from those who have achieved what you desire to achieve, success is way faster! That is my wish for you: to get there quickly.

Write a business plan. If you’re not sure where to start, find someone who does and get them to help you. A business plan is a map that will guide you on a defined path. To know where you are going, you must have a way of getting there, and a map can help save time and money.

Set realistic goals. Be specific. Be as clear as possible to provide the structure that sets you up for success. Have three types of goals: realistic, stretch, and “impossible.” Set goals that are well defined and measurable, to include precise amounts of value so you can gauge your level of success.

Evaluate yourself and your business often. To remain relevant, you must keep your goals aligned with your career and your life.

Be time conscious. Always have a deadline. The human experience thrives on dates of when goals/projects need to be completed. If you leave yourself without a deadline, it will take you much longer to achieve a goal.

Be consistent. Take action on a daily basis. Try to do one thing every day to reach your goal and stay focused on your business. Recognize your comfort zones and do what it takes to step outside of it in order to think outside the box. Sometimes all you need is ten seconds of courage to get through whatever is holding you back.

Believe in Yourself. Have confidence in yourself and your self-worth. NEVER EVER UNDERESTIMATE YOUR WORTH. Recognize your value. Understand what your strengths and weaknesses are and use them to your fullest potential.

Follow through with whatever you commit to doing. There’s a reason why Jim Rohn’s saying is so well known, “The fortune is in the follow-up.”

Adjust. You may need to take detours. Everything is not going to happen the way that you have it planned and know you are not alone on this Journey.

Stay positive. A good attitude can get you through some of the most challenging events in your life.

Partnerships matter. Have an accountability partner and a community to help support you and guide you through the rough obstacles you are likely to face. WE ARE BETTER TOGETHER!

“Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller

The post February 2023 appeared first on Led Me to This.

By Jill Vater with Jianna Studio Designs

The definition of success according to Merriam-Webster is any of the following:

1. the fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect, or fame
2. the correct or desired result of an attempt
3. someone or something that is successful (ie., person or thing that succeeds)

To me, success is not about achieving wealth or fame (don’t get me wrong, achieving wealth would be awesome) but I have seen way too many people become greedy and have such high expectations of materialistic possessions and trying to keep up with the Jones’s.

After my mom’s passing, the materialistic possessions don’t really mean to me what they once did.

Success to me is living a comfortable lifestyle within my means and having the basic essentials.

I still have dreams and goals to accomplish but my mindset has shifted this past year to helping others in times of need.

Taking what I have a passion for and making it into something that has an inspiring, positive, and uplifting experience in someone’s life by helping improve it. 

And by doing this I know that I can accomplish my goals with anything I put my mind to. 

Having boundaries set in place for accomplishing these goals and being proactive in the end result.

Taking action on what I am responsible for doing to make it happen.

Knowing that when something doesn’t work out, it’s not my fault, and learning from the experience and being able to readjust, is what actually makes it (success) happen.

Developing personal and professional relationships, being authentic, and having pride in what I do is the definition of success for me.

Never ever stop dreaming or take anything for granted.

The post December 2022 appeared first on Led Me to This.

By Jill Vater with Jianna Studio Designs

I would have thought that I worked for myself.

But, in fact, I really work for my potential clients, providing people with greeting cards to uplift, Inspire, and comfort them.

There are generic categories for greeting cards: birthday, get well, sympathy, thinking of you, etc. They are created in mass quantities and basically have the same feel and look to them.

I want to change that by making them special and from the heart which is why my cards are created with handmade paper with seeds to plant. Jianna Studio Design cards make giving and receiving a memorable experience.

Planting seeds into the hearts of your loved ones to uplift, inspire, and comfort them.

The major key players in the greeting card industry in the United States listed in the Greeting Cards Market Report are: Hallmark Cards and American Greetings (as of March 10, 2022).

You may wonder: what are the most popular greeting cards – in terms of everyday cards? Birthday cards are the most popular, followed by sympathy, thank you, wedding, thinking of you, get well, new baby, and congratulations. Birthday cards account for over 50% of the total cards sold (as of January 27, 2022).

Let me take this opportunity to share with you some options for what to write in a greeting card.

Start with “dear” or even “dearest.” Or try “hi” or “hello” or the old-school charm of “greetings.” Add the recipient’s name and you’re off!

Next, write your message on a spare piece of paper first. It’s best to avoid writing directly on the card until you’ve crafted your preferred message. Then, let them know why you are writing. If you’re sending a greeting card that already explains it, skip this step. Otherwise, let the recipient know what got you thinking of them today.

How do you write a heartfelt message or a meaningful letter?

• DO write about anything special, entertaining, or touching that’s happened lately.
• DO write about interesting or significant events in your past and lessons you’ve learned from them.
• DO include anything personally relevant to your reader, like shared interests or hobbies.

How do you end a heartfelt card? Here are some ways to end a letter or a card:

• Best Regards,
• Best Wishes,
• Fare thee well,
• Hope this helps,
• Kind wishes,
• Neighborly Yours,
• Stay tuned, or
• Warmly.

There are so many ways to write a greeting card. Just remember who the card is going to and what purpose or need it provides or fills for that specific individual.

Write the words freely from your heart. It will mean more to the person reading the card.

The post November 2022 appeared first on Led Me to This.

By Jill Vater with Jianna Studio Designs LLC

When I first started my design business after graduating college, I thought I had it all figured out. How wrong I was. You never know where or how your life can change in a heartbeat. Shortly after graduating and just starting to get my business off the ground, my world was turned upside down. I started having health issues. For over a year, I was having a constant sore throat and a raspy voice. I was finally sent to a specialist, who knew something was going on but couldn’t figure it out. That was in December. One month later in January, I went to another specialist who decided to do a biopsy. He found something but again wasn’t sure what it was. Now into February, I was sent to the Medical University where yet another specialist did another biopsy. And that’s when everything changed. I was diagnosed with ChondroSarcoma of the Larynx and was scheduled on March 12^th to have my vocal cords removed.

How was I going to continue my business, raise a 13-year-old son, and learn a new way of living?

My whole world had changed forever. My mother put her life on hold and moved from New York to South Carolina to help take care of me and my son.

Little did either of us know that it would take me 3 years to recover from the surgery and the side effects. My mother and I decided it was time to leave South Carolina and move back to our hometown near family and friends. Once there I tried to keep myself preoccupied with crafting as it was very difficult for me to try to communicate and relay my design ideas to clients effectively.

When I lost my natural voice and way of speaking, I became very shy and insecure with my new voice and way of speaking. So much so, I wouldn’t talk in public for over five years.

My cousin gave me a necklace to wear to cover my stoma. She said that she wanted me to feel pretty again, and encouraged me to be confident with my new lifestyle. She said that my voice did not define who I was and encouraged me to be more vocal, not silent. And that is when I thought that if that was the way I was feeling that other women were probably feeling the same way that I was. That is when my design work had now shifted into making bead embroidered necklaces for other Laryngectomy women and concentrating on custom designs that were very specific to their needs and to help them feel confident in themselves again. I continued with that for 3 years and decided that I needed to get back into my original design work again, so I started a new design business.

The post October 2022 appeared first on Led Me to This.

By Jill Vater with Jianna Studio Designs

The word that makes me cringe is when someone continually uses the word SORRY.

The definition of sorry is:

feeling distress, especially through sympathy with someone else’s
misfortune. For example, “I was sorry to hear about what happened to your
family.”

Or feeling regret or penitence. For example, “He said he was sorry he had
upset me.”

But when someone uses the word as if it were just another word like it, you, us, etc., it loses the meaning of the word and no longer has the value of what the word truly means. In a way, by continuing to use the word sorry over and over again, makes me want to scream. It’s as if the speaker is disrespecting the person they are talking to.

We need to consider what words we are using and use them appropriately.

Saying, “I’m sorry I forgot to take out the trash” or, “I’m sorry I forgot to do the dishes” becomes an excuse rather than a legitimate apology. The person is not really sorry. They forgot or are just being lazy, and they are using the word sorry as a cop-out.

Think before you speak and choose your words wisely, rather than as common slang.

The words we use should reflect what we are trying to convey to someone. Have emotion when you speak and be kind. When you are happy be enthusiastic, when sad… we can tell by your emotions.

Words, when used improperly, can be as sharp as a sword. Be careful you don’t cut someone with yours.

The post September 2022 appeared first on Led Me to This.

By Jill Vater with Jianna Studio Designs

I currently do not have a playlist but hope to put one together soon.

I like listening to a wide range of music: old country, new country, rock-n-roll, jazz, and classic rock. I also love listening to Santana, Michelle Branch, Adele, Fleetwood Mac, and music from the 80s. Anything with an upbeat that you can dance to. I love to dance. I plan on learning how to line dance.

And… I listen to Christian radio every day.

I have had the opportunity to meet several musicians over the past 30 years: Reba McIntire, Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, Charlie Daniels, Juice Newton, and Blake Shelton – to name a few. Meeting each one was an experience I’ll not soon forget.

I also like to listen to soothing sounds, like the sound of the ocean or rain, which helps me to relax while I meditate.

Music relaxes the mind and the soul.

The post August 2022 appeared first on Led Me to This.

By Jill Vater with Jianna Studio Designs

Something that scared me early on in my business was how I talked and how people would react to my voice because I now talk with an electro Larynx. Would they understand me? Or would they just walk away because they didn’t want to take the extra time to listen?

I can remember the many times that I was turned away just because of the way I talked.

It scared me to the point where I wouldn’t make any phone calls for fear of being hung up on. I would also shy away from talking to people unless I knew them because of all the stares I got from everyone. So, I mostly communicated via email to avoid these situations.

Then one day something clicked. While I was shopping, I was talking with my friend and a little boy asked his mom, why does that lady sound so funny? She told him it wasn’t polite to stare at people and just wanted to move on.

I told her that was ok and asked if I could explain to him what had happened to me and why my voice was different. She wasn’t sure what to expect but agreed to let me talk to him. (He was about 6 years old.) I explained to him how my vocal cords were removed due to cancer and that the only way I could talk now was by using a machine that sounded like a robot. He was intrigued and wanted to know how it worked and if it hurt when I used it. So, I explained it to him – how it worked – and I even let him push the button to make the sound. We had a few laughs and then they left.

I didn’t realize, until that moment, that there were people who didn’t understand WHY I talked that way. I realized I could educate them.

The same thing has happened to me over and over again while out in public. So, now I take the time to educate them on the subject. Yes, I still get stared at and some people even laugh but it’s ok.

I realized that just because my voice is different from everyone else I still have a voice and opinions and shouldn’t be ashamed or afraid to talk to people.

After all, communication is the key to having a successful business, and even if I talk differently, it shouldn’t hold me back.

Now, when I go out and meet new people, I hold myself accountable. I go up to them and initiate conversations to speak openly about my business.

I have successfully been a leader of a Woman’s Networking group for 8 years. And I find ways around how to communicate with people in larger groups through technology. I do this by using a voice amplifier (so my voice is louder), using a projection screen to display my presentations, and helping others in the group utilize similar technology. I also use Zoom meetings for one-on-one interactions.

So what if I am different from others! It just makes me unique and the people that I meet remember me by the way I talk, which helps me stand out and be remembered. Ultimately, it helps people identify me and my products.

I try to make it a memorable experience for everyone, and I am no longer shy or ashamed of speaking in public anymore. I am who I am, and I speak up when I have something to say.

The post July 2022 appeared first on Led Me to This.

By Jill Vater with Jianna Studio Designs

It started back in 2003 when I had my Laryngectomee. I would not go out in public unless I had to, and I would not talk in public because of the way people stared at me or reacted to the sound of my new voice. I pretty much just hung out with my family and a few very close friends. This was the beginning of a whole new way of living for me.

Then, one night at a family gathering, my cousin Rosalee gifted me a lovely silver netted necklace. She said she wanted me to feel pretty and confident about myself again.

I would typically wear “crutched covers” to cover my stoma when I did go out, but they weren’t very attractive. I kept thinking about what my cousin had said to me about feeling confident and pretty again, and I kept looking at the necklace. I thought to myself, I can make these myself for other women with laryngectomees. 

And that is when I started Jillian Waters Designs, I would make beaded bib necklaces and post them online, through a support group for other Laryngectomees. And since no one is one size fits all, I started making custom-order necklaces when women asked me to make them in specific colors. Some wanted them wider or longer than others. One lady had me make one specifically to match her dress for her daughter’s wedding with a bracelet to match.

I would have orders come in, and I’d make them to their specifications, then mail them out. I even had customers in the UK.

Someone had heard about me making custom necklaces, and I was approached by a local newspaper. They wrote an article about me overcoming adversity. 

One gentleman called me because he saw the article in the paper and asked me if the necklaces were just for Laryngectomees, or if I would consider making his girlfriend a necklace with a matching bracelet and earrings.

Even though my jewelry-making business had shifted, I still take orders from women with Laryngectomees as long as the need is there.

I still look at that article from time to time to remind myself how far I have come and how I’ve made an impact on other women with Laryngectomees.

The post June 2022 appeared first on Led Me to This.