Another "Jac" Of All Trades Joins Jaclyn Mullen Media: Meet Jackie Carbajal

Well folks, it's been awhile. As a matter of fact, it's been too long since we last blogged. But there have been a lot of developments in the summer air (and there will be plenty more developments as we breeze into fall).

Our client roster is growing, our skill set is expanding, heck--we're even moving into an office November 1st! None of these changes would be possible without our clients.....or you.....or the people who help the moving parts "move along" on a daily basis.

Enter Jackie Carbajal, the new (and very first) Creative Designer at Jaclyn Mullen Media. Jackie brings her wit, design skills and humor to the team. We're happier, healthier (being less stressed is a good thing) and we want you to get to know a little bit more about the other "Jacqueline of all trades"!

Name: Jacqueline Carbajal
Age: 23
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Astrological Sign: Aquarius
Favorite Color: "Black is such a happy color!"- Morticia Addams

On a daily basis, you can't live without which three brands:

1. Apple aka my iPhone, which has grown into my arm.
2. My Michael Kors Purse and the contents which it holds. I give Mary Kate Olsen and other bag ladies a run for their money.
3. Pete's Coffee/Starbucks/Coffee Bean. Anywhere that I can get coffee. I can't live without coffee

Which social networking platform are you addicted to? Why?

Twitter, Twitter and more Twitter. I like having a forum that I can express my internal dialogue without the commentary from Facebook.

What excites you about working for Jaclyn Mullen Media?

The idea that it is such a current job, meaning that this line of work didn't exist 15 years ago. I am excited about using social media in order to spread "word of mouth" about companies and helping them flourish. It's exciting to work for someone who is living her dream because she inspires me to pursue mine.

Where do you want to be in 5 years?

I would like to be living in New York City as a freelance designer and gallery owner with my dog Teddy.

Which do you prefer: photo posts or text posts? Why?

I enjoy photos from artists and designers: they allow me to see their current work. However, I love a good laugh so twitter posts from comedians really make my day.

Favorite place on earth:
Difficult question, I have 3.
1. Yosemite, the most beautiful place on Earth.
2. Disneyland, the happiest place on Earth.
3. MOMA, I could days looking at art and new exhibits.

Goal you are most excited to fulfill in this new role:
To create an identity for myself and learn the aspects of running a successful business.

Plug for your Twitter and Tumblr.

Tumblr:
http://tuskrealsavagelike.tumblr.com

Twitter/
@jackiecarbajal

Pintrest:
http://pintrest.com/jackiecarbajal/

Alright folks, look for more J and J collaborations including our Startups and Stilettos™ LOGO! 

Let us know what you think! You can always comment or connect with us at Facebook.com/jaclynmullenmedia

A Tale of Two Jaclyn's

This is the story of two women, each with big dreams filled with passion, bright lights and fame. This is the story of two women who are open to taking risks and embracing spontaneity.

This is the story of how social media and a willingness to connect with people offline can lead to friendship, networking and support in the most unconventional way. This is "A Tale of Two Jaclyn's."

Left-Jaclyn G, Righ-Jaclyn M. 

It All Started With Twitter

One day, back in February of 2011, I received an email notification from Twitter advising me that a woman named Jaclyn (from LA who worked in Public Relations) was now following me online. No big deal right? Except for the fact my name is also Jaclyn, I have been an Angeleno for the past 5 years and part of my skill set also entails Public Relations.

"That's a strange coincidence," I thought. "How many more Jaclyn's am I going to meet this year?" After all, one of my current roommates is also named Jaclyn and she spells it the same way I do (which typically does not happen). There's Jacklyn, Jacqueline, Jackline, Jaclynn....you get the point.

Now if your name is John, Sarah, Brian, Mike, or Kristin, I apologize. You have had to deal with name identity theft and replication your whole life but not me, not with a name like Jaclyn. At least, not until recently.

From Online to Offline

Back to Jaclyn G. I started following her back on Twitter. I even connected with her via the blogging site Tumblr and thus an online friendship was formed. 

One day, while scrolling through her Tumblr blog, I couldn't help but notice pictures of Manhattan as well as the picture below, NYC vs LA.

Recently, I have been in New York actively searching for clients and projects to work on as part of my bucket list.

And then I found this "same name coincidence" to be even more intriguing. Two Jaclyn's, each from LA, temporarily in NYC, exploring the Big Apple. Of course I did what any sane person would--I found her email address and sent her a message. It went down as follows:

Subject Line: Jaclyn it's Jaclyn

Email: Jaclyn Gitlin, it's me the other Jaclyn from Twitter. HAHA.

Loved your Tumblr pic LA vs NYC. I want to hang that in my room! I am currently in NYC, trying to decide if I am woman enough to give it a year here. I have been in LA for almost 5 and always thought NYC would feel like home but I miss the warm weather terribly!

Anyhow, are you here as well? Here being in NYC. If so, let's connect. Would love to talk social media, PR, projects.  Jaclyn Mullen

As it turned out, there was a networking event that precise evening that would allow us to connect in person. Jaclyn G. replied that she would gladly meet up, we discussed outfits and how we'd recognize each other from the mass crowd. From there, A Tale of Two Jaclyn's was formed.

Nice to meet you Miss "Same Name"

The moment had arrived. Jaclyn M. and Jaclyn G. would connect face to face, a sure progression from Twitter to Twitter. 

I arrived at our networking event and filled out a name tag. Ten minutes later, Jaclyn G. showed up and filled out hers. You can imagine the looks of confusion we both received as we sat next to each other and introduced ourselves to people as "Jaclyn." 

The most common response was, "Is this some kind of joke?" To which we both threw our heads back and laughed out loud then defended our honesty by pointing to our name tags. 

We mixed with the crowd, we mingled. We talked about life and our dreams and the pursuit of our passions. 

As it turns out, Jaclyn G. wants to be a luxury fashion publicist. Think Paris, fine lines and elegant looks.

 This is Jaclyn G.

As for me, I'm just fine being a Jaclyn of All Trades--a singing, comedic, blogging, social media strategist "Jaclyn of All Trades."

Our night ended over celebratory cocktails at some bar in the Lower East Side. 

Moral of "A Tale of Two Jaclyn's"
I look forward to many more adventures with Jaclyn G. In a little less than a week, we have exchanged jokes and different advice on life, love and the pursuit of professional success.

I think the moral of our story is great--make sure to connect with your social networks offline if the opportunity presents itself. Honestly, what's the purpose of all of this social media stuff? To expand our network, to increase our awareness of opportunities, to engage with people who share similar interests.

Reach out and tweet someone. Email them. Don't just be a follower, engage. Converting a contact from online to offline can result in a potential job, a potential friendship; it can essentially change your life and make a major city such as Manhattan feel a little more like home.

Do you have a similar story? Have you ever connected with someone from your social network or even someone named Jaclyn? Sharing is caring; be sure to tell your tale via the comments section of this blog.

And in case there weren't enough Jaclyn's in this story, here are a few other "Jaclyn's" you should check out:

Friends of Jaclyn The Friends of Jaclyn Foundation (FOJ) is a 501(c)(3), non-profit, charitable organization that improves the quality of life for children with pediatric brain tumors and their families formed in 2005. FOJ matches a child in need of love, support and friendship with a college or high school sports team based on geographic basis. Through a due diligence process, the foundation screens for the best match based on the child and family's needs and the team, coach and athletic director's commitment to our foundation's goals.

Jaclyn R. Johnson Founder of Social + Creative Agency @NoSubjectLA. Editor in Chief at SomeNotesonNapkins.com. Los Angeles + New York Resident.

And of course, these two Jaclyn's.

Jaclyn Gitlin Tumblr blog

Jaclyn Mullen. Check it -----> http://www.jaclynmullenmedia.com

The Jac(k) Of All Trades Syndrome

Hello and happy new year. I hope 2011 is starting off great for everyone so far. With this "beginning" often come new goals. Naturally, I am curious to learn of everyone's new year resolutions so please, do tell.

I have a few myself, one of which is overcoming the Jaclyn Of All Trades stigma. What do I mean by that? I don't want to confuse you here, I will always be the Jaclyn of All Trades. But we all know how the saying goes, "Jack of All Trades, Master of NONE."

Personally, my saying is "The Jaclyn of All Trades gets the job done!"

In this day and age, isn't it safe to say that we are all Jacks of Trades? Entrepreneurs have to wear multiple hats and perform diverse functions when starting up their businesses. Employees I know that work for major corporations are doing the job of 2-3 people. Many actors I know start off as their own managers and handle their own PR. So, how can we successfully be Jacks of All Trades that get our jobs done and break down the negative association with being a professional multitasker (especially if this is the only way we can survive in business now a days)?

The following tips have worked for me, I hope they'll work for you too.

1) Find an area of expertise that you are knowledgeable in that also has some overlapping functionality. For me, social media is the best example I can provide to articulate this point. I can communicate, I can write, I can be creative and my work has a purpose--whether that's building a brand or developing potential customers for a company. I stick to digital since that is what I know and can measure not to mention that it's FUN.

2) Leverage your passions to help you professionally. I happen to love performing, writing, speaking. I use my writing skills to create quality content for the company's I work with (as well as for my blog.) Another great example of how I have done this is as follows: my third year living in LA, I did a lot of background acting where I observed directors, producers and underwent the casting process. Flash forward to a recent project I worked on-I casted, scripted and field produced 2 commercials for a company campaign. I lived, I learned, I applied my passion and skills and my former company benefited in the end by having a tangible product they could use to promote their brand.

3) This next one is important. Finish your projects and tasks through to completion. Sure, it's great to be busy and to have a booming client roster. However, if all you can do is start projects and not follow them through to completion, you keep the "Jack of All Trades" stigma alive. Get organized, plan your projects out in phases with specific targeted goals, meet your deadlines and most of all finish what you start.

These tips have worked for me, especially while working under tight deadlines and wearing multiple hats. I don't mind being a Jaclyn Of All Trades, multitasking is my specialty. Granted, remaining adaptable while being pulled in a few different directions and managing long term goals is NOT for everyone career wise. Sometimes it can be stressful but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Thanks for reading this, feel free to share with others and also comment. I'd love to hear from you.

Signing off,

The Jaclyn of All Trades

My Happiness Project--Thank You Gretchen Rubin

Happiness. We all want it but the question is do we all have it? I know for myself that happiness fluctuates depending upon the activities I am performing.

Traveling makes me happy. Writing makes me happy. Singing and dancing make me happy.

Happy Moment Memory 2007-Cafe in Barcelona off Las Ramblas.
This was how they served my cafe' con leche. And...upon receiving it, I smiled.

But other activities I participate in don't have the same "happy factor."

For this very reason, I am embarking on a Happiness Project. Insert footnote here. I am not the first to attempt this. As a matter of fact, New York Times best selling author Gretchen Rubin conducted her own happiness project and published it in her book entitled--you guessed it The Happiness Project.


I now follow Gretchen on Twitter and rather than wait for New Years to begin, my happiness project starts TODAY. Wait, I think it started on Sunday when I read the "Getting Started" section of Gretchen's book.

Gretchen had her own Twelve Commandments for happiness which may or may not work for me. Rather than wait and see, I created my own. Here they are (in no particular order):

12 Commandments of Happiness
Jaclyn Mullen’s Happiness Project

1. Find the humor in EVERYTHING and laugh at yourself OFTEN.
2. Go with the flow (this one is going to be hard for me)
3. Smile ALWAYS, even when you’ve had a challenging day and don’t feel like it. Smiles are contagious and will make you feel better. Fake it ‘til you make it, right?
4. Dance-in the car, at the library, in my room. Movement improves mood.
5. Be grateful everyday. Things could always be worse.
6. Stay present. Yesterday has passed; tomorrow has not come. Focus on right now.
7. Do something you love that is different everyday. Karaoke, write, take a Spanish class, play the piano.
8. Cook more. Preparing delicious food provides an appreciation for the meal and the company you enjoy it with.
9. Indulge in some pampering. Massages, manicures, lot's of exercise, more yoga-we all deserve a little weekly TLC.
10. Continue to help others. Everyone is struggling with something so lend a hand and help out.
11. Don’t take it personal-EVER.
12. Give 100% of what YOU have to give even if you don’t get it in return. At some point, at some time, it will come back to you.

There you have it, my personal 12 commandments for happiness. I am excited to document this project, it could not have come into my life at a better time. Having said that, it's time for me to play Wii with my twelve year old cousin--she brings a tremendous amount of happiness into my life.

If you don't have time to conduct your own happiness project or if you are already happy, you can still get great tips on Happiness from Gretchen via her website: http://www.happiness-project.com

This holiday season, I wish everyone health and happiness.

Signing off,

The Jaclyn of All Trades

Kendi Everyday-30 for 30 Inspirations

The best part about the Internet is connecting with those on the world wide web, those we may have never come across in this lifetime if not for the "Net."

Such is the case with Kendi Lea, a style blogger I have grown to adore. I immediately began following her on Twitter as soon as my friend Tina referred me to her site and not only have I become a fan of KendiEveryday.blogspot.com but I have also managed to get my amazing network of women to start following Kendi as well.

I present to you, our WhatWouldKendiWear-A 30-30 challenge edition. (Per Kendi, the "30-30 simply meant that I would take 30 items and remix only those items into 30, (hopefully) stylish outfits." From this concept, she now encourages her readers to participate in 30-30's with her as she schedules them) the challenge started November 1st and I am participating!

Purple Belted Power on the Jaclyn of All Trades

Pretty in Pink and Blue
on Erica, my step-sis/roomie who is also an agent at The Agency Group
You can follow her on Twitter @yourshoesdaily @quotesfromEL


Modern Denim Chic
on Monique, my right hand woman

Belted Bohemian
on the green goddess Justine.

You too can get inspired by Kendieverday.blogspot.com
As our pictures prove, it's a lot of fun to remix your wardrobe and work with what you've got.

Social Media-Why Are We So Social?

Social Media. We constantly hear about it. Naturally, we have a Facebook account, perhaps a Twitter account. Oh and what's that other popular site that can make anyone a celebrity? YouTube.The question becomes why are we "liking", "tweeting" and "tubing" in the first place? And how can we ensure that all this activity is successful? Of course it's fun to test out your aspiring stand up skills or to "like" your favorite brand on Facebook. But what does all of this really boil down to?

If you are a business owner, a brand, or simply trying to establish yourself online-Twitter, Facebook and YouTube can be great tools for various reasons. For one, they rank pretty darn high on the search scale.

When I first started using Twitter, my handle (aka Twitter name) was @jaclynofalltrades. I thought this was a clever way to promote my personal brand UNTIL a wise man named @Jason_Pollock advised me that my handle should be my name to help establish myself online.

If you were to Google my name, Twitter is the first thing that ranks. This is great assuming that there are more "Jaclyn Mullen's" out there (which I know there are). My facebook shows up as 5th on Google and 6th on Bing.

I have an online presence and am visible to those who are looking to contact me. Maybe they want to pick my brain about branding, perhaps they want to offer me a lead role on their TV show--the Jaclyn of All Trades has a wide array of goals. Whatever the case, I can be found which is what you want for your business in this tech day and age.

Additionally, these platforms are great tools to generate traffic back to your site which can ultimately lead to an expanded audience, an increase in sales and raised brand awareness.

I do want to add that there is a point to all of this online chatter and promotion--engagement. You can't just tweet or post YouTube videos that show your level of narcissism and fail to provide VALUE to the online community. Not only will you not have sticking power, you will also be tuned out.

Sharing is caring, we promote our knowledge and expertise to keep everyone INFORMED.

Having said that, here are a few tools that I use to help ensure efficiency of my Tweets and social media time!

-Use an aggregator for Twitter such as Nambu. This program has allowed me to maximize my ability to retweet and quote tweets which is important for establishing conversation.
-Follow the advice of Chris Brogan Promote your stuff at a 12:1 ratio (12 retweets from other people for every 1 tweet you promote yourself.)
-Keep current on all Facebook, YouTube and Twitter news and developments with sites like AllTop.com
-Have fun. Don't be afraid to show your creativity or wit online. Look at the success of Autotune the News "Bed Intruder" video.

Feel free to comment on this as well as follow me on Twitter @jaclynmullen
More blog posts to come!

New Findings..New Friends..New Focus

I love Social Media and all of the knowledge, experiences and connections it continues to provide for me. Having said that, my social media "case study" today starts off with the Beverly Hills Fashion Festival.

I was invited to attend by one of the event producers Lara Gallagher @Gallagherstar and we both sent out some tweets a few days prior to the festival last week, promoting it as the "Bryant Park" of California fashion.

I attended the Elie Tahari show which was captivating. I recall lots of gold necklaces, bracelets, sheer black tops and very feminine flowing lines. The festival itself included a variety of tents with the runways in one section then jewelry booths, fashion designs on display as well as make-up in another. Located within one of those tents is where I found MAGIC!

First, I met Richard Paul Anderson, founder of the product line Perfekt. Richard is AMAZING! Pefekt is AMAZING. Upon talking with Richard, I discovered that he successfully launched some of today's leading beauty brands including Yves Saint Laurent and Bobbi Brown essentials prior to launching his line. Basically he heard so many women always vent about the lack of time they have to get ready and he decided to launch a product that acted as a foundation, primer, color corrector and powder all in one!!!



I made sure to pick up some Skin Perfection Gel for myself while obtaining Richards card for networking purposes. As a self proclaimed "networking queen", I strongly encourage you to follow up right away with people you meet and wish to work with in the future. And by right away, I mean within 24 hours. Personally, I added Richard as my facebook friend that night and started following Perfekt on Twitter immediately.

While in the Perfekt area, I met two LA based fashion bloggers! Since fashion blogs have become a new "fashion-ation" of mine, I was excited to come across these new sources and am happy to share them with you (whoever you may be at this point, this is my second post). HAHA.

http://yummyfashion.blogspot.com

http://www.therayandthero.com

I now follow these two bloggers on Twitter as well and you can too @therayandthero and @lizzcarlino

Naturally social media is a great way to keep up with new technological trends, fabulous fashion finds, great skin care products and new friends. The events from this past weekend are inspiring me to focus more on fashion, art and beauty so much so that I am going to participate in a 30 for 30 challenge being hosted by: http://kendieveryday.blogspot.com Her blog is AMAZING, I highly suggest you check it out. And on that note, we covered a lot today. I told you my life is always an adventure!! Signing off as a Proud Remixer--the Jaclyn of All Trades.

Under Construction

Well, I did it. I started this blog. This is not my first blog but it will be my best blog!

Why?

Because it will feature things that I am passionate about. I will also provide all kinds of fun tips for the readers with regard to networking, social media, job hunting, signing up for a casting company, starting a blog!!! (They don't call me the Jaclyn of All Trades for nothing.)

So now that I have a blog I'm going to work on the design of it and while I do that, perhaps you should update your Linkedin profile.

You may be asking yourself "what", "where did that come from" or "why should I care about my Linkedin profile?"

To answer your question(s) last week, I started following this girl @EmilyMolitor on Twitter. She had tweeted something to the effect of "Your Linkedin Profile Is Better Than Your Resume" accompanied by a link to an article which totally caught my attention.

I have had a Linkedin account for about 4 years now but always approached it as more of a list rather then something that could highlight my personality and skill set.

According to the article (written by Jason Seiden) "people are fascinated by stories, not rote regurgitations of one’s professional “accomplishments. You “manage all aspects of the project delivery?” Really? Wowwwwwww. That’s the best you can do on your LinkedIn profile?"

I read the article in it's entirety and then between last night and this morning, I updated my Linkedin profile. After all, I am trying to build this blog and myself as a brand.

So, I highly suggest you read this article http://jasonseiden.com/linkedin-more-than-your-resume/ and get to work! And like I said, while you do THAT I'll be working on this......wait, it's 8:11 am. Time to go to the 9-5 job. Blog site design rescheduled for tonight.