Female Founders: Jaclyn Trice of Muse Group On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Lead yourself first — a founder who takes care of its people and the well-being of the organization can never fail, but your team can’t be good, unless you’re good.
As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jaclyn Trice.
Jaclyn Trice has been an active professional in all things digital marketing for nearly 13 years. She started Muse Group Marketing in 2015, bringing the presence of a full-service creative agency to the Reno-Tahoe area and has since expanded their reach into the Las Vegas area. Her agency experience has made her well-versed in a wide range of industries and her entrepreneurial drive stems from her passion to help businesses put their best digital foot forward in every way possible.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
Well, it was pretty simple. I always wanted to go into print and be a journalist, then, my professor at the time said I knew how to work a room, and I should go into public relations (PR). The only thing I knew about PR back then was that’s what Samantha Jones from Sex and the City did, and while I love her and that show, PR is sadly not like that. BUT I found out you still get to write and help people, so it was a win-win for me. Then, one day I woke up and realized I was tired of working for other people. Weird, right? I decided I was going to quit a good paying 8–5, Advertising & Public Relations agency with benefits and move to South Lake Tahoe. I worked as a server at a local breakfast staple and life was easy going. It gave me the chance to take a breather on life for a minute, but I found myself missing PR, so I started freelancing on the side and quickly realized, hey, I could make a business out of this. I started to pitch myself and potential clients would say: “Great! We’re excited for the PR, can you also do my business cards and website?” Obviously not. The design and coding realm was not in my wheelhouse. I put my thinking cap on and found a designer and coder, and boom, an agency was built over some beers! The brainstorm became Muse Group, an all-female marketing agency now going on seven years of being in existence in February, 2022.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
Signing Starbucks as a client! For a boutique agency like ours (a staff of 9 women) that was a BIG deal for us. Little did we know, an hour outside of Reno, housed one of the only 4 Starbucks roasteries in the United States! When we found out they needed help putting on a hiring event to attract more candidates to their roastery and retail stores, we submitted a proposal and were chosen for the job. We put together a fun campaign that gave people applying for the position a chance to come out to the event and have a hands-on experience with the job. We brought out baristas, Master coffee roasters, tasty pastries and people got the chance to see what their job would actually be like before applying. This outside of the box idea and promotion resulted in a 30% increase of new hires (which was a lot for one day). The thousands of dollars in press placements we attained for them didn’t hurt either!
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I’m not sure if this was funny at the time, but looking back, it makes me laugh. At Muse, we were hosting an educational event called “Bites N’ Business,” where we invited prominent speakers in the community to come educate on their business and the mistakes they learned along the way, to teach new entrepreneurs how to not make the same mistake. We made the event free in hopes we’d attract more people. It worked?! We had 80 RSVP’s. We filled the room with chairs, ordered a ridiculous amount of food, had media stations come out to see the crowd and meet the speakers. Then, hyped the speakers up telling them: “We SOLD OUT the place!” The event started at 7:00pm. At 6:50pm…I started to panic. Besides the Muse staff, there were only 5 other people in the room. It was a field of empty chairs. I was sweating head to toe. We promised these speakers and the media this would be a sold-out event! But…We later learned free events people RSVP to, but often don’t commit to. We ended up with about 15 people, 80 chairs and endless mini sandwiches. Even, if you’re charging $1, people will more than likely show up. Lesson learned and we made the most of the night because hey, 65 leftover desserts aren’t always a bad thing.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I used to work for a good ol’ boys marketing agency. I ran the entire public relations department, and in an important meeting with our biggest PR client, the owner of the agency asked me to get the table some waters. Even though I was the only one in the room who knew what the hell was going on with the client, I was also the only woman. “So, sure. Yeah, I’ll get some waters!” Just that week alone, I had worked 120 hours. We had a huge event for the client and the event took place all-week long. But yet, I was still the one getting the waters… Right then, I texted my husband Jordon (boyfriend at the time) and said: “I think I’m going to quit” and he said: “DO IT!” So, I finished the meeting, took a deep breath, walked into my bosses office, and put in my two weeks. Without that simple text message giving me the confidence, I needed to “DO IT” I might still be working for The Man.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this EY report, only about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women to create companies. In your opinion and experience what is currently holding back women from founding companies?
Fear. It starts at a young age. Boys, are brought up to: be brave, take risks, BE A MAN! Girls, on the other hand, are brought up to: be polite, don’t to be too loud, don’t be too bossy, STAY SAFE. So, because of this, when women think of starting a business they see a one-way door. So, for women, the fear of starting a business means if they fail, it’s over. Men, on the other hand, if they fail, they’ll open another door.
Can you help articulate a few things that can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles?
It starts at the parenting and school system levels. “Don’t put baby in the corner!” -Sorry had to reference my favorite movie, Dirty Dancing. But it’s true. Girls are put in a box to stay safe and not take too many risks. If we can eliminate the societal pressure of what it means to be “a woman,” and teach them to have more confidence, not to be afraid of failing, to push boundaries and take risks, just like the boys, I believe many more founders would be women.
This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?
From my experience, women have more patience than men. We’re okay with the slow, but steady growth. We don’t need the moon tomorrow. We’re satisfied with a few stars knowing the moon will come when it’s time. We can also wait for the client to decide, or the team member to get out what they’re trying to express. Women can tend to be overthinkers too. I used to think this was a bad thing, but over the years, I’ve found that this is the thing that protects me and helps our business grow, because I’ve thought it all through and can be ready when things get thrown my way.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?
I think when you go into starting a business you’re like YES. I get to work for myself and I’m just going to sit in my corner, grab lunch with friends, wear workout clothes and do PR (or whatever your favorite part of the business is) all day. Not the case. I can’t even remember the last time “I did PR all day.” Most of the day is accounting, HR, sales, payroll, etc. etc. Even with all of that, once you’ve been your own boss you can never go back, and now I can’t imagine going to work for someone else.
Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean?
Not everyone is cut out to do this. I know, because I’ve tried to bring on partners throughout the years, and it wasn’t for them. Not everyone likes to take the wheel. Some people are just fine in the backseat and being along for the ride. If you like security, being a founder is not for you. Things you need are focus. Many people feel the need to jump at every “opportunity” they come across. Opportunities are often wolves in sheep’s clothing (my dad told me that). So, the key is to do one thing at a time perfectly, not ten things poorly. Then, the other piece is to make sure you love what you do. Don’t start a business simply because it seems sexy, or you think you’re going to make a lot of money. Do what you love. It’s not only important to create a profitable business, it’s also important that you’re happy managing and growing it day in and day out. If your heart isn’t in it, you won’t be successful.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)
1. Lead yourself first — a founder who takes care of its people and the well-being of the organization can never fail, but your team can’t be good, unless you’re good.
2. Free yourself from trying to “look good” and “get it all right” — you’re going to mess up! Cat’s out of the bag, accept that, move on, and lead your team.
3. Be an ally — your success is depending on those who work WITH you and FOR you. Share the good and bad news — both in business and your personal life and encourage your team to do the same!
4. Don’t be afraid to ask questions– asking questions and reaching out to colleagues are the things that help you learn and improve. This is NOT a weakness.
5. Delegate — Your team is there to help you. Let them! Having the ability to delegate is what gives you the energy to do your job. It’s the only way out of not working 16-hour days! Learn to delegate, not because it’s a nice idea, but because it’s essential to growth.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
I don’t have kids of my own, so I see every one of my hires, interns, clients and colleagues, as “my children.” Not in the sense where I’m babying them, or washing and feeding them, more in the sense that my focus can be there to care for them and help them succeed. Whether they stay with Muse or not. Over the years, I’ve tried to stay in touch with everyone who has come through the agency so I can continue to be a resource and help them in any way I can. Whether it’s with starting their own business, a new career, giving advice etc. I want to be there for them, I’m their biggest advocates and helping them with their success is also my success.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
Women are strong. I would create a movement around not only convincing women of this, but trying to convince the world. Women have the confidence and resilience, but are lacking conviction. So, the movement would be around asking them: If not now, then, when? I pretty much ask this question to myself on the daily. Sometimes you just have to do it. Go for it, make the jump, because, at the end of the day, there really is never a “perfect time” or a time you don’t feel the fear.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
Brené Brown, her books have been my muse. I hope that’s not too generalized or cliché, but anytime I’m struggling with something I don’t know how to deal with, know the answer to, or am feeling stagnant, the first place I turn is to is a book by Brené for the answer.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Female Founders: Jaclyn Trice of Muse Group On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.