Women Who Inspire: Packed Party

photo cred: Packed Party

Calling all Party Girls!! What’s navy blue, starts a party, makes you smile and is delivered to your doorstep? You guessed it, a PACKED PARTY! which is the best gift ever for your friends, family and even yourself (after all, the idea was born when founder Jordan Jones threw herself a pity party)! But don’t be fooled, Jordan is the ultimate boss babe; as an inspiring female entrepreneur, she started this business at the young age of twenty-three and it’s taken off ever since then. A true dream chaser, Jones took the time out of her busy schedule to share her thoughts on what it takes to start a business.

Tell us how Packed Party started

I came up with the concept of Packed Party after having recently moved to San Francisco for work not knowing a soul. I called my mom one evening feeling a bit sorry for myself and she immediately told me I was having a Pity Party and to go to bed. Little did I know the Pity Party I was throwing would be the best party I ever threw myself! I awoke from a dream later that night with the idea to send myself a physical Pity Party package, scoured the internet to find there was nothing like it available online. I immediately turned on all my lights, built out a business plan, mapped out package themes, how our logo would look and sold the idea to my father the next day. Packed Party was up and running only a few weeks later after I wrote a Buzz Feed article about myself…yes, you heard that correctly, to pour a bit of fuel on the fire I was about to start.

Packed Party has done an excellent job at branding! What do you think is the key to building a successful brand?

Thank you so much! I really think believing in a brand you’re creating and being able to see the bigger picture is key. Whatever you’re doing you have to be able to look at it from a bird’s eye view and say okay, what is the goal here, what am I trying to convey to people. I always knew Packed Party was so much more than just another company that sold packages. We send experiential and FUN gifts that make people want to start the party in their lives or for someone else.

Congrats on being a Martha Stewart American Made Finalist ! As an entrepreneur, where do you look for inspiration?

Inspiration is everywhere in San Francisco! I read a lot, and I take a ton of walks by myself around the city to take in colors. Colors have always inspired me…which is why Packed Party is probably so bright!

Packed Party’s Instagram feed is so fun and colorful! What’s the best advice for a small business that wants to grow their followers on that platform?

Instagram is a huge place where our audience lives. I still remember being Packed Party’s first follower and convincing a few of my close friends to follow almost 2 years ago. It’s crazy how time flies and what can happen when you sort of get out of your own way and throw yourself fully into what you’re doing. It was never that my heart wasn’t in Packed Party. I just struggled at times with social media wondering what people would think of me and I decided about a month in I did not care whatsoever…from there, we grew! I think spending time to curate content, deciding what kind of messaging you want to convey in captions, or saying okay, is our brand super mellow and need to convey that on our feed? Think of Instagram like a quilt or a gallery, the very first thing someone might think about your brand and ask yourself, “what do I want this to convey?”. For me, I wanted it to be a bright, fun, and inspiring place and I think we do a fairly good job at that. There’s always improvements we can make!

What is your favorite Packed Party package and why? Who would you send it to?

Hmm! Probably our Miss Ya package right now. It’s so unique and has all the little details you couldn’t find somewhere else. Things like the Teleporting Pills or the Confetti & Stuff pouch are all things we created so you’re not able to find them anywhere outside the package. I’d probably send it to any of my best friends from college, or gosh, even my mom, I miss my family and friends like crazy, but I’m in San Francisco doing what I need to do right now.

How do you keep your sanity as a busy business owner and find the time to balance work/life?

I think I’m still trying to learn the balance. I won’t tell you there are days that I don’t want to crawl into a ball under my desk and cry, but it’s honestly because I care so much . When you’re a little insane as a business owner it’s because you freaking care. My phone is constantly on me, dying or ringing off the hook, and I am being pulled in a few different directions, but taking a minute to take a deep breath is important I’ve learned when I can feel myself juggling too much. I got a dog recently who forces me to get out a little more than I was, his name is Truman 🙂 You can see him on my Instagram..I’m turning into a crazy mom. I think closing your eyes in taking a deep breath (yes, I do this at my desk at times), working out, or just going to get a lemonade down the street is key. Your job doesn’t define you. It doesn’t. How hard you work will. I am sure of that today.

What has been the biggest business challenge since starting Packed Party and how have you overcome it?

I think finding ways to be creative financially is always a challenge. We are in full start-up mode and seeing so many businesses with founders that are fully funded and not passionate about their businesses is so discouraging at times. The whole, WHY are you coming to me about your business? I think the same things that I have struggled with though financially in the beginning have made Packed Party what it is today. It’s the hustle, the late nights, finding ways to keep things tight sometimes prevents mistakes, but it’s all a learning game. I am constantly facing challenges that are small or large and I have to make the right decision for Packed Party and take myself out of it. I always ask myself what’s best for Packed Party, it’s not about me at all.

How do you curate the perfect packages?

I’m so happy to hear you think they’re perfect! Thank you. We work really hard to find products or brands you might not be able to find on your own wherever you are and stick them inside packages. It’s also important to me to have colors play off each other inside packages so they look equally as pretty as they are fun!

What does the future hold for Packed Party?

I think the opportunities are endless for Packed Party. We are growing and expanding our brand into more gift items outside of the packages (don’t fret packages won’t ever go anywhere!) so stay tuned for our drinkware line and more jewelry launching this winter!

As #partygirls, we wanna know…

What was the last text message you sent to your best friend?

I sent her a thank you text for sending me a hilarious piece of Halloween snail mail. It said “Twerk or Treat” with a picture of Miley, ha.

If you can move anywhere in the world and everyone and everything you loved came with you, where would you go and why?

Honestly, I think I will always stay in San Francisco. I think I was always meant to live here. I can still remember telling my parents at the kitchen table over 2 years ago that I felt like something bigger was waiting for me in San Francisco and this city has been so good to me since I came. I just wish my family and friends lived a little closer to me out here!

Thanks Jordan for sharing your story with us on Seek Wander Share and for being an inspiration to all the ambitious party girls with big dreams of following their passion!

“I’ve decided we only have one life to live, so why not have a blast treating ourselves and others to something out of the ordinary that’s all about fun?” -Jordan Jones