Allison Vorcheimer Meet Jennifer Johnstone Lopez, mom of 3 currently living in Plantation with her husband Ricky and kids – Cameron (4), Caroline (2.5) and Carly (1). On the work front, she is an international award-winning digital marketer, and runs a 7-figure digital marketing company called Jalapeño Digital. In what very little “spare” time she has, she loves to cook, entertain and tell stories.
Read on to learn more about her and her business!
Tell us about your company.
Jalapeño Digital is an all-freelance digital marketing network. We are a 25-person team made up of senior-level, top-talent from all over the US who specialize in PPC, SEO, Paid Social, Analytics and more. Our services are outsourced to many other agencies around the world that need our deep expertise to take their clients’ brands to the next level. We also partner with clients directly who are a great fit for our model.
Outside of Jalapeño Digital, I’m also the author of Why I Cried: Tales from Hysterical Pregnant Women – which is a compilation of short, laugh-out-loud stories from fun and relatable mamas during the most hormonal and downright confusing 9 months of their lives.
Why did you decide to pivot your career and start your own business?
I launched Jalapeño Digital, six years ago as a side-hustle in early 2016. At that time, I had tons of experience in digital advertising for international companies and I was leading digital programs for brands like Google, bareMinerals, Oakley and more. Yet, I didn’t have any experience running my own business – experience that my husband had 10-fold (he is a serial entrepreneur and started his first business when we were in college together). I started envisioning us having kids, and how I wanted our lives to look, and I just couldn’t picture being a traditional working mom with so many responsibilities pulling me in different directions and in a corporate world that just didn’t seem to understand “mom life”. So with my husband’s help, and with many mentors and referrals, I created a company with a fantastic team that gave me a ton of flexibility and the type of work/life balance I think most only dream of.
I left my full time job in 2018 to exclusively focus on Jalapeño Digital and I haven’t looked back! I’ve created an amazing company partnering with brands and people that we absolutely love. We are a passionate team, and honestly, a whole vibe. If I miss a meeting because my son is having a meltdown before daycare – I miss my meeting, take him to go get a bagel and reset his day. I don’t feel an ounce of guilt, as I’ve truly built a business with team members who have each other’s backs, and clients who understand that being human is not only okay, it’s truly necessary. I work with companies who value results and relationships, who know that because I’m a good mom first, I am able to take care of my team and do even better work because of it.
How do you juggle running your company with spending time with your family?
I don’t want to make it sound easy, because it’s not. Mornings, I get everyone up, dressed and fed. I drop off two of our three kids at daycare, but the baby comes along for the ride. I work at home during the day with the baby, taking lots of breaks to play, fold laundry, empty the dishwasher and start prepping dinner. At nap times, I try to exercise or jump in my pool (ANYTHING for myself really) – typically with earbuds in so I can still attend any meetings or hop on any calls. The goal is to have dinner cooked and ready before the kids come home from school, and most days dad will pick them up. We eat when everyone’s home and then the older kids usually get to ride their bikes or scooters outside with dad, while I get the baby bathed and ready for bed. When the older kids are done outside, I usually get them showered and ready for bed or a movie. Weekends, we try to do things as a family, but honestly we’ve found with their ages, it’s easier to split up sometimes so that kids get more focused attention. My son loves to go boating with dad and fishing, while the girls love going out for coffee and breakfast with me. Also, I cannot discount having a tribe! We have helpful family members who come by after work to help wrangle our circus crew, and neighbors who check in on us often.
What has been the greatest challenge in your career?
So far the greatest challenge in my career was leaving a cushy corporate job for “what if”. I didn’t do it haphazardly though – I mean, I made sure my side hustle fully replaced my income before I left, but there were still many other “what ifs.” What if it doesn’t work out, what if it looks like a gap on my resume, what if insurance is literally a million dollars? What if I can’t get more clients, or more business?”
Since then, I’ve changed my tune. With lots of coaching, my questions are now things like …“What if I land this big deal?”… “What if I get to hire this new team member who is amazing?”….”What if it all works out?”
What lessons have you learned in your career that you apply to parenting (or vice versa)?
At most agencies I’ve worked at, I’ve led a team, so I know alot about team and relationship building – loyalty. I truly believe if you called up any team member of mine, past or present, it is the first thing they would mention about our working relationship together. Having a strong, trusting relationship, individually, with everyone on my team is absolutely essential to making them feel valued and appreciated. With that, they only want to give you their best work, and that is how the magic happens. That is the “secret sauce” – it is working with people you love who love you right back. The same is true with parenting – with individual, focused attention and really getting to know your kids, asking why often and doing your homework – you get them to want to be the best versions of themselves. And when my kids are having meltdowns or a bad day, I look at our last few days together and notice that they needed more attention from me. That they felt side-stepped as I tried to multi-task and do too many things at once. That is when I know I have to reset with them and give them my undivided attention, even if only for a short time, it reels everything back in.
What do you hope to pass to your children about success and failure?
Success doesn’t look the same to everyone, and that’s okay. You do you and find what makes you FEEL successful, because what you think of yourself matters more than what anyone else thinks of you.
How has motherhood impacted you both personally and professionally?
Oh it’s taken me for a wild ride! I am a storyteller at heart and I talk alot about my pregnancy in my book, and I think that’s where motherhood started weaving its way into all aspects of my life. In writing that book, and the next in the series called Why I Laughed: Tales from Talkative Toddlers, I found a great outlet to tell stories about motherhood and parenting. This was just a passion project for me – something fun to connect with other moms and it’s been great. Proceeds from bulk orders help support Postpartum Support International (psi.org) so the book helps support a great cause, and it’s also helped me connect with other moms. I’ve been a guest now on a few podcasts and have gotten to connect with so many great moms because of it.
Some FUN! Getting to know YOU:
How do you like your coffee: I like my coffee delivered, large, hot and from Cali Coffee. I order a sugar-free Maverick with oat milk. It’s the best, and tastes like a German chocolate cake.
Favorite SoFlo Date Night: Any date night! I like doing something unique since our date nights are so few with three kiddos. We’ve done axe throwing, had a traditional Japanese omakase experience, and we regularly go to the casino. I’d love to do indoor rock climbing (but I also might hate it :P)
Favorite SoFlo Restaurant: That’s tough! I’m such a foodie, so I probably have one in each category! Takato or Otoro for Japanese, Steak954 or JWB Steakhouse for steaks, Garibaldi’s for Mexican. I could go on forever.
Best place you have traveled to: Barcelona, hands down!
What’s on the top of your bucket list: To go back to Barcelona – I’d love to stay there for a month, maybe when all my kids are in college. I would just love to explore more, go to more Flamenco shows, shop, sightsee, head to their beaches, try all the foods! It sounds like an absolute dream.
Most embarrassing mom moment: One time, on the way to Cali Coffee’s drive-thru, when my son Cameron just turned 2 and I was pregnant with Caroline, he kept saying “there’s a fire”. I looked around and did not see a fire. I told him as much. But, he kept going on and on about this fire, so trying to placate him, I just kept saying “yeah, wow, a fire.” It was lame, but I needed that coffee badly, so I wasn’t up for anything action-packed. Anyway, he loves the girls at Cali Coffee, so when we get there, I always roll down his window so he can order himself some milk. When I rolled it down, he told the girl our barista the same thing, “there’s a fire”. She immediately said “Oh no, a SPIDER?! Where?!?!” And he said, “right here, on my car seat!” Ya’ll…. I FLEW OUT OF THAT CAR SO FAST! I took my shoe off and unbuckled Cameron, started whacking all over just for good measure, huffing and puffing with my big pregnant belly sticking out under my shirt. He was right, there was a huge spider. I had no idea he’d been telling me this quite calmly for the last 20 minutes, and I felt awful. Everyone in the drive-thru line enjoyed the show though, of a crazed pregnant mom holding her tiny son and beating his carseat with a shoe.
Best binge-worthy tv show: I love Working Moms, Young & Hungry, The Ultimatum, Married at First Sight, Wentworth, Locke & Key – ugh so many!
What do you do for self care: Well I’ve learned that self care isn’t the same for everyone, which was very freeing a few years back. I’ve learned I’m not the type to get my hair or nails done and find that “relaxing”. Instead, I like to get creative in the kitchen, eat healthy foods, float in the pool, drink a ton of water, call up one of my girlfriends for a chat, have a glass of wine with a neighbor – all simple things that can have a big impact on my mindset.
Favorite way to spend time with friends: I love dinner and drinks with friends. It seems so rare with how busy life has gotten, and all the hunkering down with COVID. But, the best memories to me are made around a dinner table sharing stories and laughs.
Connect with Jalapeño Digital:
Facebook: @jalapenodigitalteam
LinkedIn: Jalapeno Digital
