Hello and Welcome!
My name is Jenny Stradling. I’m a mom, CEO, Business Consultant, artist and writer.
This is my story.
In 2005 I started my journey into my digital marketing career as a link builder, when the Internet was still the Wild Wild West and the rules we have today didn’t exist.
In 2009 my partner (in life and work), Chris Weatherall, and I started our agency, Eminent SEO.
This is my personal blog for deep dives into subjects I’m interested in, such as: ethics, business growth strategies, work/life balance, using the law of attraction, mental health, addiction treatment, art and design.
I primarily focus on helping businesses find sustainable, long term solutions for their branding, marketing, technologies and digital asset needs.
My Agency and Work at Eminent SEO
Eminent SEO is a branding, design and marketing agency in Mesa, Arizona that focuses on data-driven, multi-channel marketing campaigns for artists, businesses and entrepreneurs who want to do good work.
What is SEO?
SEO is the abbreviation for “search engine optimization”, which is where I got my start. My work at Eminent SEO includes deep experience in the specifics of SEO. However, over the years our capabilities have grown well beyond what falls under the umbrella of “SEO”.
We built an incredible team that creates amazing work we’re really proud of. Today, we focus on brand storytelling by creating powerful and engaging user experiences online. This is done through website design, development and strategic marketing. And yes, SEO.
Learn more about our agency here: Eminent SEO
My Personal Mission
My personal is to make the Internet a better place.
My passion is making things better for the people who use them.
I have spent almost every day for the last 15 years on the Internet. Every day I look at dozens of websites. I read articles, watch videos and sift through social content.
My typical day includes talking to business owners about their issues and looking at what they currently have online for their brand…
And I have come to one big conclusion:
The Internet is full of crap.
Websites are outdated and, often times, difficult to use. Designs are outdated, feature cheesy stock photos and lack any artistic point of view. Videos and content push products and services, but forget to focus on the user. Blog posts are clearly written by marketers and lack depth and perspective. It’s nearly impossible to find new and interesting visual experiences.
It’s sad.
But, it’s more than that. It’s scary!
The general public is blissfully unaware of the manipulation and schemes that push them to subconsciously take the actions they do. And, not just online, but in the “real world” too.
I am not beyond the influence. However, after spending countless hours researching and analyzing data and algorithms online, I am empowered with knowledge that allows me to better understand what is happening to our culture, society, politics and economics on the Internet.
To me, that is a powerful responsibility and I now know I cannot simply sit back and watch bad things happen to good people. Not when I know I can do something about it.
A Building Internal Conflict
You know the saying:
Sometimes you have to lose something to gain something better.
The cycle of life has taught me that everything you lose makes room for something new. And, this has always proven to be true in my working career.
Once, I was heartbroken from getting let go of a job, only to later land an even better job, one that started me on my path to entrepreneurship. Throughout my career I have experienced many losses. Jobs, partners, employees, clients… some big, some small.
Yet even the monumental losses, the unrelenting losses, they have not broken me.
Instead, they have pushed me to do more.
This last year of my career has been the hardest yet. 10 years into running my agency and working on building a client list of primarily mental health and addiction treatment clients, we had our biggest losses to date.
The addiction treatment industry is a mess. For years now they built lucrative businesses off of services offered to individuals with private insurance or cash that could afford $30-50K or more for residential services. However, in recent years the laws have changed and rehabs who don’t accept in-network or state insurance programs are now struggling.
Their for-profit, fly-away model is no longer able to meet the demands of the public. Expensive 30 day care doesn’t work. They proved that by showing how easy it is to make money by repeatedly treating patients who relapse, without being held accountable for outcomes.
I tried to warn them too:
Why Your Addiction Treatment Center Needs to Offer MAT
Discovering My Mission
Growing up in a religious household a specific set of morals and values was instilled in me. My family believed in doing good by others and giving back by volunteering time and monetary donations each month. We didn’t just show up for church on Sunday, we lived by the standards set by the church in our every day lives.
My parents and church leaders taught me to be honest and act with integrity at all times. I was surrounded by individuals in all aspects of my life that lived their lives with these same values. What I learned was imprinted on me permanently.
I have always wanted to do the right thing by people. And, in business it’s been no different.
However, as a young woman and one who stands for honesty and ethics in business, I was often looked at as naive. Even my trusted partners, employees and clients betrayed me over the years by targeting my vulnerability and taking advantage of my big heart.
And, this made me jaded.
I began to hate the Internet and I started hating my work.
I just couldn’t keep working with and for people who seem to only care about money. Who saw the opportunity to offer addiction treatment services as a lucrative business investment but forgot they were supposed to actually be helping people.
That’s not why I do this work. That’s not who I am. And, I just couldn’t see myself continuing to invest all of my time and energy into people who don’t care about the things that matter to me.
You know, like helping people.
Finding My Path
My religious upbringing gave me my values. But, my strength comes from my experiences. At 16 I found myself alone with a new baby. My life choices brought me to that place and, even though I was sad and lonely, I was learning who I really am.
Many years have passed since I was thrust into adulthood too early and with a baby in tow, but that time of my life laid the foundation for who I would become.
For a long time I felt lost. I got married. Had another baby. Got divorced. I had other relationships. More babies…
I had many jobs. I sold cell phones, was a telemarketer, receptionist, waitress, managed a restaurant and worked in sales.
But, I never really felt like I had found “my calling”.
Then, my Uncle passed away and I made plans to go stay with my Aunt for the service back in my hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah. As a single working mom, I didn’t travel much and I hadn’t been home in a while. She suggested I fly out a day early so we could spend some time alone together.
One thing you should know about my Aunt Jan, she’s a special person. There is something about her that people are instantly drawn to. It’s like she can see into your soul. Like she understands you better than you understand yourself. That she has an honest love for you, even though you just met. It’s like she knows you. It’s magic.
Of course I went to visit her early and was eager to spend time with her. That day she picked me up from the airport and later we went to dinner where we talked about life.
Things had been tough for a while. I was trying to find my path and was feeling a little lost. She asked me why I thought my life was the way it was and I remember saying, “I don’t know, I guess I just expect things to be hard”. That sparked something in her and she said she had something to show me.
That night she shared the movie “The Secret” with me. At the time it was still underground and I had never heard of the concepts. The Secret, if you don’t know it (because you’ve been under a rock?? who are you?!) is a film / book Rhonda Byrne:
The Secret, as it turns out, is the Law of Attraction. And, it was everything I needed in that moment. The idea that we are in control of our own destiny. That what we think about, we become. It wasn’t exactly new to me, but put into this context at that specific moment of my life, it clicked.
It was my AH-HA! moment, as Opera would say.
I knew I had discovered something powerful about myself and I knew I would never be the same.
Using My Voice For Good
After the time with my aunt and my introduction to The Law of Attraction, I went home a new person. Something was sparked in me and I was ON FIRE. I needed to share my message and would, with anyone who would listen. I knew in my heart this was the answer to getting what you want from life.
Fast forward to almost 13 years later and here we are. I still practice the principles discovered in “The Secret”, but I have also sense had the opportunity to learn from many other publications, spiritual teachers, thought leaders and their ideas.
I’m still learning, but, with my deeply rooted ethics and my understanding of principles related to the Law of Attraction combined with my unique work experience, I feel called to do more.
Now, more than ever before, I want to put my energy into building something that matters. I don’t want to spend one more day working on anything that doesn’t add value… to me personally, to the Internet… to the world.
I am committing the rest of my life to making the world a better place.
In order to do that, I pledge to focus my time and talents on creating tools, platforms, content, videos and other forms of educational content development and shared media that will add value and help transform the Internet into a better place, for us all.
What’s Next for Me?
We still do addiction treatment consulting and marketing. So, that is never going to go away. But, now I want to create more opportunities for artists and non-profits and focus more on the creative ways we can work together to make businesses more sustainable and help improve people’s lives and the planet while doing it.
I am currently working on building out the Eminent Creative Studios, for recording video, audio and photography in our Mesa offices. More on that soon, subscribe to our newsletter to get notified and check out my latest marketing blog post on my company website:
Growing Your Business By Targeting Your Smallest Viable Audience
I also serve on the Board of Directors for a non-profit called The ECHO Foundation. We seek to share important information around addiction and educate the community to help end the stigma and work towards healing and inclusion. Our foundation gives back through events, our contributions to the art community and by sharing in-depth content and real stories on our blog:
Why We Support Art in Addiction Recovery
Thanks for your support. Together we can do so much more.