Meet Jen Baers | Graphic Designer, Web Developer and Founder of RZN8 Media

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jen Baers and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jen, what role has risk played in your life or career?
My entire career path has been infused with risk. After college I worked for a movie trailer house in Los Angeles called Aspect Ratio. I was a driver first making deliveries to all the studios in Hollywood and then I moved to the print department and became a production artist for movie posters. This is how I learned my graphic design skills which formed the basis of my career. When I left Aspect Ratio in 1995 I realized that the corporate world was not a great fit for me and I was better as a solopreneur. I like to say I invented “work from home” because I bought a macintosh computer and started working freelance jobs out of my living room apartment in Venice Beach. The risk was that I was early in my career and still honing my design skills. Freelancing allowed me to work for all sorts of businesses. Real estate, non-profits, entertainment, I even designed a guide to pick up basketball in LA and photographed all the pickup courts all over Los Angeles. At one point when work was slow I collected the coins from phone booths in a rather sketchy part of town. Talk about risk. I never knew where my next job was coming from, I was still learning all aspects of running a business. My path was riddled with risk but it allowed me to keep my independent spirit, learn about many different industries, meet tons of new people and be a free wheeling young person in Venice Beach.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I use my intuition to tune into each and every client to choose imagery, color and style to represent their personal or business brand. I think creating a connection with my clients is really important. I feel like it’s a team effort. I like to work with businesses and brands that are contributing to the betterment of mankind and animal kind. I’m proud of the constant evolution in my business to adjust with the changes in technology. I went from production artist to designer, to web developer to digital marketer to a full service agency. I’m also proud of my passion projects. I launched Inclusive Design Co. in 2020 to help make websites accessible to the blind and visually impaired. Currently a passion project of mine is called Spirit Bracelets. They are bracelets made from Yak bone, hand dyed and sourced from Nepal. I’ve created a series to correspond to every Chakra and they are meant to be a mindfulness practice. I love doing art projects in order to keep my creative energy flowing. It’s taken a long time to get to the place I am today. Most people climb the corporate ladder but I chose to climb my own ladder which often times was very difficult learning all aspects of running a business from the ground up. The way I have been successful taken the road less traveled is by valuing and nurturing my relationships and especially my relationship with myself. Relationships are the key to building your reputation. People remember to refer you when you have good relationships. I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is that a career is built in a lifetime. You need patience and consistency to continue to build your skills over time until you become an expert. There is no shortcut in learning all the lessons in life and in business you need to learn to get to a place of personal success. It’s also important to define what success means to you and not compare yourself to others. I think society has defined success for us and it keeps people in a cycle of feeling like they aren’t enough. Be proud of the hurdles your have overcome in life to become who you are. I think a successful person is one who has built their character despite the challenges of life. If you are kind, considerate, compassionate and care about lifting everyone up that to me is a successful person. I’ve contributed in supporting so many causes and non-profits in my career. LGBTQ org’s, animals, athletes, health practioners, green initiatives and the list goes on. Supporting those who are doing good in the world is what I’m most proud of. That is the work that is most satisfying to me.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Los Angeles is such a diverse and cultural city. I would take them to see art at the wonderful museums we have. LACMA, MOCA, The Broad. I would take them to a picnic and show at the Hollywood Bowl. We would hang out at The Abbey in West Hollywood which is my favorite Queer space. And then we would do some hiking in Malibu and picnic on the beach. Fun dining in West Hollywood would be Cecconis’, Gracias Madre, and Korean BBQ in Korea town. And play some tennis on the rooftop courts above the West Hollywood public library.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’ve really only had one mentor in my adult life and her name is Carey Michaels now Carey Keeney. She was the head of finishing for the trailer house Aspect Ratio. I met her when I was 21 just out of college and Carey taught me so much about life, about business, about what it is like to be a woman in the cut-throat business of Hollywood entertainment marketing. She took me skiing and we learned how to snowboard. She drove a big black truck and and owned a horse and I really admired her and thought she was a bad-ass for dealing with all the intense work issues in the film marketing bus. She also saw more in me personally than I could see for myself at the time and she really helped me unlock some things that were holding me back. She was always my champion and stuck up for me when I had some difficulties in the work place. I really never had anyone believe in me in that way and it made a deep impression on me and stays with me to this day. Supporting and mentoring those younger than you has an ever lasting effect. Shoutout to Carey!

Website: https://rzn8media.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rzn8media/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenbaers/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jen.baers/