Meet Dawn Jones | Publicist and Photographer; Entrepreneur

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

Hi Dawn, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I really wanted to have “time freedom” and be able to set the pace of my own life. I’ve never been a fan of early wakings, rushed mornings to get somewhere, or being mandated to be in a work setting at specific times of the day – so early on in my entrepreneur journey that’s what I was trying to avoid. I wanted to be in control of my days – to set the pace and to be able to lean into my natural tendencies of when I’m most productive and creative. When I had my first child that really evolved my outlook on having my own business…. having time freedom meant I could be present in my child’s day-to-day. I really want to be there for every little moment of my kids’ childhood and fully experience it, so now that’s the reason I pursue entrepreneurship. Being in charge of your time is the ultimate luxury in life.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I own two businesses – Pressed Fresh Collective and Dawn Louise Photography.

Pressed Fresh Collective is an artist development and promotional agency for independent musicians… we also have a sister-company with this brand called FreshNoise Distro – a distribution company that supports independent artists in the distribution of their music. Dawn Louise Photography is a photography business that specializes in weddings and family photography.

It wasn’t easy to grow either brand and I’ve learned more lessons than I can count, but the process has been extremely rewarding. For a really long time I operated both businesses completely solo, but now we’ve grown to the place where I have a team to support me in the operations which has been a HUGE blessing. That was really the turning point for both businesses – I was able to get out of the “weeds” of client deliverables and able to focus on the business itself – the brand, the growth, the vision. It took a long time to find the right people to bring on though and that’s something I really value…. if you don’t have a team that you can trust wholeheartedly it doesn’t do you a ton of good.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m based in Durango, CO so we would definitely be playing in the mountains a good bit! I love taking visitors to the surrounding mountain towns near us – Silverton, Ouray, and Telluride are my favorite 3 to visit. There are SO many hikes that are just stunning…. we would probably hike every day. I’m also a big fan of the hot springs in our town so we would definitely be hitting that up!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Man there are so many influences in my life that have had a direct impact on my entrepreneur journey. First and foremost – my parents. They always encouraged me paving my own path in life and never told me my dreams were too far out of reach or not sensible. They fully supported every idea I came up with and asked “how can we help you get there?”. Having them believe in me from the start gave me the confidence to take risks and try new things.

Similarly, my husband did the same. He has always given me his full support and never told me to stop chasing the dreams I have for my businesses. Even in seasons where money was tight and entrepreneurship wasn’t the easiest path out of the financial burden he encouraged me to keep going and always pitched in extra to help cover the gap so that I didn’t have to give up on the dreams and goals I had for my business.

And last, but certainly not least, my faith in Christ has been the rock I cling to. Entrepreneurship is NOT an easy journey – it’s maybe the hardest thing I’ve ever done – but my relationship with Christ has given me the assurance to carry on, even in the midst of hard seasons.

Website: https://www.pressedfreshcollective.com/

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawn-jones-pressedpr/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PressedFreshCollective

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PressedFreshCollective

Other: https://www.dawnlouisephotography.com/
https://www.instagram.com/dawn.louise.photography/
https://www.facebook.com/dawn.louise.photo/

Image Credits
Dawn Louise Photography (wedding photos)
Pressed Fresh Collective (thumbnail images)