Meet Jenny Locklin of It’s A Crumby Life in East Valley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jenny Locklin.

Jenny, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.

I’m the founder and CEO of “IT’S A CRUMBY LIFE.” We sell bread crumbs! White, wheat, marble rye and soon-to-be sourdough. As we’ve all seen, people just aren’t willing to eat a full slice of bread these days.

It was my grandmother’s second cousin once removed that inspired me to start IT’S A CRUMBY LIFE. She was in the kitchen, sweeping off the counter after making me a piece of cinnamon raisin toast, and instead of throwing the crumbs in the trash, she scooped them up with her gentle hands and fed them to me one-by-one. It was magical. It was delicious and it was unforgettable. And…I never felt full. It was at that moment when I realized…we don’t need to eat the full piece of bread, we just need the crumbs! Bread crumbs…they aren’t just for ducks!

By now, you’re probably thinking I’m ducking crazy! And I kinda am. I like to add a level of fun and humor to any message. I even help other people add fun and humor to their message, presentation, meeting or marketing. That’s why I started my serious REAL business. That business is Creative Message Media. Creative Message Media helps others add humor.

Let me ask you, when was the last time you had fun in a MEETING?! When was the last time you laughed in a corporate training? Or laughed during a webinar or a Zoom call?! Just because something is professional doesn’t mean it has to be boring and serious. In fact, research shows you learn better and remember more when you’re having fun. Humor energizes your audience, open their minds to your ideas and helps you connect with them even more. Learning while having fun is what Creative Message Media is all about!

I can help you bring the laughter and bring a level of fun while still keeping it professional and productive. Heck, I’ll even bring my bread crumbs!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Ha! As you know, success is never an easy path. However, if your passion is strong enough and your WHY is big enough, you’ll succeed. When we first started IT’S A CRUMBY LIFE, we couldn’t keep up with the demand. We were using a 12 slot Toastmaster TP430-7937991APQZ model and it still wasn’t producing fast enough. We invested in so many commercial toaster ovens and most of them just resulted in countless burns on our fingers. We were in a real jam.

And then, on June 17th 2013, Phoenix had record breaking heat with the lowest humidity on record. Duh! Why are we using a toaster when we live in the desert? Sometimes your success is right in front of you and you just don’t see it. It was at that moment that we grabbed our loaves of bread and lined each slice up on the sidewalk. Twenty three minutes later, bam! We had ourselves a whole street worth of dry bread which later turned to crumbs. And the rest is history!

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I am a speaker and a speech coach. I’m the two time winner of the Toastmasters International Humorous speech contest. I work alongside my 78 years old father, Joel Weldon. He is a hall of fame speaker and has been paid to speak at over 3,000 events and has coached over 10,000 speakers using his Ultimate Speaking System. Together, we help speakers create a clear message that has humor and impact and gets results; whether that message is being communicated in-person or virtually.

When I’m not busy plucking my chin hairs, you can find me on stage. I’m a stand up comedian and have produced over 17 comedy shows benefiting local charities. One of my favorite places to perform is at the senior living centers; where I’m known to knock em’ dead! Which isn’t hard to do. And for those of you that still aren’t impressed, I was recently featured on the Dr. Oz show for winning the funniest video. That’s Dr. OZ not Dr. Phil! Everyone confuses me with someone who would be on Dr. Phil for an episode titled, Moms Gone Mad!

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
When you accept who you really are, you become even more successful. You feel happier and you feel excited about what you are doing.

I hate to brag but I’ve always had an immature mentality. I’m one of those terrible people who find it hilarious to see someone fall down. Especially, when that person is myself. As a former elementary school teacher, I was the one teacher who found it hysterical when a student thru a hotdog across the cafeteria. Childish? Yes! Inappropriate and a bad role model? Yes. Having fun and easily amused? Yes! This childlike humor could be seen as a liability but instead, it’s a cornerstone of my success. I’ve been able to use this as a strength to find humor in almost any situation, to laugh at myself, and bring levity that facilitates learning.

I love to take dry material and make it a parody or exaggerate it. Still, to this day, I can not go to a networking event without laughing and creating a fake job and a fake commercial.

Singer and songwriter, Reba McEntire said, “In order to thrive in life, you need three bones…a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone.” I think there’s a fourth bone but that’s for another time. Laughing and being able to find the humor in even the most painful moments of life is the secret to happiness. Laughter is like a windshield wiper, it doesn’t stop the rain but it allows you to keep going. Having a sense of humor is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself. If you can laugh at yourself and you can laugh at your mistakes, you can make it thru the day.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.creativemessagemedia.com
• Phone: 480-225-0128
• Email: Jenny@creativemessagemedia.com

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