Today we’d like to introduce you to Jared Gilbert.
Hi Jared, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I live inside my head. Much of my RAM is preoccupied with literally random amalgams of pop culture, literature, and poetry that resolve into one-hit wonders that I assume will only interest me. I have to put them somewhere; set them loose into the wild so that, maybe, they’ll distract someone else.
Nichery Press became the clearing house of my benign psychoses. It’s my therapy journal, but also a place of resonance for people within very specific margins to find a part of themselves. And stick it on their laptops.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s been challenging crossing the line between a personal, passion project and any semblance of a business. My goal isn’t to be profitable but to help a certain sidelined demographic feel less isolated and more known. But (apparently) I’ve chosen to pursue that mission through the mechanics of capitalism using skills that are not my strengths. Ecommerce, marketing, research, inventory management, accounting…these are a constant headwind I need to overcome if I want people—let alone actual customers—to find my work.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My professional life is only tangentially related to Nichery Press, apart from the knowledge I’ve gathered along the way. I’ve spent my career in digital product management and software development, learning skills to move faster or explain myself better. Or just to get the job done. So I tinkered with graphic design, copyrighting, databases, user experience, instructional design, facilitation, and (so help me) pivot tables. The breadth of which has been surprisingly helpful in creating a print-on-demand business that (I hope) is unique and helpful.
Initially I’d thought that my sense of humor distinguishes my work, but more I think it’s my willingness to be honest and vulnerable with anyone. What you see is what you get, no matter who you are or where we are, and that seems to give others a sense of safety and comfort when working with me. Sure, I’m a people-pleaser with anxiety who craves validation, but it’s also important to me that no one feels neglected or unseen.
What matters most to you? Why?
It’s important to recognize that uncertainty isn’t a problem to be solved; it’s the medium through which we create. We are each broken, and the world with us, and the burden of that pain can never be carried by a single…anything. We do the best with what we have now, and what we know now, and heal whatever—whomever—is in front of us.
Contact Info:
