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Tuesday, Mar 19, 2024

#31 Jenny Paige

Jenny Paige wears multiple hats as chief executive and creative director of Media Well Done. Her company provides a range of media services, from graphic design to printing, advertising, website development, social media and beyond. Whatever her clients need, she gets it done. “When our clients ask us to do something, we always say yes,” Paige said. “And the clients we have stay with us long term.” In fact, Paige’s first client when she started Media Well Done in the 1990s was Union Bank — they stuck with her and remain a client today. Other top clients include Charles Schwab & Co., First Republic Bank and Axos Bank. “Our niche is the financial services industry,” she said. Recently, bank clients have flooded the agency with requests for digital animated advertisements, a specialty for the company. Media Well Done also has gained attention through its proprietary PODWorks platform — an online ordering system for customizable print products. For example, a client with a brand-approved flyer template might want to customize that flyer with specific information or personnel headshots. PODWorks enables them to do so and automatically packages the file as a high-resolution PDF. “Graphic design is our core. We’re a creative agency,” Paige said. Paige has been commissioned for such jobs as designing the invitation for the 100th U.S. Open golf tournament in Pebble Beach. She still cherishes the letters she received from Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer permitting the use of their likenesses in her design. The final product — a timeline collage of the sport’s history — won a gold medal from the Printing Industry of America. She’s also worked on projects for House of Blues and Peterson International Underwriters. Paige attributes Media Well Done’s growth and longevity in the media industry to its ability to evolve with the times and self-educate its staff on new services. “If we aren’t already doing it, we figure out how to do it,” she said. “This makes us very turnkey. We’re not just an advertising agency or print shop. We do the whole thing from ideation to the final finished product in a variety of channels.” Equally important, Paige said, is her staff. “You have to hire the best people. Everyone here loves what they do, they work together well and they care about putting out the very best work they can,” she said. “We have great customer service and fast turnaround.” Getting started Paige always had an entrepreneurial spirit, though it wasn’t always clear how she would end up using it. Her earliest aspiration was to become a doctor, but those plans got sidetracked in high school, where she won gold medals for singing at state competitions four years in a row. After earning her degree in musical theatre, Paige was crowned Miss Arizona in the state preliminary to the Miss America competition. She subsequently decided to move to California to pursue acting. “I was able to get a job as a graphic designer, but I needed more flexibility in my schedule because of auditions and acting jobs so I decided to start my own graphic design business.” she said. That was more than 25 years ago. She was her company’s sole employee then, working out of her home in Studio City. “The first year was discouraging. I worked so hard and made very little money,” Paige said. Eventually, she started a family and moved to Valencia where housing was more affordable. Employment opportunities in the entertainment industry became too unstable, and as a result Paige poured more and more energy into Media Well Done. The company last year cleared just shy of $2 million in revenue and is currently preparing to hire its 13th employee. “Twelve percent of businesses survive more than 25 years. Probably 2 or 3 percent of those are woman-owned,” Paige said. “If you believe in what you’re doing, just keep going.”

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