Inspiring Event Producers: Jennyfer Crawford of Ask Jennyfer

Jennyfer Crawford, of Ask Jennyfer, is the creator of All Things Detroit: a small business showcase held twice a year in Detroit’s Eastern Market. She also owns the brand marketing firm Ask Jennyfer, specializing in small businesses, and has built an online community that connects hundreds of small businesses with buyers, partners, and new customers. 

You grew the All Things Detroit showcase from an idea into a popular event that more than 12,000 people attend every year. Why do you think people are so drawn to your events?

I that people are drawn to this event because it connects them to so many amazing businesses. Over the years regular customers have become vested in the growth of the business that participate. We share their stories and that is what makes ATD personable. 

All Things Detroit Day was named a national holiday on April 10. What do you have planned for All Things Detroit Day this year?

We are excited to be back. This will be actually the 1st NATD day that we celebrate at the Eastern Market so we are working with businesses in the area such as Eastern Market Brewing, Devries and also Faygo to make this day even more special. Because NATD is a day to celebrate small businesses in Detroit so even if they don’t come to the event at least get out and support a Detroit small business. (We are finalizing the details but we always have food trucks, photo booth, face painting and tons of giveaways. ) 

"I believe that when you fall in love with the people behind the business you fall in love with the product."

Event producers are known for wearing many hats, but it seems like you in particular work in a multitude of different roles. In addition to the small business showcases, online marketplace, and Corktown storefront, you're involved with other events in the city, you have a consulting business to help other entrepreneurs, a web series, a podcast. And I read that you spend time volunteering and teaching children about entrepreneurship. How do you juggle everything without burning out?

Great question. Honestly I don't know. LOL Balance is still something that I really have to work at. I really really love what I do. It doesn’t feel like work to me most of the time but I’m working on balance and also rediscovering what I loved to do before I had a business. 

The path of an entrepreneur is often a winding road with lots of unexpected turns, stops, and starts. Was that true for you? 

This has definitely been true for me. I started this business with no money and I have been able to grow by reinvesting in myself. So the money I made over the years went back into the business. Just being a black women in business sometimes it’s hard to get people to listen to you or support you. When customers attend ATD they would ask me to speak to the person in charge. When I would say I am in charge their eyes would get big and they would be shocked.  I never post pictures of myself but after to many encounters like that it was important to me that I make sure everyone knows who's behind this amazing business so I can show kids who look like me that you can do. 

One of the mantras for National All Things Detroit Day is “find and be found.” It sounds like you encourage business owners to share their stories, not just present a product for sale. Why is it so important for customers to understand the people behind the products they buy? 

It is important to me that the business owners share their stories because I believe that when you fall in love with the people behind the business you fall in love with the product. You are also creating a great personable relationship with your customer. 

Has sharing your own story helped you make connections or find your tribe as a business owner?

Yes! Sharing my story is how I connect to the business owners. You will be surprised that so many people have similar stories. It’s all about building relationships. 

The past two years have been filled with uncertainty and fear for a lot of small business owners. Running a live event showcase, how have you navigated the challenges of the pandemic? Did anything about your business or personal philosophy change?

I definitely had to navigate through the challenges. We didn’t host ATD in 2020 or in the early part of 2021. We returned  to Eastern Market in November and we did what we could to make customers feel safe. Provided mask, sanitize stations etc. One major thing I did was cut vendor spaces. It did cut my income but I wanted vendors to be spread out and feel safe to connect with customers. 

During the pandemic I could not host this event so I took my online marketplace that I created in 2017 and changed it to a website where we fulfill orders for all the businesses on the marketplace. That led to me opening a small storefront so customers could shop in person from their favorite local business and we could also process, ship and fulfill orders. 

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For more information about All Things Detroit Day, please visit iloveallthingsdetroit.com. 

Connect with Jennyfer and her events online:

All Things Detroit