Jane Claire Hervey
Jane Claire Hervey is a graduate from University of Texas with a degree in Journalism. She owns a content creation studio named Group Work, and has written content for Buzzfeed and Forbes. She is the founder of #bossbabesATX, a nonprofit that “amplifies and connects women and nonbinary-identifying creatives and entrepreneurs.”
I called Jane as she was leaving to go meet a client for Group Work. In the background, I could hear her gathering up her things as she described how she became the powerhouse she is today after graduating only four years prior. “I’ve had a very meandering career. It has definitely shaped my experience and where I am now, and honestly, the kinds of projects I do.” I quickly learned that multitasking is integral to Jane’s success.
She shared with me that she has an “investment in gender equality” due to the experiences she faced in the small border town where she grew up in South Texas. “It was very limiting in terms of the world views. I had no idea what was out there. I was spending $60,000 on an education that someone basically signed me up for and said you need to do this to get where you need to go in life. But where the hell was I going?”
“The thing is: for people like me who grew up in really poor towns and who are maybe being introduced to larger universities, or moving to a city for the first time, you don’t know what is out there. And when you start to find out more you can begin to feel really jaded and excluded from opportunities. I honestly believe that’s one of the reasons that the creative industry and enterprise is still an unequal environment because people aren't doing the work to bring new people into the fold.”
That is something Jane is trying to change with her organization. #bossbabesATX "just came out of a general interest and need, and I happened to be in Austin at the time,” Jane argues, but the nonprofit ultimately exists to support women artists and businesses. They host workshops such as “She Talks: A Candid Conversation about Race” and “Meet Her Hands” where local women artists lead a discussion “telling a new, more inclusive history of women in the arts.”
Besides these workshops,#bossbabesATX hosts a State of the Uterus dance party on New Years to “renew our community and the general public's commitment to women's rights and civic engagement,” a CraftHer Market craft show for local Texas creatives, and an annual Babes Fest, “an interdisciplinary art festival hosted over the course of three days in Austin, existing entirely of work made by women and non-binary people.”
“It’s an educational, change your mind and think about things differently kind of festival,” Jane said, emphasizing how this multi-day experience is more than just an art festival. “It’s just a place to celebrate work in an industry currently changing in terms of gender equality.”
While planning events both big and small, Jane urges her team - and herself - to "not forget why you are doing what you're doing.” This is evident in all that Jane strives to do, from making a inclusive conference to taking on a project with Doula Trainings International, an educational body that strives to build an international network “for social justice, reproductive justice and professional growth.”
“I don't engage in projects that don’t play on my realm of experience,” she shared as the noises of traffic played in the background. “When I delegate stuff, I delegate stuff I’m not good at.”
Jane then explained how she was able to lead such effective but small teams. “Typically,” she began, “we think that when we join a team, or when you hire someone to join your team, that people know what they should do, and pick up the pace accordingly.”
As she spoke more about team delegation, she became louder and more assertive - clearly in her element. “I’ve found that this doesn’t build good teams and it isn’t what a leader should do. When I’m building a team and when I’m working with others, I’m very clear about my expectations. I’m also very clear about what problems need to be solved.”
““It’s a different working style, but it’s the kind of working environment I strive to create.””
Jane told me when she hires someone she looks for people who are comfortable at solving problems. “I don’t pick people who need to follow a clear set of instructions every single day. To me, the people I work with need to understand the objectives of their position and respond and task themselves accordingly. And so that is where I spend my time as a leader. I ensure the team I work with understands their tasks and objectives.”
“Part of leadership is one: having the power to make decisions, and two: being able to hold yourself and other accountable.” Jane continued, “That’s what you have to do as a leader. I’m not trying to make little robots to do everything I tell them, and I’m not trying to silo my company. I don’t believe in that working style and I don’t think it empowers people to make their own decisions.”
“It’s a different working style,” Jane admitted. “But it’s the kind of working environment I strive to create.” #bossbabesATX’ team isn’t only one filled on problem solvers, but women of different backgrounds, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and ages, mirroring the audience that they strive to empower through their content.
“Depending on what gender you are, how you identify as a person, what your cultural background is or your racial background, you are going to feel limited because you are going to see people who have access to more resources get things done faster than you or better than you, or any number of things.”
“Operating from that frame work can get really exhausting sometimes because you are always fighting an uphill battle. It’s not like you are setup for success. What holds most companies back isn’t that the founder isn’t smart or whatever. It’s that they didn’t have access to something that they needed or couldn't make something work with what they have.” #bossbabesATX hopes to change that with their work in Austin.
We were wrapping up our interview and I could hear Jane parking her car. With the different teams that Jane has lead and all that she has accomplished, I wanted to ask Jane one final question of what she was the most proud of. “This isn’t professional at all,” Jane started, “ but I was in a really abusive relationship and it took me awhile to break out of that cycle. In terms of my adult life it is a really big accomplishment to heal from that trauma and to be able to realize that even though it was wrong in how I was treated, that I can make my own future from it and I don't have to live in it.”
Jane has created a community for women to get together and share their stories and experiences. She encourages independence in her employees and hires individuals from minority backgrounds. She strives to educate women from low-income backgrounds on the options available to them. Her story is one of overcoming difficulties and coming out on top, while not forgetting to pay it forward.
“I’m really proud of working through trauma and pain and not coming out of it jaded but empowered and strong. And now,” Jane shared as I could hear her entering the bubbling office building of Group Work, “it’s part of my story.”