Business Spotlight

by Kris Ann Hegle

SBJ Contributing Writer

Some people are afraid to take risks, particularly when it comes to their jobs. Then there are people like Jackie Taylor Johnson. If the job doesn't present any challenges, then the job probably isn't for her.

Johnson is a well-known member of the Springfield business community. In 1994, she founded Spring-field's Best Inc., a nonprofit cooperative advertising group comprising local business owners. A year and a half ago, however, she left her post as the executive director of Springfield's Best and began building a new business J. Taylor Johnson Advertising.

A full-service agency, J. Taylor Johnson Advertising does everything from print ads to radio and TV commercials. Mostly, Johnson helps her clients do what she does best, sell a product or service.

"I do a one-on-one with each of my clients," Johnson said. "I help them decide who to target, and I help them establish their goals and develop a marketing plan to reach those goals. Then, I work within their budget to place ads in the most effective media outlet for that particular business."

Although Johnson has only been in business since last September, she has more than two dozen clients, and the list is growing. Most of her clients are small business owners like Jerry Carroll, who owns Morris Oil Products in Springfield.

Previously, Carroll had handled his own advertising, but when he heard Johnson had left Springfield's Best to start her own ad agency, he decided to see if she had any ideas about how he could make his advertising more effective. Carroll said he couldn't be more pleased with the results.

"She really knows the business," Carroll said. "She informed me about all of my advertising options, and she's done a good job with my radio and print ads."

For Johnson, starting another business has enabled her to combine her knowledge of what small business owners need with her experience in media sales. Indeed, she has a lot of media experience.

Following graduation from Central High School in Springfield, Johnson left the area. During the next 20 years, she lived in Kansas City, Breckenridge, Colo., and then settled in Clearwater, Fla., where she did public relations work for the Clearwater Sun. When the newspaper was bought out, Johnson began selling advertising for WTAN, an AM radio station in Clearwater.

In 1986, family ties brought her back to Springfield, and she went to work at KTTS radio. According to Johnson, the job at KTTS marked a turning point in her career.

"KTTS gave me the training I needed to be a professional," Johnson said. "They put me through a wonderful training program. I came out of training knowing about how to use different media to get different results."

In 1990, she moved to KGBX radio and became an account executive. Although she didn't have any clients when she took the position, by 1992 she had billed more than $345,000 worth of advertising and was recognized as the top salesperson out of the company's 10 account executives, Johnson said.

Not one to rest on her laurels, Johnson left in 1993 to join KGMY, a new radio station that was being started by Sunburst II Inc., which also owned KGBX. She became the sales manager for the station and helped build its advertising base from the ground up.

Sunburst II tapped Johnson to become a corporate sales trainer for both of its radio stations in 1993. But by 1994, Johnson's entrepreneurial spirit got the best of her, and she left to start Springfield's Best.

According to Johnson, starting Springfield's Best was full of challenges, both personally and professionally. During her first five months of business, Johnson's 24-year-old son died, and then her mother.

Although it was an emotional time, Johnson refocused and threw herself into her work, doing everything from preparing the business' bylaws to developing effective marketing presentations. Her focus quickly paid off. Membership in Springfield's Best grew from five businesses in June 1994 to 120 by September 1996.

These days, Johnson is focusing on building her new advertising agency in the same determined fashion that she built Springfield's Best. In the future, Johnson said, she would like to move out of the office she has set up in the home that she shares with her husband, KGBX radio DJ Woody Snow, and hire another full-time employee.

"I'm very happy doing what I'm doing," Johnson said. "I enjoy the challenge of starting something new and helping others reach their goals." [[In-content Ad]]