From marketing student to business owner: Meet Maeve Jarret

After building in-demand skills in social media marketing, SEO practices, data analytics and copywriting while studying Falmouth's Marketing & Digital Communications MA (Online), Maeve Jarret has now created her own small business, putting her marketing process into practice.  

Named MarketingwithMJ, Maeve created the company just a year after finishing her course at Falmouth, a business move that has given her the opportunity to find her own clients, freelance for local businesses and become a successful Social Media Manager. We chatted with Maeve to learn more about how she built her business and how the skills she learned at Falmouth helped to form the foundation of her digital marketing career.  

How did your time at Falmouth kick-start your career in marketing? 

Completing the course gave me the background knowledge I needed to fully understand marketing in different scenarios, with different brands across the UK and internationally. Before taking this course, I didn't have any marketing experience or knowledge, so it gave me a good base to understanding the industry.  

I enjoyed the course; my favourite module was the creative writing module. It involved creating a hypothetical campaign with brands we liked which gave us the chance to put our practical knowledge and creativity to good use.  

You now work as a social media manager for your own business. Can you tell us more about the work you do? 

I manage client accounts to help them achieve their marketing goals online. This includes creating graphics and images, editing photos and reels, writing captions, and engaging with desired customers or businesses on their behalf. I implement a strategy personalised to each business to allow me to create and share the right content for them, and I schedule this accordingly to make sure their marketing stays consistent online.  

I offer a few different packages, so the output varies depending on what the client wants. Starting with my monthly packages which involve implementing a strategy and the content on their accounts, but for those who don't have a budget for this style of "done for you" marketing, I also offer 'power hours' which involve one-to-one calls with me to discuss business goals, advice for improvements on platforms, which platforms they should use (and shouldn't), and what content format would work best for them. 

What does your current client base look like?  

I work with small - medium sized businesses in Cornwall. They are usually smaller teams that do not have the time, knowledge or resources to do their own marketing, but businesses large enough to invest in marketing. I don't have a specific niche as I love to work with a variety of businesses; over the last two years I've worked with beauty salons, hairstylists, car valets, a marine charity, a Cornish spirits brand, food businesses, photographers and more.   

Can you tell us more about how you created your own business and what inspired you? 

Whilst I was a Falmouth student, I had an office job which was not related to my studies, so I applied for others around marketing and landed a social media coordinator role at a local social media agency. This was so exciting as I had always wanted to work in social media. Sadly, I was made redundant after just three months. I learnt a lot in my role at the agency, and thanks to the support of my previous employer, I was given the support to start freelancing for their old clients and help with finding new ones. This was what pushed me into starting my own business!  

I also landed a part time role in marketing with a global company which gave me the security I needed to work on my business alongside. Juggling both roles was quite full on, I worked six or seven days a week, spending 10+hrs on my laptop, and I did this for just over two years before I decided it was time to go all in on my business! I'm so glad I made this decision earlier this year.  

External links 

Maeve's Instagram 

Explore Marketing & Digital Communications MA(Online)