Her Story
About Jaimie
My journey in audio started in an unexpected way. I originally went to the University of Minnesota to become an elementary school teacher, but when I was student teaching 7th and 8th grade science and sexual education in Minneapolis, the kids ate me alive because I looked so young. After a little crisis, I moved to Florida and visited Full Sail University to check out computer animation. I walked past a studio with an SSL console and fell in love with audio instead. I got my associate's degree there in audio, going to classes at 4am and 1am because the school was open 24 hours and they slammed a degree into one year. I spent over a decade as a female audio engineer in Los Angeles, one of the few women in a male-dominated field. I moved to the Upper Midwest to be closer to family because LA is not a good place to raise kids. My husband, who is also an audio engineer, and I opened our own business together. Before my current role running the company, I was a voiceover director, production supervisor, and casting director at a small company where you had to wear many hats. For the past 3 years, I've been running our company, managing everything from acquiring and maintaining client relationships with ad agencies to handling all the finances, projections, forecasting, and metrics. I'm kind of a spreadsheet geek. In January 2024, I had a brain tumor removed and suffered a stroke that left me completely paralyzed on my left side. I had to relearn everything left-handed, which was tough because I'm left-handed. I went from wheelchair to walker and now I can walk, though I'm still uncoordinated and have weakness. Despite being disabled and on disability, I still run the company and I'm working to get the business to a place where it can run without me, potentially something my four kids could move into if they're interested.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Jaimie
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to stubbornness and determination. For sure. I do not give up easy. Especially when people tell me that I can't do something. It's like the ultimate motivator. When someone says I can't do something, that just drives me to prove them wrong. That determination has carried me through everything, from being one of the few women in audio engineering to recovering from my stroke and continuing to run my company.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
It's going to sound really negative, but the best advice I ever received was from my old boss 20 years ago, who said only trust yourself first. Never trust anyone more than yourself. That advice has stuck with me throughout my entire career and has helped me navigate the business world, especially as a woman in a male-dominated field.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
You have to have thick skin. Take it with a grain of salt, because it's a guarantee that people are going to think lower of you than you are, less of you than you can do. It's just a given. Prove them wrong by being the best you can be. That's the only way to prove them wrong, not to fight back or anything, just do your best. And know that your work will outshine whatever criticism you receive. Don't let anyone make you feel like you can't do it, because you can.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
AI is the big challenge. It's exciting because it's like the technological industrial revolution and it's going to change the world so much. But for a while, it's going to take our work, and it is taking our work. We're feeling it a lot right now. At the same time, there's so many great tools out there that, if you know how to use them, are fantastic tools. I think AI is a huge one. While it's challenging because it's affecting our business, I believe we'll find a way to shift with it and adapt. The key is being flexible and able to change with the times.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Having good work ethic is the most important value to me, both in work and in life. It drives me crazy when people are just working for the weekends and trying to get out of there, doing the bare minimum. Your name is going on something, so put pride in it, put everything you have in it, and do your best, always. I would say that's probably true in regular life and in business. Pardon my French, but I don't half-ass anything. I believe in giving your all to everything you do.
Keep Exploring
More Influential Women · Minnesota
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.