Women We Love: Janet Driscoll Miller

Crafting a career that marries two of her loves—marketing and technology—Janet Driscoll Miller has worked hard to grow Search Mojo in Charlottesville. Janet founded the company in 2005, is the president and CEO, and as a small business owner she has worn many hats. As her business has grown she’s been able to lighten the load a little with additional staff members. These days, in addition to being wife to Tad Miller, and mother of Emma, 5, and Molly, 2, Janet also wears Chief Operating Officer, Sales Director, in-house search engine subject matter expert and technical developer. “Most of my day is spent juggling those tasks,” she says.

She has worked as a search engine marketer since 1999 and has “never looked back.” Her biggest challenge right now is managing the growth. “Our industry is growing by leaps and bounds, and as a small business, it’s hard to maintain balance while also trying to grow rapidly as a company,” she says.

But, she would love to see more women following this career path.

“Join us! I hope that more women will pursue Internet marketing, and specifically search engine marketing, as a career. The best place to start, for college students, is with a good, solid course. If you’ve been working awhile already, there are many online resources that can help you learn more about all types of Internet marketing. One of my favorites is MarketingProfs.com.”

Enthusiasm. It is something that comes through loud and clear to anyone following Janet on Twitter or through the Search Mojo site. “One of my internship directors in college once told me to ‘never lose my enthusiasm.’ When I was younger, I didn’t know what she meant by that, but as I grew older and worked in several jobs that weren’t very rewarding, I quickly saw how work and life can easily rob you of the enthusiasm so many of us have in our youth,” Janet says. “I try to remember that and stay excited and motivated in all that I do. If I’m not able to be enthusiastic about what I’m doing, then why am I doing it in the first place?”

I’ve seen Janet share her enthusiasm for social media at the local women’s conference Quadruplicity. She also enjoys sharing her experiences with college students in Internet marketing classes at James Madison University in Harrisonburg.

“There’s something so rewarding about being able to use your experience to help those just entering the field, and it’s even more rewarding when you get to give back to your own school,” says Janet, who has a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications from JMU. “I love JMU through and through, and I feel so blessed to be able to give back to the students.”

How does she lead a balanced life?

“That’s assuming I have a balanced life! I think my situation, running a business and raising two small kids, you have to have two things going for you—you need a spouse who is supportive and is truly a partner in your relationship and you need to invest in your own wellbeing. You’re no good to others if you’re not at your best (or at least as close to your best as you can be),” Janet says.

She takes care of herself mentally and physically through working out every day—or nearly. “Typically for me that’s running a few miles. It gives me time alone, to clear my head and think quietly about my life,” she notes.

8 Things You Might Not Know about Janet Driscoll Miller…

1.  Who is your favorite author and why? I don’t follow authors as much as I do individual books, but I do really enjoy good business books. One author I love is Dan Ariely, who wrote “Predictably Irrational.” It was a fascinating look at buyer behavior.

2. What is your favorite thing about Charlottesville? I mostly love that Charlottesville is so family friendly. There’s always something to do with my kids on the weekends.

3.  What is your favorite hobby/pastime? On the side, when I’m not optimizing websites for search engines, I like to pretend I’m Martha Stewart. I love to be crafty. I just wish I had more time for it!

4. What is one of your hidden talents/skills? Along the lines of wanting to be Martha Stewart, I love to bake creative cakes. It’s such a welcome departure from the high-tech world I live in, and it allows me to channel my inner creativity in ways that my career doesn’t. Last year for my niece’s birthday I made a standing replica of R2-D2 for her birthday cake. That was a frightful challenge, but fun, too.

5.  What is your guilty pleasure? I love my Virginia wine.

6.  What is your favorite movie and why? My favorite movie by far “Shawshank Redemption” and my favorite line from the movie is “Get busy livin’, or get busy dyin’.”

7.  Where did you grow up? I was born here in Charlottesville, but I mostly grew up in Richmond.

8.  What is the greatest invention of your lifetime and why? Clearly it has to be the Internet. Without it, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing today. Besides, I’m an Internet junkie—I can’t live without it!