Lauren Runs The Jollity Team

Who says work can’t be fun?

Certainly not Lauren Perfors, founder and fearless leader of Jollity.

A former VP at a prominent SEO agency, something clicked in Lauren that made her want to launch her own shop. Actually, it was more like a metronome slowly picking up the pace. Or lo-fi beats stirring up some creative energy. Whatever tunes make you want to make a plan, essentially.

Point is — this was no spur-of-the-moment jump into entrepreneurship — Jollity was meticulously planned for years.

“We built up to this,” says Lauren. “I wanted to grow something. I wanted to help small businesses. I wanted to do it better.”

So in 2011, she did.

What Makes Jollity Uncommon

“I wanted to create something different than what I saw in the current marketplace,” she says. “We were fully remote from the start. I thought it could be done and that everyone would enjoy a better lifestyle. You don’t need to be at your desk from eight to five, it just isn’t necessary. You can take care of your clients without micromanaging your team.”

“People will succeed when you give them the flexibility to do it on their own.”

Jollity was fully remote a decade before COVID made it the norm. Yet despite being spread across the country, Jollity’s workload is more shared than the average in-office agency.

“There’s no reason why everything shouldn’t be shared,” she says. “I’m a huge proponent of collaboration, communication, and sharing. All email correspondence and client-facing communications are accessible between our team members.

“That way, for example, if a team member gets sick, someone else can step in right away and see exactly where everything stands with the client. We share so we don’t miss a beat. It allows everyone to stay up to speed.”

Why Jollity Is The Best At What They Do

Humble but confidently cutting edge, Lauren leads the Jollity team to deliver on promises, every time. Jollity does so by sticking to what they do best.

“I don’t believe that you can be the very best at what you do if you continue to upsell with new services,” says Lauren. “We are the best at WordPress website design and development for small businesses, hosting and managing your site, and keeping it up to date with around-the-clock support. Because no website is ever really done, you always need someone to manage and grow with your business. We’re a partner for life”

While growth and onboarding are attractive and part of business, Jollity keeps its focus on existing clientele.

“Existing clients always come first,” says Lauren. “This allows me to be stable with our existing client base.  At a company level, we take care of them by staying up to date. Standards are constantly changing, we need to always recommend the latest trends, services, etc. We jump on the bandwagon extremely fast to make sure sites are up-to-date and compliant.”

What’s In The Jollity Name?

Jollity
noun

lively and cheerful activity or celebration.
"a night of riotous jollity"
the quality of being cheerful.

Yes, it’s a real word. Fit for a web design team with new-school tools and an old-school work ethic, Jollity can most aptly be defined as “have fun and get sh*t done.”

“I really feel like client and internal communication can get stale,” says Lauren. “You can have a lot of fun doing your job. One of the best ways is to hang out, interact, and actually get to know your clients and team. Who are they? What makes them tick? What makes them happy?

“When you understand your team members and client at their core, you know how to give them what they need. You know how to ask for and offer help. And you know how to have fun getting those results. I wanted a brand that represented that theme and approach.

The proof is in the results and the thriving client relationships.

“We’re not only going to do an amazing job taking care of your website, but we’re also going to have a damn lot of fun while we’re doing it. That makes work/life joyful. Jollity came out of that ideology.”

Outside Of Work

When she has time away from Jollity, Lauren is either being a Mom, playing outside or best yet — both.

“My kids are only going to be young once but my job is going to be here the rest of my working life,” she says. “When my kids get out of school, I am spending time with them.”

Lauren is a breast cancer survivor and skier who hikes 14ers with her husband as an anniversary getaway. But more than anything, she’s a runner.

“Running is my everything,” she says. “I just need to go. I’m slower now, I hit my peak, but I’m not giving up. It’s my fun. It’s how I explore new cities. It’s how I recharge and reset my mind.”

Lauren grew up just outside of Baltimore, Maryland, but when her family moved to Utah, she felt the mountains calling. Now, she can’t be far from them.

After 15 years in Denver and a short stint in Missouri, Lauren, her husband, Steve, four-year-old Adelyn, and five-month-old Olivia Jade, currently reside in Fort Collins. It’s a mountain and college town lined with bike paths that get plowed before the roads, close access to a lifetime's worth of world-class hiking, dotted with lakes for paddling or swimming, and an active-lifestyle-loving community. Both kids and adults are here to thrive and play.

Much like Jollity.