One could aptly describe Jenny Russell as a forward-thinker, dedicated entrepreneur, and motivated marketer. Russell has combined her extensive marketing background with her drive to provide a big-city marketing experience in a small town, and this has resulted in a powerful Northwest Kansas business known as JenRus Freelance.
Russell is the proud founder and CEO of the company, which was founded in 2008 and is operated out of Courtland.
Russell has spent the past fifteen-plus years developing her marketing portfolio. This has included appropriate education, employment, and experience. Russell knows all the tricks of the marketing trade, enabling her to serve her customers with the expertise and quality that has earned the business a reputable name.
After growing up in Glen Elder, Kansas, Russell attended Bethany College and obtained a degree in Business-Communications and Marketing. To date, she has worked in Economic Development, marketing, advertising, and websites for over 15 years.
One of Russell’s first jobs after college was with Republic County Economic Development. She worked this position until an opportunity became available to work at Brush Art Corporation in Downs. “Brush Art is a national and international marketing agency located in a town of 800 people. When my husband and I were wanting to start a family, Brush Art helped me start out in business by sending their Internet Marketing clients to me for a year,” explained Russell. “I knew if Brush Art could be successful in a rural area that I could be successful at it, so I spent two years figuring out how to set it up. When we moved back to Republic County, I pitched RCED about coming back as a business instead of a person to do economic development work.”
This proved to be a successful pitch, leading to the establishment of JenRus Freelance. A unique combination of Russell’s first and last names, the business provides a whole host of marketing services, including but not limited to economic development, graphic design, freelance writing, public relations, and consulting.
According to the JenRus website, “JenRus Freelance became the only marketing agency that focuses on rural economic development, municipalities, chambers, and non-profits – customizing the amount of hours to work with any budget. We can help you produce marketing materials and deliver your message effectively to the right people.”
Russell describes the business as “diverse, fast-paced, fun, and innovative”. Their clientele stretches far and wide and is very versatile. “JenRus Freelance serves clients nationally, however, we specialize in community marketing which often serves the towns and small businesses in Northwest Kansas. JenRus Freelance provides marketing consulting from our office in rural America. Our niche is community marketing. We understand rural marketing and economic development,”says Russell.
Setting JenRus apart from the competition is the fact that the company has their own system for obtaining and maintaining clients. “We do not work on retainers like other marketing agencies, so we can fit into any budget, big or small. So, we take the many part-time jobs that small communities have and pair them together to make full-time positions.”
JenRus currently employs six individuals. The employees are all highly qualified in the field of marketing and many have local connections. As stated by Russell, “Most of our employees have some connection to our area. Two of our staff were originally Dane G. Hansen interns in our office and we hired them after they graduated college.” The employees enjoy a flexible work environment, where they “work in-house most days, but do have the option to work from home when needed.”
Like any field, there are highs and lows. Says Russell, “The best part of marketing is forming relationships with others and helping communities/small businesses succeed. The hardest part about modern-day digital marketing is keeping up with all of the trends and changes.”
Most recently, Russell began a new coworking space in the town of Courtland. “When we renovated and moved into our building at 301 Main Street in Courtland, the building afforded the opportunity for more diverse service offerings. One of these is Courtland Coworking. We have four “day coworking” spaces, two closed door coworking spaces that are already rented, and we rent our conference room out for events.”
Russell and JenRus Freelance are doing great things in Courtland, Kansas, and beyond.
Visit the company’s website at or visit their Facebook page to learn more.
