How Hobbies Develop Growth

PROVO, Utah – Feb 28, 2018 – Almost two and a half years ago, Braden Coleman and his wife, Janna, started a YouTube channel called Janna and Braden Family or J&B Vlogs. Initially, the purpose of J&B Vlogs was to journal. Baby number one was on the way, and the Colemans wanted to document Janna’s pregnancy, meeting their son for the first time, and adjusting to their new life as a family.

However, the couple’s hobby soon became a sort of training ground for Braden as he developed new skills such as editing, graphic design, and video SEO that helped him to excel in BYU Marriott’s marketing program.

“Marketing is a good fit for me because it is a blend of analytics and creativity,” says Coleman. “I enjoy analytics and the ‘one plus one will always equal two’ kind of thinking. However, I also enjoy unstructured problem solving.”

In addition to developing his creative side, Coleman’s decision to study marketing became cemented once he became involved in the BYU Marketing Association, especially when he became the director of case competitions.

“I love the role of facilitator that comes with being director of case competitions,” says Coleman. “It is an awesome opportunity to open the door for BYU students to companies. As a result of these efforts to build relationships and connect these great companies with our amazing students, we have been able to place students in new companies such as Oriental Trading Company and that is something that our team is proud of.”

As director of the case competitions, Coleman secured sponsorships with Oriental Trading Company, PepsiCo, and Priceline.com. Now a senior, he is president of the association.

“My time here at BYU and being president of the BYU MA has taught me how to work in a team and build a team of successful individuals around me, each having individual talents and strengths,” says Coleman. “There is no way we could have accomplished the things we did as a club without the talented individuals that make up our team.” 

Coleman admits that graduation will be bittersweet. Though he is sad to leave his life at BYU Marriott, he also recognizes how much he has grown and is excited for the future. The Colemans will be moving to Columbus, Indiana, where he will start working full-time at Cummins as a marketing and sales development program associate. He is one of four interns with Cummins invited to join the company’s marketing leadership development program.

What about J&B Vlogs? Like Coleman, it continues to grow. The channel has accumulated over five million views and thirty-six thousand subscribers across the globe, and with a growing family (they just recently added baby number two), the Coleman’s have no intentions of stopping.

“The vlog has turned into a platform where we can show that while life isn’t perfect, it can still be full of happiness, goodness, and love,” says Coleman. “That is what we want to communicate to the world.”