10/01/2026
OUR JML JOURNEY ❤️
Sometimes you’re so busy building a business that you don’t stop long enough to look back and realize just how far you’ve come.
JML Publishing & Marketing didn’t happen overnight.
It started with years of working in printing and print media, learning the business, building relationships, and getting to know the incredible small-business community around us.
But our story has never really been just about business.
In 2017, Hurricane Harvey changed our community.
We put our own business on hold and focused on helping our neighbors. We helped feed people staying in hotels. We participated in Holidays for Harvey. We connected people who needed help with people who wanted to help.
And something we will never forget happened during that time:
People we barely knew showed up. Strangers donated. Businesses stepped up. Neighbors helped neighbors. People gave their time, their resources, and their hearts.
Harvey taught us that community isn’t just where you live or work—it’s the people who show up when someone needs them.
Then came another test: 2020 and COVID. 😷💻
Overnight, the face-to-face networking and handshakes that built our foundation completely stopped. In-person meetings vanished, and everything moved online.
Instead of stepping back, we adapted. We took our networking to screens, mastered digital connections, and learned how to help local businesses stay visible when physical doors were closed.
By 2022, the local media landscape had completely shifted. 🚪📬
A lot of local magazines went out of business, leaving small businesses stranded without affordable options to get their message out. But those businesses still needed a way to advertise and survive.
That’s when we launched our DoorHangers and shared advertising model.
By bringing multiple local businesses together on high-visibility door hangers, we created an innovative, cost-effective way to get right onto neighbors' front doors. It was proof that when traditional channels close, creativity and community collaboration find a way.
With those lessons in hand, we kept growing our networking roots.
Then, in August 2024, came an opportunity that changed everything: the chance to publish our own community magazine.
In March 2025, Neighbors of Clear Lake Magazine hit mailboxes for the very first time. 📖
And we kept building.
Today, JML has grown into a complete local marketing ecosystem:
📬 Direct Mail
🚪 Door Hangers
📖 Community Magazine
💻 Digital Advertising
📲 Facebook & Instagram
🤝 Networking & Events
❤️ Local Business Connections
We like to say:
WE PUT YOUR BUSINESS ON FRONT DOORS & FRONT PAGES.
But really, we’re building something bigger. We’re helping local businesses get seen, remembered, and connected in the communities they serve.
When we look back at this journey, the thread is clear:
* Printing taught us the craft.
* Harvey taught us the power of community.
* COVID taught us digital adaptability and resilience.
* 2022 DoorHangers taught us how shared advertising can solve big business challenges.
* Networking taught us the strength of relationships.
* Publishing gave us a platform.
And today, JML brings all of those pieces together.
Real people. Local businesses. Lasting impact.
We are incredibly grateful for every person who has been part of this journey—from the businesses that trusted us early on to the strangers who showed us what community really looks like when it matters most.
This business was built by people, and we’re going to keep building it for people.
❤️️ Melissa & Joe DeFlora
JML Publishing & Marketing
