IAM517- Strategist Helps Clients Reflects Their Own Version of Success

Jackie Kossoff is a Marketing Strategist and Success Coach for ambitious millennial entrepreneurs who love helping her clients create a life and business that reflect their own version of success! She is the host of the Millennial Success Stories podcast and also runs a full-service Facebook Ads & marketing agency.

When she’s not working, she’s probably reading, writing, watching history documentaries, or traveling to historic sites in Europe.

• CEO Hack: Re-orienting myself
• CEO Nugget: (1) Everything is temporary (2) Find gratitude in every situation
• CEO Defined: Freedom and flexibility to try new things

Website: https://jackiekossoff.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jackiekossoff
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackiekossoff_la/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jkossoff/

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Intro 0:02

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview?

If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of.

This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

Gresham Harkless 0:29

Hello, this is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Jackie Kossoff of the Millennial Success Stories podcast.

Jackie, it's awesome to have you on the show.

Jackie Kossoff 0:39

Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here.

Gresham Harkless 0:41

Super excited to have you on as well. What I want to do is just read a little bit more about Jackie so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing.

Jackie Kossoff is a Marketing Strategist and Success Coach for ambitious millennial entrepreneurs who love helping her clients create a life and business that reflect their own version of success. She is the host of the Millennial Success Stories podcast and also runs a full-service Facebook Ads & marketing agency. When she’s not working, she’s probably reading, writing, watching history documentaries, or traveling to historic sites in Europe.

Jackie, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO Community?

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Jackie Kossoff 1:14

Yes, let's do it.

Gresham Harkless 1:16

Let's do it. I wanted to kick everything off with hearing about what I call your CEO story. What led you to get started with your business?

Jackie Kossoff 1:23

Yeah, so I think that my story is, it's a little different than some people's. I did not always have a dream of being an entrepreneur and never really gave much thought to it. I was planning on doing what society expects of you, right? Go to college, get a job, work your way up, climb the corporate ladder, and all that stuff. Then actually just one day, I stumbled upon a Facebook group of millennial women who were leaving their nine-to-five jobs, and traveling the world doing the digital nomad thing, working all over the place. I was just so incredibly inspired, I was like, wow, there are always women there, taking their life into their own hands.

Then through that, I started getting exposed to digital entrepreneurship, and full-on entrepreneurship, that wasn't necessarily a tech startup. Because I'm from LA that was my idea of being an entrepreneur like pitching to investors, getting getting money for your app, or whatever it is. For me, really, when I discovered that I could start my own business. I could kind of make it what I wanted to, that was really when things sort of started to fall into place, and I just got so inspired. Like, I just had that, like fire lit underneath me. Literally from the day that I decided, I was like, Yes, I'm gonna build a business to the day that I learned, I left my nine to five was 90 days. So yeah.

Gresham Harkless 2:50

I love that it's so funny. I always say sometimes your environment determines your altitude. As you talked about being in that Facebook group, I think sometimes, and I can say that I didn't think it was realistic because I wasn't necessarily in that environment.

But when you start to see and hear people doing it, and it's not like, Okay, I have to go on Shark Tank to make sure I'm an entrepreneur, you get to do that in so many different ways and it's pretty awesome to be able to say that.

Jackie Kossoff 3:18

Yeah, no, definitely. I think that's something that I've kind of taken with me ever since then because I looking back at this year, we're recording this at the end of 2019. I think that the relationships I've made with fellow entrepreneurs have been some of the most defining moments of this year and what, even just knowing them, just having the relationships with them have allowed me to do in my own life, and business is just really, really awesome.

Gresham Harkless 3:45

Absolutely. I wanted to drill down a little bit deeper. I know you touched on it a little bit. Just now I wanted to hear a little bit more about your podcast, and of course, about your business and everything you're doing for these entrepreneurs and business owners.

Jackie Kossoff 3:55

Yeah, so my podcast is the millennial success stories podcast and really, what I wanted to do is I wanted to allow the world to see that success doesn't have an age requirement. I started my business, and I was young, I was 24. There were a lot of people who told me that I didn't have enough experience, to have a business of my own and so for me, it was really about finding other people who were in my generation, and who were who had achieved success, and who were also pursuing success. I think that was important. Because for me, I've had eight-figure entrepreneurs on my podcast, but I've also had people who are still in the nine-to-five but have their side hustle.

Their business their dream is on the side. I just wanted people to see that no matter where you are on your success journey this journey is for you. You're the one, it's your choice to start on it because that's, I think, what got to me. The reason why I started the podcast was just that I was meeting so many of my fellow young women who told me that they'd always wanted to start a business. What had been their dream since they were very young? But they just felt like they just listed all the excuses as to why they couldn't, or why it wouldn't work out, or whatever that was. There I was being like, Well, I never wanted to be an entrepreneur before I just discovered it. Then I just pursued it, like, that's why things have worked out for me is because I made that choice.

I just wanted to show other women that they can do it too. That's kind of the mission behind my podcast, and also the mission behind my coaching services as well. I work with women who are more toward the beginning of their journeys, and just trying to figure out, like, what's going on and how to intentionally build a business. Because I think, especially in this online space, and I experienced this myself, there are so many different things that you can find, and you can get distracted very easily and be growing your business, like in 10 different directions, which is going to leave you in the same place.

For me, it's really about helping other women to see like and be intentional with their business growth. Then in my marketing agency, I serve online and local business owners, mainly helping them with their Facebook ads and sales funnels. With that client attraction and lead generation, top-of-funnel type stuff, that is really where my zone of genius, I guess you could say, in marketing lies. Just really helping my clients connect with their potential customers and clients.

Gresham Harkless 6:32

Yeah, I love that. Just because a lot of times, like you said we sometimes say that we want to do something, but we don't necessarily know how to do it. We don't know what the next step is, who exactly to call or not call, or whatever exactly they do. So that's why I love what you're doing, obviously, from the podcast standpoint, because you're you're taking those stories, and you're taking in throwing. I guess, the fire to what should always be the way to run a business was where you wait 30 years, or you wait 20 years.

You get all this experience and then you start a business because you have young millennial entrepreneurs, who are building businesses at a young age and doing it on their terms, and they're finding it how they want to which is incredibly awesome. Then obviously from coaching and actual your marketing agency as well. Once you figure out that you want to start a business how exactly do you do it, how do you work on your mindset? What do you have to work through? Then how exactly do you get people in the door? I love that progression and how everything kind of ties in as well.

Jackie Kossoff 7:24

Yeah. I love I think one of the things that I've focused on actually, this year, was just finding harmony between all the different areas of my life and my business. Because I identify as a multi-passionate entrepreneur and so sometimes it can get overwhelming just trying to keep everything that I love doing in order, I guess you could say, like working cohesively with one another. So it's something I've been working for this year, just bringing into my life more harmony, and I've seen a big difference just as the months have progressed. So that's something I'm personally proud of myself for.

Gresham Harkless 8:00

I definitely can understand that. I feel like multi-passionate, and entrepreneur like synonyms because I kind of feel like once you start thinking that way, you start seeing opportunities and the ways that you can kind of help people so many more times that you have to kind of rein yourself in more than figuring out what exactly to do. Because you usually have a long list of things you want to do.

Jackie Kossoff 8:17

Yeah, like I already have, like five other businesses that I want to start like down the road, but like, I'm just like, No one can wait till I get there, like, step by step.

Gresham Harkless 8:25

Their respective process, I have to tell myself that all the time. Let me ask you this, it was the multi-passionate focus. Are you having that fire? Is that what is like your secret sauce? What do you feel kind of sets you apart and makes you unique?

Jackie Kossoff 8:38

Yeah, well, I think it differs in every different aspect of my business. There's kind of throughlines, I guess, you could say, there are things that I feel I just take with me everywhere, I guess you could say, love of people, I guess, like I'm very extroverted. So I love talking with people I love being able to better understand them. I feel like that's something that serves me in my coaching, and also in marketing, because that's the one main thing that I help my clients with is to kind of reconnect with their own clients, with their customers, because sometimes you just get so caught up in running your business or getting that next sale, that you forget, like, Okay, where are my clients at now? Like, what do they need to hear from me?

I take that with me, but I do think that just in terms of finding that harmony in your life as a CEO, it's really important for me to make sure that I make time for my nonbusiness-related passions. I just find that if I just solely focus on my business, then I'm not necessarily giving myself other areas in life to be successful at this was also a big breakthrough I had this year and it was kind of funny because I have a podcast all about success, right? We talk about my podcast about success and how everybody defines success differently. My definition of success, I think everyone's definition of success is constantly changing and evolving. One of the things that I've learned just the last few months from recording episodes for my podcast, and also just in my journey is that success is kind of what you make it like you choose to be successful.

If you're only focused on one area of your life, and if it's not going that well, at a certain point in time, then you're not necessarily going to feel successful. Or at least you're not going to feel successful as easily. For me, it's been really important to make sure like, okay, if something just didn't work out in my business, like maybe a potential client did not decide not to sign with me, or something like that. I still have other things that I can turn to, and I can be like, hey, what like, this client decided that, like we just weren't a good fit. That doesn't have to mean anything about me and my business, I can also look to these other areas of my life, my friendships, my volunteer work, all that stuff, and be like, hey, what I'm succeeding here.

Maybe I should dedicate just the next day or two, while I reorient myself to these areas of my life because that's really where I'm feeling successful right now. It's been something that's been just such a game-changer for me and has allowed me to bounce back. Because I think every CEO can attest to this, like, there's always going to be challenges, right, you're always going to face something, it changes every single day. Just really being able to have that ability to reorient me by dedicating myself to other areas of my life I'm passionate about has been just absolutely, life-changing. It's only been a few months since I started doing that.

Gresham Harkless 11:45

I definitely appreciate that. Let me ask you now, I want to switch gears and I want to ask you for what I call it CEO hack, is reorienting yourself that part of your CEO hack is everything that you feel kind of sets you apart, or pretty much gives you that edge and it helps you to be more effective and efficient.

Jackie Kossoff 12:01

Yeah, I do. I definitely do. It's something that I started even telling my clients or people I meet at networking events about because I used to be, or I mean, I still am, but I was just so strategy-focused. So I would like always talk about, like, the marketing strategy that you can use to, like, bring more business and things like that. When I started seeing kind of how being able to lean on other areas of my life, if something's not going right, in my business, or vice versa, has just helped me that's what I've started telling others. Then I'll hear back from them even just a few weeks later, just thanking me for kind of permitting them to step back from their business for even just a day or two, and just focus on something else.

Then you're able to kind of go back and see things like. Because before, sometimes I do this, I'll just get like, so critical of myself and just be like, Oh my gosh, this didn't work out, like nothing working out like everything's terrible. It's all falling apart. Then when you take that step back, and you just do something that you enjoy for a day or two, and you come back, you can see oh, no, this was just like this one isolated incident. Like, it's already two days later, like, it doesn't even matter in my life anymore. I can just continue on with my business with what I'm doing, and just feel more fulfilled overall.

Gresham Harkless 13:22

I appreciate that reminder. Now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. That is a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. Or if you could happen to be a time machine, what would you tell your younger business self?

Jackie Kossoff 13:32

I probably tell her that everything is temporary. I think that there were a lot of times, especially in the early months of my business when things weren't going well. I would just be like, it's over. Like it's all over, I feel like I was picking myself up from rock bottom every few weeks and that's tiring. Like, it exhausts you, if you always feel like you're starting from square one. When in reality, like, that's not what was happening, right? Like, I was learning as I went, I was gaining knowledge, gaining wisdom about what it takes to run a business.

For me, yeah, just everything's temporary and also just really understanding that to find gratitude in every situation, because honestly, like, looking back at some of the things I went through, like, relatively speaking, they weren't bad at all. It was just how I was labeling them and so just really understanding like, everything is temporary and everything is what you make it. You're the one that's defining this moment in your life. So why don't you define it in a more positive light, than the negative worst-case scenario type mindset which is just gonna lead you down this spiral of exhaustion and overwhelm and stuff like that?

Gresham Harkless 14:50

Now, I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. We're hoping to have different quote-unquote CEOs on this show. So Jackie, what has being a CEO meant to you?

Jackie Kossoff 14:59

Being a CEO to me means having the freedom and flexibility in your life to try new things, not necessarily just for you, but for your business for those who you serve.

Gresham Harkless 15:12

I definitely appreciate that. Appreciate that definition and appreciate your time even more. What I wanted to do is pass you the mic so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional, you want to let our readers and listeners know. Then of course, how best they can get a hold of you subscribe to the podcast and find out about all the awesome things we're working on.

Jackie Kossoff 15:26

Thank you. You can find me on Instagram. I love limping on Instagram. I'm jackiekossoff_la and my Facebook page is my hub for marketing wisdom, I guess you could say. All marketing strategy stuff is on Facebook and that's just Jackie Kossoff, it's marketing and design.

If you want to search for it, then my website is jackiekossoff.com. I'm just looking forward to a number of things coming up. I have several speaking engagements coming up, which I'm super excited about, and just really looking to start reaching people in in different ways.

Gresham Harkless 16:11

Awesome. Well, perfect. We will make sure to have those links in that information in the show notes as well so that everybody can follow up with you. I truly appreciate you appreciate your time, and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Outro 16:22

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co. I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community.

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Thank you for listening.

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