Episode 6

full
Published on:

4th May 2023

Building a Thriving Business with Jess Koscher

This week hosts Nick Kuhn and Bethany Hartley have a conversation with Jess Koscher, Founder of Write Connections, a design, marketing, and strategic services company. After losing her job and being unemployed for 12 hours, Jess was overwhelmed with requests from her network to discuss her next move. Although concerned about paying her rent, her network supported her by offering various tasks which led to the launch of Write Connections. Jess discusses her work in the nonprofit sector, the power of community, and how her mindset has helped her build a successful business.


QUOTES

  • “I think coming from nonprofit to for-profit has been interesting in that for-profit is a lot looser in many ways, but the penalties, if you screw it up are scary. So that's been a continual learning curve for me. Doing the work and then creating a solid business is a fine balance.“ - Jess Koscher [05:10]


  • “What has been really gratifying is helping our clients do better. We have strategic clients, and the rest are marketing clients. Helping a restaurant that is just trying to keep its doors open, by having a strong branding and presence is gratifying. Helping a corporation create a strategy for diversity, equity, inclusion that works throughout all their channels, is gratifying.” - Jess Koscher [16:07]



TIMESTAMPS

01:22 Jess Koscher on Transitioning from a Nonprofit to Entrepreneurship

03:10 The Surprises of Being a Business Owner

05:09 Balancing Doing the Work and Creating a Solid Business

12:43 Paying it Forward and Helping Others Succeed

14:11 How Jess Built a Successful Marketing Firm During a Global Pandemic







RESOURCES

Write Connections


CONTACT

Nick Kuhn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kuhnnick/ 

Bethany Hartley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethanyhartley/

Next Episode All Episodes Previous Episode

Listen for free

Show artwork for Rooted and Reaching

About the Podcast

Rooted and Reaching
Stories about local Startups and Founders in South Bend and Elkhart
There’s a job to do, and in the South Bend - Elkhart region, a midwestern work ethic is changing the narrative from rusty to ready. Our cities are opening up and working together as a region—universities are engaging beyond their campuses, sharing their brainpower and realizing that they’re bigger and better with the community behind them. Organizations are reaching out to newcomers and helping them build local networks, leveling the playing field. Infrastructure is being creatively adapted to be gathering places where new deals are made, new collisions happen, and new entrepreneurs take root. Join the Rooted & Reaching podcast, where we discuss the startup life with entrepreneurs with connections to the South Bend - Elkhart region.

In doing this, we will inform the general public and ourselves about what resources are available and the major pain points of entrepreneurs in our region. This podcast is also intended to tell the amazing stories of our local entrepreneurs in the hope that it will inspire another person in the region considering an entrepreneurial pursuit to take that leap of faith and see the supportive atmosphere in the area.