Millennial Success Stories

By Jackie KossoffBusiness Entrepreneurship

Millennial Success Stories episodes

August 31, 2019How Traditional is the 9-5?
I'm unleashing my passion for history in this episode to tackle the question, "How Traditional is the 9-5?" When put into historical context, we can easily see how recently the 9-5 has been adopted by Western nations.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: My brand new, "How to Leave the 9-5 in 90 Days Checklist" is officially released! Go to www.jackiekossoff.com/podcast to download the checklist or click the link in the shownotes!
Join our Facebook Community, The Millennial Success Society, HERE!
SHOWNOTES:
(1:12) Intro

(1:25) Exciting news!!! My "How to Leave the 9-5 in 90 Days Checklist" has officially been released!

(2:25) Leaving the typical 9-5

(5:15) How typical is the 9-5 work day?

(6:36) Industrial Revolution history

(8:25) The baker’s 9-5

(9:10) 9-5 started as a product of people working in factories during the Industrial Revolution

(10:15) The 8-hour work day

(11:12) North and South on the BBC

(11:52) WWI 🡪 Great Depression 🡪 WWII

(15:30) The 9-5 was created to give people stability

(16:21) The 9-5 was only really started about 75 years ago

(18:58) The 9-5 is actually super recent and could be called a societal experiment
Links Mentioned
Jackie's Checklist
Jackie's Instagram
21 min
August 24, 2019Knowing Your "Why" with Yolanda Haynes
"Every journey starts with the first step." My guest, Yolanda Haynes, may not have come up with that one herself, but she speaks to it so well! Yolanda shares insights from her entrepreneurial, health, and travel journeys, and cautions against comparing yourself to others--at any point on your journey. She also provides action items for our listeners who are ready to take their first step, whatever journey you're preparing to start!
Join our Community on Facebook HERE! Join our Listener's Corner and learn more about the show at www.jackiekossoff.com/podcast
SHOWNOTES
(3:31) Yolanda’s health coaching business is called Aligned with Essence, founded in 2017.

(5:05) Mindset, knowing your why, also knowing your body and what you need to eat for energy, and how much sleep you need

(6:28) Yolanda’s personal definition of success: having peace and contentment with yourself

(8:11) When you get run down you often forget your peace and your ‘why’

(9:27) Yolanda’s biggest personal and business successes

(10:05) Backpacking in southeast Asia

(11:25) How to find opportunities for entrepreneurial women and networking opportunities

(12:20) Travel discussion

(15:16) Yolanda’s business goals

(16:30) Advice to entrepreneurs on getting started on their health journeys

(18:31) What to do if you hit a plateau in your health journey

(20:05) It’s important to harness what you’re passionate about, why you want to do it and what your end goal is

(21:20) How to chose one idea to focus on for your business.

(22:34) “If you’re at chapter one, you can’t compare yourself to someone else’s chapter 15”

(24:04) Yolanda’s business frustrations

(26:24) Mindset work

(29:40) Reassessing is vital to knowing if you need to pivot your direction or not

(31:00) Being authentic; people can feel that

(32:23) How to find out what is authentically you

(34:00) Helpful books: The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo & Mindset by Carol Dweck
Links Mentioned
Yolanda's Website: alignedwithessence.com
Yolanda's Instagram: @alignedwithessence
37 min
August 16, 2019Never Too Young for Success with Helena Andre
Ever been told you're too young or inexperienced to start a business? My guest for this episode is Helena Andre, a 22-year-old student who started her business-with-a-purpose when she was studying abroad! Needless to say, Helena and I talk a lot about travel in this episode, and she also shares her best tips for starting a business with a deeper mission and education component.
Helena's brand, Just Smile Global, spreads awareness on plastic pollution and sustainability through sales of their eco-friendly bamboo toothbrushes! For every toothbrush purchased, they donate a pencil to underprivileged youth in South America!
Join our Listener's Corner and learn more about the show at www.jackiekossoff.com/podcast
SHOWNOTES
(2:09) Helena was studying abroad in Japan

(6:10) Business inspiration for Just Smile Global came from a trip to Thailand

(8: 24) Helena’s business and where she sees it going in the future

(10:16) A lot of people are not aware of plastic pollution, and when you are not aware of an issue then you don’t really understand why you should change.

(12:34) How to get involved and impact your world

(15:07) Helena’s biggest personal success.

(16:05) Helena is 22 and is still in school--you’re never too young or inexperienced to start a business!

(17:30) Advice on starting a business being so young

(20:38) What Helena’s next level of success looks like

(22:27) Traveling is Helena’s biggest passion ever!

(26:20) Advice to listeners on your personal journey to success when you’re just getting started

(30:55) Advice for traveling to Belgium!

Your team when you have a business is vital. Being able to share your passion with other people is really important!

(33:40) Its’ really important to allow yourself to make some mistakes.

(34:22) Business prioritization
Links Mentioned
Helena's Instagram @justsmileglobal
Helena's Website just-smile.co
40 min
August 06, 2019Entrepreneur Myths: The Over-Saturated Market
I'm shedding light on one of the most prevalent entrepreneur myths holding new and aspiring entrepreneurs back: the idea that the market is over-saturated and no one will hire any newbies. I use basic economic principles to bust this myth and get to the reality of the situation.
SHOWNOTES
(1:21) I really want to address a misconception in the online entrepreneur space which is that ‘the market is over-saturated and there’s no point in trying because there is too much competition out there’.

(2:19) Basically, you’re doomed and you think, ‘why would someone hire me over an established entrepreneur?’

(3:15) I struggled with this belief and I had to stop and think that in this online space we work in has new people joining everyday. What's more, we are all hiring each other! This means that this is a self-sustained community.

(4:45) If we all hire each other, that means that we are always able to hire other people and this kind of economy, this online market will not crash!

(7:07) Facebook groups are a great example of a micro-economy! I’ve actually hired people from Facebook groups and have been hired from various Facebook groups, too!

(8:55) One of my mentors says “If there’s people doing what you’re doing, then that means it works!”
Please visit www.jackiekossoff.com/podcast for more information about this episode, other episodes, and free gifts!
Links Mentioned
Millennial Success Society
Jackie's Instagram
13 min
July 22, 2019Build Success from Adversity with Em Ducharme
"Wow!" pretty much sums up my reaction to everything my guest, Business Coach Em Ducharme, shared with me in this episode! Em has experienced all sorts of adversity and struggle at various points on her journey and offers invaluable advice to any entrepreneur who may feel like she's facing "impossible odds."
Aside from sharing insights and inspiration from her experience building and working with multiple 6- and 7-figure businesses (in multiple industries, no less), Em and I also spoke about travel, heartbreak, and overcoming loss. Trust me, this is one episode you don't want to miss!
SHOWNOTES
(3:55) [Em] Born in small village in northern Quebec Province. High-school drop out; moved to Montreal. Opened first restaurant at 20. Weeks into business, discovered mother was terminally ill. Sold the business to be with her until she passed away; studied health and wellness.

(6:06) Launched first online business when mom passed away. Sold everything; moved to Italy at 21/22. Lived and worked in 43 countries.

(7:26) Restaurant or brick and mortar is physical—you have to be there everyday and see people in person.

(10:28) Online business expenses are very different from physical businesses.

(11:55) Life is finite. If building a business allows you to spend more time with those you love, then that is an amazing thing.

(15:35) Favorite life changing countries: Iceland and Egypt.

(16:30) Egypt changed the way I saw the world. Not easy to work there; no phone or internet. Wrote a book. It helped me to understand different culture and religions.

(18:10) I also really liked Australia—they have a similar culture like America so it’s easy to make friends.

(18:42) Dubai was amazing but very difficult to make friends because of how society acts.

(19:30) My personal definition of success is when I started getting referrals and testimonials from people.

(21:07) Biggest success: Overcoming hardships and always landing back on my feet.

(23:55) You’re always strong enough, you just need to go through a few storms to realize it.

(24:32) Want to start a business? Find out what you’re passionate about! If you’re not obsessed with your business when it gets hard you’re going to give up.

(27:07) If you feel your vision is too big but you are worried about how you’re going to get there, set milestones for yourself along the way. Start with baby sets.

(28:13) Next level of success: When I feel my income is stable, I change something in my life.

(29:27) Next for travel: Philippines & Morocco

(30:27) Nightmare marriage. Rushed into it. Chose not to let situation destroy me.

(34:32) Mindset work needs to be something that is repeated. Tip: Change commonly used phrase of “I know” to “I will”.
Links: Em's Website: https://www.zerotoceo.co/membership-enrolment | Instagram: @em.ducharme
Join our free community on Facebook HERE! Visit www.jackiekossoff.com/podcast to join our Listener's Corner!
39 min
July 10, 2019"Accidental" Entrepreneurship with Denise Johnson
Is it possible to become an entrepreneur by accident? Denise M. Johnson joins me in this episode to explain why her answer to this question is "Yes!" Denise and her husband are the co-founders of Johnson Jr. Family Books and the authors of Lotus and Lily Go to the Park.
Denise shares with us how she and her husband's idea to write a children's book blossomed into a business. She also talks about the importance of doing what you're passionate about and provides some tips for working with your spouse and getting the whole family involved in your business!
SHOWNOTES
(3:10) I am a 35-year-old married mom with two kids and we have a publishing company called Johnson Junior Family Books. We encourage entrepreneurship and early childhood education.

(3:56) In the beginning I didn’t mean to go into business.

(5:12) Don't be scared if your business becomes bigger than you originally planned!

(6:43) My personal definition of success is to utilize my gifts and talents to help other people, not working a traditional 9-5 job, and to be happy.

(8:42) My next level of success is to venture into blog writing and business features, as well as getting into guest speaking so I can motivate and inspire others!

(10:42) I would say if you are going to build a business with your partner that you first need to talk with them about it, and you need to figure out what your strengths are.

(11:43) I can see that my work with children is helping my own children.

(12:30) My biggest success is finishing something that I started.

(14:17) Believe in yourself and your brand. As long as you know who you are, it doesn’t matter what other people think of you.

(17:00) Making opportunities and following up is also something you have to do everyday when building a business.

(18:46) Building a business is a journey everyday. It’s all part of a process and you have to trust the process!

(20:03) A lot of time people equate success with money, but I equate success as helping other people by sharing my gifts and talents.

(21:10) Sometimes it’s okay to be selfish when building a business. You have to be the master at balance whether you’re a mother or wife or neither, you always have other things to do besides building your business. Taking a break is absolutely okay, too!

(22:47) You can find our book, Lotus and Lilly Go to the Park on iTunes and Audible, and you can connect with us on our website or Instagram!
Links Mentioned
Amazon: Lotus and Lily Go to the Park
iTunes: Lotus and Lily Go to the Park
Denise's Instagram
25 min
June 28, 2019Work & Travel Secrets
In this episode, I share what it's really like to take your business on the road and work while you're traveling. I definitely had some wake up calls when I took my first trips as a full-time entrepreneur because I didn't actually know the best strategies to manage my time between work, travel, sight-seeing, etc. I share some of the strategies that worked best for me and also shed light on some strategies I've seen others use. I hope you all find this episode helpful as you prepare for your next (or first) trip as an entrepreneur!
SHOWNOTES
(1:15) One of the reasons I started my business was so that I could travel and see all of the places in the world I dreamed of seeing and take my business with me.

(1:50) For me, traveling was a BIG factor in wanting to start my business.

(2:20) Back in 2017, I took a two-week vacation with my family to Hawaii. After I returned from this vacation, I realized that I don’t want to see the world in just two week increments once a year.

(3:35) When I was introduced to the online entrepreneur groups, I got connected with women who were already traveling the world abroad and working. I realized that is what I wanted to do, too.

(4:10) I am actually taping this podcast on vacation in Charlotte, North Carolina! I’m visiting my sister.

(5:33) Personally, I have found that when I take a shorter trip--a week long vacation-- where I'm visiting and staying with my friends who are still in their 9-5 jobs, I go to work when they go to work in the morning, and then I sight-see in the afternoon.

(8:08) When I am taking a longer extended trip where there will be a lot of sight-seeing, I find that it is easier for me to break up my work days and travel days. I personally found that one work day for every two travel days works really well for me.

(11:11) Before I realized this, I was trying to work and sight see in the same day. I was absolutely spent by the time I had to work, and it was so hard to get my stuff done for my clients!

(11:53) Now I have realized that breaking everything up is much better for me; I even added in a rest day to recuperate!

(13:02) Thinking of my schedule in week-long increments and having designated work, travel, and rest days makes me feel a lot better about life. I don’t feel behind at work or stressed!

(14:22) If you’re not sure what will work best for you before you go on a long trip, take a fake trip at home and test out sight-seeing and working in the same day, or trying to break it up! That way you’re prepared for your trip!

(17:40) Stay tuned for more solo travel episodes! I'll be talking about other topics such as packing and making other travel arrangements when you are an entrepreneur.
Links Mentioned
Millennial Success Society
Jackie's Instagram
21 min
June 21, 2019Self-Discovery in the 9-5 with Mae Deevy
** Mae's Coupon Code for our listeners: MILLENNIAL2019 for 10% off one of her new client packages!
In this episode, Mae Deevy shares her perspective from inside the 9-5, building her business intentionally on the side. She has allowed her corporate job to support her as she began her journey of self-discovery, figuring out what it really is she wants to do with her life before deciding on her business direction. Mae is now studying to be a hypnotherapist, something that she could not have predicted when she first started her journey.
I absolutely loved hearing from Mae about how she has approached her personal growth and business journey. She speaks a lot about mindset and balancing your 9-5 life and relationships while building your business. I personally wish I would have understood a lot of what she has to share back when I was in the 9-5, so I know this episode is going to be very useful to our listeners still in the corporate world!
SHOWNOTES
(3:50) Mae: I could’ve never told you I'd be here and doing what I’m doing today, even 1 year ago.

(5:50) I studied music and minored in Italian. I always thought I’d be a singer.

(6:20) I’ve been working in the corporate world for 6 years now in corporate consulting. It involves a lot of travel.

(7:12) This was the only adult job I had had so I didn’t realize how stressed I was.

(7:50) I started to think that I needed to do more yoga, and I realized that when I did yoga it made me nicer.

(8:10) Then my sister really got into essential oils and I started to bring them to work with me.

(10:00) I realized that I was so involved with the corporate world that I completely lost touch with myself.

(11:25) I decided to take a yoga training course, and I took it at the very worst time.

(13:00) It was then I started learning about chakras and the mind, body, and spirit connection.

(13:27) This opened up a new realm, and I was very embarrassed to talk with my coworkers about it.

(14:28) This whole road with yoga and essential oils has led me to where I am today to start studying hypnotherapy.

(15:15) I have been practicing hypnotherapy every day, and I feel a grounding I haven’t felt before.

(17:03) My advice for women who are in the 9-5 world and who are looking to break out is that it is never the right time.

(19:15) You are so worth giving yourself the time to do the things that you want to do!

(19:40) My personal definition of success is continuing to learn and educate myself.

(23:00) It’s great to use your knowledge to help others!

(25:15) During my time in corporate, my work friends were my real friends because we were together all the time.

(29:23) When I think of my future self and my future life, I think about freedom, fulfillment and pure joy.

(33:03) The more that you get to know yourself the more that everything will be more successful down the line.

(36:14) It is important for everyone to see that everyone has a different mindset practice. (Mae uses the 5-minute journal!)
Links Mentioned
Mae's Website
Mae's Instagram
41 min
June 13, 2019Health, Clarity & Confidence with Priscilla Johnson
Priscilla Johnson began her entrepreneur journey upon overcoming 6 years of struggling with skincare. She wanted to help other women learn how to live holistic lifestyles that support their skin and overall health. In the episode, she shares how working with her clients has reinforced her discovery that health, clarity, and self-esteem can all build on each other.
I absolutely loved speaking with Priscilla about her journey in business, health, and life. We spoke about her preparations for European travel, a discussion which we continued after the episode wrapped. Priscilla also shares some of her best tips for up and coming entrepreneurs!
SHOWNOTES
(3:50) Priscilla: I have always had acne problems on my back, neck, and face.

(7:45) I found through my 6-year journey that not one of the professionals I saw ever spoke about nutrition or activity levels.

(8:15) I went to school for nutrition, and I learned that how much nutrition plays a role in acne.

(8:55) I took my knowledge from school and decided to become an entrepreneur to help other people through their skin care journey.

(9:35) Jackie shares her own skin care journey.

(11:11) Priscilla: Starting my business, I thought I could just start a blog and people would find me.

(12:22) I’m an introvert and starting a business you have to push yourself outside of your comfort zone.

(14:14) I recommend connecting with other female entrepreneurs when you’re starting out.

(17:25) Jackie shares about the difficulties faced by both introverts and extroverts when starting a business.

(18:40) Priscilla: My personal definition with success stems from my identity; the importance of taking care of my body as a whole.

(21:35) My biggest success is not only just clearing my skin; it impacted my self esteem and how I viewed myself as a whole.

(26:29) As entrepreneurs we don’t have to re-invent the wheel. We can rely on other entrepreneurs for advice to help us along the way!

(26:48) My next level of success is to do some more traveling and having the freedom to do so.

(27:42) I really want to go to Europe.

(32:00) I recommend for people who are just starting out and trying to find their niche to get a coach/mentor!

(33:14) Having a positive mindset is super important too! Think about what your life will look like if you don’t do it!

(34:12) Being an entrepreneur is not going into work and getting immediate results with the gratification of a 2-week paycheck.

(36:16) Getting my first client was a big moment for me. It was validation of all my hard work. It was a win!
Links Mentioned
Priscilla's Website: https://www.priscillajohnsonntc.com/
Priscilla's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Priscilla-Johnson-Nutrition-Therapist
Priscilla's Course: https://heal-your-body-heal-your-skin.teachable.com/p/heal-your-body-heal-your-skin/
Join our Facebook Community HERE and sign up for my Listeners' Corner at www.jackiekossoff.com/podcast
46 min
June 04, 2019How Sorority Life Prepared Me for Entrepreneurship
Forget about the stereotypes because in this episode, I break down how my sorority experience in college prepared me for my entrepreneurial journey. From communication and leadership skills to public relations and marketing, there are many parallels between sorority life and entrepreneur life. I also discuss how the connections I've made with women in the entrepreneur space resemble the strong bonds I felt with my sorority sisters in college. Lastly, I discuss how you too can create these strong bonds with women in your own community!
SHOWNOTES
(1:14) I learned so many leadership skills while in a sorority in college and volunteering as an alumnae advisor after college!

(2:03) My sorority experience was very different from what the media portrays it to be.

(3:30) I knew from the first moment I joined my sorority I wanted to be on the leadership board and help plan recruitment. I loved how organized it was, and I love planning events!

(4:21) Sorority recruitment is incredibly similar to marketing in the entrepreneurial world—there are so many parallels. You essentially need to sell your brand (whether a sorority or a business) to other women (or men)!

(6:21) After scaling my marketing agency and feeling called to help other young women starting their own businesses, I realized that I have been helping young women develop their leadership skills this whole time through volunteering with my sorority. It was crazy to see how two things I thought were so separate come together to be the same thing!

(7:42) I never felt homesick in college, despite being 2,000 miles away from home, because of my sorority; I had a home away from home because of the women I had grown so close to.

(8:23) I felt this same way after the first Mastermind Retreat I attended! I felt so much love, support and acceptance and I really hadn’t felt that way since college.

(10:35) My entire sorority experience helped channel my love of leadership—by the end of college I was involved in many different clubs. I LOVED the responsibility!

(11:24) The have carried the skills I learned in my sorority with me through my adult life and entrepreneurial journey.

(12:15) If you’re looking for a space to make connections with other women, you can join high level groups and Masterminds! You can also find local groups of women to meet with in your area!

(17:29) It’s so important to build these communication and leadership skills in our businesses! I can personally see how important being in a sorority has been for me, how it has developed these skills in me, and how I have used them in my entrepreneurial journey!
Join our Facebook Community HERE and sign up for my Listeners' Corner at www.jackiekossoff.com/podcast
20 min

About Millennial Success Stories

From the publisher's feed

Let’s STOP sugarcoating the Entrepreneurial Experience! Millennial Success Stories is a podcast dedicated to sharing the REAL, RAW, and HONEST stories of young entrepreneurs who are building businesses and lives that reflect their own versions of success. Always remember, success has no age requirement!

Share Millennial Success Stories

Sign up to save your podcasts

Millennial Success Stories

Millennial Success Stories episodes

About Millennial Success Stories