We were lucky to catch up with Jacqueline Kekos recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jacqueline, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry? Any stories or anecdotes that illustrate why this matters?

“Social Media is vanity and superficial” is a common conception. I like to challenge that mindset and flip that thought with my beliefs on social media and how social media is a place for community and conversation.

As a business owner or brand, you essentially have a major marketing tool for free (your social media platforms). Your social media accounts are the place you can grow a loyal audience and further your brand identity. The smartest brands are the ones where their audience will see a piece of their content and instantly know it’s from them. Social media is a fantastic tool to use for Lead Generation and to get feelers from your consumers. Again, you have a free tool to survey a warm audience about potential business changes or future products/services.

Social media isn’t one-sized-fits-all and no you don’t need to post dancing videos to gain popularity. In fact, an intimate audience that truly interacts with your account, buys your products, and inquires about your posts is far greater than having thousands of followers that hardly interact with your business outside of a “like”.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hello, hello! My name is Jacqueline Kekos (By JMK). For as long as I can remember, I have chased the things that have made me feel inspired. As a child I would draft floor plans of my bedroom and rearrange my furniture for fun. In my teenage years I created my first fashion blog. In my early 20’s I started a Social Media Management & Consulting company. Presently, I am calling myself a creative entrepreneur who is filling her days with her creative passions: interior design, gardening, decorating our new home, blogging, pottery, cooking and documenting life through my Sony A6600 & film cameras.

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Creatives are driven by emotions and our moods. Our passions and creativity are our entire being. It’s what fuels us, what goes into our art, and makes us breathe.

Non-creatives may think creatives appear “flighty” and wonder why we don’t just get “real jobs”. Maybe as a creative you’ve had several jobs and side hustles. In reality, one’s idea of a “real job” sounds completely insufferable to the creative. We use the right side of our brain and we are our art. A life without self-expression and creativity feels meaningless. Jumping around and finding oneself in part of every human’s process.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Out of college I had a handful of creative side hustles and internships. I was actively pursuing Editorial Wardrobe Styling and Runway Event Production. I stumbled into Social Media Management for Fashion Brands which was the bud to my Social Media Management & Consulting business. After owning my business for five years and nesting into a new stage in my life, I’m rethinking a lot about my business. Wanting to create something based on what I feel is my full-being (interiors, personal style, entertaining) vs owning a company purely out of necessity. Interior Design and Fashion have always been the twin pillars of my existence my entire life. Before I started my Social Media business I was looking into what it would take to start a Lifestyle business. At that moment in time, I had a lineup of potential Social Media clients (plus the ones I was working with already). I chased that path and this past year have found I’m back at the original fork in the road.

Contact Info:

• Website: byjmk.com
• Instagram: @by.jmk
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/jacqueline-kekos-b226989b
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@by.jmk LikeToKnow.it: https://www.shopltk.com/explore/by.jmk

Image Credits
Photographer credit for the photos with my laptop (the black and white image and headshot with laptop): Char Marl (@charmarlphoto)