We recently connected with Jess Fowler and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jess, thanks for joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?
As a business owner I struggle with things like stability, confidence in my work, and finding clients who align with my mission. It can be difficult to make ends meet sometimes but when I utilize all my resources I’m able to always pull through for my personal life as well as my business. When I feel stuck or struggle my mind tends to lean towards finding a ‘regular’ job to make things easier for myself. But then I struggle with my energy as an entrepreneur and lose motivation in the artistry of my content creation. At the end of the day I am happy as a business owner because I don’t rely on anyone but myself to find solutions to all my problems. I also get to set my own schedule, add on what feels right, and expand in so many different areas of business.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Jess and my brand name is KIILLEM. The mission behind the brand is to provide high quality content, messages, merch and more. I also have created a business of LGBT+ videographers & photographers to provide quality content for any client or occasion. Even further, I dance on stages across the country and internationally for LGBT+ spaces. I am an advocate for the community and take pride in my content creation on Instagram, Tiktok and Youtube to help people find the truth within their authenticity. There aren’t many women who look like me and advocate for the community to this extent so it brings me great joy to be a voice and further us in a positive direction.
We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.
Transferring my content creation business went from a very small, cheap camera living on the east coast and doing things completely solo to multiple high quality cameras and equipment and a staff full of talented women in the LGBT+ community. Moving in a direction that puts others on to a position to grow and make more of a change together has been a huge turning point for this business as I was able to take on more work & create more of an impact. The connections made through this business and the content we’ve been able to produce has allowed for this business to work full time.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
There was a point in my life where I was living back at home with my parents on the east coast during my mid twenties and I felt as if I was so lost and discouraged about all the progress I’ve made prior. I was depressed, I lost most of my brand deals because of my socials being hacked, and I was working for a company I did not enjoy. Something in me told me to save up as much as I could, get a new car that would be able to take me back across the country, and try to make it out in Los Angeles solo with my personal training and media skills to make something work. I had a loose plan, a back house shed to live in, and a few potential clients. I was terrified of what I did but I trusted in myself and my resilience that I could make it work. I have now been here over 4 years since moving back and live solo in a loft working for myself successfully.
Contact Info:
- Website: kiillem.com
- Instagram: jkiillem
- Youtube: youtube.com/jkiillem
- Other: TikTok: Jkiillemm