We recently connected with Jesse Coontz and have shared our conversation below.

Jesse, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

Moms On Target was inspired by a Bible verse. Psalm 127:4 says “Like arrows in the hands of a warrior, so are the children born in one’s youth.”

I think even those who don’t subscribe to my personal belief system can understand the ideology that our motherhood should be spent intentionally. Raising children and sending them out into the world with hopes that they will be successful, compassionate, and purposeful adults requires some forethought. A “battle plan” if you will. Our hope at Moms On Target is to come alongside women in their motherhood, help them establish goals in their parenting and provide resources to help them reach those goals.

Jesse, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I grew up in an extremely unhealthy and dysfunctional family. My childhood was plagued by poverty, neglect, abuse and parental addiction. I then, as had become an obvious cycle in my immediate family, became pregnant quite young. I was determined to be a good mom, to grow and learn, but I had no idea how to do that. I knew what I didn’t want to be but had no way of learning something new. I was really lucky to have a new mother in law and a few other women who offered me really genuine opportunities to witness different ways of parenting and living. These women were so kind and humble, never allowing me to feel shame about the things I didn’t know or understand about caring for a baby, a home or myself. I was so grateful and often wondered how different my own life might have been if my mother had been offered similar mentorship opportunites. I knew that I wanted to find a way to replicate that experience on a larger scale. I was heartbroken to see the cycles I grew up in continue in my community and even within my own family. I wanted to find a way to help.

I started by launching a small group in my church meant to be a space for connection for moms. That was four years ago. Over time we grew and stretched and really wanted to be able to offer more tangible support to moms in the various seasons and stages that we serve them in. To do that, we needed more resources and we also wanted to be very clearly seen as an organization aimed at serving the community as a whole. So, we took the steps and are now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Thanks to donors and community partners who believe in our mission and vision we are consistently increasing the programing we offer to local moms. We have support and educational groups for moms in all seasons, stages and in from all walks of life. We have twice a month play groups for both moms and their children to build relationships with other families, we offer individual mentorship opportunities for those women seeking specific guidance and support in their personal parenting and life goals and we recently launched a monthly group specifically meant for single mothers during which we provide dinner to them and their children in a family style meal and then those moms receive support, education and encouragement aimed at their unique circumstances while their children are cared for in our classrooms by dedicated and vetted childcare mentors. We are hoping to soon have another designated support program for moms specifically in pregnancy and their first two years postpartum where we believe a little extra care and attention is needed. There is so much more that we hope and plan to do as our support increases and opportunities become available to do so. I have personal plans in the works to offer online coaching, resources and materials that will help moms even outside of our local community.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I have had so many lessons in resilience since beginning my journey as a nonprofit founder and director. I had a vision, a mission and faith that others would see it with me. Aside from that, I didn’t have the typical qualifications or experience you’d find necessary to be successful in founding and dire ting a nonprofit organization. I made errors on our initial IRS paperwork that lead to a year long correction process, I had to learn (and re-learn) so many new computer systems, apps and online programs related to donor record keeping, general accounting, donation processing, online business banking, etc. I have said, on more than one occasion, that every time I have a new idea for this organization, I have to learn ten new things to make it happen.

I am so thankful for the local nonprofit leaders, business owners and marketing professionals who have been really generous in offering advice, support, honest feedback and even donated services that have helped me fight my way through this first year and helped to set me up for success going forward. I think having a strong and authentic network that you can lean into is something I’ve learned is incredibly important.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Authenticity.

As a new to the industry professional I was quite intimidated as I entered a space full of people I admired and respected so much and felt so very different from. I honestly really struggled in the beginning of my journey with a lot of doubt and insecurity about whether I belonged in this space and could be successful in this role. It was tempting to be prideful and to try to replicate what other successful leaders were doing rather that persevere in the things I felt were important. I decided early on thouvh that I was going to stay true to myself, sink or swim. I humbled myself and asked for help and advice from everyone I possibly could and used that advice to bring life to my own ideas and passions. I have been told many times by our program participants and by professionals within my network that my authenticity is what drew them in and keeps them there. I’m proud of myself for building that reputation of authenticity.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.momsontarget.org
• Instagram: @jessecoontz
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessekolmer?mibextid=ZbWKwL

Image Credits
Kaitlin Kadar