We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Emily Iannazzo & Melissa Parkos a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Emily & Melissa, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
My resilience comes from experiencing my mother’s 10 year battle with cancer when I was young, and then losing her at the age of 16. Her strength and courage to fight her wellness battle while raising 3 young daughters was inspiring and I carry those memories of her with me. –Emily
I have always prided myself on reading the room and reading people – which leads to reading situations. In order to build resilience for me was life experiences both small and big, from traveling, studying and working in foreign countries without knowing the language and learning the culture I had to adapt to my surroundings. IN addition I consider myself a problem solver – so no matter what is thrown at me I have to find ways to overcome with thinking outside the box and solving the problem. Oh, and did I mention being a parent of three? We all know each day is not the same – and I often find myself saying “You can’t make this up!” 😊 — Melissa
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Melissa Parkos Sometimes I joke that I am a serial small business starter. I LOVE to create something from the ground up. Putting in the sweat (and often tears) to see it come to life is incredibly rewarding for me. My career started at the corporate level – I worked for many years at Best Buy Corp holding roles in Supply Chain, Purchasing and in Marketing. There were even a couple years that I worked Internationally in China, Turkey and Mexico City. I always say that these roles helped give me the well rounded experience to run my own small businesses.
After having the kiddos I felt that Corporate life was just not for me anymore. I stayed home for a bit but always craved more (and heck I spent so many years on my education I wanted to use it!) I started marketing consulting for small businesses as a side gig. I loved it – I quickly realized that I was inserting myself into all aspects of the business – not just marketing. When an opportunity came to own my own store while living outside Chicago – I took a leap and opened Jori and June (a women’s clothing and accessory store). Fast forward 3 years I found myself opening a second location in our beautiful little town of Stillwater. Owning the stores has prepared me to understand my clients and their needs from all aspects. That is why Emily and I created Good + Well Consulting, so that we can help small business owners focus on the “run the business” tasks – and we can assist in the rest.
If there is one thing to know about me, it is that I am an open book. I truly believe that being authentic, transparent and vulnerable is something to be celebrated. We live in a world today that displays and promotes unrealistic expectations – especially for women (and moms). My goal has always been to use my platform of my businesses to showcase “real life” situations, which means sometimes they are good, but sometimes they are not – and that is OKAY!
Fast forward to where we are today. If you meet Emily you will instantly feel a connection. She is one of the kindest souls I have ever met – and so incredibly intelligent. We both connected on the challenges it is to run a household, maintain a business, and raise children.
Always remember to Be The Good.
MP
Emily Iannazzo
After years staying home with my two boys when they were young, I came to the realization that something was missing. I began to lean into my marketing degree and background doing some consulting work for a local small business owner, and fell in love with that balance. Now having spent the past few years guiding businesses through their pain points, and helping to increase their growth potential—I realize that this is the piece that was missing. Though work/life balance day-to-day can be tricky—I am so inspired to start each day FULL of living—from work day to hockey rink then repeat—and I wouldn’t have it any other way!
Our kiddos brought us together—M & I actually met at a kiddo’s birthday party and became fast friends. I was instantly intrigued by her ability to run multiple successful businesses in multiple states, while still being present in her family life and friendships—all while somehow making it look effortless and graceful. Her intentionality and discipline balanced out with loads of creative energy and kindness set her apart.
That instant connection (and loads of sideline time together on the lacrosse fields) led to us tackling our own multi-channel start-up in our hometown in 2021. The Goodery is not only a passion project we share, but also sheds light daily on the inner workings of small business—which has been incredibly useful in our consulting work. Melissa and I have both been consulting on our own and have recently decided to join forces—this allows us to combine our skills and knowledge base to be able to offer more to our clients.
A problem solver by nature, I am wildly driven and LOVE to tackle to-do lists, hit deadlines, and multitask like a boss (sometimes to a fault). Pouring that energy into businesses to help them succeed truly brings me joy. I’ve always had a passion for doing work that matters and there is just something so beautiful about the connection and passion in small business specifically that I have fallen in love with. That local, small town feel, this community, the people, and the beautiful friendships built here have become so very important to me. Melissa and I firmly believe that success is built through connection and working together, and we look forward to building that connection with you.
-E
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Persistence Hard Work
Attention to Detail
Don’t be afraid to outwork those around you, always stick with it — most will give up, don’t quit too early. And the difference is always in the details. –Emily
-Adaptability – Although you may set out a strategy and plan, it may not pan out that way – so you must adapt.
-Communication/Networking – You have to be open to communicate – whether it is mentor, peers, employees. You are always connecting, learning and building solid relationships with those around.
-Problem Solving. Every day has a new challenge, whether big or small. You have to find ways as an entrepreneur to solve those challenges that are beneficial to your business as well as to your customers/clients.
–Melissa
If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?
Balancing the successes and failures of life as an entrepreneurial mother. There are never enough hours in the day, and trying to be the best I can in every area of my life is a constant challenge. Focusing on presence over perfection is key right now. –Emily
With any small business the challenge can be staffing. Especially having part time staff. We are very fortunate to have AMAZING staff – but with moving and rotating staff the time to communicate, train and have your brand represented in the way you would like can be an ongoing challenge no matter how talented they are.– Melissa
Contact Info:
- Website: www.goodandwellconsulting.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegoodery/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheGooderyCo
- Other: www.thegoodery.co
https://www.facebook.com/goodandwellconsulting
https://www.instagram.com/goodandwellconsulting/
Image Credits
Naomi Liester Photography (table photo) Sigrid Dabelstein Photography (headshots)
