We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kris Kiehn a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kris, so happy to have you with us today and there is so much we want to ask you about. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others developed certain skills or qualities that we are struggling with can be helpful. Along those lines, we’d love to hear from you about how you developed your ability to take risk?
When I was 26 and had been working for a few years post-college, I had decided that I’d wanted to move to the West Coast, Northern, CA to be exact. As I lived in NJ this was not just a few states away, this was a big change, but I’d been working as the sole East Coast representative for Palo Alto based company.
As I was doing my research and visiting the other office I was always amazed how cold it was for what CA “should be” in my mind and soon decided to redirect my search to Southern California or SoCal. I did research and found some towns that had “the most sunny days,” went out and signed a lease and went back to NJ to make the drive.
There were two factors in this move that have made me more risk tolerant.
The first was that I drove solo for 2-1/2 weeks across country, navigating highways I’d never driven on, including partially through a blizzard that in hindsight I really should have pulled over soon. (When I did was stuck in a motel in WY for two days under 7 feet snow drifts. While I ultimately made it to CA safely, I definitely had to rely on my instincts.
The second. When I arrived, I had a place to live but no job. I also only knew two people in the LA area both of whom weren’t even in my industry. While I’ve always been fairly shy, I just started talking to people I met about my search and sending out letters (email was still too new) to various agencies and calling back. I soon met one man Casey who had a “friend” who might be looking to hire at his agency. The friend wasn’t, but he said I should meet “Margo” for an informational interview as she might be able to help.
The informational interview turned out to be an actual job interview unbeknownst to me until the second person I met after Margo, asked, “So what do you like most about the job opening?” I’m sure panic crossed my face, but I replied, “There are a lot of very interesting factors. Maybe you could share what you think is most important about the role?” never giving away that I didn’t know it was an actual job interview vs. an informational one.
I met four people that day and was offered the job the following day – one week to the day of my arrival.
I live by the motto that “It’s always “no” unless you ask.” Sometimes you just have to take a risk or you’ll never know. To this day, I will introduce myself to strangers when I networking events. Is it always comfortable, no. But you have to take risks to get through life, especially those that make you a little uncomfortable at first. A “hello” can open doors to exciting opportunites and amazing new people.
As you learn more in, say in your career, you can take more calculated business risks, and with risks comes reward. Ultimately my most recent big risk was leaving the corporate world behind to own and run my own branding and marketing, consulting firm.
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?
I am the Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Simply K2 Marketing, a brand and marketing strategy firm located on the island of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. I develop brand identities and messaging for entrepreneurs, start-ups and small consumer facing business, that ensures their messaging resonates with their prospects vs. talks at them.
As a small business owner, I love helping other small business owners succeed, especially in the consumer space. Marketing is not as simple as some say it is, and sometimes these owners, simply need some strategic guidance or reassurance that they are on the right path. I especially enjoy the creativity and story telling you can create, when you can see your efforts or even some small encouragement I’ve given the owner, increase the awareness and sales at in their business.
I’ve also found that living on an island has its own challenges. During the pandemic, I’d really found myself wanting to connect with other small business owners. I felt that there was a need to create a safe space to share resources, brainstorm or just provide general support owners like me in a group setting. This led to the founding of the MV Small Business Support Community, that is still active today, three years later. We are women who come together approx. six months out of the year (off-season as everyone’s too busy during our in-season) to meet, share tips, vent, look for accountability partners or share challenges in an effort find resources and support.
Simply K2 Marketing is in its 16th year, albeit full time for the last four. I couldn’t be happier to have taken this risk of leaving the corporate world behind. I’m happier. I’m now able to work with some amazing business owners from the Vineyard and across the US while creating a better balance of self-care, family time and work.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Find what creates a spark in you. You will know it when you see/feel it. For many years I was on the agency side of the business and working on a lot of B2B and financial accounts. These accounts were complex at times and for me, often hard to process and share back in a concise and fun way.
I was determined to get on the “client/corporate side of things” and when my own efforts were not netting results, I used recruiters and contract assignments to get my foot in the door. You should always keep looking for ways to do things in the field/role that you want. You cannot give up if it’s something that sparks that joy and makes work not feel like work, the majority of the time.
Kindness – Kindness goes a long way. Find ways to incorporate it in your work and lifestyle. I am a HUGE proponent of sending thank you notes when someone has helped me out in some way. While it may have been a “small” thing to them, it was likely a pretty big deal for you.
Advocate – No one but yourself can do it better. If something doesn’t feel right, keep pushing to get the answers or solutions you need – especially when it comes to healthcare. I learned this the hard way. I also advocate for my own boundaries when working with clients to ensure that I have balance and time for selfcare, which ultimately makes me a better partner for my clients.
How would you describe your ideal client?
My ideal client is a US-based, CPG or B2C small business owner or retailer who has been going it on their own for a bit. They have tried some marketing to gain awareness and know who they want to sell to. (It’s been enough to get started but growth has stalled.) They know they need a more refined brand identity around a mission, vision and values, combined with a thoughtful marketing strategy and tactics that will help convert to customers/sales beyond just building awareness.
I also enjoy working with start-ups or service providers who have a vision, but need to work through their brand development and identity. They need targeted, messaging and a strategic marketing plan. They are knowledgable when it comes to the operational side of the business but really need a partner who can collaborate and contribute with branding and marketing expertise to get their name, services and business in front of their prospects.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.simplyk2marketing.com
- Instagram: @simplyk2mktg
Image Credits
AnicaBanica Photography/Angelina Topalieva for all shots submitted.
