In conversation with Jelena Krstic, Marketing Freelancer & Owner of MISSJ.theAgency

Take a step back, adapt and move on twice as fast.

To be able to understand better what is Multi-Channel Marketing and what are the challenges as an Agency Owner in these hectic times, I have had a chat with Jelena Krstic about her journey as a freelancer and entrepreneur.

Jelena is a Marketing, Communications, Social Media, Campaign, Event and PR expert and has been working in media and marketing for over ten years. She has worked with leading brands such as Microsoft, Harman, Exact, Nuon, Connexxion and the platform The Goaldiggers Club. Her expertise and skills lie in the creation and the implementation of out-of-the-box strategies.

Next to that, she is the owner of MISSJ.theAgency, a creative digital marketing agency that supports various clients. In their own words: “A place where we create awesome events, campaigns & marketing strategies for various high segment (lifestyle) brands. We excel in connecting the real (offline) world with the online world. We are fixers, doe-ers, always creative and highly personally involved.” Take a look at their amazing website: https://missj.agency/

1 Jelena, when did you first decide that you were going to be marketing entrepreneur?

I actually started doing smaller projects next to my fulltime job in 2013. I enjoyed creating productions and marketing campaigns in my free time and realised that creating kick ass strategies and execution was really a fun thing to do. I always wanted to work for myself but at that time I was still scared to do it fulltime. In 2016, when I left Microsoft after two years, the first interim role came on my path already. I had to take over a pregnancy leave at the Harman Group. For seven months I was responsible for the marketing and communications of JBL and Harman Kardon for the EMEA region. After that experience, I decided it was time to go full force on freelancing.

2 Which achievement are you most proud of?

I have a lot of achievements I’m really proud of but if I have to choose one it would be the launch of a hair brand, called Styledry. This was also because I enjoyed working with the founder of the brand, a fantastic female entrepreneur who’s young and driven and who already introduced multiple beauty and lifestyle brands in Europe. This time she created her own brand and asked me to help her launch it. I like working for startups because next to creating a strategy you’re managing and fixing all the other things that come along as well. The brand had an amazing look and feel, very girly and opened a lot of doors at the most fantastic beauty and lifestyle retailers and my all-time favourite department store in New York, Bloomingdales.

Also, obviously, I am very proud of my agency and I can talk for hours and hours about that. Do you have some time? ;) Feel free to visit us at our website: https://missj.agency/

3. How do you keep the balance between freelancing and managing an agency and what are your main challenges?

A while ago I was juggling some things around. As a freelancer, you have only a limited amount of time every week. I wanted to do more and also help brands in the long run. That’s why I started the Agency, so we could do more projects for clients and create more impact during the year. I work with a small team that helps me execute projects, or when I get hired to work on a bigger assignment where I have to service the client 3-4 days a week at their office. 

My main challenge is to stay hands-on for my clients because this is what I enjoy, the combination of creativity and hands-on execution. The whole process of creating one thing and also be involved in the execution and see your results is highly satisfying.

As an agency, I like to offer both the creation and strategy part as well as the implementation. I see that it happens a lot that agencies offer one of the two. I enjoy the whole process and moreover we can implement our own ideas better than anyone else. In this way, we are in control of the quality of the end result. We believe that this is beneficial for the client. 

4 What is your ambition? 

My ambition is to help my clients get to the next level with their marketing, online presence and create an amazing story and concepts. I want to be well known for my work and as a strong visionary and strategist.

As a freelancer, I help clients with capacity support. As an agency, I help clients with creative plans and challenges. A very nice example is the launch of CAKESTIX for Dr. Oetker, which I did together with another PR agency (see our lovely picture ?? ??), where I was responsible for the creation of the campaign and also for the opening of the popup store. An excellent combination of strategy and execution. I enjoy these projects a lot. As I am doing more projects as an agency, my goal is to involve more other freelancers to keep supporting my clients on both sides.

5 And obviously, how do you see the future for yourself and other professionals in the marketing industry now we are facing Corona?

Online marketing is going to be more important than ever and I think the coming months will be interesting. But I also believe everything will be fine in the end, I’m a super positive human being and I think that every situation teaches us something... It’s essential in these times to take a step back, adapt and move on twice as fast. This is what I am trying to do and also what I am trying to achieve for my clients. We should start talking to brands and help them understand that they need to create a strategy and go on instead of waiting for the storm to pass. I want to help many brands as I can to create a strong digital strategy and concept. 

On the short term, we have some challenges. Some clients are waiting and some projects are on hold. On the long term, we expect new opportunities for freelancers. Maybe even more than before. Because companies will be more careful with hiring on a permanent basis and because a lot of things will need to be rebuilt in a short period of time, freelancers will be an excellent solution. We are plug and play and flexible. 

Thank you so much, Jelena, for the great conversation & collaboration!

Want to know more about MISSJ.theAgency? Get in touch with Jelena now.

Want to know more about how we can help you with digitizing your business in these times?

Please contact us via [email protected] / YouLynq.me