That Girl Meets; Julia Koroleva

By Natasha Lee

Julia Koroleva is owner and manager of New-Jersey based JKI Marketing. Responsible for launching several successful brands and establishing significant business relationships, Julia has a unique and extensive background within the marketing industry. 

Julia entered the field of Marketing in 2003 at the Asia Trade Music Company, where she began working as a PR Manager while completing her Master’s Degree in Journalism and PR Studies at the University of Irkutsk. After some time with the company, which is ranked in the top 3 businesses in the professional show equipment industry, she was promoted to the role of Marketing Director. 

During her eight years with the company, Julia successfully managed numerous online marketing campaigns, wrote and executed formal marketing plans for multiple retail stores, and organised company presentations for the largest trade shows in the industry. She also led highly effective public relations efforts that resulted in mass media coverage for the Asia Trade Music Company.

In 2010, Julia moved to the United States and began working as the Editor in Chief for Zerkalo Inc. Responsible for international advertisement sales and business partnership development, her integral work bought back customers who had previously left the company and helped to fortify customer relationships by delivering bigger and better services. 

Following her work with Zerkalo Inc., Julia became the Special Projects Manager at RAF in New York City, where she was involved in all aspects of publication. Her integral work at RAF facilitated the development and execution of significant projects such as the book launch of a UN Ambassador, a special exhibit presentation for the Women of the United Nations Organisation, a TV channel presentation, PR for a Broadway show, and the Big Apple Circus marketing campaign to name a few.

Julia shifted away from the corporate world in 2014 and started her own company, JKI Marketing. Since then, she has built, more than two hundred websites and helped countless businesses achieve their goals in digital marketing and promotion. 

As part of the WIX Partner Community, she participates in programs and events that give her unique insight into the world of digital marketing. She was also a part of the WIX Ambassador program, where she organized workshops for people who want to learn how to build their own websites, and she continues to host training programs for digital marketing, SEO and website design. 

Last year, she organised an international round table with digital marketing specialists where they discussed their experiences with promoting small businesses in the digital space.

The clients of JKI Marketing range from local jewellery stores to large electrical engineering corporations and event spaces at the Hilton Chain.

Her work and vast experiences have allowed her to become well-versed in marketing plans for a variety of business types. With a central focus on small businesses located in New Jersey, Julia works hard with each case to develop a unique and personal strategy for each client. Her expert knowledge of marketing and her creative approach to each businesses’ needs sets her apart from the rest, and her dedication to her work has resulted in great success. It was with great pleasure that she joined me to answer questions about her work and experience to share with our readers.

What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?

Even when I was a child I always wanted to have a job that I can do from any coffee shop in the world. The freedom to be where you want, when you want, was my goal. That’s why my first profession and my master’s degree was in journalism. I started to write when I was still a student. Long story short, I transitioned from Journalism to Public Relations to Marketing Communications. By the time of my graduation from the University, I was one of the heads of the marketing department of one of the biggest companies in the professional light and sound industry in Russia. Moving to the US brought a big change to my life and my career. 

I wanted to get a job that would not tie me to the desk from 9 to 5 and would allow me to travel. That is how I moved to digital marketing, a very comfortable and familiar niche to me, and website design – which was an exciting and new field I decided to pursue.

Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give yourself about starting a business?

I would probably suggest moving my business to an official office space much earlier than I did. It took me a whole year to decide. I was afraid to commit to the lease and “grow myself out of business”. But having an official office with people helped me to grow much faster.

How do you balance entrepreneurship with being a mother and wife? 

This is a great question. As a workaholic, sometimes I have to force myself out of my office to do the homework with my son. I think I do have a good balance between work and home, and a free schedule is definitely helping. A couple of years ago my son loved asking me: ‘Mom, are you really a boss?’ ‘can you fire people?’, ‘so, you own the company like Elon Musk?’ Well, I am almost like Elon Musk, I am getting there, I tell him. I hope one day he will be helping me in my company. It’s up to him of course. The first criteria for any successful career – is to love what you do on a daily basis.

What do you LOVE about your profession? 

My company is focused on helping small businesses. I love seeing my clients to grow, and I grow with them. Being a part of their success is a great feeling. I love it. I love having answers to their questions and needs and I love finding solutions they didn’t know or think about.

What do you LOVE about being a woman?

Reality is - women are multitaskers and we do have to learn to do it all and do it all at once. I love spending my morning creating a marketing campaign and then coming home to make a favourite food for my family. I think women are mentally stronger and that is why we can manage so many things at once – career, kids, home, friends, etc. 

How do you empower other women to step into their purpose?

I believe that everyone has their own idea of happiness and purpose. I am mostly surrounded by working women who love what they do, and we always help and encourage each other to grow and to find our own favourite thing to do. I do believe that having your own occupation – whether you make clay pots or running a corporation - makes any woman more complete. I respect stay at home mothers, I know that it is a very hard work. But kids do grow up. And then it is time to discover your new passion

Usually, when you’re a business owner, you’re typically accustomed to taking the lead and making all of the decisions. During family and friend activities, how do you unplug from your role as CEO in family life settings?

I am working on it. I am trying not only to switch off at home, but to be a fair and nice manager at work as well. I don’t know if that works 100% of the time, but I try.

What should every woman in business know about marketing?

First of all, marketing is not something out of this world. With good effort you can figure it out. It’s all around you, whether you’re watching TV or shopping at the mall. Just keep your eyes open. Listen to professionals and apply what of learn to your own business. No one knows the strong and weak sides of your business better than you. I think it is important to separate the ideal business model from reality and adjust it to your situation.

What are some hacks for marketing that every entrepreneur should know?

I think one of the most important things in marketing and in business is your reputation. Build your reputation from day one and don’t be afraid to go an extra mile for your client. When I just started, I was searching for my clients via cold calling and networking. I over delivered every time, and I considered that as an investment in my reputation and into my referral base. That strategy helped me a lot. With the online availability of website design and digital marketing tools any student can build a website today. My goal was to build a website which converts and brings money to business. I did some free extra services to make sure that this would happen, and it payed off. Happy clients who got something extra would always gladly refer me to their friends and business partners. And I think that is the one big thing that helped me to stay in business and grow.

If you would like to know more about Julia or KJI Marketing you can visit the website. 

Natasha Lee is a visionary, entrepreneur and advocate for all things SHE led. She has built businesses, raised a family and worked alongside some of the most inspirational women globally.

Her #ThatGirl brand is all about strong female leadership, and she wears what she preaches! Have you seen the red lipstick cute T-shirts?! From an early age (She was an 8-year-old DIVA) to the present day, she worked toward her dreams. Natasha doesn't allow anything to hold her back. You can read all about her journey to becoming That Girl here and if you want to ask her any questions drop into The Community