Talking to Ourselves; Who Are Jake Braun and Mirela Setkic?

Episode Transcript

Jake Braun:

Hello, everyone. Welcome to Kickin' it with Kapok, a podcast about business owners' marketing struggles and solutions, and other business-related topics. This is episode zero, "Talking to Ourselves." This will be kind of a trial by fire episode for us, because we've never recorded a podcast before. Let's get started and see how it goes.
With that said, I'll hand it over to my co-host, Mirela Setkic.

Mirela Setkic:

And I think that Jake wants me to start talking about why we named this episode, "Talking to Ourselves." It's actually nothing really fancy; it's because we don't have an audience or we're assuming that we don't have an audience, because this is our very, very first episode, or our baby episode. We're a new podcast, just like a brand new business. We probably don't have any listeners, just like when anyone opens their new business and it's the very first day and they might not have any customers or any clients. This is kind of that situation.

Jake Braun:

Do you think it's harder to get listeners to a podcast or customers to a business?

Mirela Setkic:

Good question. I don't know. I have been a new business before, but I have never had a new podcast before, so I don't know. We'll find out, I guess.

Jake Braun:

So, what exactly is Kickin' it with Kapok?

Mirela Setkic:

Kickin' it with Kapok is a podcast about business owners' marketing struggles and solutions, and other business-related topics. We're just kind of going to share different tips and stories that business owners can relate and they can appreciate in terms of marketing and running their own business.

Jake Braun:

Okay. And maybe we should talk a little bit about why we're on this podcast. So, why don't you tell us a little bit about who you are?

Mirela Setkic:

That's a difficult question. Let's see, so who am I? Whenever I think about that question, the first thing that comes to my mind is, well, I'm an immigrant, I'm a refugee, and I guess I'm just a person who has lived in St. Pete since 1996. I went to school here, I attended USF, I got my bachelor's degree in management and marketing. And then I went back three years later and then I got my MBA. In addition to that, I am a marketing and a business professional. I've been in the industry for eleven plus years, which kind of sounds crazy and scary at the same time. I can't believe it's been that long. I think that's pretty much who I am, unless you can think of something else that I'm missing.

Jake Braun:

I think one of your ... specialties isn't the right word, but you talk a lot about what people have in common and how it can be easy to talk to people because they're similar in a lot of ways. Maybe you could talk a little bit about that since it's something that at least I think is one of the things that makes you great in marketing and business.

Mirela Setkic:

Oh, my secret sauce to connecting to people. And I don't know if I should say that it's mine, because I believe I read that in a book that I have been trying to remember which book that was recently. And I don't know what book it was, but in this book, the author talks about the human DNA and how we as human beings share 99.5 percent of the same DNA. Which means that you and I and our listeners, if we have any or our future listeners, we share 99.5 percent of the same DNA. So, we're essentially the same person, and that 99.5 percent of our DNA makes it easy for us to connect to each other.
For example, we all get hungry, we all need to sleep, and all these things that we all have in common. And then there's the 0.5 percent, which is what sets us apart and what makes us special. So whenever I'm walking into a room of people where I don't know a single soul, I always just focus on the 99.5 percent of the same DNA and that makes it easier for me to connect to people and start talking to them. And then if I want to make them feel special or make a stronger connection with a person, then I focus on the 0.5 percent of their DNA and what sets them apart from the herd or from the group of people that I'm talking to.
But I think we should stop talking about me. I guess that's enough, and maybe you should tell us a little bit about yourself, what makes you great, and what special aspect you will be adding to this podcast.

Jake Braun:

I'm Jake Braun and I'm the other co-host of this podcast. I have been doing computer programming since I was, I don't know, three or four years old, and I have a degree in Decision and Information Systems from the University of Florida. I believe it's now what they call their Information Systems and Operations Management degree. Basically a business degree, but it also focuses a lot on information systems and how they relate to business. And I also, like Mirela, have been in the business/marketing field for about eleven years. That's what makes me who I am and hopefully I can share some of the things that I've learned in some of these episodes on Kickin' it with Kapok.

Mirela Setkic:

And I also want to add that I always like to tell people, or this is actually how I perceive Jake. He's kind of the magician of computers. I have an idea for a website or an online marketing campaign, and I kind of think it and I put it down on paper, and then Jake takes it and does all of this programming computer magic and makes it happen.
So, that's kind of the magic of Jake, and he's also ... I think you've lived here since 1992 or '93, and you are originally from Wisconsin. So, Jake is kind of ... I like to call him the computer genius here at the office. And I just know enough to be dangerous, which is a tiny, tiny sliver of what Jake knows.

Jake Braun:

Well, I don't know if I agree or disagree with that, but one thing that resonates with me there is that I am usually the behind the scenes kind of guy. This is kind of a unique experience for me being on as a podcast host.
So, maybe we should talk a little bit about what we do at Kapok Marketing.

Mirela Setkic:

Oh, man, what do we do? Well, we are a local digital marketing agency, and some of the services that we specialize in for local businesses are content marketing, online advertising such as Google AdWords and Facebook ads and things like that. Also social media, which includes social media strategy, content creation, and account management. We also do website design and development, and other related services that local businesses of small or medium size need.

Jake Braun:

Sounds like a pretty good recap of what we do. So, what kind of things do you think we'll be talking about in the future episodes of Kickin' it with Kapok?

Mirela Setkic:

Well, hopefully all kinds of interesting things. I think we are going to focus on marketing and to be more specific, digital marketing and sharing tips for local businesses on how to get the most out of digital marketing and more specifically, online marketing. And just to kind of dispel some of the perceptions that some people might think that digital marketing is too advanced, too technical and maybe too expensive. So, we just want to come in and show people what it all is and how they can use it on most budget sizes.
And then I think we're also going to focus on the general St. Pete community, the local business community, and showcase local businesses who are doing digital marketing right. And maybe also share some success stories, valuable lessons – good and bad – that local business owners and professionals have learned along their journey. Starting a business, running a business, and being in the local Tampa Bay business community.

Jake Braun:

Okay. That sounds good. I think we also had a couple ideas about maybe talking about some general business things, as well. Hiring your first employee, why that can be a struggle for certain people, as well as some other general business advice that could be useful for small, local businesses.

Mirela Setkic:

And I think I should also mention that we are also going to share our own story, and how we started and what our journey has been over the past year and couple months. And just share the lessons that we've learned and also share the mistakes that we've made, and mistakes that we're going to continue to make, and just to kind of put a more realistic story or image of what it actually feels like to start a business and go out on a limb and risk it all and so people can get a more balanced story instead of just, "Oh man, we risked it, everything worked out and now we're making a whole bunch of money" and things like that.

Jake Braun:

That sounds good. I think we've given people a taste of what the episodes to come will include. Do you have anything else you want to share before we wrap it up here?

Mirela Setkic:

I don't think so. I just want to tell people to tell their friends to tell their friends to tell their friends. And hopefully we'll have people listening, and hopefully, we will make a tiny difference in the community, maybe teach someone something.

Jake Braun:

Alright. Well, that's our zeroth episode. Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions or comments about anything we talked about today, or marketing in general. You can visit us on our website, KickinItWithKapok.com, or on social media. We're on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as Kapok Marketing.
This has been Kickin' it with Kapok, brought to you by Kapok Marketing. Thanks for listening. We'll have something just as great for you next time.