0:06

Welcome back, everyone, to Coffee with COJO. This is Anna again.

0:10

And today we have Elise Heesch doing a guest interview.

0:13

So can you tell us a little bit about yourself and why you chose SDSU?

0:17

Yes, I would love to give you a little more info about myself.

0:21

So as you said, my name is Elise Heesch and I am originally from says it's in South Dakota.

0:29

It's a pretty small town compared to Brookings here in the northeast corner of the state.

0:34

So when I want to go back home, it's just about an hour and a half drive of the interstate.

0:40

But I've been in Brookings now for about five years and I've really enjoyed taking advantage of all the opportunities SDSU has offered me,

0:50

along with the opportunities the community has offered me.

0:55

When you ask why I chose SDSU specifically, I don't know if I have a, you know, a glamorous answer for that.

1:03

I feel like when I was in high school, we had done college tours and had went to and DSU and Moorhead State.

1:12

We never really made it anywhere to Brookings or Sioux Falls or anything outside of that area.

1:17

So I don't even think CSU was really on my radar and I kind of just decided one day I'm going to go to SDSU and and the rest is history.

1:28

Good decisions can come on a whim is what I'm hearing. You don't always need to do planning.

1:32

Yes, a lot of decisions.

1:35

I am a planner and a Type A person, but sometimes the biggest decisions I have made have really just been random and very unplanned.

1:44

Well, we're glad you decided to come to SDSU.

1:47

And if you notice that she said she's been here five years, that's because she finished her undergrad here and then is now doing a master's program.

1:54

So can you tell us what your bachelor's degrees in and then what?

1:57

Graduate school has been like? Yeah. So I finished my undergrad in three years.

2:03

I was able to do that through dual credit classes in high school,

2:07

which I strongly recommend for anyone maybe wanting to go down a faster track of college,

2:14

something I definitely thought I wanted because I was very determined.

2:18

I'm going to just enter the workforce, get down to college as fast as possible.

2:23

And it also, if you're on a financial spree or whatever, it can save money in the long run by taking those dual credit classes.

2:31

I just decided to major in advertising and I have a management minor, but I wasn't always on that path either.

2:41

That decision was also very random and undecided.

2:45

I originally thought I wanted to be an exercise science major.

2:50

I was, you know, in sports and instead, you know, eating healthy and doing fitness and all the health related things.

2:57

I'm like, exercise science makes sense for me to do. I guess I was, what, like 17 deciding what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.

3:06

But after a few of the, you know, those meetings you have with advisors before even declaring majors or coming to college,

3:14

they had handed me a list of the classes that I was going to have to take.

3:18

And I looked at that list and I was like, Absolutely not.

3:23

I don't think I can take any more like physics classes or cancer, any of those classes.

3:28

I really got to rethink my life here. And so I was literally online applying to school here.

3:35

And it has the question of what do you want your major to be? And the dropdown option was advertising so very unplanned on the whim, on the cuff.

3:46

I'm like, All right, well, advertising, sure, we'll go with that.

3:49

I might not be the most creative tool in the tool kit, but maybe I can sort of mix that with business.

3:56

I was a future business leaders of America, member, State president,

3:59

so I knew I didn't want to go down the business route directly, but figured I could somehow interchange them.

4:06

And so far I think that that path has worked out along with a management minor.

4:12

Again, as I've said, I like to plan and figure out timelines and delegate tasks.

4:16

So I think those two have worked pretty well in my favor.

4:20

So at least I have, I think at least one class, if not more than a couple.

4:24

And I would have never expected advertising to just kind of be what came about.

4:29

She is so good at what she does. One aspect is that she has a least by design.

4:35

And could you tell us a little bit about what having your own business is like where that got started,

4:40

kind of along those lines, The theme of this podcast at this point is things just happening that was not planned at all either.

4:49

The biggest part of that and how that got started was I was really worried about my portfolio being in advertising and applying for creative.

5:00

Sometimes you're asked to provide a portfolio or at least show work that you've done.

5:05

And being that I was only in undergrad for three years,

5:09

I felt that my portfolio maybe wasn't the size of what other people's were or where it should be.

5:15

Four things I was trying to do with my life, and it was in 2020, in July of 2020.

5:23

So right in the middle of my undergrad and I was like, okay, well, I need to beef up this portfolio.

5:30

I don't know what to do. Obviously, the time that we were in then,

5:35

everyone was scared and trying to figure out life and I was definitely trying to figure out my life at that point.

5:42

And so I was literally just having a conversation with my mom and I'm like, Well, I'm going to school, I'm learning all these things.

5:50

I have these skills, but I don't really have anything to show for it. Like, who's going to hire me?

5:54

I don't I don't know what to do. And she literally just said, Well, why don't you just start charging people for it?

6:00

And that my 19 year old self, or however old I was then literally in shock.

6:05

My jaw probably hit the ground when we were having that conversation.

6:09

And I'm like, Oh, I don't think anyone's going to pay me to do anything.

6:12

Like I'm just this college kid. Like what? They're not going to trust me or think I have the skills or anything.

6:19

So I guess a few days after that, I had started the Facebook page for the business.

6:25

I didn't really think anything of it. You know, I had made a quick logo, made a name for it also,

6:31

which my mother helped me come up with and just made the Facebook page, shared it with my Facebook friends.

6:36

And within a couple of days I had some people reach out and they're like, Hey, do you want to help us with our social media?

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And I was blown away. I'm like, No, no way. Like, is this real?

6:48

This this can't be real. I'm like, Yeah, I would I would love to help you with this.

6:53

And of course, since I didn't think anything would really come from me doing this, I didn't have like, pricing or, or any of that stuff put together.

7:01

So I'm like, Oh, okay, well, what am I going to charge you now? Because you know, they're going to pay me, but I don't know what to charge you.

7:08

So I had to figure that all out. And yeah, I have had those two first two clients now for the last three years in business,

7:16

so I'm really happy that they had the courage to at least trust me to run their social media.

7:23

And from there again, the rest is history. So you mentioned that you aren't really a business cited person.

7:29

You were part of that a little bit, but it wasn't what you planned on doing.

7:32

So how's it been managing the business side of a freelance operation?

7:38

Yeah, that's a great question.

7:40

It's been a huge learning curve for me from setting up bank accounts and getting like your high end number and all these legal aspects.

7:50

Big learning curve. Obviously, if I would have went through the business side of things or even entrepreneurial undergrad here at CSU,

7:58

I probably would have learned some of those. I remember taking like my accounting class because I had to take accounting for my management minor and there was a section on like,

8:07

Well, if you're an employer, you have to do all these things. I'm like, I'm never going to need to know that.

8:12

I'm just going to go get a job. I won't ever, like, be my own boss or anything.

8:16

And lo and behold, I had to, you know, start keeping track of expenses and income and receipts and figuring out sales tax and all of that stuff.

8:27

So huge learning curve. I'm sure there's workshops that you could attend if you're interested in learning just the the basics of those things.

8:35

So recommend going to those. I know the Small Business Center, they offer free help for helping you figure out those things.

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And they were a huge part in helping me figure out what I needed to do and, you know, to be legal and, you know, not have the IRS knocking on my door.

8:51

So, as I said, learning curve. And it's been a it's been a fun ride.

8:55

Well, I'm glad you got some of those outside the class experiences to learn how to start your own business

9:01

for other people interested in starting even just a freelance like you for other people interested.

9:07

You mentioned one place already, but what are some other resources students can go to for more information on starting their own business?

9:14

So besides the Small Business Center, they have a few affiliate programs.

9:19

I would recommend students maybe getting in contact with faculty members in that area of the entrepreneurial in business.

9:28

The faculty members probably have a lot of expertise in that area.

9:33

I also think that just talking to maybe other freelancers, whether that's faculty or even business owners in the area,

9:42

people love to tell you what they did and how they did it in all their history.

9:46

So literally just getting out and talking to people, making phone calls is also super helpful and some great advice using that networking,

9:54

reaching out to those around you or a lot of the times you learn the most from people who've made the mistake.

9:59

Already? Yep. That's nice that you have that network built up.

10:02

So you've been managing all business by yourself, which is an incredible feat.

10:07

But you've also been a student full time. How has it been balancing that?

10:11

What are your tips and tricks for having both at the same time?

10:16

Yeah, it's a lot. I will admit the 40 hours in work week might be not enough at times for me, but it's okay.

10:25

I I've said it before already, but I am very much of a planner and an organizer.

10:30

I have my laptop calendar and I'm a Big Apple person, so all my calendars sync on my phone and my laptop and all the things.

10:38

And so I know exactly where I got to be and at what time I can just whip it out on my phone.

10:44

And so that in that way, being organized and having a calendar is really helpful,

10:49

just knowing where you need to be at and what you need to be doing at a certain time.

10:54

But beyond just having your schedule planned out,

10:57

it's so important to be able to know that when you're in the schedule thing that you're doing the things that you need to be doing right.

11:06

If you have it blocked off for homework, you need to make sure that, yep,

11:09

I'm doing my homework at this time because you're not going to have time to do it when you're scheduled.

11:14

Whether I'm doing my teaching or working on a client's stuff or doing my work or whatever it is,

11:22

you got to make sure that you're being self-discipline.

11:24

Self-discipline is a huge part of balancing graduate school and working and all the other things.

11:30

I mean, I've got a million things going on in life,

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and I if I wasn't disciplined and if I wasn't motivated enough to get my things done, oh, my gosh, it would be hard.

11:38

That planning side of it definitely sounds like it comes in handy.

11:41

And I like that. You mentioned self-discipline and we had Vernon Brown think it was two weeks ago now,

11:46

and he mentioned a lot about being structured and having grit and pushing forward.

11:50

And it sounds like you use the same tactics to stay focused.

11:53

Yes, I definitely agree with grit and motivation.

11:57

I mean, it's not easy, right? Some days you're going to want to hit that snooze button and sleep in, but you really just got to get up.

12:04

And if coffee is your thing, drink coffee or get whatever you need to get your day started.

12:08

I like to start with a workout in the morning. I just feel like it really centers me and focuses me.

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They get started for my day, so then I know I have that checked off my to do list and I can just go about my day getting things done.

12:22

I am in the morning is when I'm really focused.

12:25

I'm a bit of a morning person if you can't help, but in the morning I know that I'll get my workout done.

12:30

I'll come back and get ready for my day and just knock out those bigger to do list.

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Whether that's working on a paper for class or doing grading or doing client work.

12:39

I do the bulk of my work in the morning and then I have the rest of the day to just do those little tasks,

12:46

like send an email or check in on this or do whatever a little task I have left for the day.

12:51

I like that tactic. I try to get myself to be a morning person, but I'm definitely a night owl.

12:57

I wasn't always a morning person. I in my undergrad years.

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It's not until recently that I started getting up early and doing things I did

13:08

used to like to stay up a little later and get up and maybe not at a decent time.

13:15

So I've definitely switch and I think my work life balance and just managing my time has definitely improved because of getting up early.

13:24

And I know that sounds so old lady ish. And I my parents call me all grandma because I like to go to bed early,

13:30

but I think that getting my 8 hours of sleep and just getting up early and

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getting stuff done has helped me tremendously with just getting things done.

13:39

Sometimes it is just trying a new tactic and seeing what works for you and you've definitely found that path.

13:44

What works best. Yeah, I mean, at the end of the day, if you're more of a night owl, then obviously my pattern of life wouldn't work for you.

13:52

So it is really just about finding, knowing how you work and finding how to work that into your schedule.

13:57

You talked about with scheduling how you plan to be an undergrad, three years, get out of college, work right away, and you started your own business.

14:05

So you've been working. What made you decide to go to graduate school again?

14:11

That was a real off the cuff thing. I had no intentions on going to grad school.

14:17

I was just going to go get my job after I graduated.

14:21

So it's again, it's hard to say what exactly put me on that path.

14:26

I think there's a few factors that factored into it, maybe subconsciously that I didn't outright think, but definitely helped me put me on that path.

14:35

So really I woke up one day and I was like, Yep, I'm going to apply.

14:39

But I think one of the biggest things is kind of going back to that portfolio.

14:45

I knew even from working with clients and having a business,

14:48

I still felt maybe my work experience timeline maybe wasn't to the capacity that I wanted it to be compared to people that maybe had went.

14:59

Four years to school and had maybe a few more internships than I did.

15:03

And so being so young and getting out of school so early, I'm like, well, uh, eh,

15:09

I don't want to be an adult yet, so let's just keep maybe going to school for a little longer.

15:14

That way I can earn another degree, so I'll have that master's degree,

15:18

but at the same time I can still work and still have more of an extensive work

15:22

history that might be a little more persuasive when talking to employers versus,

15:28

you know, this 20 year old. Three years of undergrad didn't really have much work experience at that time.

15:34

I had a little, but and maybe not what employers are looking at even for entry level positions.

15:40

So that was a factor of, you know, where I was literally at in life for my age and graduating, but also having that extra few years of college.

15:50

I was then able to figure out my path in life and what I wanted to do with the master's.

15:55

After that. I also want to shout out a former teacher.

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I don't know if you remember Katie Coduto. Where you around?

16:04

I'm not sure. Well, she was my teacher for mass media and society and that was like across list to class.

16:10

So it had graduate students and undergrad. So I took it my last year in undergrad and she was the graduate coordinator and she would like always,

16:20

you know, plug that to us and like, you guys should do this.

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And so I was persuaded by Miss Katie, who's now at Boston University, who just published a book.

16:30

But anyways, she also helped me find that path that I wanted to take by answering all my questions.

16:37

And I always have a million questions about things.

16:40

I would go into her office with my list of questions about grad school and then like, Can you answer all these for me?

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And so that was super beneficial because I like to know what most people like to know, what they're getting into before they do something.

16:52

So I'm like, Well, Katie, if I'm going to do this, I need to know these things.

16:56

And a big part of my questions, when you think of grad school, I think you think of like a thesis, right?

17:03

And writing this big long thing. Definitely what I thought. And I'm like, I don't really like research that much.

17:09

And I, I don't know. I don't want to write a big long book, basically.

17:13

Right. And she's like, Well, actually, did you know you can do a project out?

17:18

And I'm like, No, I did not. Please tell me more. And so she's like, Well, instead of writing a big long paper, you could do a project route,

17:26

which is it's a little bit of research involved in it, but not as extensive as a thesis would be.

17:32

And so after she explained that to me, I think that kind of helped seal the deal and I was hooked.

17:38

If I won't have Katie in my life and if I want to ask her all these questions, I don't think I would have applied.

17:43

So definitely talking to people and figuring out even what grad school was about helped to push me in that direction.

17:51

I like that you mentioned that there's a project option because when I was first considering grad school,

17:56

I was also like thinking of a thesis, thinking of a lot of writing, a lot of research.

18:01

So I assume you're taking the project route based on your preference.

18:06

What are you doing for your project? How is that coming along?

18:10

What are the next steps? Yeah, so my project is going to be on website workshops.

18:17

So obviously with my business I make websites for people and I really like doing that.

18:22

So I wanted to do something for my project that would help me professionally and, you know, industry wise and all that.

18:30

And I was just having a random conversation one day with my advisor, Marina Hendricks,

18:37

and we just started talking about websites and we're like, Well, hey, will you do this for a project?

18:41

I'm like, All right, well, if you're on board, I'm on board. And so basically what we are doing is holding workshops in the spring.

18:50

So I believe in February we are having three website workshops for business owners in

18:55

the Brookings area and they can sign up to come to the workshop if they're interested.

19:03

Really, the whole point of this project is to help specifically small business owners realize that

19:11

you can have a website even if you are super small and helping to overcome the idea that,

19:16

well, I have a Facebook page, that's all I need.

19:19

I find it really annoying sometimes when I'm looking up a business and they just have a Facebook page and I'm trying to

19:26

find out like their contact info or their hours or what whatever that basic information that would go on a website.

19:32

And so I think and Marina thought, why not, you know, teach them, have them sign up, show them that they can make a website.

19:40

That's another big barrier of, well, you have to know coding.

19:44

You have to know all this extensive knowledge when nowadays it's so far beyond that, you literally just go online,

19:51

look up the platform that you want to use, and just plug in your information like it's super simple.

19:56

And if you're just looking for a little shell of a website to have. Basic information, it's pretty easy to accomplish.

20:03

And so I just submitted my project proposal that was due September 15 waiting for approval on that.

20:10

I just started on like the IAB materials because we'll have a few surveys associated with the workshop on whether they think it was a success.

20:18

Why don't you have a website and then comparing those pre and post surveys.

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Hopefully their confidence in website abilities has increased in maybe their

20:27

identification of obstacles of why they don't have a website has decreased.

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So that's the hope. So I made like the recruitment messaging, I made the surveys that General IAB document to send out to get approved.

20:39

So right now we're just waiting to get that submitted and get started on recruitment.

20:43

That is very cool. So this is a mini plug for anyone in the Brookings area looking to learn how to build a website from start to finish.

20:51

Kind of seems like is what the workshop will do. I think the dates are February six, five and eight, fifth, sixth and eighth.

21:00

That was There you go. Those are the dates. If you're interested, hit me up.

21:05

So this is an example of how graduate school doesn't need to be just scholarly research.

21:11

You can build that out, do what you're already passionate about, even in the research, find an interest and go from there.

21:18

So it's great to see that your project is going to help you individually,

21:22

but also help the community that you've been a part of for the past five years or so.

21:27

Being a student. And I think Brookings is one of those communities that has a great college network that works together to support both sides.

21:35

Oh yeah, I definitely agree with that. If you go to any business and you're looking to help them or have them help you with something and you say you're from SDSU, like immediately.

21:45

Yes. Like there's little to no hesitation and then returning a favor to you.

21:50

So you've had quite a bit of time in school. Are there any special highlights in your college experience or moments that you're

21:58

going to remember for a while or change the track of where you were heading?

22:02

I think when I think back on my undergrad or even my grad school experience, it's just the involvement that I've had that I will remember the most.

22:11

And I'm sure everyone will tell you this.

22:15

And I'm here to tell you again that being involved is so important.

22:19

Like, I don't even know how to stress that enough.

22:22

I mean, you could just be the little couch potato that just goes to their classes and does their tests and homework,

22:27

but you're not going to get the full benefit of college if you're not getting out there and joining clubs and forming relationships and networking.

22:36

Because I am a firm believer that it's really who, you know, not necessarily always what you know.

22:41

You can always learn stuff, but you can't know someone that you don't know, right?

22:45

So like I was in advertising club and we took trips to advertising agencies in Des Moines, Sioux Falls all over the place.

22:54

We went to Duluth. So going to those agencies and just showing up is a huge factor in what you're going to

23:01

remember and those skills that you're going to take with you after you're done with school.

23:06

As an advertising major, we have to complete a capstone.

23:10

And so even if you maybe aren't as involved as you could be,

23:14

you'll take the national student advertising competition class your senior year of an average if you're an advertising major.

23:22

And so that's like as real life as it'll get in school.

23:26

So you're literally given a client and a case study and you are like a 15 man ad agency working on this problem for the client.

23:36

So my senior year we had the the VR headset from Metta, I think it was called Oculus Quest.

23:44

Oculus. But we had that as our case study.

23:47

And, you know, they wanted to increase sales on that and, you know, make it part of everyday life for their target audience.

23:54

And so we literally spent a whole year working on this.

23:58

We did research in the fall which people as advertising major right now would be working on the research portion.

24:06

So we spent the fall doing research, had to present our research at the end of the semester and then right away in the spring,

24:12

we started working on the campaign. So making video, making creative writing content, figuring out media buying.

24:18

And I was the project manager, so my management minor kind of came in a little handy there with figuring out,

24:25

you know, if the video people are working on this, this is your timeline to get that video done.

24:30

But if creative needs something from you, you know, you got to work your timeline into their timeline.

24:34

You got to make these deadlines work together. So I was really the mastermind behind making sure deadlines were being met.

24:41

People were getting their work done and that people had the tools and resources necessary in order to complete their assigned work,

24:50

whether it was video or creative or whatever it may have been.

24:54

I just really helped to move that campaign forward.

24:58

So after being in that project management lead,

25:01

I think that that might be something I'm looking to get to later in life, like with current work right now.

25:09

I'm typically the one making the creative or making the social or making the video.

25:14

So I think I've had enough experience that when I do try and go after a management position,

25:19

I'll I'll have enough background, enough history to help helping that management position.

25:25

But beyond that, join the Collegian, the school newspaper.

25:29

Big impact on my life and something I think. I don't think I could ever forget that you got to meet community members, business owners.

25:37

I got to go around town and meet business owners selling newspaper ads for the Collegian,

25:44

and I made really good friends while working at the Collegian.

25:48

Honestly, one of the people that I worked with and I'm going to be a bridesmaid in my wedding,

25:52

so you never know who you're going to meet and who's going to be in your wedding one day.

25:55

So that was great for my relationships, even forming relationships with the advisors and the faculty.

26:01

I mean, they're going to become your friends and they'll be great mentors. I go to Heather's office all of the time.

26:07

I just plop in her seat and like Heather, that's what I got to tell you today.

26:10

What do you got to say back to me about that? So it's great just having a relationship with the faculty and it's maybe not so much as, Oh,

26:18

my God, they're like my teacher and, like, scared of them, but like, Oh, yeah, they're my teacher.

26:21

I'm just going to go have a conversation with them.

26:24

So definitely recommend joining, like the clubs associated with whatever area you have expertise or passion.

26:33

And also I think the biggest part of my undergrad that I absolutely cannot forget was Alpha Delta.

26:40

I decided to rush my freshman year and I joined Greek Life.

26:45

I can't even imagine what my undergrad would have looked like if I hadn't of joined a sorority.

26:51

But just like with any other club, they have, like, positions and officers and exact teams.

26:57

So I really got deeply involved with their marketing and their external marketing, their websites and photography.

27:03

So I just made it a big goal of mine in undergrad to get involved in the things

27:08

that I knew would help me and push me in the areas that I wanted to go.

27:12

And I mean, you can't forget all those experiences and activities no matter how hard you try.

27:17

I'm glad you had such a wonderful wealth of knowledge from undergrad.

27:21

And I mean advertising, collegian and Greek life are kind of related in your interests and passions, but there's still some variety in there.

27:28

It wasn't just focus on one thing, but you knew what you were passionate about.

27:32

Yeah, I feel like in high school I was involved in everything and I kind of dabbled in a bit of everything.

27:38

So I was either doing, you know, the f blade, the business thing,

27:41

or then in another club, maybe art club, and they didn't really have any ties together.

27:46

So I was already used to, you know, being in everything and not ever sleeping in high school.

27:49

I don't know how I never slept, but I don't think I did.

27:53

So I came to college and I was just, you know, being that couch potato, like I'm doing my homework, but I'm so bored.

27:59

Like, what am I going to do with my life? I can't just do my homework for 8 hours a day and go to class.

28:04

So I'm like, All right, well, we need it. We need to figure something out here.

28:07

So I just really made it a goal and a priority to involve myself in things that I knew were going to help me later on in life and build that resumé.

28:16

I feel like people are constantly worried about, like, what am I going to put on my resume?

28:19

Well, you got to do things. You got to get involved to ever put that line on your resume.

28:23

I like that. In addition to involvement, is there other advice you'd like to share with incoming or current students?

28:30

I would say talking to people for that kind of relates to involvement.

28:33

I mean, you got to talk to people to make a relationship and really get anywhere.

28:37

Just find what you like. If you don't like what you're doing,

28:41

you should figure that out sooner rather than later so you can again prioritize and reorganize your life to get on that track.

28:50

And it's not easy figuring out what you like to do. I definitely I never imagined any of this.

28:55

I didn't know that I would like doing any of this. So it's definitely trial and error.

29:00

You just got to put a few feelers out and if it doesn't work, that's okay.

29:03

I mean, you still have the rest of your life to figure it out. I know adults that are always like, I still don't know what I want to do with my life.

29:10

Maybe one day I'll be this and I look at them like you're like 30, like you're you're an actual adult.

29:16

And so that kind of makes you feel better that there's always time to go back to the drawing board.

29:21

So being involved, talking to people, networking, just doing things.

29:29

This podcast is the property of the School of Communication and Journalism at South Dakota State University, which reserves all rights to its use.

29:37

Music by Cody M Johnson and Tyler at St James is licensed through AP Music.