Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessie Zahner.
Hi Jessie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My story is definitely all over the place. I grew up in the suburbs of Erie, Pennsylvania. Growing up in a small town, I was always distracted in school. I remember sitting in class thinking about what people in other places were doing or what their lives were like. I was so curious about the world and about people. I was also someone who loved to see people happy and wanted to help make people happy. With that as my life’s mission, I moved away, I spent four years in college and another three in post-graduate studies getting a Bachelor’s and Masters degree in Psychology. During that time, I also worked with children on the Autistic Spectrum and with ADHD. Once graduating, I began working at a community mental health center conducting Biopsychosocial Assessments and providing individuals, families and children with low-cost therapy.
After all of that, I thought I finally had my life together. I moved to a big city, Philadelphia. I had a career in the field that I studied. I had made a great group of friends in a new place. I thought I had my life all figured out. The thing about life is, no one has it all figured out.
A year after graduating from my graduate program, I moved again to Baltimore, Maryland. At the time, I thought that with a Master’s Degree and experience in the field, I would get another therapy job in no time but that was not the case. It was actually a struggle. I applied to hundreds of jobs. I attended many job fairs. But even after months of hard work, I still had no job. One day, I somehow ended up in Washington D.C. at a job fair at an MLS game that would ultimately change my career path and my life. At this job fair, I met a guy who asked me if I would be willing to work in sales. I told him I absolutely would never work in sales. Never say never. Even after saying “No”, this man still took a chance on me and called to interview me weeks later. I had no interest but was also still not working so I took the interview. I ended up getting the job working in sales for a professional sports team all the way in DC! I lived in Baltimore. I was so worried about the job, I did not know if I could make the commute. I wasn’t sure if I knew enough about the team. I didn’t know how to sell. I didn’t want to be a salesperson. I still did not have a job and so I took a chance and said, “Yes” to a job I really did not want to work. This changed everything. For the next ten years, I traveled and worked in professional sports sales working for teams like the Washington Nationals, Washington Capitals, Washington Wizards, Washington Mystics, Baltimore Orioles, and the Los Angeles Rams.
With those 10+ years of sales experience, I have been able to transition into medical aesthetic sales. Sales also taught me a lot about entrepreneurship and having your own business. With that knowledge, I have been able to create side jobs in creative things that I love like website design and most recently photography.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not always been a smooth road for me. I think with anyone who takes risks and has goals, there are always challenges along the way. I think one of the biggest struggles has always been moving. I have moved all around the country and picking up your life and restarting somewhere else can be extremely difficult. Being somewhere without family and friends close by, having to establish yourself career-wise in a new location, getting around and finding your place in a new city, all of this can be so challenging but it can also be very interesting and fun. It is part of a journey that teaches you adaptability and it is something everyone can get through.
The other big challenge for me has been being a female working in male-dominated industries. I am someone who loves a challenge and is very confident in my abilities, so it is something that I have always gladly taken on. All of these struggles just make the journey more interesting and more rewarding. The struggles and challenges should not be things that discourage us or make us turn away from something we want, it just makes the victory more sweet in the end, so always keep going!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I have been in sales for over ten years now. I think the thing that constantly sets me apart from others is my drive and motivation to help. No matter if I am selling sports tickets, taking photographs or listening to someone in a therapy session, my ultimate goal is always, how can I help. With sports sales, I was helping business executives grow their relationships with their employees, vendors, etc. At the same time within the same field, I could help and parent and child strengthen their relationship by creating lifelong memories bringing them on court for a high five tunnel at an NBA game or getting them NFL season tickets on the 50 yard line where they spend ten Sunday’s out of the year together. In therapy, my help was always more in-depth, involved much more listening and building trust over time. With my website design, I help people grow their companies. With photography, I can help capture memories and scenery. No matter what the task or job, I always am driven by a want to be of help, and not just any type of help, I really want to put a smile on the face of someone else and I will work tirelessly to do so.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I think risks are almost a must to live a full and well-rounded life. I have taken so many risks in my life whether it be moving, changing careers, having kids, traveling, running marathons. I grew up pretty sheltered in a town that was small with not too much diversity. I think I needed risks to change, to experience, to learn. I went from studying and having a career in psychology to changing fields completely to sales in the professional sports industry. I moved out of a small town to bigger cities and traveled to other countries and was able to see a more diverse world, learn about different cultures, how people live, and most importantly I learned that I have no idea what it’s like to be anyone but myself. Every person has a life and a story and a struggle, every person is unique and it makes for a very beautiful world, and I truly think my risks have taught me this.
Risks are things that can elevate our lives and our confidence in who we are while giving us stories to tell and some of the best memories. Risks do not always have to be huge to be life-changing. They could be reaching out to an old friend, saying, “Yes” to a job you aren’t sure about, spreading kindness, saying, “Hello” to someone you’ve never meant, going out to run one more mile than you normally do, every risk we take can teach us a lesson so always go for it!
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.athletchic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/athletchic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jz.athletchic/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/athletchic
