Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Szerletich.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Justin. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was born and raised near Springfield, Illinois. As a child I dreamed about being an “Army man”. but after high school I attended the local community college with aspirations of becoming a police officer. My original childhood dream was always in my mind though, bolstered by the 9/11 attacks. So, not happy with where I was, fed up with being lazy and complacent, paired with lacking a vision of a prosperous future, I enlisted into the Marines.
I chose the Marine Infantry over the Army even though the Army offered me a $6,000 bonus and the chance to be a warrant officer. The Marine recruiter told me the only “bonus” on the table was the opportunity to be a Marine. That machismo, pride, and certainty made me want to be a Marine. I chose Infantry because if you’re going to do something, do it right and do it 100%. That is the Infantry.
I had never even been on an airplane before prior to departing for Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in January of 2006. I spent 2006 through 2010 as a Marine Corps Infantryman in Fox Company, 2nd Battalion 5th Marine Regiment, deploying twice in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Once to Ramadi, Iraq and again aboard the USS Dubuque.
I met my wife in San Diego while stationed at Camp Pendleton. I separated from the Marines in 2010 just after the birth of my first daughter. I then started a career with the Social Security Administration (SSA) out in El Cajon that would last almost a decade. I left SSA in February, 2017 and cite changes in the agencies focus as a primary reason, although career advancement was a major issue as well. I felt the shift years earlier, moving from an agency focused on the beneficiaries to an agency solely focused on quotas.
I loved the relationships I built while at SSA. Relationships with coworkers, the public, and especially the Iraqi refugees and asylees, of which a large population call San Diego home. I used the interactions with these people as therapy, a way to combat my PTSD triggers and immerse myself back into the culture that I saw in Ramadi.
Around this time, Justin also began to study and understand emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify and manage one’s own emotions. Justin also re-enrolled in college and earned degrees in both Business Management and Supply Chain Management. With his new degrees, an understanding of emotional intelligence, and no job, Justin took a giant leap of faith and launched Szerletich Design Solutions (SZERDS).
The first iteration of Szerletich Design Solutions was a generic design and print shop, designing and printing everything from apparel, promotional products and more. It eventually evolved into a luxury gifting company that served as both a strategic/corporate gifting company and a promotional item/event swag provider. Later, SZERDS would adapt again, foregoing the printing process entirely and focusing entirely on design work.
Shortly after the launch of SZERDS, I was invited to appear on BIStalk Radio on ESPN. The show loved hosts loved my company and interview, inviting me back for additional episodes and eventually bringing me in to guest host shows and develop series specifically about veteran businesses, veteran entrepreneurs, and veteran success stories.
I took advantage of this position to fill the show with as much veteran content as possible. One of my missions is to highlight and empower as many veterans and veteran business owners as possible. Another is to introduce emotional intelligence and empathy to as many veterans and active duty service members as possible. I believe emotional intelligence saved my life and has made my PTSD much more live-able.
More recently, I have gone back to school, pursuing my Masters in Digital Media Design through Harvard University and was invited to join Knucklehead Media Group as their Director of Content Strategy. Knucklehead Media Group helps organizations and individuals tell their story using podcasts and best practices for content distribution. As the Director of Content Strategy, I am leading a team of writers and editors, designers, and social media specialists, creating efficient content creation processes, developing a content distribution strategy, and ensuring that the content that’s being created is helping to drive our clients and our ultimate business goals.
My company Szerletich Design Solutions (SZERDS) will have just been sold and acquired by Knucklehead Media Group, absorbing some of the design, digital marketing, content creation and broadcast services into their service catalog. Knucklehead Media Group started as a client of SZERDS and we are thrilled to be merging with them and growing together.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Haha, no, it certainly has not been a smooth road. Leaving a secure job with the federal government was nerve wracking, exciting but scary. Taking that giant leap of faith, betting on myself and getting my family to buy into my vision was stressful. Not to mention those “evolutions” that SZERDS experienced that I talked about earlier we’re very costly both in terms of money and in terms of my mental health.
Each iteration of the business was driven by changes in the market, from equipment costs, profit margins and labor costs. They took their toll on my mental health and strained my personal relationships greatly. There were many months where we weren’t making enough money for me to pay myself and it was extremely difficult to see my stress projected onto my wife and our home financials. Lesser people would have cut and run but my wife is beyond amazing, always supportive and understanding even through the difficult months.
The final and most drastic change, ceasing all printing and manufacturing of items and pivoting to a design focused digital agency was such a hard decision but ultimately a major success and turning point for us. We immediately became profitable, were able to scale and build ourselves into a full-service digital marketing agency and while things were smoother as a digital marketing firm they still weren’t without issue. One of our first clients skipped out on paying us over $3,000. We had to go to small claims court in Oregon to get a judgment and even then, they still have not paid.
Even now things still aren’t easy, there will always be bumps in the road and struggles that we experience but we are certainly more capable of adapting and overcoming those challenges now. Fortunately for us, COVID-19 has had less of an impact on our business model than most other businesses. Our digital focus has allowed us to continue to grow during the pandemic and allowed us to assist countless other organizations pivot and solidify their online presence through our podcast and content creation services.
Knucklehead Media Group – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Well the corporate style boilerplate answer is that we’re a quickly growing team of talented professionals with a wide range of skills and experience in media. We bring dead leads to life through the medium of podcasting and believe that giving your brand or organization a human voice is the most powerful move you can make right now. We love what we do, and we do it with passion. We love podcasts and believe they are absolutely amazing tools for businesses, brands and individuals. We love to build podcasts; we love to design and formulate shows and broadcast experiences. Beyond just creating and producing podcasts we absolutely love creating micro content from podcast episodes or other mediums that organizations/brands utilize for them to use across their social channels, sites, email campaigns and various other marketing campaigns.
It all starts with an idea. Our creative team works with you to develop the show concept, equipment needs, technical needs and production workflow. We walk you through the process of purchasing and using the right equipment, recording your episodes, and submitting content to the Knucklehead Production Engineers. Our producers are on the forefront of the podcasting industry, and employ the best-practices of top-rated podcasts to put you on par with the most innovative shows. Our Engineers and Producers specialize in audio and video production.
We utilize cutting edge software and studio equipment to make each and every show look and sound its best. Knucklehead also produces your audio branding, seamlessly edits your segments, and writes beautiful show notes and custom web copy to deliver a polished show package on-time, every time.
Knucklehead assists in setting up your podcast hosting service. We guide you through creating great show titles, descriptions, graphics, and more. We walk you through submissions to all relevant podcast directories such as Apple Podcasts®, Spotify®, and Google Podcasts® and our producers assess your market position, provide ongoing technical support, and advise on how to continue to improve your content quality.
Knucklehead really walks you through the entire process from start to finish. From your branding to episode creation, we even create and re-purpose content from your show to utilize across social media, your blog, website and more! Knucklehead’s editors, producers and designers have over 30+ years combined experience in the realm of media and content creation. We strive to elevate your brand and deliver only the best.
And that’s just podcasting! As soon as the merger between SZERDS and Knucklehead Media Group finalizes the catalog of services will be expanded to include email marketing campaigns, UI/UX development, web development and design services. We’re even absorbing SZERDS’ “Studio SZ” to give clients distinctly branded live broadcast options for virtual events and live shows.
I couldn’t be prouder of the amazing team of people I work with and am excited to bring our SZERDS employees with me to Knucklehead where they will continue their amazing work as content creators, editors and producers. But truthfully the thing I am most proud of currently are the amazing things we have done during this pandemic.
We were able to donate PPE to first responders and healthcare service providers, we sent food and flowers to 5 hospitals and clinics for nurses week and the work we have been performing for our Veteran Non-Profit friends that have had to cease in-person fundraising during the pandemic has been vital to their continued ability to provide continued services during this crisis. We designed, produced and managed five different virtual events that raised tens of thousands of dollars for our Veteran community that otherwise would have gone uncollected thanks to COVID-19. You’re thinking to yourself right now, “Well that’s fine and dandy Justin but why Knucklehead? Can’t anyone start a podcast?”
I’d say, sure you could but we’re here to simplify that process for you or your organization. We take the guess work out of the entire process and we’re not some giant organization that you pay a subscription to that gives you less than stellar work and content. We pride ourselves in being collaborators, leaders and not followers. We do not follow industry standards and trends… WE SET THE INDUSTRY STANDARDS AND TRENDS!
You can expect personalized concierge style service when you work with us, not overseas support, not an individual that’s removed from the creative process, no. From the CEO down to our youngest copywriter, everyone is working together, hands on to produce your content and we’re invested in you and your brand.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
What would I have done differently? I hate to give some cliché answer but I honestly don’t think I would change much. Yes, I do wish I could have done a little more research and had the ability to forecast some of the events that forced our evolution and iterations SZERDS but if we hadn’t experienced those tribulations and gone through these changes would we be where we are right now? Would I be the same person? Would we have grown? So, I don’t know… the pain and stress brought us to where we are today and I like where we are today so let’s not change a thing.
Contact Info:
- Website: knucklehad.agency
- Email: justin@knucklehead.agency
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinszerletich/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/knuckleheadmg/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/JustSzerletich
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/knuckleheadmg
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