Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Parkos Emily Iannazzo
Hi Melissa Parkos, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
We are a full service marketing consulting company where two individuals with wide varieties of skill sets merged together. Our collective stories and journeys below:
Melissa Parkos: Sometimes I joke that I am a serial small business starter. I LOVE to create something from the ground up. Putting in the sweat (and often tears) to see it come to life is incredibly rewarding for me. My career started at the corporate level – I worked for many years at Best Buy Corp holding roles in Supply Chain, Purchasing and in Marketing. There were even a couple years that I worked Internationally in China, Turkey and Mexico City. I always say that these roles helped give me the well rounded experience to run my own small businesses.
After having the kiddos I felt that Corporate life was just not for me anymore. I stayed home for a bit but always craved more (and heck I spent so many years on my education I wanted to use it!) I started marketing consulting for small businesses as a side gig. I loved it – I quickly realized that I was inserting myself into all aspects of the business – not just marketing. When an opportunity came to own my own store while living outside Chicago – I took a leap and opened Jori and June (a women’s clothing and accessory store). Fast forward 3 years I found myself opening a second location in our beautiful little town of Stillwater. Owning the stores has prepared me to understand my clients and their needs from all aspects. That is why Emily and I created Good + Well Consulting, so that we can help small business owners focus on the “run the business” tasks – and we can assist in the rest.
If there is one thing to know about me, it is that I am an open book. I truly believe that being authentic, transparent and vulnerable is something to be celebrated. We live in a world today that displays and promotes unrealistic expectations – especially for women (and moms). My goal has always been to use my platform of my businesses to showcase “real life” situations, which means sometimes they are good, but sometimes they are not – and that is OKAY!
Fast forward to where we are today. If you meet Emily you will instantly feel a connection. She is one of the kindest souls I have ever met – and so incredibly intelligent. We both connected on the challenges it is to run a household, maintain a business, and raise children.
Always remember to Be The Good.
MP
Emily Iannazzo: After years staying home with my two boys when they were young, I came to the realization that something was missing. I began to lean into my marketing degree and background doing some consulting work for a local small business owner, and fell in love with that balance. Now having spent the past few years guiding businesses through their pain points, and helping to increase their growth potential—I realize that this is the piece that was missing. Though work/life balance day-to-day can be tricky—I am so inspired to start each day FULL of living—from work day to hockey rink then repeat—and I wouldn’t have it any other way!
Our kiddos brought us together—M & I actually met at a kiddo’s birthday party and became fast friends. I was instantly intrigued by her ability to run multiple successful businesses in multiple states, while still being present in her family life and friendships—all while somehow making it look effortless and graceful. Her intentionality and discipline balanced out with loads of creative energy and kindness set her apart.
That instant connection (and loads of sideline time together on the lacrosse fields) led to us tackling our own multi-channel start-up in our hometown in 2021. The Goodery is not only a passion project we share, but also sheds light daily on the inner workings of small business—which has been incredibly useful in our consulting work. Melissa and I have both been consulting on our own and have recently decided to join forces—this allows us to combine our skills and knowledge base to be able to offer more to our clients.
A problem solver by nature, I am wildly driven and LOVE to tackle to-do lists, hit deadlines, and multitask like a boss (sometimes to a fault). Pouring that energy into businesses to help them succeed truly brings me joy. I’ve always had a passion for doing work that matters and there is just something so beautiful about the connection and passion in small business specifically that I have fallen in love with. That local, small town feel, this community, the people, and the beautiful friendships built here have become so very important to me. Melissa and I firmly believe that success is built through connection and working together, and we look forward to building that connection with you.
-E
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Like any small business it is never a smooth road, you will hit bumps along the way with many detours. We work with multiple different businesses that are each unique in their own way. Our goal is to always listen and learn and have their voices speak through our work. We often find ourselves putting extra work into “studying” their business to ensure we represent them in the right way, with that comes time management and the ability to apply our skills as a collective team. It has taken us a while to see what our strengths are as individuals to divide our workload – now that we have we are able to hit the ground running faster and more efficiently.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Having the two of us with different skill sets is one of our strengths, setting us apart by “two for the price of one” offering a wide variety of abilities. In addition we co-own our own small business so we can understand our clients on a more personal level as we know the ins and outs as well as the challenges of owning a small business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.goodandwellconsulting.com
- Instagram: @goodandwellconsulting
