Every entrepreneur needs a support network, Someone who can provide a little advice. Someone who will give you honest feedback. Someone who’ll help keep you grounded. Someone who can help take the pressure off or put the pressure on.
Suzanne and Nick Palmisciano have made several entrepreneurial careers out of being in each other’s corners.
After a decade of marriage, a house full of six kids, two dogs and four entrepreneurial adventures between them, the husband-and-wife team have long realized they are best friends and partners who work well together. “We bring different things to the table,” Suzanne said. “We have really different backgrounds but a lot of the same interests, so there is this cache of ideas that, I think, mesh really well.”
Nick’s resume includes several years in the military, a short career in wrestling and mixed martial arts, the creation of a military-themed clothing company, the development and production of a Hollywood action movie, and, most recently, helming a niche marketing firm.
Suzanne’s CV is just as robust. She began in digital marketing, bringing multinational brands to her native England, including multi-country campaigns for Xerox. She brought her skills to the same clothing company, leading the company through year after year of double-digit growth. When it was time to start Diesel Jack Media, the pair did it together, supporting one other through the transition.
“This idea of support between us isn’t anything new or out of the ordinary for us,” Suzanne said. “I’ll admit, though, we’ve been really lucky. Lots of people can find one or the other, someone who is supportive at home or someone who is supportive in the work environment. The fact that we can do both is really fortunate, though I did want to tackle the Avacado Shirt Store on my own.”
Nick credits equal amounts of hard work, planning, and straight-forward luck for their success.
“We have clearly defined responsibilities and goals in the workspace, and we know people are relying on us to accomplish these things,” Nick said. “It sounds kind of silly, but this is how I think we’ve been able to make it work. We know each other’s strengths and we know each other’s … not-so-strengths. We use that to make it work. I’m not sure if that is normal or not, but we’ve been lucky.”
One of the defining projects the two worked on together was a series of what Nick calls ‘silly videos’ used to kick-start the marketing for the clothing company.
With help from the Ranger Up creative crew, Suzanne and Nick, along with managing partner and accounts director Albert Chou, took the silly video idea and pushed into a boutique digital marketing niche with Diesel Jack Media.
“An idea is great,” Nick said, “but it is just part of the equation. You need the right team in place. I knew these people and what they were capable of. This group became part of that support network, for me, for us, even though it wasn’t formally written into the job description.”
“I can’t stand here and say the idea of being a support network was part of my decision to start any of these projects. Looking back, I don’t think it should have been. First of all, I think it should just be part of who people are. People should always be looking out for one another, looking for ways to boost others, lend a hand, that sort of thing. If that’s the case, the idea of a support network just is. It isn’t part of a mission statement or vision statement. It’s just something you do because you know you should.”
“My parents taught me so many things,” Suzanne said, “but their lesson I bring with me to work every day is the idea that I’m not just here to make a living. I’m here to excel. I can do that with their support. With their support, I can – and I will – surpass my expectations, our employees’ expectations and our customers’ expectations.”
“She’ll knock your socks off,” Nick added. “No, wait. That’s the purple belt in Brazilian jui-jitsu, right?”
“That, too.”
For more information, Check out: www.dieseljackmedia.com or head over to their Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
