Let's Connect

Meet the Owner: Jess Koscher

Write Connections | strategy + design, LLC. was not planned.

If the website domain had been available, this company would have been called “Fired UP” — if that tells you anything.  Write Connections happened by accident and out of an unfortunate event… because I had the “right connections.”

If you don’t know me, I’m a strategist. Simply put, my backup plans have contingency plans attached. While I’m decisive, I’m also cautious and an extrovert that likes to talk things through and see all sides. Starting a business was never a reality in any of my life plans.  

But in the early part of 2019, I found myself with time to think about what I wanted to be when grew up. Thankfully, I am blessed with an incredible spouse who swallowed her fears and stood tall behind me (well, she always stands tall behind me because I’m short). It was a scary time, but her faith in me was both humbling and restorative.

I also had a network of people who took me to lunch and brainstormed. They connected me to friends and colleagues who had started their own gigs. They checked on me and even pushed me.

And I was blessed to have a colleague who consistently showed up on my doorstep and was not only merely present but also ended up taking one giant leap of faith with me. This was not the first leap of faith Michelle had taken with me. She left a career as a journalist to join my former team.

So now I had a co-pilot. Next, we had to figure out what we would offer.

Our offerings are like one of the strands in my own DNA. Look at what I do with any of our clients and you’ll find elements of my life woven into the fabric of our work. My degrees in psychology and nonprofit management chart the course for much of our messages. My experience in change management, leadership, diversity and inclusion, and community impact help build solid strategies for those we work with. My artistic eye, years as an artisan, and training in design make creating graphic stories second nature.

Write Connections was born out of a shocking event. It jolted me to my core and, at the same time, gave me the space to dream for maybe the first time ever.

The work we do is personal to both Michelle and I. We thrive on making an impact and seeing results. For me personally, the work is a reflection of all my paths up until this point. Each client we work with benefits from my past lives as a case manager, a fundraiser, a national trainer, a writer, and an artist.

Pick the work we do with any of our clients and I can share tools I’ve picked up along the way. Understanding the printing process for that mailer came from learning graphic arts from my father, who was a teacher. Understanding the viability of a fundraising idea was born out of raising more than $2 million during the 2008-2009 recession.

For Michelle and me, this entrepreneurial venture allows us the opportunity to build community and feed our souls. It also gives us the flexibility to create and imagine with those we work with. We are committed to not lean on a standardized playbook but instead to work in collaboration with our partners. We honor their stories and we appreciate the opportunity to tell the world about them.

So today, as I have struggled to find the right words to share with you about this creation we’ve built, I feel peace in my heart. Who knew that all my paths would converge on this road I never knew I would travel? And yet, it all happened because of the incredible support network, in other words… the right connections.

UPDATE: We survived 2020. It was a very scary time for a little firm like ours. As of April 2021, our two women owned firm has become a one woman-owned firm with a Creative Crew by my side. I am proud of the firm Michelle and I have built and I am proud to continue in helping our clients make the “write” connections. As we grow and evolve, Write Connections continues to be a catalyst for success.