Meet J Franco MBA, MCM | Marketing Strategist & CEO, Franco Innovative Media & Marketing

We had the good fortune of connecting with J Franco MBA, MCM and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi J, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Great Question! I had just graduated with my bachelor’s with a concentration in marketing in 2015, and I thought to myself, I did it! Now to find the job of my dreams. At the time, I was working as an executive at Stila Cosmetics, and although I was in corporate, I had several other businesses before in my lifetime at that time.

I applied everywhere I could to no avail. So I decided to go back to school and get my MBA. Surely, they’d hire me after a Master’s. After finishing 2 years of my MBA and an extra year for the marketing concentration, I started applying again. It was the same rejection after rejection. You have no agency experience; you’ve never worked in marketing. But I knew if they just gave me a chance, I could not only prove my worth but share some incredible concepts, big ideas, and strategies brewing in my head.

So I did what I knew best to do… I went back to school. See as a Latina, especially a Mexican American from Brownsville, Texas, the measurement of success is tied to your education. You could literally be living at home with your parents as a 35-year divorcee, but the fact that you are a doctor or have more than one degree was your golden ticket. It’s like you could do no wrong. So I searched for the best marketing schools in the country and set my heart on ivy or tier 1 schools.

I had a few choices USC, Notre Dame, Harvard, Columbia, Yale, or Stanford. I put my bets on Annenberg, the school for journalism and communication at the University of Southern California (USC). I remember clearly thinking I was’t enough for these types of schools but I was going to try anyway.

And guess what… I made it!

With a 6% enrollment rate, I had a better chance of getting into Notre Dame, Yale or Columbia than USC. I finally got my third degree, and second master and I really felt that I could do anything! I felt it in my spirit but I wasn’t quite sure what that anything was.

After graduation, I remember being at the Stila corporate office in LA and my boss, who has always advocated for my promotion, walked me into the marketing department. Where he casually said “you know J just finished her second masters.” Our VP of Marketing at the time sitting behind her desk chuckled “She has more degrees than all of us put together.”

At that moment I felt a total sucker punch to my gut. The kind that knocks you right into reality. I had been a successful business owner before and after working for Stila Cosmetics, all I wanted was a seat at the table.

So I pulled a chair up to an empty table and made it my own. I took the leap of faith and said to myself “I’m going to create my own experience, my own agency, and I’m going to prove to everyone and myself that I don’t need “agency experience.”

That was exactly my thought process in starting Franco Innovative Media & Marketing Agency.

What should our readers know about your business?
What sets me apart in my industry is that I have been exactly where my client’s shoes are when they come to me. I have been a makeup artist, I have been a personal trainer, I have had my own catering company, and a business owner all my life.

I cater to clients in the health & wellness industry, and my years of experience in the industry and owning a business in that industry allows me to have a multi-perspective view of my clients’ businesses. Likewise, as a makeup artist who built a global hair and makeup team that traveled with me worldwide, I have experienced what it’s like to be a business owner in this service. I’ve also been a teacher and now a coach. I understand the education industry and as a marketing coach, I know firsthand what coaches in the life, mindset, wellness, and business space go through in regard to client acquisition, client success, and much more.

The one thing I was told I lacked has been my secret weapon in how I craft strategies that help my clients build and market profitable online businesses. My experience has helped me have the edge over “just another marketer” out there.

I can’t say it was easy; I struggled a lot to figure out that my personal experience in these industries was my upper hand. For the longest time, I would disassociate myself from being a makeup artist, or a personal trainer etc., because I thought I made it I have three degrees that speak for me now.

It wasn’t until I noticed my company was struggling to get leads that I dove into why. I found that people know, like, and trust me. They’ve seen my journey, and they loved me. They didn’t know Franco Innovative Media & Marketing.

People wanted to do business with me because they knew me, not Franco innovative. I was hiding under my business with no story to tell. It wasn’t until I started embracing my past, my struggles, and my mistakes and becoming the face of my brand telling my true story that I started getting the recognition of a successful business. Now my company name is only on our agreements and agency documents; it’s just the legal name I’m doing business with because I am the business.

I’ve embraced my humble journey, and I’m not ashamed anymore of it. I’ve had to break down a lot of Latino stereotypes and archetypes that held me back and kept me from being proud of where I’ve come from. My experience has been the edge that sets me apart in my industry. It allows me to be me and has given me “innovative insight” into how to help other small business owners.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Oh, I have some absolute favorite must-see/do things in the city. Well, mostly eat, lol!

I would start the day off at the French Rivera in Galleria and carbs wouldn’t count that day so I would pick up two croissants and some fresh Ily coffee to go.

Then I would take the bestie down to Herman Park for a morning walk, followed by meditation at the Japanese Gardens and sit and watch the ducks at the dock over by DILLIDIIDAE BY SHARON ENGELSTEIN and finish our walk across the street at McGovern Centennial Gardens.

After the walk, I would then take the bestie to see the butterfly exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences.

After the museum, we should have slightly worked up an appetite as we head to my absolute favorite restaurant in the city: Ruggles Black. I would have the bestie meet Chef Bruce and order the jalapeno cucumber martini! I can’t tell you what to order there because anything you get will be absolutely tantalizing and satisfying, From the pistachio-crusted snapper to the big sexy, the all-natural ribeye, keto pepperoni pizza, and the paleo angry shrimp, you can’t go wrong.

And because we would be in a food coma after that we’d head over to Levy park to relax and enjoy the people watching, listen to the live band depending on the day.

After digesting our meal, I’d take the best to Kuhl-Linscomb for some one-of-a-kind type shopping. then head over to River Oaks district for more shopping until dinner!

Dinner will be served at Loch bar for the best and dirtiest martini’s you could ask for and the freshest oyster to gulf down, no pun intended!

Finally, we’d end the night at Amorino’f for gelato and people-watching. Can you tell I love food?

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Success in life comes from the blessings given to you by God. One of those blessings in my life has been my son. As a Latina mom, I was a total statistic. I truly believe that, yes I had drive, but the drive came with more passion and fervor as a single parent raising my son. I wanted him to look up to a mom he was proud of and could look up to and say I want to be like her. I did not want to be the stereotypical uneducated single Latina mother working hard for the money. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with that; it’s just that it’s a stereotype mold that society immediately boxes us into. There is nothing other than that life for us, so there is no need to have any dreams or hopes or aspirations because you, my darling, are a single Hispanic mother who had a kid at 19.

Among that blessing has been many others who have poured into my life, like my high school science teacher Mr. Roberts who every day would tell me, “Failure is not an option,” knowing that I was not making the best of choices at the time. My best friends Peter, Annabel, & Gilda always knew there was much more for me and supported me in every step I’ve taken; my incredible aunt, Ana Maria Franco, who has been at my side all my life. So many people have been blessings in my life it’s so hard to name them all, but I know without them, I would not be the success that I am today!

Website: thejfranco.com

Instagram: instagram.com/thejfranco

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/thejfranco

Facebook: facebook.com/thejfranco

Youtube: youtube.com/c/thejfranco

Other: you can find me across all social media at @thejfranco

Image Credits
Marco Jimenez @venus.as.a.boy