For this installment of Trekk Talk, I sat down with Jaclyn Bloch. Jaclyn comes from a variety of backgrounds, including running her own consulting firm for 10 years. She's part of our Client Services team as a Senior Account Manager, and we sat down for a wide-ranging discussion about her passions, why she wanted to pursue this line of work, her pet (spoiler alert: we’re both dog people), holiday traditions, the simple things in life, and more.
I can’t wait for you to get to know Jaclyn, so let’s get to it!
Thanks for taking some time to chat with me! We’ll start off easy. What do you do as part of the Client Services team?
I am a Senior Account Manager. That basically means that I am the liaison between our internal Trekk teams and our clients. So, I’m the main touch point for sharing information and communicating the needs of our clients to our teams and vice versa.
How did you get into the account management (or client services) field?
This is actually my first role as a formal account manager or in an agency. I have a background in hospitality and helping to build businesses, but I’ve always been more in the project management side of things and brand management, too. I ran my own consulting business for 10 years, so I essentially acted as my own little agency. I’ve never had the actual title of “Account Manager,”' but I've been working with and serving clients for most of my career.
Your own business for 10 years? Very cool. What inspired you to pursue this career?
I've always been someone who likes to help people and see them succeed. It sounds really cheesy, but it's actually true. I like learning others’ stories and sharing them. I have a passion for learning about other people's passions. Really, most of my career has been dedicated to working with artisans in the food and beverage space. It really stemmed from that — just wanting to hear their stories, learn about their products and how they started their businesses, and then sharing that with other people. I think that's what led me to this larger, account services/client services area, because really that's what you're doing: You're helping other people and their businesses — setting them up for success and helping them be better and continue to grow.
So what does your average day-to-day look like here at Trekk?
Meetings! So many meetings. (laughs) Truly, I’d say the average day is a lot of meetings, both internal and external, all of them covering different material. And then, in between meetings, I’m catching up on all the work that needs to get done. That's not very in-depth, but generally, this role involves doing a lot of doing whatever you need to do. It's, indeed, very different from day to day.
So, do you have advice for someone that might be looking to follow a similar career path?
If there's something that you feel strongly about and you're interested in: Go after it. I thought for so long I could never work at an agency, or I was scared to even apply to jobs because I would talk myself down from it. I'm only a few months in, and I clearly have so much to learn, but I also feel that I'm capable of growing into this role. The most important thing is to have faith in yourself and to go after what you want. You shouldn't put boundaries on yourself just because you're scared.
I know that we all tackle challenges in our roles every day. What are some challenging aspects of your work here at Trekk?
There's two for me. One is being remote and spending so much time on the computer. I’ve never worked remotely in such a day-to-day capacity. I am more of an in-person, old school communicator. Even with my friends, I still talk on the phone; I don’t really text. So, just being on a computer but not being able to walk across a hallway and have a conversation is hugely challenging. I’ve had to adapt to that. And even the act of sitting at a computer all day. I've rarely had a job where I've sat most of the day. I’ve often worked in manufacturing settings, restaurants or cafes, or production (events). I've always been kind of on-the-go and on my feet. So, this is definitely an adjustment in that regard.
In regards to my larger role, I am not naturally the most organized person in the world. To be a successful account manager, you need to be organized and physically manage all the details on the backend. I am always trying to figure out what tools work for me to accomplish that organization. I give Emilee (Director of Client Services) and Rebecca (fellow Senior Account Manager) so much credit, they're super organized.
Those are very understandable challenges. And a lot of us have gotten far more “used to” remote work in the past couple of years than we ever would have anticipated, so I hear you. Let’s bring it back to the positive then – what makes your work rewarding?
Internally, getting the right information for our creative team or our technical team and seeing what they create is really awesome. That's incredibly rewarding. There are so many talented people and everyone is talented in their own way, but just seeing what comes out of the aforementioned organization/role of the Account Manager is cool. It's really cool. And I'm learning a lot along the way and that's rewarding.
Our creative team is pretty incredible. And yes – the interpretation and organization the Account Managers bring is crucial, too! Alright, what do you do outside of Trekk? Who is Jaclyn outside of the office?
I'm a pretty simple being. Lately, I haven't been doing much of anything, but I really enjoy being outside. I like to walk — I listen to a lot of music or podcasts while walking. The rest of my time is spent either cooking, eating, or shopping for food and alcohol. Oh, and I love exploring! Of course I haven't been going to many stores and stuff like that now — things have shifted over the last couple of years, but I just like exploring places. My favorite thing to do is to go to a city or town and just walk around — go to local breweries/distilleries/wineries and explore the local offerings.
To finish up, I’m gonna ask you some rapid fire questions. You mentioned listening to podcasts while you walk, so: Favorite podcast?
I prefer non-fiction, so my favorite podcast lately is called Maintenance Phase. They debunk all of these weird health things, trends, etc.
Cake or pie?
Pie. Fruit pie. I don’t like custard.
Favorite ice cream flavor?
Oh man. I could be really weird with this one. For our wedding, we actually had a custom ice gelato made…it was black licorice. Which is polarizing, but it is definitely one of my favorites — salty like black licorice. That or Ben and Jerry’s Mint Chocolate Cookie.
Based on our introductions to your dog (an adorable corgi named Maldon), I think I know the answer, but: Dog person or cat person?
Dog person.
Coffee or tea?
Black coffee.
Favorite season of the year and why?
Oh, fall is my favorite. I just like a little crispness, and I love the colors and the transition. I feel like it’s a time when things start to slow down and I like that.
What’s your perfect last meal?
Bread and cheese. Really, really good crusty sourdough – naturally fermented bread.
What’s a guilty pleasure you have? It’s okay if you don’t actually feel guilty about it…
I don’t know if I feel guilty about this, but there are certain Real Housewives franchises that I fully watch every week.
What would your go-to drink be at SideTrekked (our in-office bar, for those who don’t know)?
Usually a beer. Specifically, a Pilsner. And my always go-to, ultimate, always-have-in-my-fridge is Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. And I feel like that’s usually a good one that’s easy to find.
And to finish up — what’s your favorite holiday tradition?
My favorite tradition of the past 7 years has been blending – my husband and I celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah. That’s my favorite – in terms of traditions, we always get a Christmas tree, we always light the menorah, we make latkes. So, that’s been my favorite tradition – getting to celebrate both holidays. And we also have a blow-up corgi (to match our own corgi) with a Santa hat, so that goes up every year too.
Thank you to Jaclyn for taking the time to chat with us. Stay tuned for more editions of Trekk Talk in the new year, and don’t forget to check out the previous installment of Trekk Talk with Content Developer Nick Ostdick!
