Meet the dreamcatchers – Marissa Klein and Jamie Sztoser, the sisters who run the fashion and media division of their family’s staffing firm, Choice Associates. Having been in business since 1974, the New York City agency took a big hit to their business due to the pandemic. This past year has been challenging for job seekers since most companies were downsizing staffing requirements, not hiring.
Marissa and Jamie
Lara Robby Photography
The sisters made this downturn of business play in their favor. Thoroughly enjoying the connection piece of their work in the staffing agency, the sisters branched out their services to help those who needed them.
They first created the dreamcatchers podcast in 2018, which shows their personalities’ authentic and humorous side. Marissa and Jamie often say, “if you can’t find your dream job, find the dream in your job.” The goal is to be seen as the go-to girls for all things careers.
In Spring 2020, they introduced the dreamcatchers web, an inclusive professional membership network dedicated to cultivating community and providing content about career, inspiration and making magic. The goal was around inclusivity for all job seekers (whom they call dreamCHASERS), not to center it around a specific industry or circumstance. They believe they offer a “bedside manner” to the job search and have a vested interest in helping everyone achieve their goals.
Building this type of business model requires that the business make money. Wanting to keep costs reasonable for job seekers and knowing that money can be scarce during this challenging time, they wanted to create a service that would not burden their people financially. The business model was built on community support, sponsorship from businesses on the podcast and website, and a monthly subscription service charging a nominal fee to cover costs. The dreamMASTERS academy provides courses to enrich your career with a portion of the proceeds going to charity, and dreamWORK offers a resume writing and LinkedIn strategy service at a nominal fee.
Covering the costs for these platforms allows the sisters to offer career inspiration, mentorship and advice, the part of the job that they thrive in, to job seekers. They have a genuine interest in helping their community – as they say, they lead with light.
The main goal of the platform that they built is to provide:
1. Content
Providing valuable content for job seekers is a must for this platform. It is designed to provide valuable resources and information to make the job-seeking experience a more pleasant one. Each month, they offer several podcasts to listen to, newsletters to read (the dreamDIGEST), and events to attend to get their members excited and engaged. They just launched their webTALK series – carefully curated, members-only opportunities for conversation and collaboration.
2. Connection
Feeling that connection with others and knowing that you are not alone in your job hunt alleviates the stress and loneliness on this journey. The pandemic has allowed the dreamcatchers to create opportunities for members to come together and discuss, commiserate, and connect – especially with senior-level people they otherwise would never have met. Through the dreamcatchers web constellations, the sisters help create mini networking groups, or individualized groups of stars, for their members to connect with one another and mentors or dreamMAKERS.
3. Community
The dreamcatchers believe so much of who we are is what we do, and so much of what we do is who we are. Having a sense of community and support from others is invaluable at this stressful time. It is human nature for us to want to “belong” – the web gives its members a place to call home – especially when it comes to career. All members are listed in their dreamDIRECTORY, which serves almost like a private LinkedIn so that they can access each other and network in a less daunting way. They also created the dreAMBASSADOR program, providing new grads and young professionals opportunities to extend the community to their peers.
The bottom line is that you can structure it to ensure it is sustainable when you have a business idea. Every business needs to be making a profit, and that profit earned can go back into the business to reinvest and grow the business. There are creative ways to monetize any platform.
