Ep. 101/ Empowering Preemie Parents: Jodi Klaristenfeld On Turning Your Struggles Into Your Purpose

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Jodi Klaristenfeld is the founder of FLRRiSH. She is a mom to an adorable little girl who was born at 28 weeks due to a rare and life-threatening form of preeclampsia and HELLP Syndrome. After her daughter's early birth, Jodi quickly discovered preemie parents aren’t always given the support they need. She then created FLRRiSH, a platform offering NICU parent coaching, education, empowerment, support and resources to help families navigate this beautiful and challenging journey. She talks about her own experiences, building an organization, and her struggles & triumph.

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Has something that you struggled with in your life ever turned into your purpose?

In this episode you will learn:

Turning your struggles into your purpose (2:35)
The importance of leaning on other people (7:27)
Advice for families of a preemie (17:03)

Quotes from our guest:

“I think anytime someone becomes a parent, especially for the first time, it's a transformative experience. And then once you give birth in a way that's somewhat traumatic, it's even more transformative. And you could sit there and cry over the spilled milk or you can do something about it.”
“It's about knocking on those doors and keep looking for someone to say yes. It's very easy to take the no and just be like, okay, and I'm going to fold up shop. But when you know something is really important and really necessary and when other people even say that to you, they might not necessarily have the power to make that conversion or make the yes for you, but you know that there are other people out there that will.”
“We're always growing, learning and evolving. And the way we can do that is by learning from other people and also knowing that your time is better spent doing the things that you can do well and then hiring someone else who can do those other things better than you can.”

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JODI’S LINKS:

FLRRiSH Website - https://www.flrrish.com/

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Kim (00:02):

Our guest today is Jodi Klaristenfeld, who gave birth at 28 weeks due to a rare and life-threatening form of preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome as a premium mom. She quickly realized she didn't get the support she needed and she created FLRRiSH, a platform offering NICU, parent coaching, education, empowerment, support, and resources to help families navigate the beautiful and challenging journey. She talks about her own experiences building the organization and her struggles and triumphs.

(00:30):

Welcome to the Exit interview with Kim Rittberg. Do you work for yourself and want to supercharge your business while still having fun? Well, this is your go-to podcast part MBA Part Cheer Squad. Every week I'll be joined by top business owners who share the secrets to their success. After I found myself working during childbirth true story, I quit my executive media job to bet on myself fighting the fear and imposter syndrome to eventually earn six awards, an in-demand speaking career and features in Fast Company and Business Insider. Now I'm here to celebrate all you rock stars betting on yourself, and I want to help you win Tune in every Wednesday to hear from remarkable founders and don't miss our Solo Friday episodes, a treasure trove of video and podcasting mini masterclasses with me. Exit the Grind, enter success on your own terms. Don't forget to subscribe today and grab my free video tips at my website, kimrittberg.com. I am really excited to bring Jodi in. So Jodi Klaristenfeld is the founder of FLRRiSH. She is mom to an adorable little girl who was born at 28 weeks because of a rare and life-threatening form of preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome. After her daughter's early birth. Jodi quickly discovered preemie parents aren't always given the support they need. She then created FLRRiSH, a platform offering NICU, parent coaching, education, empowerment, support and resources to help families navigate this beautiful and challenging journey. Thank you so much for joining us, Jodi. I'm really happy to have you here.

Jodi (02:03):

Thanks so much for having me on, Kim. It's truly a pleasure.

Kim (02:08):

So I think that one of the things I always love is you're so passionate and very determined. It's like takes a special type of person to say, okay, I went through this thing and instead of being like, oh, that was hard, let's move on to the next. Really, you've become so committed to helping other parents. Talk to me about how your experience with Jenna really, you decided to say, I'm going to make this be an organization, a community. I want to help people. This has become my purpose. How did it go from being a situation that you struggled with to becoming really a purpose and a passion?

Jodi (02:43):

Well, I think anytime someone becomes a parent, especially for the first time, it's a transformative experience. And then once you give birth in a way that's somewhat traumatic, it's even more transformative. And like you said, you could sit there and cry over the spilled milk or you can do something about it. And in mind and my husband's journey, I realized that we couldn't be the only ones feeling alone, confused, isolated, overwhelmed, and we're resourceful people and we didn't know where to go, who to turn to for help, where to get resources or what our parenthood journey would actually look like once we left the NICU. And in talking to other parents in the NICU as well, we all felt the same. Now, we were in a small NICU of 40, 40 isolates or beds. So if you think about how many hospitals there are in the city, not just in the city, if you think about how many hospitals there are in the country and you multiply that, that's a lot of people who must be feeling the same as we did.

(03:58):

And so I took it upon myself a few months out of the whole experience. Once I saw that Jenna was thriving and growing and florishing, that's how I would always describe it, heads thinning, florished that I wanted to help other people. I have always been an altruistic person, an empath. My parents always stressed the importance of getting back. And this I felt so strongly because it was something personal. And I think sometimes when something happens to you in a really personal way, it gives you that much more passion drive and perseverance to do something and make a difference for others who will travel the same road as you.

Kim (04:45):

Absolutely. And you've been building for a while. What have you learned from starting FLRRiSH? What are the major lessons that you've been taking away?

Jodi (04:54):

The major lessons I have learned, and trust me, there are plenty, is that whole perseverance, determination piece. Especially when you're creating something that's new or has not necessarily been done before. It's about keeping knocking on those doors and keep looking for someone to say yes. It's very easy to take the no and just be like, okay, and I'm going to fold up shop. But when you know something is really important and really necessary and when other people even say that to you, they might not necessarily have the power to make that conversion or make the yes for you, but you know that there are other people out there that will. So it's really about finding your people and constantly networking. I've never really networked so hard before in my life and connecting to other people. And I've also learned too, asking for help is a great thing because we can't do it all. I'm not an expert at everything. So knowing when to delegate is also really, really important. And to take upon yourself what you know you can do best and even when you're bootstrapping, figure out how you can get and allocate those funds to get the help that you need that perhaps will help flip the light switch for you.

Kim (06:29):

Yeah, absolutely. And I know one of the other things that you've always focused on is just that persistence piece is just all the grit that you've ever had in your life is going to be really tested when you start an organization or a business is like if you think you had grit and resilience before, you'll really be tested when you start something on your own.

Jodi (06:46):

Yes. And if it were easy, everyone would do it, but the truth is not everyone can. And it is that persistence, that resilience. It's that same part of actually being in the NICU, having that persistence, determination, that strength that I had to call upon every day. And I would say I had to call upon it every day for at least the first two and a half years of my daughter's life and so did she. And so she still does and so do I to a different extent, but it just teaches you putting one foot in front of the other and then eventually it won't be as hard.

Kim (07:27):

Yeah, totally. And you also said something that I think is really interesting about asking for help. I think a lot of us, so many of us, we work hard in life and we're like, well, Harvard has gotten us here. And when you start your business, you suddenly have to do eight things and maybe three or four of them you're good at or you're great at, and the other three or four, you're some level of totally not knowledgeable about to hating or whatever or bad at or whatever. And I think that you've been very smart about bringing on help, bringing on coaches, whatever. And the same way for me for my business is I've really had to analyze what of these things that I need to do for my business is really a weak spot and is going to hold me back. And I've gotten better I think over the past few years really hiring coaches and taking classes. And every year I'm like, okay, I'm going to set aside X budget for, I guess it'd be called professional development. I think of it as mandatory business work, professional development or marketing budget or things like that. Talk to me about the different ways in which you lean on other people brought on coaches and strategy, things like that.

Jodi (08:27):

Yes. I mean, to your point, we're always growing, learning and evolving. And the way we can do that is by learning from other people and also too knowing that your time is better spent doing the things that you can do well and then hiring someone else who can do those other things better than you can. So it frees you up to do the things that you can do well. And I am a firm, firm believer in that I knew nothing about starting a business and I really leaned into some of those women's networking groups that I belong to ask for help. Again, to me it's a sign of strength, not weakness to ask for help because it means that you really want to change whatever it is that you're doing or you want to make forward progress in something that you're doing. And to invest in that it's not just investing in myself, it's investing in my company, it's investing in my family, and it's investing in all of those people that I serve.

(09:36):

And in that, because I am not an expert in all fields, it was important for me to surround myself with people who knew what they were doing before this. I never even knew business coaches existed. I probably had heard about it but never really even sought any advice about it. And that was the first thing that I did. And that was really instrumental into me even tailoring down and nicheing down into what it is that I wanted to do. And then from that, I have worked with other people who are specialists in other areas to help me then present everything that FLRRiSH is about. And like you said, really it is, it's about business development, marketing, whatever you want to call it. To me, in my life, I look as if I don't need anything. I'm lucky, I don't need anything but health and happiness. And so instead of maybe buying a new sweater or I invest in a business coach or someone who can help me with graphics on Canva, that's more important where I am in my life

Kim (10:51):

And we work together, which I loved working with you on messaging and thought leadership. I think, and you're a good example of this is you might have someone helping you with social media, but I like to say you're the chief marketing officer of your organization. So Jodi is always going to be the face of FLRRiSH, and Jodi is going to be the person speaking about FLRRiSH and meeting with people about FLRRiSH. And so I think there's that element of having that really succinct and concise messaging and being able to put that out in video, in text, on your blog in interviews. And I think that's something that I love that you've taken seriously is even if you have someone helping you make some social media assets, you are still the face of the brand. You are still the chief marketing officer. So I just love that you've always taken that seriously. I'd love to know when we worked together on messaging and marketing, what were the biggest takeaways for you?

Jodi (11:42):

I think the biggest takeaways were being direct, concise and to the point, and also the value of video. I never really thought much about it. I thought that, well, if you can write something or you had a cool graphic, that was enough. But really it's about those reels and those videos because I think I see that people connect more to that and respond to that more. So after working with you, I've realized that that was such a super important piece and it helped me get more comfortable in front of the camera, so to speak.

Kim (12:21):

I think people always think, well, if I'm not going to be on tv, it's like I don't really need to be on video. To your point, people connect with you more, especially when you're working on a sort of organization or business that's more personal. Anyone who's a coach or a counselor or a service provider, real estate agent, anyone who's really in that person to person business. I always think of it this way, the advent of television, it's audio and visual. The combination of that I think people think of, it's like, oh, it's a trend. Reels are performing better, so I should do a reel. It's like, no, a reel does well because video gives you a more multifaceted 360 degree view of someone. And so that's why it does well, not just because, oh, it's trendy and it's in the algorithm, but video does better. People want to hear from humans, and I think that that's the point of what you're saying, and I think we're going to see that even more. As AI gets bigger, everyone's going to be able to make a graphic and a text. Everyone's words are going to be the same because we're all using the same robots. So what we have that is unique to us is our voice and our face and our mannerisms and our personality.

Jodi (13:24):

Yeah, I couldn't agree more with everything that you just said. I think it's so important because especially when you're in a space that's about building rapport, relationship and trust, people want to get to know you. How do they get to know you? By seeing you doing things that you either normally do or even just a compilation of fast pictures because they get to see snippets of your life and they can relate to you. It makes it more relatable and more real, and then hearing your voice to it as well, people can actually then even sense even more of that connection. Hearing your intonations and your expressions, it's so important.

Kim (14:10):

And I'd love to know from your perspective, as your organization evolves, what are you struggling with now? Where are you looking to go and how the listeners help you?

Jodi (14:19):

I think the thing is I'm just looking always for more conversions, for more yeses and for people to take a chance. I think that a lot of people in business sometimes forget what it was like to start out, and therefore everyone has to start from somewhere ground zero. And so I think that to me is I would love for someone to just really say yes in more of an easy fashion instead of me having to grind all the way. But what I'm also really looking to do right now is be more affiliated with brands or brand partnerships or brand spokespersons. I've come to realize on this journey that I am a pretty good interview or that I have a good interview style or whatever, and I'm sure part of that is because of you and I have a lot to say. I say it passionately and I feel like I say it well.

(15:21):

And so if I could be associated with brands, I'll use Huggies for example, or Dr. Brown's certain brands that are really within the preemie realm, that would be really helpful to me because I could get them even in front of more parents than they already are. So that's really where I'm looking forward to going. And also being on more panels. I'm on my first in-person panel in a few weeks and I'm super, super excited and even more so that I kind of brought the players together, which is amazing to me. I always think, who do I know? But I got the players together and I'm really looking forward to because I think that will open opportunities as well.

Kim (16:10):

So first of all, I'm so excited for you. That's really exciting. And I think to your point of you being good at interview, I think you're totally right and you've also gotten so much better over the past two years. I feel like you're really, I agree with you. I think you are a good interview and the power of the panel, I think you're raising something that is very smart to share with other people is I heard this a long time ago and I've started applying it in the same way that it's all about networking and helping each other in these networking groups. It's also the same for panels and stuff as like when you're in an area, you are actually knowledgeable when you're showing up on a panel, just as an expert say to that panel, Hey, do you need other people? I can help you bring in people.

(16:48):

Those people are going to be so thankful that you invited them. They're going to really feel appreciative that you thought of them and brought them in on this opportunity. So it plays that networking thing. It also will come back to you. You don't know when, but it will. And I think it just reminds you of how far you've come. You are an expert in the field. Of course you can fill a panel. That's not surprising to me, but to you it might be, but it's not surprising to me. I just wanted to make sure we got your tips for preemie parents. Any parents going through that preemie experience, what are your three bits of advice for those families?

Jodi (17:20):

For parents that are actually in the NICU in this moment, I would say allow yourself some space, even from the NICU. I know it's so hard, but you can't be there all day every day. And when you allow the doctors and nurses to love on your child, they do well. I'm convinced my daughter did so well because those doctors and nurses took care of her like she was one of their own. I also say this too, take some time to even just go for coffee with your friends. Do something that you do normally or typically whether it's maybe get your nails done, get a haircut, anything that will make you feel more like you. And then lastly, my biggest piece of advice really is to try your hardest, not to Google anything. It is so difficult and you could send yourself down a spiral so quickly.

(18:21):

I did it. It was absolutely terrifying. And my husband made me promise not to Google. And since then I have not. For those that are in the NICU, I say that for those that are just home from the NICU, completely different set of challenges. You don't have any 24 7 health anymore. You don't have any monitors, so you have to trust that motherly and fatherly instinct. And believe me, the hospital would not send you home with your child if they didn't think you and your partner spouse, or even if it's just you and your child, were ready. So trust yourself in that also. It's okay. And this goes to the NICU piece also to be happy and sad at the same time, opposite emotions can coexist and there's nothing wrong with that. People could very easily say to you, well, you should be so happy your child is alive.

(19:23):

Yes, I'm so happy my child is alive, but that doesn't mean I'm sad for all and grieving for all the things that I didn't get to do or all the things that I thought that was going to happen. So allow yourself some space for that. And also I'd say find your village, whoever that may be. For me, it was really important to seek outside help and find areas where I can hear success stories of other creamy parents. And you know what? I really couldn't find them. And so that's why then I created my audio stories for FLRRiSH. But find your village and they're all around. They might not be the people who you immediately thought would be, and that's okay, but just find your village.

Kim (20:06):

I love that. Now, one thing I like to ask people is as we shift in, I was going to give you rapid fire. I'm not going to give you rapid fire. I'm just going to give you a quasi rapid fire. We talk a lot about work on the show, your weirdest job you've ever had.

Jodi (20:20):

I probably, I'd have to think. I don't think I've had any weird jobs, nothing. I feel like I've had some good jobs in my life. I've had bad positions within those jobs. When I first wanted to be a sports agent, broadcaster person, and I hadn't experienced that totally turned me off. I was told at the time I would never be allowed in the locker room no matter how much my knowledge of sports was. Now, mind you, this is back 25 years ago, and now there are so many female broadcasters, especially in sports, but they would never allow a woman in the locker room or anywhere near there, so you shouldn't even try doing it. So I would say that was a bad experience and what I thought was going to be a wonderful internship opportunity. So I've had bad experience within the opportunities, but the opportunities that I've had themselves have been pretty good.

Kim (21:20):

And you almost played professional tennis, right? You were like semipro or,

Jodi (21:24):

Yeah, when I was younger, I played tennis, gosh, like six days a week. And it literally I think ran my whole family ragged and I was invited to stay at, I'll say Nick Ari's Tennis Academy, which is now the IMG Academy in Florida. And my parents were like, no, we want her to have a normal life. And I remember being so upset and angry with them, but they were so right. They wanted me to have as most of a normal childhood as I could because the chances of making it to be like Serena Williams are so small and they wanted me to be able to experience just a normal life.

Kim (22:06):

Amazing. My very last question, what always gets a yes and what always gets a no? We are always limited for time. So we have to really be crazy about what we say yes to, what we say no to, what always gets a no from you, and what always gets a yes from you?

Jodi (22:19):

A no for me, anyone who asked me to do something that is kind of a negative person or a Debbie Downer. I think really since Jenna was born, I've really chosen to surround myself with those people who fill my cup, and it matters so much. So those people always get a no, a yes. Anything having to do with my family, whether it's my husband, my daughter, my stepchildren, or my extended family, my parents always a yes. There's nothing more important than that.

Kim (22:51):

I love that my kids always get a yes too. I try to make sure that during Covid, when we were working at home so much, I said, slip a little L under your door for Lily if you need a hug, and I'll pause my meeting and come give you a hug. And now that they're in school and I'm working in my office, I still try to make sure if they say, can you pick me up from work? Unless I have a really important meeting at that time, if I can run and see them for maybe a half an hour, 45 minutes and then come back, I will just because it means something to them, it's meaningful to them.

Jodi (23:21):

Not only that, at the end of the day, what do we really need? Time, time with our loved ones, and that time with Lily probably means so much tort, but also means so much to you. And I realized that as Jen is getting older, even when she says, mommy, can you read me one extra story? Even though I generally have a stripped three story rule at bedtime, I'm like, how many more times are you going to ask me this? I

Kim (23:47):

Don't totally. My husband always says that sometimes. He's like, when is that going to stop? I wish someone would tell me that it's about to end. I'm like, oh, that's so sad. But it's true. You don't know how long they're going to want this from you anymore, but you're right. They fill my cup as much as sometimes it does something in the morning, and at the end of the day I say, thank you for snuggling with me this morning. It really started my day off and it filled my cup. And they feel that. I'm like, it's not just because you want it, I want it. And the other part is we all live in New York City and you're literally never doing enough. You're never working hard enough, you're never famous enough, you're never rich enough, you're never anything enough. And so you consider your computer work all day long, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And so it's on you to stop, close your laptop and just turn off. And I'm not always great at that, but I am aware that it's a choice. And so when your kids are asking for you, you can choose within reason. You could choose what you say yes to and what you say no to. Okay. Jodi, how can people connect with you now that they love you from hearing you on the show? How can they connect with you?

Jodi (24:46):

People can connect with me on our website, www.FLRRiSH.com, F-L-R-R-I-S-H.com, or on Instagram at FLRRiSH F-L-R-R-I-S-H. Same with TikTok and Facebook and everyone coming soon, a new Facebook group. So I'm super excited about that. And also they can email me hello@FLRRiSH.com.

Kim (25:12):

Jodi, thank you so much. This has been great.

Jodi (25:14):

Thanks so much for having me. I love chatting with you. I just feel like it's like two old friends talking, haven't even worked or anything.

Kim (25:22):

Yeah, absolutely. This is so fun. Thanks, Judy.

Kim (25:29):

Thank you for joining us. Don't forget to exit the grind and enter success on your own terms. This is the exit interview with Kim Rittberg. Don't forget to grab my free download, how to Grow Your Business with Amazing video at kimrittberg.com and linked out in the show notes. I love to hear your feedback. Make sure to submit to me what you learned from the show and how you are crushing it on your own terms. Connect with me on Instagram or LinkedIn at Kim Rittberg, R-I-T-T-B-E-R-G. And this show is edited by Jillian Grover and produced by Henry Street Media. I'm your host and executive producer Kim Rittberg.

Kim RittbergMay 15, 2024Comment