HumanKind Advisory is a communications consultancy that works with ethical brands and social justice organisations to help them positively change the world for good. Before founding HumanKind, Jackie worked with UN agencies and other humanitarian organisations and non-profits, helping them with ethical storytelling and advocacy efforts.
Jackie has lived and worked in Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Melbourne and Sydney and has spent more than 12 years working in the ethical communication space.
Tell us about HumanKind Advisory.
HumanKind Advisory is a strategic communications and public relations consulting firm that helps nonprofits, nongovernmental organisations and for-purpose companies bring their stories to life and connect with their audiences in meaningful ways.
What inspired you to start HumanKind Advisory?
I started HumanKind in July 2020, yes, in the middle of the pandemic! I felt that things were shifting in the storytelling space particularly around ethical and authentic storytelling and organisations were not really sure how to approach it. I was hearing that organisations and companies were struggling to approach a new way of storytelling and I knew I could fill that gap.
Tell us about your career and background.
I’ve always worked in the nonprofit sector, mostly in the humanitarian aid and development space, but also with refugee and migrant advocacy. My first job was working at World Vision while I was still at uni studying journalism and politics. I’ve always had a strong sense of justice and equality and so I always knew I wanted to work with causes I truly aligned with. After finishing uni I moved on to work with UN agencies like UNICEF and the UN Refugee Agency and eventually decided to start consulting because I really enjoy the variety of issues I get to learn about from working with different clients and helping them tell their stories of impact in a way that feels authentic to them.
Describe a typical work day for you.
As a consultant – and also as my own boss – no two days are ever the same! I run my consultancy from my home base of Canggu which is a small surf town on the coast of Bali. The day starts early with some yoga or a sunrise walk with my rescue dogs on the beach and then I’m usually online by 9am checking emails and having a few Zoom catch ups with clients. In the middle of the day I’ll rest or swim or take some sort of break because at about 5pm my work day starts again since some of my clients are in Europe and just starting their days. In amongst all of that is strategy writing, phone calls with journalists pitching stories, reading the news, things like that, but the beauty of it is that it’s done whenever I feel like I have the headspace for it.
What advice do you have for those wanting to start a business?
I think there’s really never a ‘right time’ to start a business. I wanted to do it for years but it never felt like the right time so my advice would be to set a date in mind, make sure you have some savings to get you through the initial stages of the hustle and then just go for it! Investing in a mentor (or a couple) also really helped me both in the very beginning when HumanKind was just an idea but also at the next stage, the stage I’m at now. When I first decided to launch my consultancy I had a very good business coach who helped me see things clearly and move past the fear that comes with starting your own business. He was a real voice of reason. And now I’m working with another mentor in the industry who has a very successful agency herself and she is mentoring me through business growth, pricing, business models and offerings – things like that. I’ll be forever grateful for my mentors and for those starting their own businesses, I highly recommend finding someone to help guide you through the sticky moments, and also celebrate your wins with you!
What’s next for you, and HumanKind Advisory?
I started HumanKind just over a year ago now and we’ve been growing really fast! We’re actually still in growth phase at the moment so I’m currently hiring another consultant as well as an assistant to help me with the business and admin side of things. Other than that, we’re working on developing some online workshops on authentic and ethical storytelling so that we can help even more organisations to reach their audiences.
And I’m actually in the process of launching a new PR agency specifically targeted to startups, entrepreneurs and founders – it’s called Hey Lily and we’re just working on the branding and offerings now and will be launching before the end of the year which is exciting! So stay tuned for that!
For more info, please visit www.humankindadvisory.com
