Meet Julie Khanna | Business Owner | Mother | Community Advocate

We had the good fortune of connecting with Julie Khanna and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Julie, how do you think about risk, what role has taking risks played in your life or career?
Everything I’ve ever done was a risk.

I believe there’s a direct relationship between risk and success. I couldn’t tell you how many times I saw an opportunity and took it before I was even prepared to, but I can tell you if I’m given an opportunity I am going to be successful with it.

Risks are an uncomfortable but necessary part of growth. Absolutely nothing in this world grows without discomfort- not a bodybuilder’s muscles, not a pregnant woman’s belly and damn sure not an entrepreneur’s success.  My strongest leadership shines in high risk situations.

Maybe that’s what I love so much about my profession. The stakes are always high. Every time we pitch a client we have no control over the outcome. We don’t know how the pitch will be received, if it will end up landing, or if it will be considered. So the gamble lies within the pitch itself. It has to be strong, but not overbearing, and it has to match the journalist’s language. There’s an excitement that comes with landing a story and disappointment when you don’t. I’d much rather be excited than disappointed.

Alright, so let’s jump right in! The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there a person, group, organization, book, etc that you want to dedicate your shoutout to? Who else deserves a little credit and recognition in your story?
There are so many people that mentored and inspired me along the way, and continue to do so, but especially the strong women I grew up surrounded by. My grandmother, my mom and my aunts were all centered in my life. They taught me resilience and that’s necessary in business.

Now I am the mother of three ambitious creative entrepreneurs. My daughter Lilli is the owner of L Khanna Productions, a full scale streaming and videography company. My son is the owner of N Khanna Customs, a customized keyboard and computer business. And my youngest is the face of Devi Masala, a homemade spices and merch ecommerce company. Their insatiable drive and ability to recognize and create opportunities inspire me daily. And my company, Khanna Connections, is composed of a competent, creative team of people, including my children, who motivate me to keep growing and elevating.

I truly believe your network is your net worth so I feel very blessed to have a great friend circle of like-minded, driven, successful, philanthropic visionaries who I most certainly would not have gotten this far without. We need mentors at every stage of life and success. You really can’t be the expert in anything without being a student yourself and my friends pour into me daily.

Please tell us more about your business. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today business-wise. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
Khanna Connections is a marketing, public relations, and communications firm with a niche in the medical, health and wellness industries. We expand businesses by elevating our client’s brand visibility and by positioning them as the experts in their respective fields. And we build them platforms because they’re doing great things and their audience should know about it!

I’m really proud of the way we pivoted during the pandemic. We were aggressive in moving our client’s platforms online and delivering online events comarketed with local influencers for maximum engagement. We kept the creativity flowing and just kept leveling up with the challenges. We were also front and center in helping to disseminate important COVID related information at the local and national level and continued to land placements in sources like Forbes, Parade, Shape, Business Insider, MSN, Health, and Reader’s Digest.

The best lessons I’ve ever learned were through my own failures. I think it’s important to fail but more important to recognize there’s a learning opportunity in failure.

One of the hardest lessons I’ve learned, or had to make peace with, is that your greatest support will come from the ones you least expect. It’s the people that you never knew were watching that will be your biggest source of referrals and encouragement while some of the closest ones stay quiet. So move in silence. Absolute silence. I don’t speak on anything I’m doing until it’s done.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc. In your view what are some of the most fun, interesting, exciting people, places or things to check out?
This is great. Having fun is something I excel at. I’m pretty well rounded and my itinerary would reflect that. We would certainly go to Polo and enjoy a match from the tents. That always turns into at least one after party.

We would also end up on a boat because south Florida is best experienced from the water. But we would stop time at one of my local favorites, Molé. It’s easy to stay for hours. Kaluz is also a must for a calmer vibe. We could definitely head downtown and dine on the rooftop of The Ben or Restoration Hardware. There’s something about those wide open skylights that just make everything feel more vivacious.

We would also hang out at my house. I love a good afternoon pool day, listening to music that’s way too loud, and jumping on the inflatable bull. I’ve got two miniature donkeys, two miniature goats and some chickens. They would totally come hang out with us in the yard. Then we would hop on the golf cart or 4 wheelers and take them out for a ride.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many people that mentored, pushed, and inspired me along the way, and continue to do so, but especially the strong women I grew up surrounded by. My grandmother, my mom and my aunts were all center in my life. They taught me resilience and that’s necessary in business.

Now I am the mother of three ambitious creative entrepreneurs. My daughter Lilli is the owner of L Khanna Productions, a videography company. My son is the owner of N Khanna Customs, a customized keyboard and computer business. And my youngest is the face of Devi Masala, a homemade spices and apron ecommerce company. Their insatiable drive and their ability to recognize and create opportunities inspires me daily. And my company, Khanna Connections, is composed of a competent, creative team of people who motivate me to keep growing and elevating.

I truly believe your network is your net worth so I feel very blessed to have a great friend circle of like-minded, driven, successful, philanthropic visionaries who I most certainly would not have gotten this far without. We need mentors at every stage of your life and success. You really can’t be the expert in anything without being a student yourself.

Website: https://www.khannaconnections.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/khannaconnections/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-khanna-725160194/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Khannaconnections

Image Credits:
Lois Spatz Photos