Jess is a former PE teacher turned celebrity fitness trainer who now runs a million dollar coaching business helping others create high-ticket online courses and group programs. Her mission is to cause a ripple effect and inspire change for generations to come; making a massive impact and leaving a lasting legacy beyond her singular actions.
FWM: Everyone has a story and often they are what holds us back. Share your story.
From dropping out of my doctorate of physical therapy graduate program and overcoming a 10 year battle with an eating disorder; like all of us, my story is multilayered. After spending 8 years working as an elementary school physical education/health teacher and grinding after work as a personal trainer and gymnastics coach…I found myself extremely unhappy, unfulfilled, and somewhat bored. I can’t remember a time in my life that I didn’t have some sort of a side hustle. From selling hair barrettes in elementary school to my teammates to selling handmade purses post-college to members at my local gym, I’ve just always had my hands in “other” things.
Once I decided to leave my comfortable/secure teaching job in 2017, the plan was really no plan other than “doing whatever I had to in order to make ends meet while only saying yes to things that made me happy”. Within a moments time, I was able to take my “cute side” hustle and scale it to a million-dollar business in 18 months. But, one thing that I’m always eager to share is that the “cute side hustle” which appeared to be an overnight success had actually been up and running for 4+ years when I made the choice to “go all in”.
I’ve made hundreds of mistakes, scraped more ideas and let go of more unfinished projects than I have birthed to the world, invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into mentors/courses, and spent thousands of hours consuming books, podcasts, and going to events. I truly believe that it takes a village…
FWM: “You should never be ashamed of your story. You should be grateful for the lessons you’ve learned and grateful for the opportunities that lay ahead. What lessons have you learned that paved the way to opportunities?
I’ve learned to let go of the things I can’t control, I’ve learned that asking for help is one of the most powerful and strong things that I can do, I’ve learned that failures are just lessons and it’s absolutely 100% okay to pivot/change your mind, I’ve learned that being alone always me space to actually remember who I am, I’ve learned that saying “no” is more important than “yes”, I’ve learned that “ego is my biggest overheard”, I’ve learned that I am capable of anything I can dream, I’ve learned that I don’t need to follow the crowd or do what I think I’m “supposed to” by society, and I’ve learned what it means to truly be a leader and step into the next best version of myself.
FWM: How are you helping coaches to create 6-figure businesses through impact?
So many aspects of my business and my greater mission empower me. Mostly the fact that I get to help other people put food on the table, pay rent, send their kids to college, and live a life where they can have financial ease while helping others is the main fire in my belly. Helping show them that they have gifts to share with the world, guiding them to extract those gifts, identify who they can help, simplifying how to market in a way where they can be paid their worth in exchange for their service; it’s quite literally magically!
The core ethos of my business is “giving back” and “education”. For every client that I work with, I donate education to one student for one year of education overseas through Pencils of Promise. Empowering my clients to give back, as well as serve their gifts is just a part of the ripple effect!
FWM: Your expertise has helped clients to build recognizable brands and market organically in social media. Tell us more.
I believe that simply sharing what you know, what you’re learning, and what you’re an expert at is all that you need. If you have solutions to someone else’s problems, then you can have a business. So, when it comes to social media marketing we really focus on sharing organically. Just by showing up “as you as you can be” helps people build the “know, like, trust” factor because at the end of the day; people by from people. We teach our clients to represent a “come with me” brand rather than a “look at me brand”. This not only helps the clients feel connected to the business, but it also allows the business/brand to grow and evolve with ease.
FWM: What is your secret to success?
YOU are the secret! I say this all of the time. In a world of instant gratification, social media, and coaches on every corner; the only way to stand out amongst the noise is to be YOU. Just like there is a coffee shop on every corner…People go to a coffee shop because they like the environment/vibe, company mission, location of ease, employees that work there, quality of the product, etc. The easiest way to ensure your business will be successful (before strategies like outsourcing, marketing, etc) is to make sure that it is 100% you. You authentic voice, polarizing options, and silly antics. Just show up as you and those who know, like, and trust you will happily follow and buy!
FWM: Tell us about the EmpowerU Program.
Empower U(niversity) is our signature 90-day group coaching program helping entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, and side hustlers build personal brands, monetize their social media, and turn their purpose into profit. Since 2018, we’ve helped over 300 new business owners create over $6 million in revenue for themselves by simply helping them extract what they already know and make a bigger impact. EmpowerU has grown from a simple one-person online course to a Global movement and experience; serving clients from Dubai and Australia to Italy and Guatemala. We’ve helped create, build, and scale businesses in over 35 industries both in-person and online. We now operate with 10 coaches (in house lawyer, accountant, tech wizard, mindset coach, etc) and an incredible 100 page course workbook. EmpowerU has helped raise and donate over $100,000 to a variety of charities, as well as breaking ground in Ghana, Africa on our first actual school building.
FWM: What is your mantra as it relates to your work?
1. “Ego is your biggest overhead” – Chris Harder
2 “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. “ – Steve Jobs
FWM: Share your vision for 2021.
Every year I pick “a word”, a mantra, and a theme. I actually wear that word on my wrist via a handmade bracelet and I leave it on for the entire year (something I’ve been doing for over 5 years).
My 2020 word was EXPAND and my mantra was SLOW DOWN TO SPEED UP. As 2021 is quickly approaching, this is something I’ve been thinking about and as my husband and I recently left our NYC apartment, sold all our belongings, and moved into a luxury motorhome to travel the country full-time, this is becoming even more important to both of us.
Intentional focus and energy…
While I haven’t 100% secured the word or mantra for 2021 yet, I know that both in business and in life I’m looking for more space, more time to play, more time off, more intentional focused work, and really how less can be more.
Less material items, less on my plate, less on my calendar, less consumption, less obligations that don’t light me up.
Why? Well, I also know and realize that the more room I make in my brain/body/energy, the more room I have for magic. While we’ve taken our life to the road, our plan truly is NO PLAN!
In 2021 I can clearly see that we’re making more of an impact than we ever have while doing so with ease and flow. My husband recently left his job so that he can join me in our now family business. This is going to allow us to dream bigger and extend farther. I see more systems, automations, and hires. More opportunity to create jobs for others. More impact through our school build in Ghana and our new programs/courses coming out at the start of the year.
2021 for us will also be a year of imagination and thinking outside the box. We don’t want to “lather, rinse, repeat”, but rather create something that doesn’t exist. With our new life on the road, meeting new people, experience, and seeing new things, we’ll be tapping into our feminine creative sides more and more and I couldn’t’ be more excited!
