March 24, 2025 • 24 mins
What’s the biggest difference between entrepreneurs who struggle and those who thrive?
In the second episode of the Powerful Women Rising Impact Award winners series, 2024 Coach of the Year Jess Thompson and 2024 Business Support Person of the Year Jenn Hartt explain that success isn't just about having the right strategies - it’s about having the right support.
We discuss the power of human guidance in business and how coaching, strategy, and execution work together to turn big ideas into real success.
Jess helps entrepreneurs cut through overwhelm and build thriving businesses while Jenn brings their visions to life through creative strategy. Together, they’re proof that no one builds a successful business alone.
Listen and Learn:
✅ Why AI tools can’t replace real human insight in business strategy
✅ Why community and mentorship are essential for overcoming challenges
✅ The surprising freedom that comes from asking for help
✅ The mindset shift that separates struggling entrepreneurs from thriving ones
These two incredible women remind us that to build a business and a life that truly works for you, having the right support system is essential.
This episode is part of the 2024 PWR Impact Awards Winner Series, featuring women entrepreneurs who are redefining success and impacting the lives of others. Want more inspiration and real-world strategies to make an impact with your business? Subscribe and don’t miss the next episode in this powerful series!
Links & References:
- Join us at our next PWR Virtual Speed Networking Event!
- For even deeper connections, check out the Powerful Women Rising Community!
Learn more about Jenn Hartt:
Learn more about Jess Thompson:
- https://completesmallbizacademy.com/
- https://completesmallbizacademy.com/products/the-shatter-summit-female-entrepreneurs-breaking-barriers
- https://www.instagram.com/completesmallbizacademy/
Connect with Your Host!
Melissa Snow is a Business Relationship Strategist dedicated to empowering women in entrepreneurship. She founded the Powerful Women Rising Community, which provides female business owners with essential support and resources for business growth.
Melissa's other mission is to revolutionize networking, promoting authenticity and genuine connections over sleazy sales tactics. She runs an incredible monthly Virtual Speed Networking Event which you can attend once at no cost using the code FIRSTTIME
She lives in Colorado Springs with two girl dogs, two boy cats and any number of foster kittens. She loves iced coffee, Taylor Swift, and Threads.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Melissa Snow (00:00):
Hello friends, welcome to the Powerful Women
Rising podcast.
So excited to see you guystoday.
I'm excited to interview you.
I was saying before we startedrecording that you guys actually
do know each other.
I think you nominated eachother for these awards, but I
didn't know that when you putyou on an interview together.
So this is super fun.
So I am here with Jess Thompsonand Jen Hart.
Jess was the winner of the 2024Powerful Women Rising Impact
(00:23):
Award for Coach of the Year, socongratulations on that.
That's so awesome.
And Jen, of course, was thewinner of the 2024 Support
Person of the Year and I'veheard so many great things about
both of you.
These awards were based onnominations by your peers and
then the winners were chosen bya panel of judges.
(00:44):
So lots of really good nomineesand super excited to get to
talk to you guys today as two ofthe winners.
So before we dive in, let'sstart with Jess and just tell
everybody a little bit about youand what you do.
Jess Thompson (00:57):
Yeah, so business coaching, hence why the award.
But I focus specifically onworking with small businesses,
particularly women entrepreneurs, and just helping them take
their big ideas and put thatinto action.
You know an actual plan thatyou can follow and be held
accountable for.
Melissa Snow (01:17):
I love that, and how long have you been a coach?
Jess Thompson (01:20):
The coaching is actually relatively new.
It actually segued fromleadership and sales training
that I have been doing, but thecoaching one-on-one is really
just the last six months or so.
Melissa Snow (01:30):
Oh, that's awesome Congratulations, but it sounds
like you have lots of background, lots of knowledge and
experience with all sorts ofthings business related.
Jess Thompson (01:38):
Yeah, and a lot of unofficial ways, been doing
this for a long time.
Yeah, I was going to say Jesshas been coaching her entire
career.
I feel like, yeah, that'sawesome.
Melissa Snow (01:51):
Okay, just getting paid to do it within the last
six months or so, yeah, well,that's even better.
Getting paid to do it is evenbetter.
And Jen, tell us about you.
Jenn Wayboer Hart (01:56):
Yeah, I'm a creative strategist.
I started off as a virtualassistant but I rebranded as a
creative strategist I guessthree years ago, now almost four
.
So I also help entrepreneurstake their big ideas and turn
them into reality.
But I do more task-based work.
We do strategy sessions for thebig ideas and then break it
down and I help my clientsexecute those plans.
Melissa Snow (02:20):
And I love the two of you together because you are
helping people with the samethings but in very different
ways.
Jenn Wayboer Hart (02:26):
Right, yes.
Melissa Snow (02:27):
And that's that's been very helpful.
I have an assistant also.
I don't call her a virtualassistant because I don't.
I feel like she does so muchmore than that.
She's like my, just mylifesaver.
But I, when I hired her, that'sbeen where I have been able to
like, like, have all of thesegreat big ideas that I'm like we
should do this, we should dothis, could you do this?
(02:48):
What if there was a thing onthe website where you could do
blah, blah, blah and like I'vehad all of these great ideas for
years and years.
They just like never goanywhere.
And so to have someone likeJess to help us come up with
those ideas, streamline thoseideas, think them through, think
like is this really what youwant to do?
Is this really as good of anidea as you think that it is?
And then to have somebody likeJen to actually like execute and
(03:11):
help us make the thing happen,is you guys are like the dream
team here.
Jess Thompson (03:16):
Yeah, and there's definitely a lot of overlap,
but I think Jen and I are verysimilar in our approach, so it
makes sense that we're doing,you know, similar things.
Melissa Snow (03:31):
Yeah, for sure, awesome.
So, Jen, what do you?
Jenn Wayboer Hart (03:32):
love about supporting other entrepreneurs
in their endeavors, so Iactually really honed in on this
last year at a retreat thatJess and I were at together
actually it was the upliftretreat last year and we had a
speaker talk about how dopamineis actually what happens before
the thing happens, and Irealized my why is when my
clients experience that dopaminehit before their idea comes to
(03:56):
life, so right as I'm sendingthem their link to their new
website or their strategy forsocial media or whatever it is,
it's the excitement that I knowthey have that creates the
excitement for me too.
Melissa Snow (04:09):
I love that.
That's cool.
And Jess, how about for you asa coach?
What do you think makes a greatcoach?
Jess Thompson (04:18):
I think it's really listening.
So my value really just comesin in being able to bring out
the best in my clients.
So being able to bring out thebest in my clients, so being
able to help facilitate thatbrainstorming and idea creation
and figuring out like you said,melissa, is this really what I
want?
Is this really long-term, goingto plug into not only the goals
I have for my business but thetype of life that I want to live
(04:41):
, and seeing that your businessand your life, personal life do
not have to be two completelyseparate entities.
There's a ton of crossover andthey can live harmoniously
within each other.
I think coming to thatrealization with my clients is
always like this really, it's areally fulfilling moment for
them to see that this can beeverything I want it to be and I
(05:01):
don't have to sacrifice inorder to make this happen.
Melissa Snow (05:04):
Yeah, and I can do it the way that I want to do it
, and I don't have to sacrificein order to make this happen.
Yeah, and I can do it the waythat I want to do it, even
though there's, like all theseexperts and gurus and people who
say, like this is how you do itand this is what a successful
business looks like, and this iswhat a successful woman looks
like.
You can have your own idea ofthat and still make that
successful.
Jess Thompson (05:22):
That's the part?
Yeah, absolutely, those areguidelines, not rules.
Melissa Snow (05:26):
Yeah.
So I'm going to ask you both aquestion that I didn't prepare
either of you for.
So I'm going to start with Jessand give Jen some time to think
about her answer, although Isuspect you both know the answer
right off the bat.
So I'm thinking as I'm talkingto you two and about what Jess
does as a business coach andwhat Jen does supporting people
in their business endeavors.
(05:46):
And I'm thinking about, like,if I was just getting started in
business or maybe I was a yearinto business but hadn't quite
found that traction that Iwanted, couldn't I just Google,
like how to do the thing, whatshould I do next in my business?
How should I run my business?
And then couldn't I just go tolike chat, gpt and be like help
(06:08):
me figure out my contentstrategy, or like, help me map
out the steps that I need totake to make this big idea
happen?
What is the benefit to me inhiring a business coach instead
of doing that?
Jess Thompson (06:23):
Yeah, so first off I will say that I'm a huge
fan of AI.
I use AI a ton to be able tobrainstorm and ask those
questions.
But for me that is a launchingoff point.
That is not like the answerthat then I base everything off
of.
So it helps me just be able tocritically think a little bit
better and kind of get thejuices flowing, which is
(06:44):
ultimately what a coach does,except for a coach knows you a
little bit better than AI does.
Hopefully, maybe not in a fewyears.
Ai is getting pretty great, butas of right now, a coach can
know you sort of on that morepersonal level, pick up on
things that you don't even knowabout yourself.
So AI is modeled off of all ofthe things that you tell it to
know about you.
But if you don't know to giveAI that information, it can't
(07:08):
give you the full picture ofwhat you're really wanting and
ask those really criticalquestions.
It's really just a mirror ofyourself.
So a coach or even a supportperson like Jen is going to
broaden your perspective beyondwhat you already think you know
and the questions you alreadythink to ask.
So it's really just broadeningthat perspective.
(07:30):
But I do say that AI is anexcellent launching off point.
If you are not at the point yetto hire somebody, that's a
great way to just kind of startthinking outside the box.
Melissa Snow (07:41):
Yeah, absolutely.
I always think of it as likeit's one of many tools, but it's
not like the end all be all ofthe things right.
It's kind of like with if wewant to, like, lose weight or be
healthier.
It's like, yes, exercise ispart of that, but we can't just
exercise and also eat whateverwe want, like we have to do a
number a number of differentthings.
(08:02):
Yeah, yeah.
What about you, jen?
What's your thoughts on that?
Jenn Wayboer Hart (08:07):
It's the human piece, which is largely
what Jess was saying too, is AIis theoretically never going to
be human.
I mean, I had a client thatactually let me go because she
decided she was going to use AIto do her whole social media
plan and within six months shehad rehired me again because AI
just couldn't know what shewanted her business to look like
(08:29):
online.
She wanted her business to looklike online, and we can dig a
little bit deeper through ourexperience, our education, to
really exactly what Jess wassaying.
Pull up those pieces thatyou're not feeding into AI.
I use ChatGPT nearly daily, butit's never going to replace the
human conversations, which iswhere most of the gold comes
(08:49):
from, just sitting and talkingwith people.
Even if I'm posting on socialbuilding a website, everything I
get is from community andconversation.
But ChatGPT is a great place tostart to get things rolling,
and then you hire theprofessionals to help you take
it to the next level.
Melissa Snow (09:07):
Yeah, I love what you guys are saying about, like
the ability to communicate andthe ability to feel and the
ability to use your intuitioneven to help people.
It's like this is why we don'tnetwork exclusively in emails,
right?
Because, like, if I were to askyou, you said, oh, I have this
new idea that I'm really excitedabout and I'm going to do this,
(09:29):
this and this.
And then I would say, like, so,when you think about doing that
, does that really like lightyou up?
Do you feel like super, likejazzed inside?
And your answer is yeah, right,like that's going to take me in
a very different line ofquestioning than if your answer
(09:50):
is yeah, and, but I can't tellthe difference.
No idea which one it was.
Jess Thompson (09:55):
Yeah, absolutely, and that's huge and even those
feeling questions exactly whatyou said, melissa like.
Does this make you, does thislight you up?
Does this make you feel excited?
Does this make you feel happy?
Ai is not, at this point,asking those types of questions
and looking for those types ofresponses.
Melissa Snow (10:16):
Yeah, and those.
I think you realize as timegoes on in business how
important your answers to thosequestions are.
In the beginning it's like Idon't care if it makes me happy
or brings me joy, I just need tomake some money.
And then you realize joy, Ijust need to make some money.
And then you realize okay,maybe there's a little bit more
to it.
Yeah, definitely.
(10:36):
Did you want to add anything tothat, jen?
Jenn Wayboer Hart (10:39):
Yeah, I think that's why, like my podcast and
community is absolutelyeverything, and networking like
mostly your networking platformto allow people to get that
feedback from other humans thatcan see your facial reactions,
that can see how you respondonline to other people, can help
influence how you want to showup for your business and your
(11:00):
brand as both a human and abusiness.
Melissa Snow (11:03):
Yeah, agreed.
So let's talk a little bitabout your inspiration, not
necessarily like why you do whatyou do, because we've talked a
little bit about that and whatyou both love, about what you do
and why it makes you so greatat what you do.
But business is hard andwhether you've been in it for
six months or 16 years, there'sstill moments that you're like
(11:26):
why am I doing this?
I have no idea what I'm doing.
This is never going to work.
So I would love to hear fromyou guys, when you get in those
spaces of like everything isgoing wrong, I'm not making
money, I'm not bringing in newclients, whatever it is, how do
you get yourself to keep going?
Jenn Wayboer Hart (11:44):
For me it's community, and I moved across
the country almost going onseven years ago and that was the
hardest part for me was losingmy community that I could turn
to when things went wrong, causeI've been an entrepreneur at
some level for the last 14 years.
I just realized, as I wassaying, that and it's never
going to be perfect and you haveto have the people you can lean
(12:07):
on when you have the nightmareclient or, even bigger, when you
make a mistake, because I think, especially as female
entrepreneurs, we can be reallyhard on ourselves when we mess
up and it's going to happen nomatter what.
So having that support systemand mine started with friends,
fellow entrepreneurs, becausethey get it, and now I'm lucky
enough to also have my husbandin my corner for when things get
(12:29):
hard too.
Jess Thompson (12:30):
Obviously, I resonate so much with what Jen
said, but I think for me it'sreally about building the life
that I want, and a lot of thatrevolves around freedom.
So I think, especially aroundthe pandemic, we all saw how
fragile our society and oursystems can be just depending on
outside influences, whetherit's the economy or it's
(12:52):
lockdowns, or even it's justyour kid is sick and has to stay
home from school.
And so I wanted to build a lifethat I had control over and
that I could say, yes, I'mpouring into work right now or
no, I need to take my foot offthe gas pedal for a little bit
and really just kind of createthe schedule that I want, create
(13:12):
the flexibility that I want andbe able to pour into where I
think is valuable.
My husband and I even jokeabout sometimes being able to do
a lot of things that I don'twant to do, and I think that's a
really selling everything andbuying an RV and just kind of
touring around the country, andit's kind of liberating to think
if we really wanted to do that.
Obviously there's a lot ofconsiderations, but I could
(13:33):
right, I'm building those blocksin place to be able to say, yes
, we could pick up and move ifwe wanted to, and obviously we'd
be giving up some community.
But we can make our lifewhatever we want it to be.
And so coaching I happen tolove it and I'm very passionate
about it, but really it is kindof that tool in my tool belt to
(13:55):
be able to say this is how I getto build the life that I want
to live and surround myself withpeople that I like.
So it's purely selfish.
Melissa Snow (14:04):
Melissa, that's your new tagline H Melissa,
purely selfish.
Jess Thompson (14:10):
That's your new tagline Hire me, I'm selfish,
I'm very selfish.
Jen is all about community, I'mall about me.
Melissa Snow (14:15):
No, those are really good points, though,
because I think I mean we do.
We do have to be honest aboutthe balance between we want to
help people, we want to impactpeople's lives, we want to
change the world.
Like I don't really know anyentrepreneur who became an
entrepreneur because they werelike I don't give a shit about
people, I just want to be rich,right.
But we also don't want to gotoo far over on that end of like
(14:39):
I just want to help people andsave the world because also,
like we're humans with bills topay, so and with joy that we
want in our life and familiesand pets, and like there's a way
that we wanna live andsomething that we want for our
life, and this is what allows usto do that.
So it's awesome to be able todo both of those things at the
same time.
So we touched on this a littlebit.
(15:01):
My last question was gonna bejust about any advice that you
would give to other femaleentrepreneurs specifically who
are either considering gettingstarted in business.
Maybe they are just gettingstarted, maybe they've been
going a couple of years, butthey're just not getting the
traction that they want.
You talked a little bit abouthaving a community, people to
rely on and go back to and asupport system that are like no,
(15:23):
you got this, we've all beenthere.
We talked a little bit aboutremembering, like your, your
bigger picture, like, why areyou doing this when things get
hard?
What other advice do you havefor anybody who might be
listening to this podcast who'sin that situation?
Jess Thompson (15:38):
Say it's that every entrepreneur comes to a
fork in the road andrealistically, many over the
course of your career where youhave to ask for help, and that
can look like a lot of differentways.
It can look like community thatJen's talking about.
It can look like hiring somebodythat's a support person, hiring
more staff or just investing insomething that feels scary
(16:02):
investing in a tool or softwareor education for yourself, and
for a lot of people, that forkin the road feels scary
investing in a tool or softwareor education for yourself, and
for a lot of people, that forkin the road feels like failure.
It feels like I wasn't able todo it by myself.
So this is a result of me notbeing good enough or not being
smart enough or not working hardenough, but really, in my mind,
that fork in the road is ameasure of success.
(16:23):
It means you've grown to thepoint where you have outgrown
what you can do yourself and nowyou need a team and a village
and whatever that looks like,and so my advice would be to not
shy away from that.
That that's an opportunity,that is a measure of growth and
success, and to embrace that,even though it feels really
scary and you are taking a hugerisk when it comes to, you know,
(16:47):
bringing in somebody else orpaying for something.
But nine times out of 10, it'sworth it because, even if it
wasn't the right decision,you're still learning.
You are still moving forward,not backwards.
Melissa Snow (17:00):
Yeah, absolutely.
I often say that there's nosuch thing as a solopreneur,
because and there's no awardthat you get at the end of this,
that's like congratulations,you did all of it yourself.
Yeah, we never ask people whenthey're celebrating, like big
milestones or I got a new clientor something like you'd never
hear somebody be like well, didanybody help you?
Jess Thompson (17:19):
Yeah, it only counts if it was just you, yeah
exactly.
Jenn Wayboer Hart (17:24):
What about you, jen?
Yeah, I mean the first piecewould be to get involved in some
sort of coaching and whetherthere are group programs that
are a little bit less expensivebarrier to entry.
But I think the biggest thing Iwould say is keep your business
in alignment with who you are.
And at the beginning of mybusiness I was a VA.
(17:45):
I started my business because Iwas at rock bottom in every part
of my life, so I was taking anyand all business.
If someone was willing to payme 10 bucks to do something, I
was going to do it, and it tookyears before I realized that
saying no to business thatdidn't align with who I am as a
human is okay, and I had morespace and more clients that do
(18:06):
align showed up for me.
So I think keeping your whywhich I think that phrase can be
a little overused but whateveryour passion is, keeping that at
the forefront and making yourdecisions and knowing that you
can say no to the business thatdoesn't align with whatever that
purpose is and a coach canreally help you figure that out.
In the meantime I'm coachingchanged my business.
Melissa Snow (18:28):
Yeah, I love that.
Such good advice and soinspiring to talk to you guys
and all of the women that havewon these awards, just to hear
from people who are succeeding,they're doing things the way
that they want to do it, they'restaying true to who they really
are and their integrity, andthey're able to do it and be
(18:48):
successful at it.
I think it's just.
It's something that we all needto hear.
So thank you both so much forsharing your stories and your
wisdom.
I know we could go on for hoursand hours because you're both
so knowledgeable and awesome,but if people want to connect
with you further, what is thebest way for them to do that?
Jen, I know you have a podcast.
What else you got going on?
Jenn Wayboer Hart (19:08):
Yeah, so my podcast is your Next Business
Bestie and it is all aboutconnecting entrepreneurs to each
other and sharing our stories,because I believe there is so
much power in storytelling.
But you can find me onInstagram at LifeJensWei.
My email is Jen at JensWei.
My website is JensWewaycom.
There's two N's on Jen always.
Melissa Snow (19:29):
As long as you remember Jen's Way with two N's,
we will find you somewhere.
Jenn Wayboer Hart (19:33):
Exactly Everywhere.
Melissa Snow (19:36):
Awesome, I will put those links in the show
notes.
And what about you, jess?
Jess Thompson (19:40):
So, similarly on Instagram, my Instagram is
Complete small biz Academy.
My website is complete smallbiz Academycom Either of those
you know, just connecting and,like Jen said, building that
community.
I would love to hear frompeople and, even if it's not to
actually hire me for anything, Ijust love knowing more
(20:01):
especially women entrepreneurs,because I just love seeing all
the different ways that that canmanifest.
So you can send me a message onInstagram or a chat in my
website.
Melissa Snow (20:11):
Awesome, yeah, and it's always really fun when
someone reaches out and is likehey, I just followed you, I
heard you on such and suchpodcast Cause.
Sometimes it's like we do thesepodcast interviews and then
they go off into the void andwe're like did anyone hear it?
I don't know, maybe.
Jess Thompson (20:25):
Yeah, I agree, it's always fun to know where,
where you heard my name.
Melissa Snow (20:30):
Yeah Well, thank you both so much for this
interview.
Congratulations again on yourawards and, uh, we look forward
to connecting with you more inthe future.
Jenn Wayboer Hart (20:39):
Thank you so much.
Hello friends, welcome to the Powerful Women
Rising podcast.
So excited to see you guystoday.
I'm excited to interview you.
I was saying before we startedrecording that you guys actually
do know each other.
I think you nominated eachother for these awards, but I
didn't know that when you putyou on an interview together.
So this is super fun.
So I am here with Jess Thompsonand Jen Hart.
Jess was the winner of the 2024Powerful Women Rising Impact
(00:23):
Award for Coach of the Year, socongratulations on that.
That's so awesome.
And Jen, of course, was thewinner of the 2024 Support
Person of the Year and I'veheard so many great things about
both of you.
These awards were based onnominations by your peers and
then the winners were chosen bya panel of judges.
(00:44):
So lots of really good nomineesand super excited to get to
talk to you guys today as two ofthe winners.
So before we dive in, let'sstart with Jess and just tell
everybody a little bit about youand what you do.
Jess Thompson (00:57):
Yeah, so business coaching, hence why the award.
But I focus specifically onworking with small businesses,
particularly women entrepreneurs, and just helping them take
their big ideas and put thatinto action.
You know an actual plan thatyou can follow and be held
accountable for.
Melissa Snow (01:17):
I love that, and how long have you been a coach?
Jess Thompson (01:20):
The coaching is actually relatively new.
It actually segued fromleadership and sales training
that I have been doing, but thecoaching one-on-one is really
just the last six months or so.
Melissa Snow (01:30):
Oh, that's awesome Congratulations, but it sounds
like you have lots of background, lots of knowledge and
experience with all sorts ofthings business related.
Jess Thompson (01:38):
Yeah, and a lot of unofficial ways, been doing
this for a long time.
Yeah, I was going to say Jesshas been coaching her entire
career.
I feel like, yeah, that'sawesome.
Melissa Snow (01:51):
Okay, just getting paid to do it within the last
six months or so, yeah, well,that's even better.
Getting paid to do it is evenbetter.
And Jen, tell us about you.
Jenn Wayboer Hart (01:56):
Yeah, I'm a creative strategist.
I started off as a virtualassistant but I rebranded as a
creative strategist I guessthree years ago, now almost four
.
So I also help entrepreneurstake their big ideas and turn
them into reality.
But I do more task-based work.
We do strategy sessions for thebig ideas and then break it
down and I help my clientsexecute those plans.
Melissa Snow (02:20):
And I love the two of you together because you are
helping people with the samethings but in very different
ways.
Jenn Wayboer Hart (02:26):
Right, yes.
Melissa Snow (02:27):
And that's that's been very helpful.
I have an assistant also.
I don't call her a virtualassistant because I don't.
I feel like she does so muchmore than that.
She's like my, just mylifesaver.
But I, when I hired her, that'sbeen where I have been able to
like, like, have all of thesegreat big ideas that I'm like we
should do this, we should dothis, could you do this?
(02:48):
What if there was a thing onthe website where you could do
blah, blah, blah and like I'vehad all of these great ideas for
years and years.
They just like never goanywhere.
And so to have someone likeJess to help us come up with
those ideas, streamline thoseideas, think them through, think
like is this really what youwant to do?
Is this really as good of anidea as you think that it is?
And then to have somebody likeJen to actually like execute and
(03:11):
help us make the thing happen,is you guys are like the dream
team here.
Jess Thompson (03:16):
Yeah, and there's definitely a lot of overlap,
but I think Jen and I are verysimilar in our approach, so it
makes sense that we're doing,you know, similar things.
Melissa Snow (03:31):
Yeah, for sure, awesome.
So, Jen, what do you?
Jenn Wayboer Hart (03:32):
love about supporting other entrepreneurs
in their endeavors, so Iactually really honed in on this
last year at a retreat thatJess and I were at together
actually it was the upliftretreat last year and we had a
speaker talk about how dopamineis actually what happens before
the thing happens, and Irealized my why is when my
clients experience that dopaminehit before their idea comes to
(03:56):
life, so right as I'm sendingthem their link to their new
website or their strategy forsocial media or whatever it is,
it's the excitement that I knowthey have that creates the
excitement for me too.
Melissa Snow (04:09):
I love that.
That's cool.
And Jess, how about for you asa coach?
What do you think makes a greatcoach?
Jess Thompson (04:18):
I think it's really listening.
So my value really just comesin in being able to bring out
the best in my clients.
So being able to bring out thebest in my clients, so being
able to help facilitate thatbrainstorming and idea creation
and figuring out like you said,melissa, is this really what I
want?
Is this really long-term, goingto plug into not only the goals
I have for my business but thetype of life that I want to live
(04:41):
, and seeing that your businessand your life, personal life do
not have to be two completelyseparate entities.
There's a ton of crossover andthey can live harmoniously
within each other.
I think coming to thatrealization with my clients is
always like this really, it's areally fulfilling moment for
them to see that this can beeverything I want it to be and I
(05:01):
don't have to sacrifice inorder to make this happen.
Melissa Snow (05:04):
Yeah, and I can do it the way that I want to do it
, and I don't have to sacrificein order to make this happen.
Yeah, and I can do it the waythat I want to do it, even
though there's, like all theseexperts and gurus and people who
say, like this is how you do itand this is what a successful
business looks like, and this iswhat a successful woman looks
like.
You can have your own idea ofthat and still make that
successful.
Jess Thompson (05:22):
That's the part?
Yeah, absolutely, those areguidelines, not rules.
Melissa Snow (05:26):
Yeah.
So I'm going to ask you both aquestion that I didn't prepare
either of you for.
So I'm going to start with Jessand give Jen some time to think
about her answer, although Isuspect you both know the answer
right off the bat.
So I'm thinking as I'm talkingto you two and about what Jess
does as a business coach andwhat Jen does supporting people
in their business endeavors.
(05:46):
And I'm thinking about, like,if I was just getting started in
business or maybe I was a yearinto business but hadn't quite
found that traction that Iwanted, couldn't I just Google,
like how to do the thing, whatshould I do next in my business?
How should I run my business?
And then couldn't I just go tolike chat, gpt and be like help
(06:08):
me figure out my contentstrategy, or like, help me map
out the steps that I need totake to make this big idea
happen?
What is the benefit to me inhiring a business coach instead
of doing that?
Jess Thompson (06:23):
Yeah, so first off I will say that I'm a huge
fan of AI.
I use AI a ton to be able tobrainstorm and ask those
questions.
But for me that is a launchingoff point.
That is not like the answerthat then I base everything off
of.
So it helps me just be able tocritically think a little bit
better and kind of get thejuices flowing, which is
(06:44):
ultimately what a coach does,except for a coach knows you a
little bit better than AI does.
Hopefully, maybe not in a fewyears.
Ai is getting pretty great, butas of right now, a coach can
know you sort of on that morepersonal level, pick up on
things that you don't even knowabout yourself.
So AI is modeled off of all ofthe things that you tell it to
know about you.
But if you don't know to giveAI that information, it can't
(07:08):
give you the full picture ofwhat you're really wanting and
ask those really criticalquestions.
It's really just a mirror ofyourself.
So a coach or even a supportperson like Jen is going to
broaden your perspective beyondwhat you already think you know
and the questions you alreadythink to ask.
So it's really just broadeningthat perspective.
(07:30):
But I do say that AI is anexcellent launching off point.
If you are not at the point yetto hire somebody, that's a
great way to just kind of startthinking outside the box.
Melissa Snow (07:41):
Yeah, absolutely.
I always think of it as likeit's one of many tools, but it's
not like the end all be all ofthe things right.
It's kind of like with if wewant to, like, lose weight or be
healthier.
It's like, yes, exercise ispart of that, but we can't just
exercise and also eat whateverwe want, like we have to do a
number a number of differentthings.
(08:02):
Yeah, yeah.
What about you, jen?
What's your thoughts on that?
Jenn Wayboer Hart (08:07):
It's the human piece, which is largely
what Jess was saying too, is AIis theoretically never going to
be human.
I mean, I had a client thatactually let me go because she
decided she was going to use AIto do her whole social media
plan and within six months shehad rehired me again because AI
just couldn't know what shewanted her business to look like
(08:29):
online.
She wanted her business to looklike online, and we can dig a
little bit deeper through ourexperience, our education, to
really exactly what Jess wassaying.
Pull up those pieces thatyou're not feeding into AI.
I use ChatGPT nearly daily, butit's never going to replace the
human conversations, which iswhere most of the gold comes
(08:49):
from, just sitting and talkingwith people.
Even if I'm posting on socialbuilding a website, everything I
get is from community andconversation.
But ChatGPT is a great place tostart to get things rolling,
and then you hire theprofessionals to help you take
it to the next level.
Melissa Snow (09:07):
Yeah, I love what you guys are saying about, like
the ability to communicate andthe ability to feel and the
ability to use your intuitioneven to help people.
It's like this is why we don'tnetwork exclusively in emails,
right?
Because, like, if I were to askyou, you said, oh, I have this
new idea that I'm really excitedabout and I'm going to do this,
(09:29):
this and this.
And then I would say, like, so,when you think about doing that
, does that really like lightyou up?
Do you feel like super, likejazzed inside?
And your answer is yeah, right,like that's going to take me in
a very different line ofquestioning than if your answer
(09:50):
is yeah, and, but I can't tellthe difference.
No idea which one it was.
Jess Thompson (09:55):
Yeah, absolutely, and that's huge and even those
feeling questions exactly whatyou said, melissa like.
Does this make you, does thislight you up?
Does this make you feel excited?
Does this make you feel happy?
Ai is not, at this point,asking those types of questions
and looking for those types ofresponses.
Melissa Snow (10:16):
Yeah, and those.
I think you realize as timegoes on in business how
important your answers to thosequestions are.
In the beginning it's like Idon't care if it makes me happy
or brings me joy, I just need tomake some money.
And then you realize joy, Ijust need to make some money.
And then you realize okay,maybe there's a little bit more
to it.
Yeah, definitely.
(10:36):
Did you want to add anything tothat, jen?
Jenn Wayboer Hart (10:39):
Yeah, I think that's why, like my podcast and
community is absolutelyeverything, and networking like
mostly your networking platformto allow people to get that
feedback from other humans thatcan see your facial reactions,
that can see how you respondonline to other people, can help
influence how you want to showup for your business and your
(11:00):
brand as both a human and abusiness.
Melissa Snow (11:03):
Yeah, agreed.
So let's talk a little bitabout your inspiration, not
necessarily like why you do whatyou do, because we've talked a
little bit about that and whatyou both love, about what you do
and why it makes you so greatat what you do.
But business is hard andwhether you've been in it for
six months or 16 years, there'sstill moments that you're like
(11:26):
why am I doing this?
I have no idea what I'm doing.
This is never going to work.
So I would love to hear fromyou guys, when you get in those
spaces of like everything isgoing wrong, I'm not making
money, I'm not bringing in newclients, whatever it is, how do
you get yourself to keep going?
Jenn Wayboer Hart (11:44):
For me it's community, and I moved across
the country almost going onseven years ago and that was the
hardest part for me was losingmy community that I could turn
to when things went wrong, causeI've been an entrepreneur at
some level for the last 14 years.
I just realized, as I wassaying, that and it's never
going to be perfect and you haveto have the people you can lean
(12:07):
on when you have the nightmareclient or, even bigger, when you
make a mistake, because I think, especially as female
entrepreneurs, we can be reallyhard on ourselves when we mess
up and it's going to happen nomatter what.
So having that support systemand mine started with friends,
fellow entrepreneurs, becausethey get it, and now I'm lucky
enough to also have my husbandin my corner for when things get
(12:29):
hard too.
Jess Thompson (12:30):
Obviously, I resonate so much with what Jen
said, but I think for me it'sreally about building the life
that I want, and a lot of thatrevolves around freedom.
So I think, especially aroundthe pandemic, we all saw how
fragile our society and oursystems can be just depending on
outside influences, whetherit's the economy or it's
(12:52):
lockdowns, or even it's justyour kid is sick and has to stay
home from school.
And so I wanted to build a lifethat I had control over and
that I could say, yes, I'mpouring into work right now or
no, I need to take my foot offthe gas pedal for a little bit
and really just kind of createthe schedule that I want, create
(13:12):
the flexibility that I want andbe able to pour into where I
think is valuable.
My husband and I even jokeabout sometimes being able to do
a lot of things that I don'twant to do, and I think that's a
really selling everything andbuying an RV and just kind of
touring around the country, andit's kind of liberating to think
if we really wanted to do that.
Obviously there's a lot ofconsiderations, but I could
(13:33):
right, I'm building those blocksin place to be able to say, yes
, we could pick up and move ifwe wanted to, and obviously we'd
be giving up some community.
But we can make our lifewhatever we want it to be.
And so coaching I happen tolove it and I'm very passionate
about it, but really it is kindof that tool in my tool belt to
(13:55):
be able to say this is how I getto build the life that I want
to live and surround myself withpeople that I like.
So it's purely selfish.
Melissa Snow (14:04):
Melissa, that's your new tagline H Melissa,
purely selfish.
Jess Thompson (14:10):
That's your new tagline Hire me, I'm selfish,
I'm very selfish.
Jen is all about community, I'mall about me.
Melissa Snow (14:15):
No, those are really good points, though,
because I think I mean we do.
We do have to be honest aboutthe balance between we want to
help people, we want to impactpeople's lives, we want to
change the world.
Like I don't really know anyentrepreneur who became an
entrepreneur because they werelike I don't give a shit about
people, I just want to be rich,right.
But we also don't want to gotoo far over on that end of like
(14:39):
I just want to help people andsave the world because also,
like we're humans with bills topay, so and with joy that we
want in our life and familiesand pets, and like there's a way
that we wanna live andsomething that we want for our
life, and this is what allows usto do that.
So it's awesome to be able todo both of those things at the
same time.
So we touched on this a littlebit.
(15:01):
My last question was gonna bejust about any advice that you
would give to other femaleentrepreneurs specifically who
are either considering gettingstarted in business.
Maybe they are just gettingstarted, maybe they've been
going a couple of years, butthey're just not getting the
traction that they want.
You talked a little bit abouthaving a community, people to
rely on and go back to and asupport system that are like no,
(15:23):
you got this, we've all beenthere.
We talked a little bit aboutremembering, like your, your
bigger picture, like, why areyou doing this when things get
hard?
What other advice do you havefor anybody who might be
listening to this podcast who'sin that situation?
Jess Thompson (15:38):
Say it's that every entrepreneur comes to a
fork in the road andrealistically, many over the
course of your career where youhave to ask for help, and that
can look like a lot of differentways.
It can look like community thatJen's talking about.
It can look like hiring somebodythat's a support person, hiring
more staff or just investing insomething that feels scary
(16:02):
investing in a tool or softwareor education for yourself, and
for a lot of people, that forkin the road feels scary
investing in a tool or softwareor education for yourself, and
for a lot of people, that forkin the road feels like failure.
It feels like I wasn't able todo it by myself.
So this is a result of me notbeing good enough or not being
smart enough or not working hardenough, but really, in my mind,
that fork in the road is ameasure of success.
(16:23):
It means you've grown to thepoint where you have outgrown
what you can do yourself and nowyou need a team and a village
and whatever that looks like,and so my advice would be to not
shy away from that.
That that's an opportunity,that is a measure of growth and
success, and to embrace that,even though it feels really
scary and you are taking a hugerisk when it comes to, you know,
(16:47):
bringing in somebody else orpaying for something.
But nine times out of 10, it'sworth it because, even if it
wasn't the right decision,you're still learning.
You are still moving forward,not backwards.
Melissa Snow (17:00):
Yeah, absolutely.
I often say that there's nosuch thing as a solopreneur,
because and there's no awardthat you get at the end of this,
that's like congratulations,you did all of it yourself.
Yeah, we never ask people whenthey're celebrating, like big
milestones or I got a new clientor something like you'd never
hear somebody be like well, didanybody help you?
Jess Thompson (17:19):
Yeah, it only counts if it was just you, yeah
exactly.
Jenn Wayboer Hart (17:24):
What about you, jen?
Yeah, I mean the first piecewould be to get involved in some
sort of coaching and whetherthere are group programs that
are a little bit less expensivebarrier to entry.
But I think the biggest thing Iwould say is keep your business
in alignment with who you are.
And at the beginning of mybusiness I was a VA.
(17:45):
I started my business because Iwas at rock bottom in every part
of my life, so I was taking anyand all business.
If someone was willing to payme 10 bucks to do something, I
was going to do it, and it tookyears before I realized that
saying no to business thatdidn't align with who I am as a
human is okay, and I had morespace and more clients that do
(18:06):
align showed up for me.
So I think keeping your whywhich I think that phrase can be
a little overused but whateveryour passion is, keeping that at
the forefront and making yourdecisions and knowing that you
can say no to the business thatdoesn't align with whatever that
purpose is and a coach canreally help you figure that out.
In the meantime I'm coachingchanged my business.
Melissa Snow (18:28):
Yeah, I love that.
Such good advice and soinspiring to talk to you guys
and all of the women that havewon these awards, just to hear
from people who are succeeding,they're doing things the way
that they want to do it, they'restaying true to who they really
are and their integrity, andthey're able to do it and be
(18:48):
successful at it.
I think it's just.
It's something that we all needto hear.
So thank you both so much forsharing your stories and your
wisdom.
I know we could go on for hoursand hours because you're both
so knowledgeable and awesome,but if people want to connect
with you further, what is thebest way for them to do that?
Jen, I know you have a podcast.
What else you got going on?
Jenn Wayboer Hart (19:08):
Yeah, so my podcast is your Next Business
Bestie and it is all aboutconnecting entrepreneurs to each
other and sharing our stories,because I believe there is so
much power in storytelling.
But you can find me onInstagram at LifeJensWei.
My email is Jen at JensWei.
My website is JensWewaycom.
There's two N's on Jen always.
Melissa Snow (19:29):
As long as you remember Jen's Way with two N's,
we will find you somewhere.
Jenn Wayboer Hart (19:33):
Exactly Everywhere.
Melissa Snow (19:36):
Awesome, I will put those links in the show
notes.
And what about you, jess?
Jess Thompson (19:40):
So, similarly on Instagram, my Instagram is
Complete small biz Academy.
My website is complete smallbiz Academycom Either of those
you know, just connecting and,like Jen said, building that
community.
I would love to hear frompeople and, even if it's not to
actually hire me for anything, Ijust love knowing more
(20:01):
especially women entrepreneurs,because I just love seeing all
the different ways that that canmanifest.
So you can send me a message onInstagram or a chat in my
website.
Melissa Snow (20:11):
Awesome, yeah, and it's always really fun when
someone reaches out and is likehey, I just followed you, I
heard you on such and suchpodcast Cause.
Sometimes it's like we do thesepodcast interviews and then
they go off into the void andwe're like did anyone hear it?
I don't know, maybe.
Jess Thompson (20:25):
Yeah, I agree, it's always fun to know where,
where you heard my name.
Melissa Snow (20:30):
Yeah Well, thank you both so much for this
interview.
Congratulations again on yourawards and, uh, we look forward
to connecting with you more inthe future.
Jenn Wayboer Hart (20:39):
Thank you so much.
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