Successful entrepreneurs make running a business look smooth. It's easy to see the success, but rare to see the behind the scenes of the hard work, failure, fatigue, baby steps it took to make it. Jennifer Allwood is a dynamic business coach and host of The Jennifer Allwood Show podcast. Jennifer helps creative women build their social media and turn their passions into lucrative online businesses. She fosters an online community of over half a million people and coaches over 2,000 women monthly on how to find their tribe and grow their business online. You'll be encouraged by my chat with Jennifer as we discuss the time early on in business when you're giving it all you've got for the sake of your dream.
5:08 - The Jennifer 101
- Jennifer coaches creative entrepreneurs from makers to designers, bloggers, artists, bakers, and more how to grow and monetize their social media channels.
- Twenty years ago, her life looked much different in a regimented business world of software development, but she would spend her free time working side jobs in interior design and painting.
- After she was laid off, she saw an opportunity to take her side business full time. Being laid off made Jennifer realize she didn't want to go back to a cubicle.
- Jennifer literally started knocking on the doors of interior designers to expand her painting business and left the corporate world forever in the year 2000.
- When she was pregnant with her first son, she hired her first employee and landed a huge interior design job in a mansion. It wasn't long before her business took off. It also wasn't long before she realized she was hustling too hard for there not to be more money coming in.
14:16 - Clients Anywhere
- Jennifer asked herself why she wasn't making more when the stress was high and she was working hard. She gradually grew a Facebook following, and knew that following would be interested in how she did things.
- She had the idea to teach her interior design techniques through online videos. It wasn't long before she sold $100,000 of videos sold in a year (before it was even a thing)!
- The "ah ha!" moment came when Jennifer realized she could extend her reach beyond her own town by teaching to anyone online, anywhere.
- She doubled down on social media and grew a following 350,000 people on Facebook, as well as large audiences on Pinterest and Instagram.
- She encountered a lot of business owners who had large followings online but were not yet making any money from it. She began teaching others how to build their social media and use it to make money for their business.
39:50 - Blessings In Disguise
- Jennifer felt a calling to bless others through her experiences, but it happened over a long period of time. She takes each day one at time and trusts that there's a reason God only gives her small glimpses of the future to protect her from overwhelm.
- If she'd not been laid off from her software job, Jennifer may have stayed in a cubicle and office environment for ever. Sometimes what seems like a roadblock ends up being the exact thing to get us where we're supposed to be.
- Jennifer's online business grew enough to allow her husband to quit his corporate job and work with her full time. Their "full time" schedule is four days a week from 9am-3pm. Now she has the time to focus on her family and is actually grateful for being laid off.
- Success in Jennifer's business has also meant pursuing things that do not come naturally to her. She continues to equip other creative women with the skills to get out of their comfort zones.
- In the same way that successful people spoke truth into Jennifer's life, her work is to do the same for others. She focuses on doing the next right thing for those she can influence, even if it means tackling public speaking or tackling her first book.
45:54 - Getting to Know Our Guest
- Find out what things Jennifer does every day that she wishes were automated, her guilty pleasure, what books and podcasts she's listening to, and of course, what it means to run a business with purpose.
Memorable Quote (45:12):
"It changed something in me, and I feel a deep responsibility that if I can do that for a few other people, it can change something in them and then it can change a part of their world."
Meet Jennifer
Jennifer Allwood is a wife, mother, dynamic business coach, and host of The Jennifer Allwood Show podcast. She has been a business owner for over 18 years, getting her start with decorative and faux painting, and has turned that into a booming empire.
Today she coaches creative entrepreneurs in turning their crafts and hobbies into profitable businesses. Jennifer's casual, girl-next-door decorating style has brought her a social media following of over half a million people and a thriving online business academy for creative entrepreneurs.
Through her social media following, Jennifer encourages home owners to decorate and paint their homes to be a space they love. Through her monthly coaching group, The Creators' Inner Circle, Jennifer encourages and teaches business owners to grow their platforms and run a profitable business, and through her course , The Creators' Roadmap, Jennifer takes her students on a deep dive into implementing multiple revenue streams and monetizing their platform.
Jennifer is especially excited about her upcoming Equipped Conference, through which she will empower attendees to craft a God-focused business that's also profitable. The Equipped Conference will feature a rockstar lineup of faith-filled speakers who will arm attendees spiritually, mentally, and emotionally to succeed in business.
Connect with Jennifer
