Jenn Grubb

I would probably attribute my success to my husband, my girls, and a great community. I have a lot of people in my network that are very supportive of what I was doing, and when I tried to change over, a lot of people were like, they will follow you, it's not the business they're following, it's you. You know, it's what you do, it's what you bring. Yes, the business is what you're doing, but the people want to be around you and support you. That was helpful, because I'm an only child, and I think I'm by myself a lot, but then I realized I'm not. I have a community, I have a networking group, I have friends, and I have family, and they're all supportive. My husband obviously foots the bill for almost everything I do, thankfully. We're in a position that we can do that. I'm at one point would like to reciprocate and let him take some time off and be able to foot our bills, but you know, that's in the future. Thankfully, I have that opportunity to where I can do this without it putting us in debt, and I owe all of it, basically, to him and the support that my girls give me, and my networking and contacts.

I don't know that anybody's ever given it to me, but I would say for me, it's not about quantity, it's about quality. Something that I've learned over the years is making true connections with people and not trying to make a dollar. Obviously, I can look at that as a negative as well, because I haven't made a dollar, but I have great support. I'm well known in the community because people know that they can trust what I do and value what I do, because I am honest, I have integrity, and there are certain things that, even just to make a quick buck, I won't do. I would just say keep true to yourself and run your business with honesty and integrity, and the rest, hopefully, will fall into place. I don't want to just make a dollar. I make connections first. Like, let's go to lunch, let's talk how we can support each other, let's see how we can do things together, and then let's figure out the business side of it. Even if they don't advertise with me now, to me, they're a good contact, they're a good friend, and they're a good resource. I'm growing slower, probably, than most people, but that's how I want to do it. I want people to think of me as a friend and as a business associate, but friend first.

Keep going. It's hard, and I had a lot of walls, but just keep going. I mean, there have been days where I'm thinking, what am I doing? Why am I doing this? And there's always just one person that just gives you that little boost, and it's enough to get you up over that hump and going again. I didn't think I could do this. I didn't think I could run a website, I didn't know how to build a website, I didn't know how to send out a newsletter to 5,000 people alone. I didn't know how to do these things, and now I do. I don't want to be the little engine that could, but at the same time, it's true. Just keep going. You learn new things every day, and you learn how to handle things every day. If it's in your heart, just keep going.

Getting people to know who I am has been the biggest struggle. I'll do events, and people will come up and say, what do you do? And I explain it, and they're like, oh my god, this is the best thing ever, how come I don't know about you? And I'm like, I don't know. That's the biggest struggle, is just getting people to know. Where do you put your money? Is it in advertising? Is it on Facebook? Is it on LinkedIn? Is it on social media? Do you run a commercial? I do all of those things, but nobody still knows who I am. So just getting the word out there has been my biggest struggle. Because once I am in front of somebody, and I'm doing an event, or people ask me what I do, they're like, oh my god, this is amazing. And it's like, right, so tell 40 of your friends. That has been my biggest struggle, because even with this being 2 years, I only have 3,000 followers on Facebook, and I have 3,000 subscribers to my newsletter, and I would like to see that way above and beyond, you know, grow.

Being humble is most important to me. I think things can change at any time, and I've been a victim of that. Be humble, be trustworthy, and be honest, because stuff can change, and if you don't have bad juju behind you, and you're always honest and always forthcoming, you'll be okay. People will tell me I don't have tact, and that's totally true, because I just kind of say it like it is. A lot of people don't like it, but that's how I am, and people that know me know that's how I am. I also have a face that has horrible subtitles. I can't tell a lie, even if I want to, because my face will rat me out every single time. So honesty is the best policy. If something isn't working for you, say something. That whole adage of say something, do something. If your career path isn't going where you want it, don't just stay in it because you need to pay your bills. There's always choices. Just always explore your options. I know so many people that just stay in their job because they have to pay their bills, and I get that, but again, there's options. Explore other things that you can do. Like me, networking isn't my favorite thing. I'm not good at groups, but I'm great at one-on-one. You want to grab lunch? I'm on it. You want to get coffee? I'm on it. You want me to stand in front of a huge crowd? Not so much.