Lost $100K, Read Books, Built Millions | Jennifer Kornoely

She was told no reason at all. No warning, no severance conversation, just gone. One day she had a six-figure salary, health insurance, and a job she was exceeding every goal in. The next day she had none of it — and a daughter depending on her. Her boss didn't like women with opinions. That was reason enough. What she built afterward, without any business background, any mentors, or even knowing what a Roth IRA was, became a thriving photography business and a book club that's now helping hundreds of women rewrite their relationship with money.

Introduction:

Most people think losing everything overnight would be the end of the story. For Jennifer Kornoely, it was the beginning. After being let go from her corporate hotel job with zero warning and zero severance, she turned a photography hobby into a full-time business almost overnight — not because she had a plan, but because she had a daughter to support and no other option. What followed wasn't a straight line to success. It was months of not knowing how to pay herself, how to handle taxes, how to market, or how to run a business at all — learned entirely through audiobooks listened to alone in empty houses while photographing real estate.

But here's the part most people miss: reading and learning wasn't actually the breakthrough. Jennifer discovered that knowledge alone doesn't create change — implementation and community do. That realization led her to start reaching out to women online, which eventually became the foundation for She Reads, She Leads Book Club, a growing community helping women turn what they learn into real financial confidence and income.

This conversation goes deep into the specific books that changed Jennifer's financial trajectory, why she believes women and men are taught completely different — and unequal — messaging about money, the moment a woman in her book club described her own thriving multimillion-dollar business as a "toxic relationship with money," and why Jennifer believes millionaires never build wealth alone. We also get into her honest take on AI, why authentic human connection will only become more valuable as content gets more automated, and the advice she'd give her younger self before she ever set foot in corporate America.

Who is Jennifer Kornoely:

Jennifer Kornoely spent years working in corporate hospitality, building relationships with beautiful properties as part of her job while pursuing photography as a creative outlet on the side. When she was let go without cause or warning, she had no severance, no health insurance, and a household depending on her as a single mom. Rather than looking for another corporate role, she turned her photography hobby into a full-time business, learning everything about running a company — pricing, taxes, marketing, storytelling — through audiobooks and self-education while working alone in empty houses.

Recognizing that isolated learning wasn't enough to create real transformation, Jennifer began building community among women hungry for the same financial and business education she'd been seeking. That effort became She Reads, She Leads Book Club, a platform helping women read, discuss, and actually implement lessons on personal finance, wealth building, and entrepreneurship together. She has since curated reading lists across six categories — including personal finance, mindset, and networking — and continues to run her photography business alongside growing her community platform.

5 KEY TAKEAWAYS:

1. Losing Everything Overnight Can Become the Push You Never Knew You Needed — Jennifer was let go from her corporate job with no warning and no explanation, losing her salary, benefits, and health insurance as a single mom. Instead of spiraling, she turned her photography hobby into a business within weeks. "I immediately, with zero warning, lost a salary, benefits, health insurance... So I'm like, I'm going to turn my photography hobby into a business."
   
   
   
2. Knowledge Alone Doesn't Create Change — Implementation and Community Do — Jennifer describes the "learning pyramid": reading a book alone retains only 10-20% of the information, but talking about it, implementing it, and teaching others pushes retention up to 90%. "Reading a book in isolation is great, but it's not absorbing the way it should... having a sense of community and talking about it, that's where all that content is really going to start to stick."
   
   
   
3. Men and Women Are Taught Fundamentally Different Money Messaging — Jennifer breaks down how financial advice aimed at men is aggressive and empowering, while advice aimed at women focuses on cutting lattes and small sacrifices. "The messaging that's geared towards women is, you've got to clip those coupons... The reason you can't buy a house is because you had an avocado toast for breakfast." She argues women need to seek out the same wealth-building conversations men have access to on golf courses and in locker rooms.
   
   
   
4. A Toxic Relationship With Money Is Often Just an Unknown Relationship With Money — When a woman in Jennifer's book club described her own successful, near-multimillion-dollar business as a "toxic relationship with money," Jennifer pushed back on the label. "If you don't grow up with a family that's educating you about money, you are not having those money conversations... It's not that your relationship with money is toxic. It's that it's unknown."
   
   
   
5. Millionaires Never Build Wealth Alone — Jennifer's biggest lesson from growing her business and her community is that isolation kills growth. "No massively successful person's ever going to say they did it all by themselves." She credits networking groups like BNI and her own book club for pushing her out of isolation and into real financial and business growth. "Getting a referral is like building immediate trust... joining professional networking groups has been a massive game changer."
   
   
   

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Music Credit: XMPLA https://youtu.be/p9re3wWvCLo?si=zni260AfeO5rOZvS

#JenniferKornoely #SheReadsSheLeads #FinancialLiteracy #WomenAndMoney #BookClub #PersonalFinance #WealthBuilding #EntrepreneurMindset #NetworkingMatters #FromCorporateToEntrepreneur #MoneyMindset #CommunityOverIsolation #ReadingChangesLives #LindaVo #InspiredBySuccess

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

What would you do if your income disappeared overnight? Not because you messed up, because someone else just decided. Today's guest lost 100,000 in a moment. Not from failure, but from letting someone else hold all the power. And she made a decision never again.

SPEAKER_02 0:16

I would tell myself, stop being so boy crazy, don't worry about that, and go make my own money. Because I noticed all my decisions as an adult revolved around what man was in my life. So I would have told myself, money before men. Go make your own money.

SPEAKER_00 0:33

As an entrepreneur with a global team, one of my biggest challenges was managing international payments. I was stuck with high fees, slow transfers, and endless complications. Whether it was paying my team in the Philippines or buying products from Japan, I tried multiple banks and services like PayPal, but nothing seemed to work. Then I found WISE. The savings have been huge, and transfers that used to take days now happen in hours. It's fast, simple, and has become a vital part of my business strategy. If you're not using WISE for international payments, you're missing out on a game changer. Click on the link in the description to get started with WISE today. She started a business, consumed business books, podcasts, masterminds, got results, but still felt stuck. Because you can learn all you want, but doing it alone doesn't always translate into change. In this episode, we're breaking down why what in this episode we're breaking down why that happens, how to actually turn what you learn into income, and what most people are missing when they're trying to grow. I'm Linda Vogue and this is inspired by success. So without further ado, let's welcome to the show Jennifer Cornelly. Thank you so much for having me. It's a pleasure. Because when I found out that you love books, I'm like, yes. Okay, because one huge factor for me when it comes to success is the constant learning and wanting to read and just absorb as much knowledge as possible. But your story also inspired me because it reminded me of my story when you know, when I was working in corporate, my last role, this was during COVID, I got made redundant. And it was my dream role and everything like I worked so hard. Yeah, and I got made redundant. And I at that time I thought it was like my whole identity was crushed, and you know, like but I turned something negative into a positive and I've I wouldn't be where I am without that. And at the time I was so angry, but now looking back, it's the best thing that ever happened to me. And you know, that's why I always believe that everything happens for you and not to you. So take me back about your story and how you became where you are now and in your journey as well.

SPEAKER_02 2:39

So I was working in corporate uh for a hotel company, and I was kind of doing photography on the side just for fun. And because this was a hotel company, I had access to really beautiful properties. So I'd, you know, take my camera out to the properties and just shoot it for fun. I'm like, oh, wouldn't it be great to someday have a career traveling the world, taking pictures of, you know, resorts or beautiful mansions. I was living in Southern California at the time, so real estate is gorgeous. And I was just doing it for my own pleasure, thinking, oh, someday this could be a thing. And then the guy I reported to didn't like me. He didn't, he didn't like women, especially women with an opinion. I mean, God forbid. And so he was the owner's pet. And one day I was just told, nope, we're letting you go. No reason. I was exceeding all my goals. I was had great relationships with our clients, but my boss didn't like me. So I didn't have a say in it. And I immediately, with zero warning, lost a salary, benefits, health insurance. And I was a single mom at the time. So I'm like, I have to suddenly replace $100,000 a year and health insurance, which is insanely expensive in the US. So I'm like, I'm gonna turn my photography hobby into a business. And I just started reaching out to realtors and making connections and getting work. And it was great because I was creating something that fit into my schedule as a single mom, but I had no idea what I was doing. I didn't know how do I pay myself, how do I pay taxes, how do I network or market myself. I just knew nothing about running a business. It was ridiculous. But I was making good money, but it could, it just could have been so much better.

unknown 4:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:22

So I started listening to audiobooks because I'm in empty houses all day long by myself. So I'm like, why not just start listening to books and start working on the things that I don't know? And I started listening to books on like personal finance and wealth building and all the things, how to market yourself, how to storytell. And I was seeing my business improve. I was gaining a skill set, I was gaining confidence, but I was still by myself. I wasn't brainstorming or collaborating with anyone. And you realize when you don't have it, that you miss that. Like you need, I don't want to say validation, but you need feedback from other people and you need to kind of be reassured that yes, I'm a smart person and I know what I'm talking about, and let's create something together. We're not meant to do life alone.

SPEAKER_00 5:08

Entrepreneurship can be really lonely too.

SPEAKER_02 5:11

Oh, I hear that from so many women that they just feel completely isolated. So I started reaching out to women on LinkedIn. I'm like, where are my fellow readers at? Like, who wants to talk about money and business and all the things we want to learn about? And a lot of women reached out and were like, yeah, I I want to talk about that because I don't, I don't know what I don't know. So it just has kind of evolved and now is the nation for or the foundation for She Reads, She Leads Book Club. And it's started with just wanting to have conversations with other women, and now it's filling a need that I didn't even know was there.

SPEAKER_00 5:51

That's so powerful. I mean, I can just relate to that story as well because I went into business not knowing exactly where to start. I had to watch YouTube videos and I created my own online store. But mind you, I've also had failures. I've done the when I was working, I was trying to do side hustles and create drop shipping and create blue light store. And obviously that all failed. But one thing for me is that's helped me is networking through my podcasts with other entrepreneurs and also reading books and learning through videos because I've always I'm always hungry for knowledge, and that's what's helped me grow as well. And um, there's just so many different aspects in business that you need to understand, like you just mentioned the storytelling, the pricing, and the payroll and the tax. That's why it's just constantly for me. I'm always learning. So I just wanted to take it back because I which books had a huge impact on you? I I want to talk about the books that have had impact on me, but because I bought a book based on following your Instagram page and seeing you mentioned it like three times. I'm like, this must be a good book because she didn't mention it just once, but three times. And so that was the Prophet First book, and I've I've got it. Yeah, oh no, it's in no, I've just got it just before, but I also um got Reach A F based on your record. That was a life-changing book. Okay, that's good.

SPEAKER_02 7:07

Yeah, I think I've and I've created a list too. So if anyone needs a list of books where to start, I have um a downloadable PDF on the website, and it's the best three books across six different categories. So personal finance, wealth building, networking, mindset, boundaries, and outsourcing, all the things. So I started with personal finance books because that's where my own personal immediate need was. And I realized I'm too old to not know this stuff, and I do not want to be a broke old lady. So I need to start learning now. And I started with Financial Feminist by Tori Dunlap. Really great book talking about the systemic differences and how money is different for men and women and why it's different. Rich AF, which really starts getting into away from from not just the personal finance, but starts getting into the wealth building of money. Um, and she's really great because she has a very different perspective. Her parents were immigrants, so she's coming at it from a really different perspective than a lot of other mass-produced money books. And then also Get Good With Money by Tiffany Alice. She talks a lot about budgeting and tracking your money so that you kind of have a perspective, not to shame you, but to real for you to realize what are you spending on and is that what's actually important to you? So those were the first three that I started with that were absolutely life-changing. Some other ones were the emyth and um every entrepreneur needs to read that book. Profit first, definitely. It absolutely completely shifted the way the money moves in my business and the job my money is told to do. Because every dollar should be given a job. And then also the wealth of connection by Vincent Paguse. He was one of my um mentors. It's all about fostering genuine relationships and conversations and connections. The money will come later. When you get to know people, who they really are, what their needs are, what their story is. That's how you build not just a brand, but how you are going to build real relationships. And that needs to be the basis for every business, having connections with people.

SPEAKER_00 9:19

Yeah, that's so important in this day and age.

SPEAKER_02 9:23

Yeah, because it's like AI is taking over. There's crap content coming out, nobody knows if anything's real anymore. So when you can have those real relationships and know, oh, I know who to ask this question to, or I know this great referral for you, and you can genuinely convey that to somebody, it makes all the difference in the world.

SPEAKER_00 9:42

Yeah, I totally agree there. Before I get into the next question, I I just wanted to make recommendations on what what I've read. The books that have changed me, I've just there's so many good books out there that are written, and you can tell like some books are AI written because there's no soul in it. But when you read a really, really good book, you can actually feel the energy of the author. Yes. One of those books I'm just looking at it now. It's called Shoe Dog. That's a really amazing book. That's so good.

SPEAKER_02 10:09

That was a great book. I loved that by Phil Knight.

SPEAKER_00 10:12

Yes, yes. And MJ DeMarco has been one of my best favorite entrepreneur audiences. I'm just looking at my other bookshelf to see what other books are, but he's my ultimate favorite. Hopefully, I can get him on the show one day. But Millionaire Fast Lane, that is like his writing style is just it keeps you entertained and it helps you have that aha moment. Like before even starting a business, I highly recommend reading that millionaire fast lane because it gives you that framework in order to have like a viable product, basically, in the first place, you know. So yeah, yeah, the especially his sense model, but I won't give away too much of it, like C-E-N-T-S and the breakdowns of that, because it's so important when you're starting a business. And now with the automation of AI, and it it's just so many things can like work in your favor. But those are the what other books do I love? Yeah, they're they're the ones that come to mind as well. Yeah, but I I just love books that I I love so many different books. I love reading autobiographies like Elon Musk and just reading about the grades and how they got there as well.

SPEAKER_02 11:12

But I think autobiographies are, I think, another place that a lot of people should really be exploring because there's people's stories, like sometimes you just have no idea. I was really surprised. I was gonna be doing a road trip. It was last summer, and I was like, oh, I just need something light and fluffy. I I just want just something easy. And so I put on Paris Hilton's memoir, and I'm thinking, she's just a party girl. This is gonna be an easy listen. Oh my God. It was the best autobiography I have ever read. And I was absolutely surprised. Her story is yes, there's the party girl, rich, beautiful, airhead kind of personality, but her story was not what I expected at all. And I was blown away. And now I just have this whole new respect for her as a businesswoman and realizing she's created a brand. She is leveraging what she has access to, and she has made it into a multi-million dollar brand. Think what you will about the Ditzy Party Girl, but she's cashing in on it.

SPEAKER_00 12:13

I'm gonna be looking out for that book because I had no idea. I mean, like she's the one who hired she has some brands, she hired Kim Kardashian as well as as a like an assistant. So yeah. And using that the beauty to build a brand, that's what a lot of um like Rihanna, for example, she's hit that billionaire status, and it's like that's just phenomenal. If you're if you've got that audience and the following, that's where you can create your own own product as well. But I'm curious to know, like you you mentioned men and women think di differently. Because a lot of the like for me, I have my audience is a lot of males, and I follow because males is numbers driven as well, and a lot of women don't get taught that too. And like you said, women think differently about money. So I'm curious to know what your thoughts are on that and why that is, because we're not taught this in school. Oh, yeah, rich dad, poor dad, that's another game changer that when I first started. Yeah, that's like that's just the ultimate one, but there's just been so many more. But yeah, we all we do we do think differently about finances, and that's something that was one of my big weaknesses in business when I first started. I like I lost so much money because I'm not controlling my finances properly, and that's why having the discussion with people, reading books has helped, and I'm still continuously learning and trying to improve. But what are your thoughts on that? Because you've read so many books. How do men and women think differently about finances?

SPEAKER_02 13:32

I think a lot of the messaging is different. The messaging geared towards men is very aggressive. Invest, you know, you gotta kill it. It's a lot of really uplifting, aggressive. Go out there and do it. You're amazing kind of vocabulary. But the messaging that's geared towards women is oh, you gotta clip those coupons, you gotta learn to save, you can't buy that latte, that that's too much of a treat. You know, the reason you can't buy a house is because you had an avocado toast for breakfast. So the messaging is very different with men towards women. When women start to get aggressive or, you know, grab life by the balls, like all this. Like we're looked at as, you know, oh, she's she's she's such a bitch or she's she's too aggressive, or I oh, I can't handle her. She's not soft. So I think that we're taught from a really young age to, oh, don't worry about the money, sweetie. Your your husband will take care of it, your dad'll take care of it. And that's horrible messaging. Because think about it, like, say, say you're in this very financially stable relationship and the relationship breaks up for one reason or another. Now what are you gonna do? Do you know how to manage your money? Do you know where your accounts are? Do you do you know what your logins are? Do you have access? So women need to be being that aggressive, mindful, you know, keeping an eye on their money, knowing where it's coming from. They need to be investing on their own. They need to be going out of their way to learn about it. So even if you have this really great relationship and everything is as wonderful as can be, women tend to outlive men. So down the road, when you are your old lady self, are you set up to, you know, because being old and poor is a horrible thing that I would never wish on anyone. Are you set up to be able to have your money last as long as you do? Or say you never enter a relationship. Are you good on a single income? So I think women really do need to start being more aggressive and seeking out the things that are not getting taught, or we're not in the rooms where those conversations are happening. We need to seek it out on our own. We need to find communities where those conversations are happening. Men do have a distinct advantage because those conversations are happening on the golf course, in the locker room, you know, on this at the Sunday barbecues. They are having conversations about investing and building wealth and supporting each other, even though they don't want to admit it. Women need to be seeking out those same types of conversations with other women.

SPEAKER_00 16:08

I uh I totally agree. Like for me, like a lot of my guests are men in business, and more men talk about business than women, and I think that should change. And it's true, women are known to be more feminine and and and whatnot in in general, but when it comes to business, you do need that that tough. I don't know. I read books that are based for men. So Patrick Bet Davis is another one. He he talks about your next five moves. That's a great book as well. It's very business and strategy, and that's definitely something that we're not taught in taught like you know numbers thing is was a weakness for me and investing. I had to self-taught, and that's why the more I learnt about it, the more I enjoyed it like enjoyed it. So I taught myself about investing because I didn't grow up in a rich background, so I needed to learn these things for myself. And we don't get taught this in school, and therefore we had to self-taught. Yeah, but reading books that men have written, like the the ne the one that I'm reading now, uh the latest book by MJ DeMarco. I think MJ DeMarco's book is fantastic. It's called Choose Hard, Live Easy, and that's really it's it's kind of like a war book. And at first I looked at it and like because I buy every single book that he brings out because I love the the author. But that book is like the art of war but for business. And women aren't aren't used to being on the battlefield, so that's why I was like, oh maybe I should give this to my partner, but then because it's got all the strategies, and that's not what it's natural for women to be strategizing about war in business. But business is a tough game to play. It's like, you know, like there's so many different factors. But I'm reading it and I'm like, oh, okay, it's it's great. The way he describes things in life in general, whether it's for women or men, we have to choose the hard path in order to live easy afterwards. Because a lot of people choose easy with the quick shortcuts, try to find the quick, quick fixes, easy wins, the fast money. And I've I've I've done that before, you know, like drop shipping, learning all these things, and trying to buy a course. There's courses in there's always a course. Yeah, investing in yourself is so important. I do believe in that too. But uh, you know, there are chal people that fail to mention the challenges in business and what you have to go through to create that resilience, to create learning experiences, and that's why I created the podcast to learn about people's challenges and what they had to go through.

SPEAKER_01 18:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:31

You know, what went wrong and how they fixed it, and what systems they build and place place. So can you tell me when you first started, what were the major challenges that you had to go through? I mean, it couldn't have been that easy to like where did you get stuck as well and that stealing and how did you fix that?

SPEAKER_02 18:47

It was admitting that I knew nothing. I was 40 years old and I didn't know what it meant to invest. I didn't know what a Roth IRA it was. I didn't know I knew nothing. And that is a really hard thing to acknowledge because I've always prided myself on, oh, I'm smart. I went to college, I know things, but then I'm realizing, but I don't know these things. And the idea of being old and poor in the US is a terrifying thought. So I had better get it together real fast and start learning about how to optimize my skills because I'm a creative, my background's photography. So it's not a real money-making skill set. It's more like a race to the bottom. So, how do I leverage that and still make money off of it? It's yeah, it's a hard thing to admit to yourself. And being willing to listen to the people who do know more and just shut your mouth and listen because I think so quickly we want to interject our stories and be heard that when you're in a room full of people who are much smarter than you, the ability to sit quiet and take notes is it's a hard thing to do, but insanely, insanely valuable.

SPEAKER_00 20:04

Yeah, that's so true. I mean, and building systems and learning from others that have done done even better and built empires. That's that's why I'm fascinated by doing the podcast. I want to find people that do that so that I can learn from that as well and not make the same mistakes.

SPEAKER_02 20:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:19

So you you know, you notice that people are there's so many people that are good at reading and they and they absorb the knowledge, but how do they actually make money from what they learn? What are your thoughts on that?

SPEAKER_02 20:31

So there's something called the learning pyramid or learning triangle. And you know, you picture a triangle like this. It's small at the top, it's wide at the bottom. The top, 10%. When you read a book, you're only retaining about 10% of that information, maybe 20%. When you start talking about it afterwards, you're now retaining about 50% of that. You're moving down the next level of the triangle. You start implementing what you read and what you talked about into your business or your life, you're now retaining 70% of that information. And once you start teaching other people about it, you start retaining about 90% of what you've read. So reading a book in isolation is great, but you're really not, it's not absorbing the way it should. Like, I mean, have you ever read a book and then like two weeks later you're like, yeah, I remember I liked it, but I have no idea what it was about. Like, oh yeah, it it was about money, it was about finance, it was about investing, but I don't remember the details. So having a sense of community and talking about it and being able to be like, oh yeah, I really resonated with that and telling stories with other people, that's where all that content is really going to start to stick. So when we do our book club and we talk about it afterwards, we're very intentional with, you know, what did you take from that? How are you going to implement that into your business and holding each other accountable? So, in fact, last night we had a Zoom to discuss the psychology of money. And I was asking all the women in the Zoom, like, what is your struggle with your mindset with money? Like, what are your money memories growing up? And where has that kind of Have played a role. And so we're really exploring where our headspace is when it comes to the things that we know and the things that we don't know and holding each other accountable. So I had, we read this one book, it was probably about a year ago, called Necessary Endings by Sorry.

SPEAKER_00 22:17

Wait, the the psychology of money, I've read it, but when you asked the group now, what was a common theme about money and the money story?

SPEAKER_02 22:24

Um, a lot of it was that people had a toxic relationship with money. But I think that that was a really misguided adjective to be using because if you don't grow up with a family that's educating you about money, you are not having those money conversations. You're not growing up with financial literacy. It's not that your relationship with money is toxic, it's that it's unknown. It's new to you learning about it. One woman, that was her word to describe her relationship with money, was toxic. And it was like, you have to see this from an outside perspective. We all see you, and you are an amazing woman in business, and you were on the verge of buying a multi-million dollar business later this year. That doesn't sound like a toxic relationship to me. That sounds sounds like you're savvy and you've got it together and you're learning and growing and making the right connections. And so having other people lend their perspective to how they see, is it really this way, or is that just kind of what you've been taught to think? Because I don't think anybody would look at someone on the verge of buying a multimillion dollar business and say you have a toxic relationship with money. We'd look at it and go, oh my God, that's a she was stunned that everyone was like cheer being her cheerleader and championing her and thought amazing things of her. Like, we're impressed by you. I don't own a multi-million dollar business. Nobody on this Zoom call owns a multi-million dollar business. You are the one doing it. So if you feel like you're lacking, like she was because that's what her story had been growing up in her first marriage. She had been told, Oh no, no, no, you're not good with money, you're not allowed to have money. You're not, you don't know what you're doing. So, you know, you're told one narrative, but that's not the life you're living.

SPEAKER_00 24:13

I think that applies with men and women as well, growing up as a lot of people who have that belief system, and then money once you get that realization and dig deep into that story of where that belief came from, and if you can flip it around, I'm just curious to know if that woman has just now changed her mind set and her belief systems about money. I mean, obviously it takes practice as well, but I wonder if that's helped her now to, you know, open the doors to more opportunities and you know, different ways of seeing money that will help her grow even more, you know.

SPEAKER_02 24:43

So I hope so. I hope so. I know we get after getting to know her, we've had a lot of really open conversations and really vulnerable conversations about I don't know how to do this, or hey, here's this idea. And it's so collaborative because as soon as you can open up and be vulnerable and like, man, I I don't know where I'm struggling, things just take off.

SPEAKER_00 25:04

It's powerful, the community thing. Um, just curious to know about your story as well, because you got to close to six figures. What actually moved the needle for you? Was it mindset, strategy, or something more practical? Or did something happen in the group that helped you with your one of your connections? How did that help you move the needle in your business?

SPEAKER_02 25:21

After I left corporate?

SPEAKER_00 25:23

Yeah, like when you created your own business and you got like did you get the ceiling or how did how did you move the needle for extra growth in your business?

SPEAKER_02 25:33

Definitely community and being willing to have vulnerable conversations. When you work in isolation, nobody knows who you are. Nobody cares who you are. Why why should we hire you? You're just this random figure on Facebook. We we don't we don't care. So as soon as you start building a community to network in and have conversations and to ask questions, everything will start shifting.

SPEAKER_00 25:58

That's powerful. Because most people are trying to do build businesses, and you know, you can, I guess, reach out to your LinkedIn community and whatnot to. And these, but it's so important. But if somebody was to try and do that and they wanted to create, say, a networking community to talk about whatever they're passionate about, what are your recommendations on that?

SPEAKER_02 26:22

I um joined last year I joined B and I'm Business Networking International. That's been a game changer because they have chapters all over the world. It's all people in business, it's a referral-based program. So the whole point is to give before you get. Someone I'll be having a random conversation. Okay, I need my window replaced. I happen to know somebody. They're in my BI network. Great, I'll can give you this number. And getting a referral is like building immediate trust. You've already vetted them. Great. I don't need to worry about some weird guy in a schlocky truck driving up. It's somebody who's already been vetted and referred. So joining professional networking groups, I think, has been a massive game changer. But also the smaller niche networking groups that fit your kind of genre. So here in Idaho, we have a few like women's specific networking groups. And some of them are more social, some of them are more business. And you find where your people are at, but getting out of your comfort zone and going and meeting people, and like I'm very introverted, but forcing myself to not be in that box and have conversations because I like to know who to do business with. I want people to want to do business meet with me. And I really like making money. So that's not gonna happen sitting at home buying by myself because millionaires never do it by themselves. They always work in a team. Always. No, no massively successful person's ever gonna say they did it all by themselves.

SPEAKER_00 28:01

Yes, definitely. It's all comes down to leverage. That's what I've learned. Leverage, leverage, leverage, especially when it comes to growing and scaling. You can do it small, like the e-myth revisited. I I apply all those technology, like just always trying to delegate and try to focus on the tasks that are actually gonna make money in the business. Yeah. And another guest once told me, you know, you've got to ask yourself, what would the CEO Linda do? You know, or there's a the manager, Linda, or the CEO, Linda, you know, what what would the CEO Linda be proud of what you've done today? So you've got to think about these things that move the needle as well. And speaking of making money, I'm just curious to know, like, if somebody was like you, you did something that you're passionate about. And they say that you shouldn't like some people say make money on your passions. And then I've read books that are opposite of that, and saying that you shouldn't make money on your passions because at the end of the day it won't be your passion, and you know, it's just yeah, it's just another job. But what are your thoughts on that? And how can somebody actually leverage their knowledge? And you are you still doing what you're doing now as the photographer, like being able to scale and still and live. That's the ultimate dream of an entrepreneur. Like do something that they love and scale it, and then have that freedom, I think. So take us a little bit about yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:20

I think you have to have a little bit of both. You do have to have some passion for what you're doing, otherwise, it's gonna become a chore and you're not gonna want to do it. Nobody wants to do something they hate every day. That's not gonna get you up out of bed and excited. And it'll be obvious when you're talking about it. If you just like, oh God, this sucks. Nobody's gonna want to be your customer if you're just trudging through life. So I do think you have to have a really great why. Otherwise, nobody's gonna care. Nobody's gonna resonate with what you're saying. But I do think you need passions that are not monetized. Like you need to be able to just enjoy life for the sake of its own joy. Like I have a lot of, I'm very crafty and I have hobbies and I travel and you know, I'll sit here and when we're watching a movie and crochet, you know, my little old lady hobbies. And it's great because those are simply just something I enjoy doing. I don't care to try and sell it or make money. I'm not gonna build a course. It's just something joyful.

SPEAKER_00 30:15

Hmm. Hmm. That's true. I think uh making money off your passions. For me, like what what I built for my business, I didn't know what I was doing, and it was a collectible cards industry and toys. It's not my passion, but my passion is actually sales, networking, connection, building, and leading a team. And there's so many different challenges in that as well. There's like learning so many things. Like business is just an exciting thing because it doesn't get boring for me. My passion is my podcast, obviously. But that side of the business of entrepreneurship, you think knowing that you can make an impact on your team, that's that's where why I keep doing what I do, and I love it, and I love growing and seeing the growth. It's like you're building building a baby and seeing how far it can go, really.

SPEAKER_02 31:06

So, you know, I just entrepreneurship is like an ADHD or dream. Like every day is different, you have a new hurdle, you have a new project, you build it and grow. It's it's fantastic. I could never sit here and do the same monotonous thing day in and day out, just sitting in a cubicle, you know, clicky clacking on the computer. I couldn't do it.

SPEAKER_00 31:27

I think entrepreneurship, it comes with mindset as well. There's a lot of mindset that is involved because a lot of like the book that I'm reading reading with MJ Jamaco, you know, Choose Hard, Live Eas like Live Easy. Choosing Hard Living Easy. Wait, what's that book? Hang on. Choose Hard, Live Easy. I just started reading it. Choose Hard, Live Easy. Yeah, it just a lot of people they give up when it gets really hard, especially in entrepreneurship. They they I've wanted to give up so many times too when I went almost bankrupt and just like, oh, can someone buy my business? Oh actually, no, it's not making money. So, you know, lucky I pivoted and and things changed. But there are the mindset is something that I'm really fascinated in. So I wanted to ask two questions. The mindset is like, do you have any tips on mindset, any books on mindset and resilience that have resonated with you as well? And also, do you did you also have a time when you wanted to give up in your business, in your journey? Absolutely. I mean, and how did you change that and flip that? What helped you?

SPEAKER_02 32:32

So I have done dumb dumb things, and I get frustrated with running a business and thinking about it 22 hours a day. I'll wake up in the middle of the night with thoughts of, oh, I need to do this, I need to do that, and that's not healthy. So I would think, oh, my way to fix it is I'm just gonna go get a corporate job and then I don't have to worry about it. And then as soon as I do that, I'm like, oh no, no, no, no, no. This is this is terrible. This is not how my brain works. I I can't sit in the I can't sit in the cubicle and do the thing. So trying to build systems so that I'm not thinking about the $10 tasks, I'm instead planning for the $1,000 tasks. And that's one uh thing that the book, The E Myth, and then Atomic Habits has really helped reinforce in my mind build those systems, don't obsess over the small, inconsequential little nitpicky tasks. Um my gosh, yes, systemize.

SPEAKER_00 33:35

Let me just sorry, I want to cut in cut in a little bit there, but building systems, doing things the wrong way at the beginning, like me, for this is my example. I was a bit not maybe doing it easy and fast, you know. That's that's one of my bad habits. But not having that proper foundation and setting things up accurately at the start and proper systems in place of I'll just do whatever, like you know, that now I'm cleaning up a bit of the mess now and trying to fix the structure and changing it to this has to be accurate, this data needs to be there. The finance part, I was like, yeah, whatever. But now I'm trying to get a daily grip on that too, because it's like I've let it, you know, you've got to start with the right foundations and start accurate. Like that book said, you know, you've got to do it the hard way, and then it will be easy afterwards. But if you try to do it the easy way at the start, you're gonna suffer and have it hard afterwards.

SPEAKER_02 34:24

So go on. Well, like, look at like businesses like McDonald's, they're successful because they have systems in place. They don't make the best hamburger, they don't even make the cheapest hamburger. So it's definitely not, we're not there for the food. It's there, we're there for the consistency. We know what to expect. It's always the same experience around the world. They have systems in place that allow for that to happen. So why can't I, with my much smaller business, also have systems in place? I don't want to think about replying to an inquiry email. I'm gonna have an auto-replier. I'm going to have things set in place so that I'm not obsessing over a small, easy task.

SPEAKER_00 35:08

Speaking of automation, I still use customer service and I have one chat bot. Like, do you use do you use AI and leverage AI to automate things in your business as well? Because I've heard of game-changing businesses that have just one-man businesses created this guy. I don't know, I think he scammed it first billion dollar one-man business, and then it ended up to being like a scam. All the doctors, I don't know how true that is, but he he created all these fake Facebook pages. He built a billion-dollar business but with fake Facebook profiles. So, but he used automation and he was clever. And I congrats to him for doing that, you know, to build that and get at that scale to be a billion dollars just on automation. It's just so powerful that what we can do with AI. So I'm curious to know, you leverage AI and build automations in your business with it.

SPEAKER_02 35:57

I have a lot of mixed feelings about AI. It is a great tool. I think people too often use it to replace human interaction and human thought, which I think is a very dangerous direction to go. And as we get more and more into that, people are going to start craving that human connection and that storytelling and real authenticity more and more. So I will use AI for things like generating a list of ideas. So if I'm just really stuck and I'm like, okay, I really want to write a blog topic, what can I write about? I'll use AI for, hey, help me come up with something to talk about. This is the book we're reading. Like, give me a list. But when it comes to actually writing the content that's going to engage with someone that they're going to identify with and see themselves in, then I really want it to be human. So I do use automations, but not with AI a lot. So in my website, like if someone says signs up for book club, they get an automated welcome email that was pre-written. It's a template. I have automations to send out reminder emails. Hey, in two weeks we're having our meeting, here's the Zoom link. Tomorrow we're having our meeting, here's the Zoom link. Here's next month's book, that kind of thing. But I think, especially since I'm creating a community that's based on connection and conversation and brainstorming and accountability, there needs to be humanity there. Nobody wants to hear AI's rambling thoughts on why you need to invest. They want to hear someone's authentic story of didn't invest and now I'm 60 years old and don't know what to do. Or I started investing at 20 and now I'm a millionaire and here's why it worked. People want to hear the real good, bad, and the ugly. They want to hear the real stuff. It's it's almost like voyeurism, you know, like when you walk past someone's house and their wind, their curtains are open and you're kind of like, oh, what's your couch look like? What's what's your wallet look like? People want to see the same thing on social media and in the in our communities.

SPEAKER_00 37:53

That's so true. Because now you can tell when there's no soul in in anything that's written. Yeah, it's so obvious. And even in videos and content too, when it's just commoditized so much in YouTube videos, it just gets boring. Like I used to listen to when it first came out, like a lot of AI groups. You know that it's AI and you know, and it but it all sounds the same, and that's the thing. It does. Yeah, that's why it's like when you're getting your knowledge from AI and you're learning from AI, eventually it all sounds the same. So that's why having that human connection or having an expert that's like an author that's written a book about it and experience that, that's where it's powerful and game changing. Yeah. And I think when you mentioned that relationship part, people are gonna crave it more. When I think about the jobs, you know, I've spoken to somebody before about AI, what what their thoughts are and what jobs are going to be valuable. And I think the human connection, the jobs, the services and human connection jobs, they're gonna be very valuable in the future. And it's gonna bring people together more, I believe. But um, yeah, I definitely leverage I use AI as a tool all the time, and sometimes I heavily rely on it and get thoughts. But at the end of the day, I think my business, a successful business, definitely relies on that human connection and that relationship as well.

SPEAKER_02 39:11

Yeah, yeah. Um, with the book I was mentioning earlier, The Wealth of Connection, Vincent Paglusi, the guy who wrote it, he is often talking about how AI will be the detriment because he's built his business off of connecting genuinely with people and how we just are missing that in our everyday lives. People are just becoming more and more lonely, especially like here in the US. I'm not sure if it's the same in Australia, but we are in our little houses, we don't interact with our neighbors, they don't interact with their neighbors, they don't interact with their neighbors, nobody's on their front porch, nobody knows each other, and it is very lonely. We weren't meant to do life alone.

SPEAKER_00 39:50

Hmm, that's fair. I I see that in Australia. I thought America would have been more social because based on the movies, and my friend said she's lived in America and they're so much more friendly over then they talk to their neighbors more often as well. But here, yeah, we uh everyone's on their phones and just unless you go out to a restaurant, you'll see people gathering and and talking and communities, which is good that you know they have those networking communities, but I definitely believe the connection is strong. Anyway, I'm drifting off the topic there. Who have been your like your in biggest inspirations when do you network or just read books or do you you know find mentors that have helped you and helped you?

SPEAKER_02 40:30

All of the above, yeah. All of the above. I I love networking because when it's done well, you're learning what people are passionate about, where they're putting all their efforts, and you are becoming a wealth of information for the next group of people. Because then when somebody mentions, oh, I need to see a doctor, hey, I know who would be a great fit for you. Books are great because they're so consumable all the time. I listen to books when I'm in my car driving, I when I'm cleaning the house, you know, when I'm walking the dog. So I can pick and choose something that fits my mood. Oh, today I want to listen to something about investing. Oh, tomorrow I want to listen to a biography, whatever. I can always find something that will suit my need. But um, I think we need to have a mix of all of it. And then even mentors too. Like I've noticed as I've grown and personally developed, my friend group has changed. Like it's completely iceberg's over. And like they say you become the five people you spend the most time with. So I want to spend my time with smart, successful, curious people. I don't want to spend my time with losers and drunks because I don't want that for myself. So when I am in my friend groups, I'm very willing to have conversations of what is your business like? Tell me about that thing. I have one girlfriend who owned a very successful resort and she just sold 80% of it. And I was asking her all kinds of questions. I'm like, oh, you're a 20% owner? What does that mean? Do you still have a task? She's like, no, I cash the checks. And I'm like, oh, tell me more. What does that look like? I want to just cash the checks. So having conversations with people in your real life and not being afraid to, because I think we're kind of taught, oh, it's taboo to talk about money. Oh, that's that's gauche. Don't don't talk about that. That's that's too personal. Absolutely not. We need to be talking about this stuff because otherwise, how else do you know what it is that you need to know?

SPEAKER_00 42:40

It levels us up too, because I wish I had a network of friends that did that. And and I'm just curious, you you got me curious now about that. What does somebody that sold a resort do with their wealth and how do they find fulfillment after they've made that much? I mean, what tell me, did she elaborate a little bit?

SPEAKER_02 42:57

She had a very successful business. She sold a majority stake in it. And then when I asked her, so what are you?

SPEAKER_00 43:02

Were you running it by herself though? Or did she have imagined?

SPEAKER_02 43:05

She ran it. Um, she brought in her parents to help her run the resort. And so it was great. It was people she could trust. It was people who were much more business savvy with her. So she was learning and growing. So when she sold it and retained her 20% ownership, I asked her, so what do you do? Like, as a 20% owner, are you like doing the marketing? Like, what is your task to earn that 20%? She goes, nothing. I cash the checks. That's how I negotiated it. And I'm like, how did you know to negotiate that? She's like, my dad is very business savvy. He taught me. And I'm like, oh my God. I wished I'd had those conversations growing up. Because she was surrounded by these conversations, she knew what to ask for. She knew to seek out the hard conversations that other people weren't doing. And now she's like, I have never made more money and worked less. That's the oldest. And she knew ahead of time how to leverage that. So she built something that was successful, made it saleable and Cashed out. And it's amazing because now she can do whatever she wants. She can travel with her family first class around the world. She can her kids are in college and teenagers. So she's like, I don't need to be everyday chauffeuring mom. I can go take classes at the community college just because I want to. And I love that. Because before she worked, you know, 80-hour weeks. And now she doesn't have to because, like you were saying, she did the hard thing up front. She built. And now she's relaxing. And it's wonderful for her. But she knew how to establish that from the get-go.

SPEAKER_00 44:36

That's really inspiring. I love hearing stories like that. It really just motivates me and inspires me because but then yeah, it's just the how part. That's why I do the how. Yeah, that's that's fascinating. And then she's blessed that she's leveled up and had the um the business, the family, the business acumen and conversations. And I think that's so important that in this day and age, especially with the content that you know the kids and teenagers are consuming these days too. You just gotta be really mindful of what you consume. Try to teach my kids. I mean, my son is already at that age where he doesn't listen, but my daughter, she's still early, so I'm trying to get her to understand business and teach her things while I learn things. And then it makes her curious as well. And then like that's what we need more of in school as well. So, do you have any advice and what would you tell your younger self? Or you know, what would you do differently after the day that you got let go? Please tell me.

SPEAKER_02 45:36

Well, I would tell my younger self, like, if I could go back to high school in college, I would tell myself, stop being so boy crazy, don't worry about that, and go make my own money. Because I noticed all my decisions as an adult revolved around what man was in my life, either coming or going. It dictated where I lived, how I lived. And it's like, that's that's a horrible way to approach life is oh, I can't do that because you know, this guy's kind of a loser and doesn't have a real job. So I would have told myself, money before men, go make your own money. And then after losing my corporate job, I would have told myself, start networking immediately. Don't try and do it by yourself because you can't. You need to be in community with people much smarter than you helping guide the way. That's how you grow. Otherwise, you just stay this stagnant little amoeba the rest of your life. You have to be surrounded by people smarter than you.

SPEAKER_00 46:37

I love it. That's so powerful. Yeah, that and I totally agree that that's a beautiful message there. Yeah, it's it's very inspiring because you know, we look back and the things I don't know. When I look back at what what I would do is differently, I would have done a lot, probably would have listened to my partner when he said don't spend so much money on ads, because I I almost went bankrupt because I was watching YouTube videos and they were dropshipping, and then it's just the wrong advice from the wrong people basically. And I if I could have gone back time in time, I would have just read some more business books and started my podcast sooner and learnt more finance from the experts that have done it as well. And yeah, thankfully, now that's you know, everything is perfect timing, I guess. But um, yeah, you've got to be ready to grow and expand. And you're I'm learning Kabbalah, which is a powerful too, but your vessel, your soul has to be ready for if you want massive things, you have to go through a lot of challenges in order to obtain these. So your body is ready, your soul is ready for that too. And we can't be ready without all these res like the you know, the resistance training, like the gym, you know, you you build muscle that way too.

SPEAKER_02 47:41

So it's crazy how the universe will shove you right off a cliff to teach you to fly. Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_00 47:48

The harder the the harder you fall, the harder you can fly back up. So yeah, this has been a very great conversation. I really enjoyed it, guys. If you haven't already, please do me a favor, hit that follow button. And if you're watching on YouTube, if you found this valuable, what was your key takeaway? What books have changed and resonated with you? And are you gonna I'm definitely gonna be looking for the Wealth Wealth of Connection book as well. So what what books resonated with you? So leave that in the comments and let me know. Finally, Jennifer, where can people find you if they want to connect with you?

SPEAKER_02 48:17

Um, I'm all over LinkedIn and Facebook, of course. And then the She Reads She Leads website has a lot of really great tools, book lists, blog posts about why we need to be interacting community, especially as women. So a lot of great resources there for download. And if anyone wants to join the She Read She Leads book club, they can always sign up there on the website. Thank you. Thank you so much for your time, Jennifer. It's been a pleasure. Thank you for having me. How was the conversation?