Why High Performers Pay for Peace of Mind | Jen Boyle

This MarketPulse Pros & Pioneers episode is for anyone who’s ever felt like the place they grew up in was too small for the life they wanted to build.

Jen Boyle shares what it’s like to have ambition that never really switches off. Not the loud kind. The quiet kind that keeps pushing you forward, even when things are going well. We talk about small town dreams, growth, and the feeling of “never enough” that can drive achievement, but also quietly steal your peace.

A big thread through this conversation is how sport builds your mind. Not just fitness, but leadership, teamwork, discipline, and the ability to handle pressure. Jen shares how those early lessons became the foundation for how they show up in work and life.

We also explore family values and the sacrifices that shape you. There’s a powerful moment about a mum who sacrificed everything, and how that reframes priorities later in life, especially around work-life balance, responsibility, and what success is actually for.

From there, we get into the real world. Why school can feel pointless when you’re wired for entrepreneurship, and how the best leadership lessons often come from the worst bosses. You’ll hear how a horrible boss taught Jen what not to do, and how those moments become fuel for growth.

One of the most practical parts of this episode is networking and opportunity. 

Jen tells the story of serving drinks to CEOs and what they learned by watching how high performers speak, move, and build relationships. It’s a reminder that opportunity often shows up through proximity, pattern recognition, and choosing to be ready.

We also talk mindset: everything is a choice, why an easy life gets boring, and how confidence is built through support, challenge, and the decision to take control of what you can control. There’s even a brilliant story about perseverance and progress in entrepreneurship, summed up in one line: 11 phone calls later.

If you’re building something, scaling something, or simply trying to live in a way that feels aligned, this episode will land. It’s honest, practical, and full of perspective. And it closes with a message that feels like a reset for a lot of people: life’s already hard enough, so choose your purpose, choose your boundaries, and choose how you show up.

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Transcript

Paul 0:09

She didn't build a lifestyle business. She built a trust business. Jen Boyle is the founder of more Lifestyle Management created for people whose lives have outgrown their time. What started in Denver in 2012, grew into a national operation across cities like Miami, Scottsdale, Dallas, and Seattle, offering personal assistance, household management, concierge services, and event planning. But at its core, this isn't about errands or diaries. It's about responsibility, access, discretion, the quiet way of being trusted with the moving parts of someone else's life. Jen works behind the scenes of high performing people, removing friction so that it can focus on what matters. Now, over time, that has shaped not just a business, but a way of seeing leadership, pressure, boundaries, and what success actually costs more, isn't about doing more things, it's about edit. It's about creating space for a better life. Jen, welcome to the show.

Jen 1:17

Thank you. So grateful to be here. Thank you for that great

Paul 1:21

intro And you are joining us from the Sunny West coast, right?

Jen 1:24

West Coast in the I consider Colorado the Midwest.

Paul 1:27

Wait, a lot of my audience are from the uk. You're far side of America. We're good.

Jen 1:32

Yes. Yes. I'm far.

Paul 1:34

Far enough. Far enough to be in, in an awful time zone for us to be talking. So I'm very grateful that you've managed to make time for us this morning. Great to be here.

Jen 1:41

thank you. Thank you.

Paul 1:44

So getting into the meat of it then, Jen, when you think back to being a kid, how would you. have described yourself to somebody looking in?

Jen 1:51

As a kid, I was just fun. I just had fun. I had the biggest dreams. I played all the sports and. Honestly, probably had no concept of really what life was. was just having fun, but I am completely different now compared to when I was as a kid. Like, no, no shop If you saw me as a kid, did I grow up being who I am right now, having a company that I have right now, no shop.

Paul 2:22

So Not organised. then.

Jen 2:25

Not organised. My mom was crazy. OCD organised perfectionist,which yes, now I have But up, no. I was the girl that would shove stuff underneath the bed. I would throw the stuff in the closet and close the doors, like all I cared about was. my time of playing sports and having fun and hanging out with my friends. I did not care to have a clean room.

Paul 2:53

What sports were you talking? What all, when you say all sports what is that in the us?

Jen 2:58

So played basketball. I grew up in a basketball family, so you're pretty much forced to. And then God made me five, five and weigh nothing, so didn't go far in that. And then I ran track played golf, played softball. That was played lot.

Paul 3:15

Well, the advice I keep seeing back when my son goes to his football coaching from the good football coaches, is their advice is just to play every sport you can because it all develops into one. Roundness, I guess like the experience all adds together and creates something better than the some So, seems like you did that.

Jen 3:33

No, I totally agree. I think sports really build your foundational mind frame. Of pushing yourself to the limit, but also seeing strong you can be and to become a good leader and to become a good teammate.

Paul 3:47

So, do you think you were. Do you think you rebelled against what your mum held dearest then if you describing your mum as being the OCD clean, organised person, is that what you were really trying to get away from?

Jen 3:58

yeah.

Paul 3:59

yeah.

Jen 3:59

That's what you do as a kid. You definitely try not to be like your parents, or at least I did. And then you grow up and you realise, huh? They're pretty smart.

Paul 4:09

whilst taking it all in? Right? whilst taking it all in.

Jen 4:12

Yes,

Paul 4:12

I'm not gonna be like you.

Jen 4:14

Yeah. First I wanted to be my own person. And then you're like I think both parents had something going that I could pull from. So. So Tell me about childhood then. Like what were your parents doing? What were their jobs? What was fueling you to be who you are now? Yeah, so, so growing up, like until I was maybe 9 or 10, my mom was a surgical. er nurse. So she worked,

Paul 4:38

Crazy shift, right? i went

Jen 4:39

to school before school when it was dark out, and then I came home when it was dark out. Like it, she was nonstop. And then my dad, he started a couple different companies and then so he, he had that entrepreneur mind frame and then he started his own financial advising firm. and then my mom. Pretty much retired because she wanted to spend time with me and my younger brother. Yeah.At age 9 or 10. so I really saw. What it takes in a family unit and how there isn't a lot of time and you have to prioritise And I know my mom sacrificed to, take care of us, but to take care of my dad, to run the household, to make sure I got to all of my sporting events and that she was present. So yeah, I really got to see. What, taking care of a home, a lifestyle, a family, a foundation from my mom. And then I got to see from my dad how to be an entrepreneur and yeah, what you have to work to, set up that career so your fam so you can provide for your family.

Paul 5:49

Sounds like an inspiring circumstance for growing up, but what did you want to be, what was your aspirations at that age? Jen? What? What did Spaceman, space Woman.

Jen 5:59

I don't even think, I mean, I'm from South Dakota, so you know, not a huge town. Like, I probably picked the normal jobs like a teacher, a doctor or whatever, but. The only thing I really remember from childhood was that it was never enough for me. South Dakota was never enough. Great people, great foundation, morals and values, but I wanted more, like, that's all I've ever wanted was like, how much more can I do in life? and I've been in Denver for 15 years and I'm like, huh, not enough. I can keep growing. I want more. I wanna. See the world. I want to do so much with my life, and that's all I remember as a kid, like school, hated it. Thought it was pointless. Still do. So I just wanted to hurry my life up, get through school so I could actually do whatever I wanted in life

Paul 6:54

So what did you start out with then? When Jen left school, what did you get involved in?

Jen 6:58

when I left school.

Paul 7:00

Yeah. Yeah.

Jen 7:02

I went to, it was definitely a corporate gym. I went to school for business and personal, like health. So I did personal training in Seattle. Not a great start to my career, but, taught me a lot.

Paul 7:16

Yep.

Jen 7:17

and then I moved to Denver since my dad's whole family grew up in Colorado. It was always a second home, but yeah, it's like you have to try so many different jobs, careers to figure out, ooh, they're a good boss. Ooh I wouldn't wanna lead like that. You have to figure out what you like, what you hate to,

Paul 7:36

really

Jen 7:37

find what is your niche? What is your value? Purpose on. Yeah, I'd agree. I'd agree. Having spent 15 years in retail, I always tell people that was 8 years too long. Right. Like I was ready to move on. after 7 but I would never discourage my kids from getting a job in retail. Not because it's the most glamorous or exciting job in the world, but because there's a lot of opportunities to learn lots of different skills and figure yourself out. And I think that's what I took away from retail was definitely that, what I did wanna do the bits, I hated, the bits. I loved different style of management. And I think there's a lot of jobs out there that are very similar. There are jobs where you're put under pressure where you learn. There's no other option but to sink or swim, and that's part of how that door opens for you. We talk on this show a lot about being courageous enough to walk through the door when it's open for you to see what's on the other side and where you're meant to be. Yeah. And to know when the time is to be done. With

Paul 8:30

Yeah.

Jen 8:30

job or that career, like you have to be very intentional about your choices and you wouldn't learn that unless, yeah, you went through all the struggles My first job was horrible out of college, but man did it teach me a lot. It taught me exactly the leader that I'd wanna be.

Paul 8:48

Or didn't want to be. Yeah.

Jen 8:50

Mm-hmm.

Paul 8:51

and I think that's important, and that's something I see quite a lot in common from the guests that we have on the show, is that they're all very aware of the journey that they've been on. And rather than framing things as a horrible, negative experience, which I mean, they probably weren't fun to go through, but you are able to take the learnings from that. And I think that's what successful people do over and over again is in any given situation, positive or negative you are able to see. Something come of it that benefits you and turn it into The situation you want it to be. What's, what was your favourite job before you got where you are now? What's, what was the most fun job. I guess, that you went through before you got to start your own business?

Jen 9:32

The most fun job.

Paul 9:34

I.

Jen 9:35

I worked for Gray Goose and Bacardi. When I moved to Denver, the fun girl serving drinks, whatnot. very good at it. But I got to run all the golf tournaments like for Gray Goose. So I would set up the stand, I would bring the girls in. And then it was just about meeting all of the CEOs, the athletes, the executives that would come out for those tournaments. So I use that as. It is very important who you surround yourself with. I knew I didn't wanna be in alcohol the rest of my life or do something like that for the rest of my life, so I just took it as an opportunity of, I don't know why I'm meeting these people, but I am I'm blessed enough to be around this crowd. And I just started taking their contacts, knowing that someday I would have. An idea, and I would reach out to all of them. So I had a lot of fun in that. I probably did that for 7 years

Paul 10:41

Wow. before I

Jen 10:41

even started my company. Maybe 6 I don't know. But it taught me a lot. It, I'm always a social person, but it taught me to be intentional about being social.

Paul 10:53

And I think that, again, like we, we talk about. Learnings from things. And a lot of people could see that as being a very frustrating role. Oh, I'm just the person that serves the drinks, or I'm just the person that I'm just this, or I'm just that. And instead, you've chosen to view that with a really positive mindset and framing, which is why you are where you are now. And I, see that a lot. It's open-mindedness, leads to a lot of opportunities and it helps open a lot of doors. So kudos for doing that.

Jen 11:20

Yeah, and how you look at life, it is your choice of how you look at life in every situation. So yeah, if you wanna look at it as like, oh, another day of getting hit on and serving drinks, or if you wanna turn that into a positive, like everything is a choice.

Paul 11:38

What was the moment where you realised you needed to move on to something else?

Jen 11:42

I probably did get burned out of just that life of showing up to, I don't know. I think back of it, I wish I didn't get burned out because what an easy life that was.

Paul 11:56

But you can't appreciate that at the time, can you?

Jen 11:58

No. I got burnt out where I was it was so easy. Clock in, clock out, set up the table, shake some hands, make some friends you're done. But that's fine. There's a season for everything and your life. So you just gotta keep forging ahead.

Paul 12:15

I think easy gets boring after a while or that's the challenge for a lot of people. Easy was we might. Think that's what we want in the short term. We can do it for a short period of time, but it's not enough. It's not, we want more. Right, Jen? We want more.

Jen 12:29

exactly. I wasn't being challenged there, so.

Paul 12:33

so. What did burned out look like for you then? What were you thinking, feeling, seeing in

Jen 12:37

yourself? Just knowing that I had to make a change. Like intuition and your gut are so powerful and you have to listen to it. So I think I just felt it and then I just started writing down or things like that maybe I could start my own business on.'cause again, I had an entrepreneur. Dad. and then I also had a great friend and client down here when I moved down here and he was huge in oil and natural gas and he started like 5 or 6 of those companies. So I had 2 very strong men leaders that had, that were very entrepreneur, mind framed. I knew I was always gonna. Do something of my own, but I don't think it really connected until I started sitting down with all of those contacts that I made from the golf tournaments where I saw that commonality of no one having enough time. Everyone overwhelmed and stressed, like not none of my ideas that I wrote down on paper to start my own were were that. So that was kind of a God moment and a in your face of you can fix this.

Paul 13:52

I love that. And so like all this. time is dad kind of whispering in your ear? Are you having phone calls with dad asking, bouncing ideas back and forth? Or is this all Jen? Just kind of hearing your dad in your head kind of thing and just steamrolling in your own path? How'd it work?

Jen 14:42

Yeah. I mean, I'm very close with my dad and my mom. They're always supportive. I don't think I've necessarily talked about ideas. I think it was just like, no, I need to figure it out. And then I did, but I only did when I started sitting down with all of those people, so.

Paul 15:02

I think that's testament to the faith that you were brought up with in yourself. Right. And I've always said this to my mom and she doesn't believe me. We lost my dad three years ago and I kind of talked to her a lot about wouldn't be where I am now if you guys didn't constantly tell me you can be anything you want to be and show me how to be positive role models. Like I would've made different choices and I wouldn't be where I am now. So whilst I've made my own decisions, I made my own luck to an extent, it's because I didn't come with any baggage. That allowed me to do that and be open-minded to what's possible.

Jen 15:36

Or any fear in any fear, like I, I do think when your parents tell you can do anything and be anything that is so powerful, and I'll never forget that. But I'll also never forget when I have kids one day to tell them that. Because if you feel like you have. Just the best foundation where you can try things and fail. Whew.

Paul 16:03

Yeah.

Jen 16:04

what you need to be great like that. You need that. If you're gonna do anything great,'cause guess how many times you're gonna fail. If you're gonna do something great, you're gonna fail a lot. They might be micro fails, but you have to get used to that, and you have to know that you can fall on a safe foundation. It's always gonna be there, so, okay.

Paul 16:26

how businesses should be run as well though, in terms of you shouldn't be afraid to try things and fill, because that's what breeds innovation, right?

Jen 16:34

Yes, absolutely. It's beyond important and that's what you have to it. It's hard to get into an employee's mind on that level'cause they do think very differently from an owner. From a leader. But all you can do is talk and preach that and hope that just little slivers.

Paul 16:54

So talk me through client number one. What happened? Because I'm assuming the client appeared before the business did, and it just kind of rolled from there, right? Am I guessing?

Jen 17:04

Yeah. One client and then it took off. But I was sitting down, so I was sitting down and just talking, like, I would just take guys to lunch and it's was mostly men.'cause back when I started, women were finally just. Becoming entrepreneurs or, in the corporate world and, we're still very far behind, but we'll get there. So it was mostly men that I was sitting down with, but I met with this guy and he owned a pretty big franchising company and he had a scratch. On his wood floor, and nobody wanted to come and fix that because it's not worth a company's time or money to fix a scratch. But he had 11 phone calls during our hour lunch meeting. So, selfishly I'm annoyed that I didn't get his time. But then on principal base, I was bothered that. This was a thing that, that people didn't actually wanna help people, even if it was a small job. So we were kind of walking out and I said, Hey, why don't you give me your keys and I'm gonna go fix this scratch for you. And then I went up and I got that done. But I noticed how. Unorganised his household was on a level where I knew how structured his brain was on processes and systems. that's the only way he became so successful company. So. I thought I need to systemise this house. So then he is not overwhelmed coming home and just trying to work like the household the lifestyle and the business that should all have the same processes and structures if you want. To have a good life, like a lower stress life, a happier life, a time for you to spend with your partner, going on date night time to have to go watch your kids' soccer practice or go on vacation. It all has to have systems and procedures, so.

Paul 19:16

Is it? We had a guest on the show, not so long back. Michael Alloso, came back on for a second appearance, and Michael talks about, act One and Act two. So, Michael's ex theatre production, right? He's a wonderful gentleman. And he talks about how you need to have the same authenticity through act one and Act two. Act two being your home life with act one being your work life, right? And you need to align the 2 together'cause you can't be authentic and be a totally different person at home than you are at work. And it's finding that balance of the 2 Maybe a little bit off box one and a little bit more on box two, but that just strikes me as being something that aligns perfectly with what you've just said there is like, how can you go to work and be a super organised person? Expect everything to be super organised and that's what really makes you happy, because otherwise you wouldn't do what you do. Everything has to have a root process and then to come home and find all that broken, the. Cognitive dissonance. The brain hurt that would come with walking into disorganised mess and not being the way you'd like it to be, and just accepting that has to be the way it is.'cause I don't have enough hours in the day. Right.

Jen 20:27

Yep. Yeah. And you're only gonna prioritize. Yeah. What you can. Oops. So

Paul 20:33

Focus mode,

Jen 20:34

Yeah, I know, right? Struggling here.

Paul 20:37

How do you have a conversation with someone and tell them that their house is disorganised without making them feel like idiots? Right. Because there's gotta be a way of doing that.

Jen 20:47

Yeah. Honestly, it just comes from compassion, from love, from care. Like I have the same struggles, I have the same amount of time and day that everybody else has, so. If If I struggle on not having enough time on the home front, then I can relate. I can be on the same page as another household. Yes, I might not have kids, I might not have a partner. I might not have any of that, but my life is beyond full with my clients and my business, and then my own family and travel and whatnot. so it's relatability, it's compassion it's understanding that the more great things you do in life, the more successful that you become. The more pressure, actually the less time you have, because everybody wants a little bit of your time. The more love you get, but the more hate you get. So, if I receive all of that on where I'm at, my clientele is receiving that. 10 folds. So you have to relate, you have to come from love. And then it's just about using my intuition, but also the 12 years of business to understand, we're all people, we all really have the same

Paul 22:12

problems This is true. Yep.

Jen 22:13

So

Paul 22:14

No matter how many zeroes are on your bank balance, somebody's gotta change the baby's diaper. Right?

Jen 22:19

yes,

Paul 22:20

that's the way it rolls. I love it. I love it. And so from there it flourished out into a full business. Right. Is there anything that you don't do

Jen 22:27

there's almost nothing we don't do. Yeah, no. I think after like month one, we had two other clients then it was just organically word of mouth. But yeah. Why? Why if you set up a home and lifestyle management business, why would we have to say no to anything? It's about building a community and partnerships and vendors and then training my employees to be able to do anything and everything if it's under our license. So,

Paul 23:04

What's the most Important values. that you have as a business owner for your clients?

Jen 23:08

Important values. honestly, I think come coming from love, coming from compassion and teaching my employees that. also there were just people and and I think them understanding that they're safe. And we understand what they're going for and that. We're not gonna say anything about them. They're beyond safe with us because they're just another human. So teaching my team that, but making sure that a client feels that and a value is so important and making sure that client feels at that time that we're talking to them or that we're at their house, that they're our only client at that moment. You have to prioritise them, and they have to feel like they're. one of us. But yeah, just growing and growing with that clientele and having a good foundation.

Paul 24:03

I almost feel as though your role must be quite strange at times because I'd imagine you've got some amazing stories that you could share. Were you not bound to confidentiality? And it must be quite frustrating not to be able to like,'cause I know when I finish work, I want to get that off my chest a bit and, oh, this client did this and that client did that, and this email said these things and wow, isn't this fun? Or isn't this hard? Or whatever. To a certain extent, you can't really do that right.

Jen 24:28

No, I run a lot. Okay. I run out all my stress every day. So thank God for exercise. But I think that's also why there's so many people that wanna work. in my industry and work for me because my industry for so many years, especially overseas, you know where you're at, it's been around. Property management, home management, state management, like that's been around longer overseas versus the United States. In the United States, it's still more of a newer term, but there's a lot of personal assistance. So like one off home managers or personal assistance what their. is that team, is that support where Yes, They can call one of their managers, like my home managers have executive managers and they can call their teammate or they can call their executive and say. I was just in this situation, like it really bummed me out. Here's how I handled it. Do you think I did everything the right way? Should I do something different? But they're able to bounce things off one another and relate and say, oh, I just went through that myself, blah, blah, blah. So, when you build a team, when you build a company in this type of industry. It is way more supportive and way more teamed back where a lot of people just don't have that. And like you said, is very needed. It is very needed.

Paul 26:00

how do you find employees are? They are, because I'd imagine I'm gonna throw a wild guess out. There's. whilst there are some people who are already doing what you do and who might come and join your company, I would imagine you find a lot of rough diamonds as well.

Jen 26:11

Yeah I feel grateful for where I'm at in business. It's been a lot of years, so most, come to me. Now, but I think it is at the level that we're at as well. So no matter if it is a new city, if we had a client get traded and we have to go unpack them and set them up and then manage their house. In a totally new market. I have vendors, I have friends, I have people in, so many different places where I can call and use my connections to find a really good sourced person. But I do have tons and tons of people that just slide into my email saying, I wanna work for you. I wanna work for you. So I feel grateful that we've set a very good foundational company where people see the value. and they do wanna grow with us, but I do feel, know if I wouldn't have set my company up as, as big as I have, that I wouldn't have those relationships in other cities where I could really rely on. I, do, I find amazing amazing just amazing people that wanna work for us, whether they're a mom and their kids have gone off to college and they understand how to run a household and how to prioritise time, but then they know how to look at the attention to detail versus, younger people as well. If they haven't had all of that experience, maybe they have the organisational experience or maybe they have the communication level and the backend level that I need. I can teach everything. In my company, and that's why I train them for 3 months, no matter if they've had experience or not. It can all be learned. It's all life skills, so.

Paul 27:57

I love that. I love that. And something you touched on there is did, did you plan it to scale the way it does? Was that something that you thought would happen from day one or did it happen organically?

Jen 28:08

I don't listen, I never made a business plan. I never wrote anything down. I just kind of went with it. But no, I didn't see it going to as many cities and states that as I'm in right now. But I think if you do a good job, that's why we've gotten referred and if someone has a 2nd or 3rd house and we set it up in Colorado, this way, they want their other houses set up with the same system, same procedures. So that's been very organic, I guess.

Paul 28:39

I've loved chatting with you this afternoon, Jen. Of morning your time. Sorry. if there's anything that you'd like to leave the audience with. What's that one thought?

Jen 28:47

I just, I think the biggest thing and why I wake up every day and in my purpose of this business is Life is already hard. We don't have to make it harder. So there are choices of what you can make in life. And there are companies out there like mine, whether you use mine or ask questions or someone else's, but you choose how you wanna live your life, you can choose to ask for help. And there's so many amazing companies out there that want to add value and want to give you your time back. So.

Paul 29:22

I love it. Thank you very much for taking the time for joining us today, Jen. Brilliant.

Jen 29:25

Thank you.

Paul 29:26

And Thank you everyone at home for watching or listening along. As ever, if you. have an idea for a guest drop in the emails, I'm always happy to take an introductions. And if you have an idea for a topic that you'd like us to cover as part of the show, again, feel free to drop us a message. I'll see you next week on Marketpulse pros and Pioneers.