House of JerMar

Marketing for Entrepreneurs

• Jeanne Collins • Season 1 • Episode 25

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Award-winning author and business strategist Jennifer Covello joins us to discuss the transformative power of stepping into something new. From her beginnings in the corporate IT world to her unexpected pivot to entrepreneurship, Jennifer's journey is a testament to the power of adaptability and self-discovery. She shares how being laid off led her to create a successful baby journal, and how embracing new opportunities has been pivotal in her career. Her story is a reminder of the importance of resilience and the courage to welcome unexpected turns with open arms.

In our conversation, we tackle the broad world of marketing for authors. The challenge of maintaining a consistent presence in a digital age characterized by fleeting attention spans is no small feat. We explore strategies like leveraging newsletters, emails, and events to create impactful marketing campaigns. With my personal experiences as an author, I share insights into the art of storytelling and how it can profoundly change lives. Whether through the written word or the spoken narrative on this very podcast, the message is clear: persistence and passion are key to lasting success.


Jennifer's Book Recommendation:
Julie and Julia by Julie Powell

More about Jennifer:
Jennifer Covello is a speaker, award-winning author and marketing and business strategist. A purpose-driven communicator, Jennifer delivers messages that educate and inspire people to make purposeful changes to improve their lives.
Jennifer brings a wealth of expertise that educates and inspires people toward fulfilling their purpose. 
 
As the founder of Elevate The Day®, a teaching and media ministry consisting of a weekly blog, podcast, and books, she also speaks about faith-based topics. 
 
Jennifer holds a B.S. degree in Management Information Systems from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, an MBA. in Marketing Management from Pace University (NY), and a Bachelor of Theology degree from Life Christian University. 
 
A native of Long Island, New York, Jennifer resides in Norwalk, CT.

IG: https://www.instagram.com/elevatetheday/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jencovello/

House of JerMar:
Learn more on our website: houseofjermar.com.

Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/houseofjermar/

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@Houseofjermar

Read Jeanne's Book: Two Feet In: Lessons From and All-In Life

WELCOME TO OUR HOUSE!

Speaker 1:

When I speak and spend time with other authors, I get energized. Because they're energized, they're so excited about sharing their story with the world. And it's not necessarily a story. It could be, you know, a business leadership book. You know I helped a CEO, you know, publish his book and you know you get excited for them because they get to share this wisdom, this knowledge, with others. That's going to help improve their lives, and so I think that's really what I love most about it and why I love working with authors because you know it has the power to change a life. A story has the power to change a life.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the House of Germar podcast where wellness starts within.

Speaker 2:

The House of Germar is a lifestyle brand, empowering women to live all in through interior design and personal wellness. We are a destination for women ready to reimagine what is possible in their homes and lives and then create it. We are honored to have you join us on our mission to empower 1 million women to live all in. I am your host, jean Collins, and I invite you to become inspired by this week's guest. Welcome to the House of Germar podcast, where wellness starts within. I'm your host, jean Collins, and today's guest is Jennifer Covello. She has a podcast called Elevate the Day. She's also a speaker, an award-winning author, and she does marketing and business strategy, so I am so excited to talk to her because she has so much knowledge and she can help so many people who are thinking about making career changes, small business owners so many different things, authors, so we're going to talk about a lot of different things and she also is a huge fan of wellness starting within, so we're going to talk on that too. So, jennifer, welcome to the House of Jormar podcast.

Speaker 1:

Thank you so much, Jeanne. I appreciate it. I'm happy to be here with you today.

Speaker 2:

Oh, I'm excited to have you here as well. So I always love to share with our guests how I know you, because I think it's important to understand how people get connected. And some of my guests are guests because their agent reaches out to me and they've written a book or whatever and they want to be on my show. And other people are people I've known for a long time. And then other people are new people that I've met, and you fall into the new people that I've met category. So I met you at a women's networking group, which is so exciting.

Speaker 2:

So our friend, elizabeth Blanchard, has the women's networking group here in Connecticut and in New Canaan and I was honored to be a speaker at her fall kickoff and I met you there. And I bring that up because I think there is so much power in women's networking groups and I know sometimes people are nervous about joining a group like that because they feel they don't have anything to contribute or they don't know where they're going in their lives, or they don't yet have a small business or they're unemployed. I know people have been there, but unemployed. So we're talking about that right, and so I would love for you to talk a little bit about your career journey, because you being a part of Women's Networking Group has helped you as well, and that's how we got connected and then I got to find out all the great things you do which we are going to touch on as well.

Speaker 1:

So if you wouldn't mind, if you'd share a little about your background and your journey? Sure, sounds good. So I have a mixture of a corporate and entrepreneurial background. I started out in the IT world probably before anyone even knew what IT was, and certainly women in IT. I was one of the only few women in that industry and you know I was in corporate, progressing through the various you know departments and functions and learning a lot, and was really honed in on IT, product marketing and you know communications. I think those are, you know, probably three key areas.

Speaker 1:

And then, throughout that time, what was interesting is, all of my positions had something to do with writing and speaking.

Speaker 1:

It was a common thread, it was techie stuff, but it was still you know writing and speaking.

Speaker 1:

And you know, back in the 08, 09 era, along with lots of other folks, I got laid off, but I really wasn't all that sad about it because in the back of my mind I had an idea to write a baby journal, and so I was like, ooh, you know, now I can focus on, you know, this business and grow it. And you know, see what, what happens with it, which I did for, you know, a few years, and that is, you know, the Baby Journal is what you know earned me the title of award winning author and it received several awards which you know I was very, very proud of. But you know, it was a tough time for an unknown brand to kind of break through. And so, out of the blue, I received a call one day and returned to corporate and figured, okay, I'm going to, you know, be here in this product marketing capacity until, like, my kids get out of high school, or you know, I just kind of projected that would be my life for the next several years and that's not what happened.

Speaker 2:

Best laid plans.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, exactly. And so I got laid off after about three years, and this time I had no plan B. This one, you know, took me a little bit by surprise and so, interestingly, it's what landed me in Elizabeth's networking meeting. And I was that unemployed girl. That was me. So everyone is going around the room saying I do this and I do that and all these cool things, and and I can, you know, feel my, you know my temperature rising, the blood pressure rising, and I'm like, what am I going to say? What am I going to say? I have nothing to say. Yeah.

Speaker 2:

What do I do? I mean?

Speaker 1:

who am I, and so you know. It came around to me and then out of my mouth just flowed the words I'm a freelance writer and I write for people who don't like to write, and I just kind of sat there and said, all righty, then I guess that's not what. I do, and it continued down the line and off we go. And then, after the meeting, someone that I did knew came up to me, introduced me to someone else and I got my first client that day.

Speaker 2:

That is amazing, can we just pause for one second here. That is so many things, that's the universe in action, that's you manifesting and creating, that's timing, right time, right place and just I think so many of us can. I can feel your fear of being and I've done that too Like I'm unemployed, I don't know who I am, I don't know who I'm trying to find out, and the fact that that's just what came to you is incredible.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yes, and you know, and it just kind of ballooned from there and it all had to do with connections. So this person found out about me and this person found out about me and I reached out to this person and then through all of these connections I was able to get additional clients and you know, and that really supported my family for, you know, seven years I really was heavy into the content creation for a variety of clients and you know, what was wonderful is that I got to work with both small businesses and larger corporations and because of my corporate background I knew the lingo, I knew the way to create content that would be appealing to their audiences. But also for the small businesses who were looking to grow, I was able to utilize that corporate speak in their small business content to make them appear bigger than they were.

Speaker 2:

I was just going to say you're helping them be bigger than they are.

Speaker 1:

Yes, yes, which?

Speaker 2:

is great because sometimes, as small businesses, it's like we can't see the. You know, we're so entrenched in the details that we can't see the bigger picture of our offering and our value, and having someone else be able to verbalize that for us is truly a gift, because a lot of entrepreneurs don't have the ability to do that.

Speaker 1:

Exactly, and it's hard to see yourself at that. You know, at that next step, and so you know, interestingly, this very small organization or small business is now a multi-million dollar organization. Um, or small business is now a multimillion dollar. You know company and so it's just very rewarding for me to to just say, you know, I was a part of that in some small way. And you know, and that's really what I feel like I, you know, I brought to the table for my clients was that combination of small business and corporate background, but also the you know, the various industries I was in and the various disciplines so I could speak their language. I guess is what I'm saying, sure.

Speaker 2:

Of course.

Speaker 2:

Well and I always say we learn so much in corporate that you don't necessarily know is transferable until you've left corporate, because a lot of times it feels like everybody in corporate knows what you know and then you leave and then you realize like oh, that's actually a skill set and I can actually transfer that into another industry or something else, because we tend in corporate to pigeonhole ourselves. Like you said, you were in IT but yet you were writing a lot and speaking a lot and that's not what someone would think from an IT person. And those skills you can transfer that to any other industry, which is so interesting.

Speaker 1:

And I think that's really key for people who are in corporate right now and may not be all that happy. You know, if you can, you know, take a step back and say you know, what are the skills I have, what are the skills I can learn here, quote, unquote for free, and that I may be able to utilize somewhere else, whether it's in my own business or in another position or, you know, wherever. I think if we can look at each you know step in our journey, as you know, what am I learning? What skill can I learn that's going to help me later? It's pretty amazing when you look at your toolbox after, you know the long period of time that after the long period of time that I was in corporate and even on my own.

Speaker 2:

You start to develop this toolbox of skills and you're like, wow, there's value here no-transcript, which is so great, and I always say our life experience is worth so much more than we ever give credit for, much more than our education the life experience so you being able to share with people how to pull that out of their own journeys to find their greatness and their uniqueness and the tools that they have, is also valuable and helpful too valuable and helpful too, absolutely, and I think it helps them see themselves a little bit differently and they can start to visualize I really can do this or this really is possible, and I really look at myself as an encourager and someone who wants to help people accomplish their dreams, whatever that might be, and so I'm always throwing out bits of wisdom here and there to anyone who'll listen.

Speaker 2:

Well, and also you help people with marketing. I think those of us that come from a marketing background. Marketing is very natural for us and instinctive, but the reality is especially for small business owners and entrepreneurs. Marketing is a really big challenge, and part of that is that we don't like to talk about ourselves and we don't know how to communicate effectively about our strengths and our differences. So you being able to combine the marketing with the ability to speak, with the ability to write, with the ability to help people find what they're really good at, is a really interesting combination of skills.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I find that you know you say the M word in front of people. You know that marketing like M, you know, and they really do like you know, the eyes glaze over, you know there's a look of panic that comes across their faces and they don't know where to even start. And I think, you know, sometimes they diminish the things that they are doing that are actually, you know, very helpful, but because it doesn't get results, you know in five minutes they think they're failing, when in actuality, you know marketing is like a staircase. You know you take one step at a time and if you don't take the first step, you're never getting to number 10. And it's not necessarily the 10th step that gets you the recognition or gets you the prize, it's all the consistency and perseverance along the way that finally, you quote unquote crack the nut at the 200th social media post Right. Crack the nut at the 200th social media post Right.

Speaker 1:

Which is so true.

Speaker 2:

I can say as an entrepreneur. It's like you spend so much time creating your reel and you're so excited about it and you post it and nothing Like no one even responds and you're like how can this be? But marketing is a long game and I had a guest early on in my podcast say your life can change at any moment. It just takes years to build up to that moment. And that's exactly what marketing is. It's a bit yeah, you have to be patient.

Speaker 1:

You do have to be patient. I think you also have to be mindful of what's going on out there and the changes that are happening. I mean, technology has completely revamped marketing completely. Social media has turned it on its head, and I can remember when Facebook started, for example, and you would get a trillion comments on a post and everyone loved it. And now, because people, you know people are just scrolling, scrolling, scrolling. There are no more likes and comments unless something is really, you know, like wow, impactful.

Speaker 1:

So, you know, we look at, you know, marketing through social media a little bit differently now than we, you know, did before. And I, you know, I tell some of my clients they're like you know, we're not getting're not getting any likes or this or that. And I said join the crowd, truly join the crowd. Really, it's about awareness. Now you just have to stay out there, because some of them are like forget it, I don't want to do it anymore, and I'm like no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You can't drop off the face of the earth because we're in a trend of scrolling right now. At some point it'll turn into something else, but for now you need to maintain your presence and awareness out there.

Speaker 2:

You do Well now, and also because and I hear this all the time and read this all the time the number of touch points that you have to have with someone before they engage, and especially before they buy anything, has gone up dramatically and the numbers of hours of content that people need to absorb of you, with your message and with what you do, is so high now because we're exposed to so much content and there are so many choices, and that number is staggeringly high, especially as an entrepreneur, when you're like okay, they need to interact with me for nine hours, I think this last study.

Speaker 2:

I saw I was like holy cow. But it's at least nine touch points before someone might take any action at all. And that's like them taking action to get into the top of your funnel. That's not even action to get down to the bottom and say, yes, they'll buy.

Speaker 1:

And so it's really to your point.

Speaker 2:

I think for marketing now it is a long game and you need to have a strategy and it needs to be multi-pronged and it can't just be social media and I'm sure you spend time on building up newsletters and emails and referrals and it's like it's a little overwhelming. As a business owner, I can say yeah, yeah, you know.

Speaker 1:

And when I was back in corporate back, you know, owner, I can say, yeah, yeah, you know. And when I was back in corporate back, you know, long, long time ago, you know, we used to call these, these kinds of programs integrated marketing, communications programs Totally. And you know, and it was, you know, the newsletter, the email, the, this, the, that, you know events, et cetera, pr, and it was this holistic look at how can I get my service, my product? You know me, if I'm the, you know the product or the service, how do I get myself out there? And you know it was this combination of touch points, like you said, and it's you know.

Speaker 1:

When you say, well, how do you hear about me? You know, sometimes people are like I don't know, it might have been your newsletter, might have been this, might have been that, and I don't know. I mean, does it really matter anymore? Because you know the point is that you have a holistic look, you have a comprehensive approach to it. And you know I'm just excited when someone says I heard about you and let's move forward.

Speaker 2:

Exactly, I agree, yeah, so let's talk about the author side of your life. So you've written how many books.

Speaker 1:

I've written four books, yes, yes, and I've been a co-author on a few other ones. So the baby journal was was my first first book, and that was back in oh nine. I actually self-published that before self before self publishing was a thing.

Speaker 2:

Okay, so I'm just gonna call myself a trendsetter there you go, go for it, marketing all the way, there you go.

Speaker 1:

And then in 2015, 16, I wrote my memoir. I also self published that in 2020. That in 2020.

Speaker 2:

And then in 2022-ish, I co-authored with my podcast, co-host a 365-day devotional called Elevate the Day Good. So how do you feel about being an author? Do you want to write more?

Speaker 1:

Oh, yeah, of course I do. You do. Yeah, I think you know, when I go back through my life and it's no surprise that in my corporate life it was speaking and writing, speaking and writing. There's always been some element of writing. You know, throughout my life I liked essay tests more than you know. The multiple choice true, false did better on essays, and I loved when we had to do, you know, reports instead of you know, taking a test.

Speaker 1:

And so I think you know, becoming an author, it really enables you to share a story, to tell a story, to connect with people and relate to them on, you know, wherever they're at. And I think when I speak and spend time with other authors, I get energized because they're energized, they're so excited about sharing their story with the world. And it's not necessarily a story, it could be a business leadership book. I helped a CEO publish his book and you get excited for them because they get to share this wisdom, this knowledge, with others. That's going to help improve their lives. And so I think that's really what I love most about it and why I love working with authors, because you know it has the power to change a life. A story has the power to change a life.

Speaker 2:

Couldn't agree more. Yes so how specifically do you like to work and help authors?

Speaker 1:

more? Yes. So how specifically do you like to work and help authors? In the last several years, I've helped authors who have had a pretty semi-finished manuscript. I've helped them do some light editing and then I've helped them publish it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I also have given them some marketing expertise, shared that with them so that they can get the book out there.

Speaker 1:

And I continue a relationship with them and you know I'm always inviting them to events or telling them about this or that so they can, you know, market and promote their book. And so I think really that's where I think my sweet spot is with them is that they're not necessarily good at, or want to do the marketing and it kind of makes the eyes glaze over, and so I can provide them expertise and put together a simple marketing plan. I'm not looking to overwhelm people, but put together a simple, straightforward marketing plan that can get you from my books on Amazon to. I've sold 20 copies. Hopefully they will sell a lot more, but I'm very aware of how overwhelming it can be. So I customize a plan depending on the author's expertise. Some of them are not very technical. Some of them are like oh yeah, give me everything.

Speaker 2:

Right. Writing it is self-fulfilling, but writing it doesn't sell books. You can't just write it and put it out there and think that they will come Right, because it doesn't work that way. So you do need to market a book if you want anyone to buy it or know that it exists or know anything about you as an author.

Speaker 1:

Yes, yes, and it goes back to you know, I recently did a book publishing workshop and I said you know, the first thing that you need to ask yourself when you're writing a book is why are you writing it? You know, it's no different than when you start a business Like why are you starting this business? If it's just to make money, that's all fine and good, but that's, you know, one path. If it's, you know, I want to, you know, use this, as you know, a means to become a speaker. You know a paid speaker, you know that's fine and good too. So it really depends on the why. And when you know the why and you have the what, which is the book, then you can take that story and market it out accordingly.

Speaker 2:

Very, very true, yes. You have to understand their motivation behind wanting to write it for sure, other than just sometimes it's really therapeutic to get your stuff out into the world, which is also a why. That's a why it's okay.

Speaker 1:

It absolutely is, and it just depends on what's the impact you want to make. Right, exactly.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and to your point, lots of authors write their books really just to give themselves credibility in a certain field and to move their career trajectory forward in a certain way, and that's a great reason to write a book. There's no right or wrong reason to write a book, but your point is great about marketing it. You want to understand why? Because that helps you craft the right marketing plan, absolutely, absolutely.

Speaker 1:

And you know, and it's very gratifying when I, you know, hear back from them and you know I sold two books. You know I went to this event.

Speaker 2:

and you know and I don't know, that isn't a family member, that's not a that's key.

Speaker 1:

I sold two books and it wasn't a family member, that's a that's a good place to start. And it's a long game as well, you know. To your point earlier, I mean, you know, unless you've, you know, got a really famous last name, you know that million copy, you know, moniker is not going to come day one necessarily, and so it's about perseverance, it's about, you know, staying in it for the long run and getting yourself out there and putting yourself out there.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, very true. All right, let's shift gears to your podcast, because not everybody has a podcast. Just because you're a writer or an author doesn't mean you have a podcast. So what made you decide to get into the?

Speaker 1:

podcasting world and you know, over the years it has migrated from topic to topic. You know, depending on the season of my life, that I was in and I was writing my blog Elevate the Day, which is a faith-based blog, and I just was, like you know, I was running out of room is the best way I could say it. I was like writing these blog posts and I'm like I could say more, like I feel like I need to say more. And then, interestingly, my you know local community college was doing a class on podcasting and I said, you know, I think I'm going to take this class and my colleague also took it because she wanted to start a podcast, but we also wanted we're thinking of doing one for one of our clients. So, you know, I went to the class and was like over my head, didn't understand what's an intro, what's an outro, and I don't know what a microphone is, and so I kind of sat on it for about six months, like I really, you know, I was overwhelmed with what am I going to say? I don't have anything to say and you know, meanwhile I thought I needed to say more and now I'm feeling like I have nothing to say. And then one day I just said, you know, just do it. And so I did, I just did it. I'm like it doesn't have to be, you know, the most professional thing in the world. Just, you know, put it together, get it out there and start. Sure, and that's what I did. I just I started with, you know, just myself, and for about five, six months give or take, and then my now co-host actually we got connected, you know, for some other things she put up a Facebook post one day that said I think I'm supposed to start a podcast.

Speaker 1:

What's a podcast?

Speaker 2:

See, look how much you know. You're so ahead of her.

Speaker 1:

That's it. And I was like girl, I got you.

Speaker 2:

I know so much more not a lot, but I know more than you.

Speaker 1:

There you go. So I said, you know, why don't you come on board with me and let's do it together and we'll, we'll figure it out. And you know, throughout the years I mean we're up to, you know, over 220 something episodes, I think.

Speaker 2:

Congratulations, cause that's a lot, that's a lot of consistency to keep going. Most people don't get past 20. So congratulations.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, You's been a lot of fun. I've learned a lot. We started out on a little platform called Anchor and now we're using tools that are a little bit more sophisticated. I still don't know what I'm doing when I try and put all the little edits in and fun little subscribe nows. But I said you know what, Just go for it and do it. No one's writing me to complain, so I figure you know, let's just keep going.

Speaker 2:

That's so great. Oh, good for you. Well, you said a couple of things that I want to pull out and talk about just a little bit further. So, first off, you talked about just going for it and you didn't really know, but you just went for it. What made you decide to do that?

Speaker 1:

Well, I don't know if it's wisdom or stupidity. I'll be frank with you. Sometimes I'm just like you know what, I'm just going to do it Like what's the worst that can happen, I mean, unless I go bankrupt or literally hurt someone badly, like what's the worst that can happen. Hurt someone badly, like what's the worst that can happen. Oh, you know, okay, it'll break, or I might look silly, or it won't take off or it won't turn out the way I wanted to Like. These are not horrible things. They might be embarrassing things, they might be disappointing things, but they're not life changing things necessarily. You know I did it. When I, you know, started my baby gift business, everybody said you know, you're crazy, it's a bad economy, this and that, and I'm like you know. So what? Like, I'm just going to do it. And you know, because of that I met all of these wonderful people that I still know today, that have been instrumental in other areas of my life. So sometimes you just have to do it. It doesn't have to be perfect, and I do like perfect.

Speaker 2:

I'm not going to lie, I'm with you Type A all the way I like perfect.

Speaker 1:

But sometimes I'm just like just do it and take the risk, stick with it for a while. I'm not a fan of beating it into the ground if it's truly not working. Stick with it for a while, don't? You know like I'm not a fan of like beating it into the ground if it's truly not working. You do have to know when to step away. You know, just get started. Sometimes the you know, the hardest thing is getting started. That, that first word in your book. You know that first sentence it's the hardest sentence to write, but then after that it's you know it's it gets easier.

Speaker 2:

It's so true, it's so funny Getting started, the first thing you're talking about, right, the first words in the book. When I recorded my audio book, I recorded the first chapter at least 30 times and was so unhappy with it and I was like, okay, forget this, we're moving to section two and we're going to start at section two of the book and record the audio version from section two forward and then we're going to come back to section, because it was just so hard and I'm listening to myself and who wants to listen to yourself? And it sounds terrible and the perfectionist and I was so frustrated and you'd spend so much time and then I'd listen to it Like that's terrible, they can't even edit that to make that good.

Speaker 2:

That's awful Right, and so sometimes you know and knowing where to start, just starting and knowing where to start and not giving up is a really important thing. And I love that you said that, because I hear from entrepreneurs a lot this concept of what's the worst that can happen and you're never going to know how good it can be if you don't ever try. You'll never know and do you want to live in the I never know phase?

Speaker 1:

which I think is important.

Speaker 2:

I can tell that you are a huge proponent of learning something new by the fact that you took a podcasting class without knowing anything about podcasting, and I'm a huge proponent of continual learning. So talk to us a little bit about what you do for continual learning, because I'm pretty sure that you do things too.

Speaker 1:

You know I love going to, you know, the women's networking groups, for example, when there's you know other speakers who are, you know, sharing their wisdom, their expertise. So that's always a place of learning for me. I do read a lot. I read, you know, naturally I'm a reader, so you know I'm reading things online. I'm reading books, and it's not necessarily even in the um. You know the area that I'm seeking to learn something more about.

Speaker 1:

It can be for a, you know, a faith-based book. It can be about oh, there's this new way to use Instagram. You know there's articles that I like to read. And then you know, of course, you know anything that's kind of helping me with. You know my podcasting and you know learning how to do that better. So it's more of a tweaking. You know fine tuning and tweaking as opposed to I want to go back to school to become a lawyer, you know. I mean I. You know I did go back to school a few years ago. I went to Bible college and got a four-year degree there, but now it's more like the bits and pieces of tweaking my knowledge and fine-tuning it so that I can be more efficient, because there's lots of efficient ways to do things nowadays, and so I love learning ways to do that.

Speaker 2:

Which is good Should always be learning and always reading too. Yes, yeah, yes, yes. Important, because that ties into my next question, which is wellness. So this podcast is about wellness starts within. I am a huge believer that you need to look inward, and if you don't take care of yourself, no one else will. So I would love for you to share what does wellness within mean in your life and what are some of the things that you do to take care of yourself.

Speaker 1:

Well, for me it's multifaceted, as I'm sure it is with you and everyone listening. I'm a walker, I like to get out and walk, I love going to the beach and I grew up in Long Island, so I'm a beach girl at heart and I find that the time out by the water, the time just outside, is really reflective time. I do spend a fair amount of time in front of a computer all day long, so any chance I get to move away from the computer is good for me, because it's like a like, a, a default, like oh, you know, I have five minutes, I don't, you know what can I do? Oh, let me go on the computer, and you know, I'm really trying to train myself now to go outside, you know, and and go, even if it is five minutes, go for a walk. I also journal every single day.

Speaker 1:

I've kept a journal pretty much all my life. I mean, there's been, you know, times when I didn't, and I find that journaling is really therapeutic, it is really healing and it's also a great way to see how much progress you've made and be grateful. I think it's a great way to look back and say, wow, look at all these great things that happened. Look at all these wonderful people I met, these things I was able to do. So I think it helps with your attitude of gratitude and keeping you focused on the things that are really important.

Speaker 1:

You know the traffic jam happened. Focused on the things that are really important. You know the traffic jam happened, yes, but you got a great parking space. It's the little things and that's what I think it really helps me do. It helps me pay attention to the little things. I think sometimes we want to see the big stuff, which is wonderful, but I believe it's the accumulation of a lot of little things that really establish a grateful heart, and you know, I also have a very of little things that really establish a grateful heart, and I also have a very strong church community that I belong to and that's my rock.

Speaker 1:

That really is my rock, which is important, everyone needs a rock.

Speaker 2:

Yes, and I'm a huge proponent of journaling. Anyone who knows me, I journal all the time. I talk about it, I talk about it on Instagram, I write about it and in the month of October, I'm doing three minutes of gratitude every morning in addition to my regular journaling, and it's amazing how some mornings like the three minutes go by so fast.

Speaker 1:

I'm like three minutes is over already.

Speaker 2:

I still have more to write it a moment, give it a minute to like start to come out, you know. But I find most days, once I get going and you really start to focus on the things that you're grateful for, it's amazing what you put down on a piece of paper and it brings you back to such grounding and such centering that I think is a really important way to start the day.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and I, you know it. It puts you in that positive place and I think it really is just a great reminder, you know, daily reminder, that we do have a lot to be grateful for. And you know, even though you might wake up and the coffee didn't quite kick in, you know which I'm also very, very grateful for.

Speaker 2:

Simple things in life, let's not forget them. So simple things in life, let's not forget them.

Speaker 1:

That's it. It's just, you know, sets your day up for success as opposed to oh my gosh, I have to do this, oh my gosh, whatever you know. You take those few moments and just recognize how you know, blessed we really all are, then I think it sets up your day for to be much more positive than than the alternative.

Speaker 2:

It does.

Speaker 2:

It does Well.

Speaker 2:

One of the other things I journal about, which ties into what you talked about, is making connections, and so sometimes I'll journal about gratitude for the new people that I've met, or the new people that I've been introduced to, or the new people that have come into my path.

Speaker 2:

And I think if you really think about it it is and really consciously think about the new people that you might know in a three or six month period that you didn't know three or six months before, it can be amazing how many people can come into our path if you are intentionally making an effort to connect with people outside of your immediate family and social circle. It's a fun exercise to do, especially in the land of small business, where so much of what we do is so by ourselves or, you know, with us in a small team. When you're not part of a big corporation anymore, it becomes very insular and you're very inward focused, and so I think the more we can encourage ourselves to do things outside and then recognize like, oh wow, you know, I met five new people that are interesting and like what I like, and that's really cool. That's the power of connection, which I think is also important to journal about and acknowledge, because then you'll attract more of that into your life as well.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and you know I think we started out talking about this. You know, it really is those connections that make our lives so meaningful. And you know, like I've reconnected with people you know back from high school, back from you know my corporate days, and I'm offering them something now and they're offering me something now, and I would have never put the two together. One simple social media post and I get a call from a former colleague and hey, do you have a few minutes to talk about? I want to write a book. How cool is that? That's so cool.

Speaker 2:

Yes, and it feels good to help others. I think when people reach out to me and ask for advice, like you too, you know it feels good to share our knowledge and to be able to help people that we know, or know from the past, or know a little bit. It feels good to be able to help other people with our life experience.

Speaker 1:

Well, and I especially love talking with younger people. Yeah, because, like you know, you don't want them to make the same mistakes that you've made, but I also I enjoy their enthusiasm and I enjoy their creativity and you know. So I just really love being around younger people who want to make a difference. You know, both of my kids are young adults and you know their friends are, you know, just really cool people to talk to. I love the different perspective. You know there's a huge generation gap and you know I misuse all the slang. Please stop saying that.

Speaker 2:

That's so out. Yeah, it's so not now anymore.

Speaker 1:

But I'm fulfilling my job as your mom to embarrass you, so you know, let's let it go, but they're just cool people to talk to and you know, I think that's what I really enjoy talking with other people and going to these networking groups and just meeting. You know, cool and fun people that are passionate about what they're doing and and seeing how maybe you can help, even if it's hey, I know a guy, yeah.

Speaker 2:

Hey, it's always helpful to know someone who knows, someone who can help you, because you just never know. Absolutely yes. So before we go, I always ask all my guests if they could recommend a book that impacted them either personally or professionally. So what book would you like to recommend to the listeners?

Speaker 1:

Well, this is a little bit of maybe of a different book, I don't know, but it was.

Speaker 1:

You know, it was just kind of bubbling up in me before we started chatting, and it's the book Julie and Julia, okay, so, started chatting, and it's the book Julie and Julia, okay so, and it's based on the movie of the same name and it's about this woman who was a writer and she started blogging about her journey through making her way through Julia Child's cookbook and you know, all these wonderful things happened because of that, and so I just love the transformative story of her story.

Speaker 1:

She started this blog to just basically make a difference and get out there and it really ended up touching her life in so many other different ways and then, of course, it turned into a movie deal and now she's a multi-million Living a very different life, living a very different life. So I know it's maybe a little bit different than what you might be used to, but I think it really just goes back to my own conviction that stories do have the power to transform. They have the power to connect and you know, not to be afraid to get your story out there and put it out there, and because you never know what will happen.

Speaker 2:

And that is a great one, cause I have I have seen that movie. Now that you say it, I totally remember that movie, and the other thing that's so great about that story is just she started the blog without the intention of becoming famous, right. And so when you do things that you're passionate about without really focusing on a desired end game, that's when things get really interesting. And when things get really cool is when you're not so focused on the end game, but you're just focused on the journey and what could happen in the journey.

Speaker 1:

Yes, absolutely, and it was a noble undertaking. Yes, oh yeah, and the movie is funny too. It really is.

Speaker 2:

It's very funny, I'm ashamed to admit how many times I've seen it. I was like, oh, I got to go watch that one again. That's a really funny one, that is a great book. I will link that here. I will link everything to your podcast. Anything that I didn't ask you, that I think you want to share, that you want to share with the audience that I haven't asked.

Speaker 1:

Well, I mean, I would just say I don't know if it's anything you know, all that different than what we've talked about, but I would just say, if anyone who's listening who wants to write a book, just do it, just do it, just start writing, and there's going to be days when you'll be staring at a blank piece of paper or a blank screen. Write anyway, write anyway and stick with it, because you've got a story to tell that, I believe in my heart, will change someone's life.

Speaker 2:

That is a perfect way to end it. Everyone has a story and everyone can impact someone else. Oh, jennifer, thank you so much for being a guest on the show. It was truly a pleasure. You are a wealth of information and you have incredible energy. You can just feel it on the screen. So thank you, and I look forward to seeing you at a networking group again soon. Absolutely Thank you so much, june. Thanks, we'll talk soon.

Speaker 2:

Bye, thank you for joining us for another episode of the House of Germar podcast, where wellness starts within. We appreciate you being a part of our community and hope you felt inspired and motivated by our guest. If you enjoyed this episode, please write us a review and share it with friends. Building our reach on YouTube and Apple podcasts will help us get closer to our mission to empower 1 million women to live all in. You can also follow us on Instagram at House of Jermar and sign up to be a part of our monthly inspiration newsletter through our website, houseofjermarcom. If you or someone you know would be a good guest on the show, please reach out to us at podcast at houseofgermarcom. This has been a House of Germar production with your host, jean Collins. Thank you for joining our house.