She Grew a Company to $4.6 Billion — Then Her Body Shut Down

She went from accounting at one of the largest mining companies in the world to growing a financial firm from $500 million to $4.6 billion in four years — as a single mom.

Then her body stopped letting her push through.

In this episode of Girl, Why Not You?, I sit down with Jackie Yoder — executive consultant, leadership strategist, and growth advisor — for the conversation women in leadership aren’t having out loud. We’re talking about what happens when perimenopause collides with your biggest professional season. The brain fog. The anxiety out of nowhere. The moment you realize "just push harder" isn’t going to work this time.

Jackie shares how burnout and premature menopause forced her to completely rethink how she led — and how letting go became the thing that actually made her team (and her business) stronger.

We also get into:
- What feminine leadership actually looks like in male-dominated industries
- Why high-performing women hide what they’re going through
- The delegation breakthrough that changed everything
- Jackie’s new female executive roundtables in Scottsdale (and virtual options coming soon)

If you’re a woman in leadership quietly wondering what’s happening to your brain, your energy, or your edge — this one’s for you.

Find Jackie at jackieyoder.com and on Instagram @jackiemyoder.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

I'm Jenny Blackwood, a small town mom of four who refused to settle for a life that didn't light me up. When everything felt uncertain, I didn't run back to a nine to five. I bet on myself. I took a simple idea and turned it into an almost seven-figure business my first year, all while being a mom first. Now I'm here to help you trust your own power. Chase the dream that keeps tapping your shoulder, and build a life that feels like you. This is Girl Why Not You. Hello, hello, friends. Welcome back to another exciting episode of Girl Why Not You? I'm Jenny, and today's conversation is for the woman who has done it all the right way. The career, the promotions, the team that she leads, the reputation she built. From the outside, it looks like she's got it all figured out. On the inside, she's tired in a way coffee just can't fix. And she's starting to wonder if the version of success she chased was even the right one. Today's guest is Jackie Yoder, executive consultant, leadership strategist, and growth advisor, y'all. This woman is the real freaking deal. She works with high-performing female executives. She's launching a female executive group out of Scottsdale, one of my favorite places, and she's having a conversation that almost nobody in the corner office is willing to have out loud. What does feminine leadership actually look like in a high performance world? And what happens to your body, your edge, and your identity when perimenopause shows up in the middle of your biggest professional season. Jackie, welcome to the show. I have been waiting for this conversation for so many reasons. I'm so happy you're here. Thank you for having me. Absolutely. You hit on so many things, you know, in our pre-interview that I am just so excited to get to the people. Our really great friend Perry Menipaws that loves to just show up overnight and like slap us across the face. But here's the thing, Jackie. So before we get into the executive group, before we get into the work you're doing now, before we get into the conversation women aren't being told, I really would like to take our listeners back a little bit if you're okay with that. Yeah. Because I don't think that you got where you are by accident. And I don't think the version of you that's leading today is the same one who started that very climb. There's got to be a story there. And we want to dig in from the beginning. So can you take us into that moment of where this kind of all began?

SPEAKER_01 2:29

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 2:30

I mean, how far back do you want to go today? I want to go back to the moment where you started realizing, holy moly, something's not right here. I need to make a change.

SPEAKER_01 2:41

Yeah. I mean, I will say my undergrad is in accounting. So I started out uh my career actually working at uh one of the largest mining companies in the world. Uh very male dominated. I could see that. And uh it was such a great experience, and I will always be so grateful for it, truly. Um what I realized so quickly though, it took me, no joke, multiple years of working there until I found another female mentor that was actually really great. And I say that because if there were female executives, they had all very much hardened and were leading like the men. And I was like, if I'm gonna stay here, I I can't lead like that. That's just not who I am, right? And so I uh I eventually I left there because uh I actually wanted to leave accounting. I was like, I don't want to do this anymore. Yeah. And ended up in the finance world, got my series seven, 66. Nice, those are hard to get. Yeah, became an advisor and still surrounded by men. Uh, but ended up getting recruited uh to be the CEO of a financial firm. And uh that was exciting for me because it allowed me to really have that moment where I knew I could give back and really mentor other women in that industry that was so male-dominated, but I could do it in my way of not needing to be hardened and um show up like the men were showing up essentially.

SPEAKER_00 4:26

Yeah, that is super interesting. If you think about it, gosh, I I had like the exact person in my mind. Her name is probably like Pam or Sharon, and she's just been around like the male-dominated force for too long. She's probably cut her hair really short. She's just like not that pleasant to be around. All the fuzziness is gone. I know that person that you're describing. And this woman, everybody, Jackie could not be any more different from that. She's absolutely stunning, very warm and fuzzy. So, yes, I could see how that environment might have like started to eat you alive. Thank God you made it out. Um, I also can't wait to tell my husband that I met you and that you used to work for the largest gold mining company because that fool is so into gold mining, the gold rush shows, all of that. My gosh, it's like it, but always puts him to sleep. I'm like, yeah, here you are, awake during the housewives when I'm watching that. But yes, okay. So this is crazy to me. You started in accounting, you end up shifting into financial advising, then all of a sudden you're recruited to be a CEO of a firm. That is quite a transition, my friend.

SPEAKER_01 5:28

Yes. I mean, I will say at my time um at the mining company, I had I was climbing the ladder. So, you know, I was managing people. So I I didn't completely not have, you know, that experience of managing people. Uh, but yeah, this was like, this was a whole new transition. And it was a wild ride in the sense that uh when I came on, they had, I want to say 12 financial advisors, maybe 12 employees, and they had 500 million AUM. And in four years, um I exploded that company to 4.6 billion.

SPEAKER_00 6:11

Oh my.

SPEAKER_01 6:13

We were up to like almost 70 advisors at that point, and the same for employees. So it was um, it was busy, you know.

SPEAKER_00 6:23

Yes. Holy. Oh, that is that is incredible. That's not some like baby numbers there. That is like big dog, top dog, and you wow, you have that on your shoulders, like, hey, yeah, I did that. So proud of you. So you kind of you describe yourself as the woman who did it all the right way. I want to know what right actually looked like for you in those years. You know, what what was different back then?

SPEAKER_01 6:48

Yeah, I mean, I would say at that point, you know, I really, I really took to heart just having maybe not my best experience, you know, with other women leaders. So I just really always, I always put the people first. Um to the point that um we actually got bought out about, I think it was like three years in. Um, we got partially bought out by a PE firm. Yeah. And if anyone knows anything about that, like they are all about their EBITDA, uh how they can cut every cost. And so when we did that business deal, I had it put in there uh that we could continue with our employee development items because that meant uh the most to me. And um, I really did not want our people to feel that that stress of what I knew that change was gonna look like, essentially.

SPEAKER_00 7:45

Yeah. Yeah. It's I really do think that the people are that are the happiest and the most successful lead with people first and nothing else, right?

SPEAKER_01 7:53

Well, if you want your EPITA to grow, you better invest in your people. Yeah. And a lot of people get that wrong because they're trying to cut the costs, but the more you invest in your people, the more your number, your bottom line numbers grow. You just have to unfortunately take the hit at the beginning of it, but it it comes back.

SPEAKER_00 8:12

Yeah. You know, I think I'd love to have you give a brief explanation, not that this is why you're here, but to explain to people listening, not everybody may know what an EBITDA is. I actually just found out what it is. I was at an Alex Hermozzi conference, and there's all these like big hitters in the room, and they're like asking them all their financials and their EBITDA, and I'm like, I'm sorry, a webda. Like, you know, I had no idea. Now I know, but can you give a brief explanation to people of what that means? Yeah, no, of course.

SPEAKER_01 8:38

I mean, people use different numbers, so I'll give like the high level, but it's essentially your earnings before your taxes, your interests, um, depreciation, all those fun things. Um, that's the number that they're really wanting to look at before all of those other bottom line numbers. So got it.

SPEAKER_00 8:54

Yeah. Thank you. I hope somebody out there learned something today. And that you can sound really smart today and go tell somebody what an EBITDA is. Bring that up in random conversation. But like, did you look in your EBITDA lately? What? Are you having a stroke? What are you saying? Um, yes. So, okay, so from the outside, everyone is seeing success with you. Obviously, like you are climbing the freaking ladder like no other. What were you carrying underneath that though, that maybe nobody else could see from the outside?

SPEAKER_01 9:25

Uh, yeah. I mean, I will say this is a part of my story that it took me a long time to really even share with anyone because when you're in a position like that, people they do have a perception that you have it all together, you're supposed to have it all together. Uh, but it is extremely lonely at the top. In my particular world, it was even more lonely than some others in the sense that we were growing so quickly. So I found myself avoiding even having dinners with my girlfriends because a lot of them were in the financial world as well. But I knew I couldn't really talk shop with them because I was probably recruiting an advisor that was at their firm. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I just is awkward. Right. And so um it just really was really lonely for me. And on top of that, you know, I always make the joke, but I was a single mom on top of this. And so I was running, you know, the before school marathon. And then I'd get to work, run that marathon, and then get home, do the other kid marathon. And then once I got them settled, I'm back doing work again. And so it was just, it was nonstop because um ultimately the way we had things kind of set up at that time, the CEO of the company, he did not, he he he truly had a passion for continuing to see his clients. So he would be in client meetings for nine hours out of the day. So that left growing the business and doing all the things on that plate, right? So it was a heavy load to carry in that everybody needed something all the time. Um and we, you know, one of the ways we grew too was, you know, obviously we were opening other offices throughout, you know, the entire United States. So it was just, it was a lot. It was a lot to carry. Um yeah. I never knew which way um my brain was. I there was, you know, what I like to say a hundred tabs open in my brain at all times.

SPEAKER_00 11:44

Always, right? As you're saying that, like you you just said the word heavy. I felt like heavy. I've I felt very like tired for you because I know that feeling when you literally never get to shut down. You literally are going, you're needed constantly. I quite frankly like do not think that humans were wired to run at that level all the time. You know, or it's like, yeah, I get it. You're you're you sleep, that's your only downtime. You wake up, your kid mode, your work mode, your kid mode, your work mode, you go back to sleep. That is like the ultimate recipe for burnout, you know? And it's like even high-functioning people like yourself, it it will collapse you at some point, right? Did you ever experience extreme burnout while you were going through that?

SPEAKER_01 12:30

Um, you know, it really didn't hit me until towards the end. And um, essentially what happened is I uh, you know, I've been to plenty of doctors now and they they've diagnosed me essentially with premature uh menopause. But what happened was uh my body shut down in the sense of like the perimenopause hit me and it hit me hard. Um I, you know, I I could barely sleep. I my anxiety was at this whole new level that I've never experienced before out of nowhere. Yeah. Uh the brain fog, like I couldn't remember anything. Like it was just it was insane because I've only ever known how to be able to push through. Yeah. And it was like that first moment for me of like, oh, like I I don't think I can push through this time. Like this is taking me down, you know? Um so yeah, so that was a really hard life lesson for me, but also um a blessing in disguise.

SPEAKER_00 13:34

So yeah, absolutely. Yeah, and that is the realest thing ever, is that those things can sneak up on you out of nowhere. And it really makes you start to question like, what's wrong with me, especially like our really good friend, anxiety, who likes to just creep in and just blow shit up. I mean, honestly, this I can relate to that too. Same thing happened to me about eight months ago. I was like a year postpartum, I want to say, a little bit more than a year postpartum. And same thing, all of a sudden I was getting debilitating anxiety. I brain fog everything. And I was just like, what is wrong with me? You know, it's the worst feeling ever. So I'm hoping that your story is comforting me. I hope other people on here are also feeling comfort in that too. So, okay, so let's talk talk about that. There was the moment when your body kind of stopped letting you push through, it was at this time. You're getting this brain fog, the exhaustion, the kind that like truly just can't be fixed by going to like Maui or something, right? So walk us to that moment. What did that feel like? And and what did that kind of force you to face? You know, how did you get through that time?

SPEAKER_01 14:40

I always say this was probably the honestly, like when I think back, it it was the best thing that ever happened in the sense that um I had amazing people around me. Um, you know, like my assistant, she was amazing. Like all my employees around me were amazing. And it really forced me to take another level of uh delegating to them to help me with things. And the growth that I saw in them, like, was it perfect? No. Did they make mistakes? Of course, but they felt so empowered in knowing that they were given this other level of ri responsibility and I trusted them. And yeah, it was actually really, really a cool experience to just witness their growth and all of that. Um and then obviously it helped take a little of that pressure uh off me, I guess you would say, and really helped me as a leader because I I really do feel with women, especially, you know, we are the ones that mostly take care of the kids and all of that. That's what we know, we just know to do, do, do. Yeah. Um, so it was a really good moment in me figuring out like it's okay to have people help me. I don't have to be the one doing it all the time. Yeah. So yeah, that was my big, my big win, I would say.

SPEAKER_00 16:08

Yeah, what an aha moment for a super type A person to be like, wait a minute, other people can actually help me with this. I don't have to do 70,000 things all by myself. That is hard though. It's harder than it sounds. Letting go is especially because in the beginning, it's it's almost like nails on a chalkboard. You know, people need time to ramp up, people need time to become you, learn what you do, how it works, all of that. But it's really hard for type A people to give people time to figure it out. Because very easily you could be like, never mind, I'll just do it. I can do it faster. It's fine. But letting go is an art. Isn't there a book called that? Whoever has plugged, you're welcome. But it's true, you know, letting go is an art and it's it's hard. But my gosh, it is life-changing. Having other people help you, you know, it it's it almost makes you it forces you to spend the time in the places where you're needed most, where your energy is the best, the most effective, where you're really gonna get that change, takes you out of the weeds where you don't have to spend all this time doing things that literally other people can do. And now all of a sudden, maybe you get your time back, maybe you get some freedom back, maybe that's a happier place for you to be. So I'm proud of you for doing that because you definitely seem like the Jill of all trades that is like, nope, nope, I'm gonna do this all myself. So I think so many women experience that wall and think like, I just need to push harder, you know, sleep more, try a new supplement. What peptide can I inject myself with this week? But when did you realize this wasn't a productivity problem? You know, it was more of like this redesign problem that you had that you handled beautifully.

SPEAKER_01 17:48

Yeah, I mean, it was just, you know, um, it it was just kind of this evolution of all of it. And I did figure out, I don't regret it, like we have to figure things out, right? But I did, I went to um just like a normal hormone place. I wasn't at like an actual doctor. So they did start to put me on um some hormones. Um, and then it took me down a really bad journey, unfortunately, in that my body um really disliked uh one of them was the testosterone that they put me on because I had like none.

SPEAKER_00 18:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:28

Uh and so a couple months into it, um, we realized my body hated it and I was getting back-to-back UTIs, but I didn't know they were UTIs. So by the time it hit, it was a kidney infection. So I ended up in the emergency room like multiple times. Uh, ended up finding I I went through four different doctors because the antibiotics weren't helping, like nothing. And I finally found the right doctor, and he was like, You gotta stop that right away. Like, get off of that. That's not the right thing. Oh wow, got to um got connected to a really great like naturopathic doctor as well. And she did all the tests on me, and um we finally started getting me back on track, but she and she was the first doctor. Uh the for me, the reason the perimon perimenopause symptoms hitting me were just such a shock for me is because uh I stopped actually having a monthly cycle after I had my second kid, which was he's gonna be 13. So 14 years ago almost, right? Um I never got a cycle back. And so having these hermenopause symptoms hit, you know, but the doctor, she did all these tests and like she figured out my body from like all the stress and all the trauma, essentially it threw me into premature menopause as well, how they diagnose it.

SPEAKER_02 20:01

So wow.

SPEAKER_01 20:02

So yeah. And then it it's a process with perimenopause. You can start to feel good. You're like, I'm on track. And then two weeks later, you're like, yeah, no, I'm not. Yeah, yeah. Um, but I will say sitting here today, um, all the supplements I'm on, I'm feeling phenomenal. I'm amazing. Doing all the things, you know, and uh feeling feeling much better. But yeah, it was it was a very long journey for me. Um, I just had some setbacks along the way, unfortunately.

SPEAKER_00 20:38

We never, I think everybody takes advantage of their health until their health starts to fail in one way or the other. And then all of a sudden it's like, oh my God, the things that we take for granted. Yeah. Oh my gosh. And then you're like, okay, never again. I'll never take it for granted again. Just let me be normal again, let me feel good again. I totally, I'm totally with you. And I'm sure everybody listening, there's if you're not there yet, ladies, saddle up. So let's get into the conversation you said you want to go deeper on, which is really your true magic here. And there's a lot of magical pieces of you. But what are women in leadership not being told? Okay. Because, like, preach to that, my friend. Uh, what's the unspoken reality that you see?

SPEAKER_01 21:19

Yeah, I mean, it's really hard. It's it's really hard for women in general to really open up about what they're struggling with. They feel like they're constantly having to prove themselves, right? Because even though there's women in leadership, like it's still very male dominant. Like it just is. Um and so a lot of times what women in leadership, what we do is we do take a lot on because we're always trying to like prove ourselves, right? Yeah. And prove our worth. And so that's really where I really used my own struggle. And my own experience in really creating these female executive roundtables in the sense of helping women figure out like how not to burn out, how truly grateful they should be in figuring out how to delegate and have that help around them. Even a part of it is helping empower women to even ask for what they're worth to get paid, because even that is still a really huge gap. And women really do struggle going in there and fighting for their worth, right? And so that's where a lot of that really, really came from was a lot of the things I had experienced. And um there are studies, and I'm blanking because of my amazing perimenopause brain. Um but uh there are huge statistics showing women um hitting really like when you hit your especially like your 40s, uh 50s, like you're just you're at your prime in your career, like all of those things. It is now becoming such a big thing that women are stepping out at those times because they can't navigate through the perimenopause, the menopause are not getting the support they need. Like it, it's just it's sad. Like, and I want to be able to give back and really give women that support uh to get them through that.

SPEAKER_00 23:29

That is, yeah, that's amazing that you're helping people with this because it is, it's something that people really struggle. People don't realize that, like, if you're not happy with something, you can ask for something different. I have a friend like that who she used, it's like she's in the mortgage industry and she's more of like a part of the exec team. But she in a past job was making significantly more than her current job. Well, the mortgage industry took a dive, she ended up just being happy she had a job. But now that things are like coming back up, they're having like really high performing months, she's too scared to just be like, hey, I, you know, I I hung in here when things were tough, but like I'm worth more than this. Or I tell her, Well, there, you know, so many people in the industry. Go, go, you're, you're valuable. Go find somebody who will treat you like you're valuable. But she's it's just so many people just stay in the same place because they're too scared to ask or they're too scared to make a move. And I think I my like biggest motto, I mean, shit, all my merch that's coming out soon says get uncomfortable on it. You have to be uncomfortable to make a change. You have to. Like comfort is fine in the moment, but it's gonna keep you stuck and it's gonna keep you miserable for a long time. So I'm glad that you're out there, Jackie, kind of teaching people like how to have a voice in those places that maybe they don't feel like they can stand up for themselves. That's amazing. So, with your female executive group out of Scottsdale, I love this. I I was telling Jackie, Scottsdale is one of my most favorite places. What are you seeing in the room, you know, when high-performing women finally have space to actually be honest with each other? Like, what's been kind of like a revelation for you?

SPEAKER_01 25:06

You know, it's kind of beautiful to kind of watch it unfold, but it's like you see some of them walk into this room and you know, they have their guard up and they're like, I have it together. Yeah. And then you get in the room and you know, it all it takes is that first person to start being vulnerable. And by the end of it, they're all being really honest and open. And it's just a really beautiful thing to kind of watch that unfold because women really do feel like they have to just keep it together and and um they don't want to show like, you know, a weakness. And it's okay. Like we all feel a majority of the same things, right? Like, let's help each other through this because the more closed off you are about it, those are the ones that are gonna, you know, hit that wall later because they're just not getting the support that they need. So true. Yeah. So I I just love the watching the evolution of the vulnerability as as we go through um our sessions.

SPEAKER_00 26:13

Yeah. Yeah. It's good work you're doing, my friend. Like people really genuinely need this. And I love that you are taking your industry experience, your life experience, and you're helping people to better their lives. Like, what great work. You know, you want listeners to walk away knowing that they don't have to do this the way they've been doing it, right? So, what's the first permission slip you'd hand a woman who's listening to this right now?

SPEAKER_01 26:40

I would tell somebody that it is okay and to give them permission to put back into themselves. Find, find a group, find that support. And I call it a business spa day where you're putting back into yourself because the reality is that when you get into these executive roles, you find yourself in this bubble of not leaving, you know, your office, your like stay networked, yeah, get out there with others, give yourself the permission that it's everything's gonna be just fine for one day every month for you to go do something for you. Everyone in the office will be okay, I promise. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 27:25

I love that. Take that freaking permission slip, everybody, and put that into effect in your own life today. I love that. So please tell us about the female executive group and the work that you're building right now. Who is it for? What does life look like on the other side of working with you?

SPEAKER_01 27:41

Yeah. So um, yes, so it's in Scottsdale. Um, I am gonna be opening virtual ones as well. Um, and the female executive one, I really love uh the female executives that are kind of just entering that space because you can kind of get ahead of it. Of course, I love all of them, you know, equally, but really giving those ones just hitting that executive space that support right out of the gate is phenomenal. Love that. Um also do um I also do an HR and people roundtable as well. Um, mostly because uh HR is very similar. It's a very lonely world. You can't you can't tell anyone any of the secrets, right? So that one is uh another uh passion project I do. And then the third uh executive round table that I do is for uh what I call second in command, which is what I was CEO or you know, director of ops, whatever that title looks like. Um, because that's it's a heavy seat uh uh to have to live through that and navigate. So um those are the three uh different roundtables.

SPEAKER_00 28:55

That is so cool. If any of you are in Scottsdale, I hope you're going to be running to work with Jackie because she is amazing. And then we'll be on the lookout for the virtual options coming up. I just want to say, everybody, if this conversation just put words to something that you've been feeling but couldn't name, please know that you are not alone. Okay, you're not losing your edge. You're being invited to redefine what your edge even is. We can always reinvent ourselves, right? You can find my friend Jackie at Jackie Yoder. I will put this in the show notes so that you know how to spell it.com and on Instagram at Jackie Yoder. Go follow her, okay? Send her a DM, tell her this episode landed. It would make her feel so good to know that. And if you're an executive woman in or near Scottsdale who's been quietly looking for a room where you can finally be honest about what this season really looks like, go check out the female executive group, okay? Because that needs to be your next yes. Um, I'm so happy you were here today. Thank you for sharing such a beautiful story. You are such a powerhouse, but guess what? You can tell it didn't come easily for you. You just didn't give up, right? Yeah. You didn't give up and you pushed harder and you really let your true potential fly, which I'm so proud of you for. And I know that that's really hard to do. So thank you again for being here today, Jackie. Yeah. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_01 30:12

This has been great.

SPEAKER_00 30:13

So thank you. You are so welcome. Okay, everybody. Don't forget to look in those show notes so that you can get in touch with Jackie yourself. I hope you all have a beautiful rest of your week. And until next time, girl, why not you? If something in this episode made you sit up a little straighter or dream a little bigger, don't ignore it. That's your future nudging you. I'm living proof that you can start messy, start scared, start in the worst timing, and still create something beautiful. Thank you for listening to Girl, Why Not You? Now go take one small step towards the life you've been craving. Hit subscribe, leave a review if you feel called, and share this with someone who's ready for more.