In this episode, I am interviewing Jen Berson of Jeneration PR. Jen is a PR pro and she is here to tell us her story of how she got to this point in her successful business and also how she's helping others to do the same.
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Welcome to the Breakthrough Mastermind Show. I'm your host, Jen Argue and I facilitate masterminds for women entrepreneurs who want to grow their businesses to help others and create financial independence.
I am so excited to have Jen Berson on the show today. She is friend that I made pre pandemic at a conference that we both went to, and she's an incredible person. She has her own PR company called Jenerationpr and she also teaches people how to be rockstar PR pros with her Jeneration academy. So welcome, Jen I'm so [dog bark] happy to have you here. Thank you Jen and of course, perfect timing my dog is starting to bark, so... [laughs] I love it. We're all working from home. Yeah! So I welcome dogs and lawnmowers.
And so one thing that I always love my audience to hear is the journey that you as a woman entrepreneur have taken. So can you tell us maybe how you started out to how you got to where you are now? Yeah, well, a total 180, I started as a civil litigation attorney. That was my first, you know, career went to law school right out of college and then went straight into practicing law.
And yeah, I started out as an attorney and I practiced litigation for almost four years. And, you know, I was at these big firms. I was, you know, basically a one large firm and... the very sort of short answer is that I saw myself going down a path that I didn't like, I didn't have any female role models I could look to and say, okay, she's got it all going on.
I'm going to do exactly what she's done. I didn't see female partners that were either moms or ever home for their kids. Maybe, you know, this was 17 years ago, but maybe it's different now. And I always knew I just wanted to have a family and be the kind of parent. That I had like present parents who showed up to all of our, you know, ** recitals and music, you know, art lessons and stuff.
So I just like had this inkling that, that probably wasn't going to be a long-term thing for me. And I started to pay really close attention to signs and like feelings and things that sort of came into my life at certain times and why. And it kind of started with this bottle of perfume that I found in Europe, on my bar trip.
And then when I went to reorder it, it was really hard to find. And I thought like this woman, I found her, she was in California, but it had no presence in the US. And I thought this is crazy. Like I clearly could see... how to market and how to position this product, like did it itself, it was 10 fragrances with 10 different affirmations and 10 colors associated with them.
So you would smell the fragrance and then you would, you know, it was like, I am rich. I am beautiful. I am wild. You know, rich was about abundance and gratitude and that's the one that I had. And I could just instantly see it in like the top boutiques in LA, but nobody knew about it. So I just had a feeling like I just reached out to the owner of the company and I said, can I help you?
I don't even know what this is called. I'm a, I'm a lawyer, but like I have a lot of friends around LA. I can probably get you in some boutiques and then I think I can get it in magazine so people can start to find out about you. And she said yes, and sent me the stranger on the internet, a huge box of free products.
It was lotions and shower gels, and fragrance. And I was like a kid. I mean, I love the beauty industry, so I was still practicing law. And I went to court in the morning and I came back in my suit and there was this huge box waiting for me. And I was like, it's here. And I ran in my office and I was like throwing all the tissue paper out.
And I just like, had this feeling like this just came, you know, it just felt like me and which is a contrast to law because it never felt like it was the right fit for me. But I got that product into the hands of a celebrity that I ended up then mentioning it in a celebrity weekly, like us weekly magazine.
And that just exploded the brand that. One press feature that I did in probably about three weeks. So from the time I pitched it to the time I was holding it in my hand was three weeks later, which is a very short timeline and press. And I just had that feeling of like, I can't believe I did this and the impact it had.
And the contrast with the work I was doing in law, which was, you know, litigation is protracted. It takes forever. It's very expensive. You're trying to exhaust the other side's resources. And I worked on cases for sometimes two, two and a half years that never went anywhere. And I was like, I don't want to tear down companies. I want to build up entrepreneurs that I believe in, and I didn't even know what that service was, but I thought to myself, if I could get paid to do this, I would be the happiest. Like that would just be amazing. So then I sort of figured out, you know, who to ask and, you know, it was really hard at the time.
There were no mentors willing to share any, anything with me, which we'll get that in a minute [laughs] because I'm changing that. But I just started to, you know, kind of get some insight into whether. I would want to go and get a job at a PR firm or start my own, but out of thin air with no contacts and no training [laugh] and no experience.
I quit my job in law and started generation PR. And actually this month, March is 17 years. Oh my gosh, Congratulations! You... I can't believe it [laugh] what a beautiful story that in 17 years you have gone from not even knowing. What this was [laugh], no idea, a huge empire round basically. Yeah. We're working on it, [laugh] but I honestly thought PR was like, okay, a celebrity did something really bad, like are caught with their pants down or whatever, you know, and they had to hire somebody to clean up their image.
Or there was a crisis, yeah, at a company and like, sure. That that is still PR I did not know. As much as I love magazines my whole life, I still have 17 magazines shoved under my bed from when I was a teenager. I loved magazines and I had no idea. There were people like me pitching editors and shaping those stories.
Um, you know... interesting. So I, yeah, I wanted to be the person who was convincing the media to talk about stuff that I love. Yeah, that is incredible. And I would love to dive deeper into that. You know what? Let's just do it right now. [laugh] So tell us a little bit about what PR is so that the listener better idea of... what exactly we were talking about.
Yeah. Uh, well, it stands for public relations, obviously. I think your listeners know that, but it's essentially visibility, it's using the media to help share about your story, your products, any sort of news that you would want, you know, your customers to know about what we do in my business is promote brands with products.
So in that sense, what we're doing is planning for a product launch and backing into the timeline of when we would need to tell the media about it. And you're pitching story ideas. Or something to different media outlets, whether it's a podcast, a website, a print magazine, a TV show, radio show, people are still listening to those.
And it's trying to tell them about something that would be relevant. And timely for their audience and interesting newsworthy actionable, you know, for us, if it's a product launch, we're looking at long lead timelines, which are long lead means it takes longer for these to come out. So that would be a print magazines, usually about four, three to four months as long lead short lead is digital, which is the book of where the media opportunities are right now.
They're looking at about... You know, six to four weeks. Sometimes even I've gotten stuff published the same day or next day, it just depends like how timely it has to be. But it's thinking like an editor and thinking about what they are actually working on now for these future stories and then sending them a pitch email that will peak their interest and giving them an idea that shows that you have something.
You want them to consider either first something they're already working on or your own idea of something that is like I said, timely, relevant, strategic, and targeted to that specific person. So the way that we teach PR is having it be very targeted. There's no spray and pray, that's what we call it when you're just throwing it out there, you know, throw spaghetti on the wall and see what sticks that doesn't work.
You have to take that extra step and really position your pitches to a journalist, to show you're aware of their, you know, publication, their readership, their editorial focus, you know what they're up to, and you've got just the thing. That they should consider, you know, and there's tons of, they're getting so many pitches a day, so it has to be really on point for them to even consider it.
But that's what it is. It's kind of sharing a certain facet of your brand, your expertise, your products, maybe it's the ingredients in your products. Maybe it's something that people in the news are talking about. And you have an expert that can weight in on that topic. That's really hitting the timeliness of your pitch.
Um, so we call it kind of sometimes newsjaking where it'll be something relevant now. And, uh, you can throw your client as an expert, throw their hat in the ring to comment on it. And that's getting them visibility in the media, which also helps them gain credibility and access a new audience that may not even know about them or their products yet.
So you're trying to reach your target audience through the media. Okay. So I imagined starting out, you're not an agency, right? You're starting out as yourself doing the PR work. Right. How does that work? What defines an agency? Let's say that. Well, I started out as myself. It was like a freelancer, but I always presented as an agency.
Um, in the sense that even when it was me, I had a company name, we were a corporation and we, I would say we, we can support you. And I felt like having an agency that I could grow into would allow me first of all, to charge more and it might give more credibility to the work that we were, you know, that I was doing, I would always say we, um, and in the beginning it was just me, but one of the very, um, early mentors I had and the best pieces of advice that I got, because I was really struggling to get past a certain revenue point.
I couldn't break that six figures. And I was really lucky my first year to be, you know, really close, but I couldn't imagine. How I could possibly get to higher revenue and, you know, cause it was like I was already spinning my wheels and working so much. And there's only so many hours in the day and my mentor said less, Jen equals more money. [laugh]
So hire a team. And I'm sure that is a, a common theme in your masterminds, but I brought in a freelancer and now we have freelancers that are really top of their game. They're, you know, maybe moms who worked at agencies who have amazing experience and media contacts, and they know how to just cut to the chase and get result.
But I offer them the flexibility to work on their own timeline because they have their kids and they are deep experts in their niches, which are my niches. And it works really well. So I can scale when I need to, if I have the work to support it, or I can dial things back because I'm paying my freelancers per project and each of my clients as a project.
So, you know, essentially an agency. Is this model, and this is what I teach inside my agency accelerator. It's literally like a four pillar approach, it's strategy, sales, service, and scale. And we teach to each of those pillars. It's a way to find your niche, find the thing you love and that you're passionate about like 17 years later, I still love the clients I work with cause I chose niches that interests me personally, and that I really enjoy. And so we teach that and maybe that person is a one man or one woman show, but it's giving them the foundation to build a business and operate, you know, like the CEO and the visionary in their company that they're meant to be so that they can start making decisions and build the infrastructure to grow into it when, and then teaching them how to get the clients and the revenue to grow into it.
So I have a whole approach to that and I want them setting it up the right way, right out of the gate. So don't be a freelancer, be an agency charge more say we, and then let me help you do the rest. [laughs] That really was a lot of foresight that you had to be able to see down the road what would help you now, you know, that really helped you to grow your reputation and your expertise, yes, your... how people see you.
Yeah. It just seemed like, the right path for me, I've always just wanted to build something and you know, like my mom's sold real estate. My dad is entrepreneur and he's a business broker or, uh, my husband's a business broker. He is, my dad is a car broker and yeah, my dad was always home. My parents were all like always available and, you know, I just always wanted to have my own thing like a freelancer. Isn't really, it's not the vision I had for myself, you know?
I want exponential growth and opportunity. And I want, I knew that if I presented bigger, I would attract bigger clients. Yes, And that's what ha**, you know, that's exactly what happened is that whatever work we did where we were leveraging it.
This is part of the, um, scale pillar in the program. It's like, you get this great work. You create beautiful case studies that are really compelling and you show other brands, look what I can do for you. And the more that you do that, the more that you're able to kind of prove to bigger companies with larger budgets that you can, you know, get it done for them and probably be more nimble, more creative, more strategic they'll have access to more senior people than they would in a, in a large agency.
And they're not going to get like just lost in the, in a, you know, small fish in a big pond. So that's the approach that I take when I teach my community. How to do it. And it's just like, unbelievable what, it's almost like the confidence for them to say, okay, yeah, I can do this. And we give them templates and things that they're leveraging like just, we just relaunched and somebody who were on like week seven. She's literally following along and the exact cause we were recording the program live right now with them, just to give it a refresh. And the last one we talked about sales and red flags and then presenting a proposal. And what do you, how do you show it?
And I give them a template and she's like star student [laugh] totally made it beautiful and got a client that she tripled her rate without even batting an eye, because she felt like she had permission to do so. The clients didn't negotiate because larger clients, they don't negotiate. You know that, I mean, it's like, they're just, I trust you.
You're the best. And it costs what it costs. Yeah. And then she used our template and close the deal. And then the next lesson we did was onboarding and she's like, this is perfect, but it was really cool. I mean, just in seven weeks, just literally implementing as she's gone along, she's not even done with the program.
She's tripled her retainer fee and landed like a dream client for her. So it's interesting like when, you know, [laugh] you're operating in a way, you know, that that somebody has done and it works, then you kind of feel like, okay, I can do it too. Just give me my marching orders. Tell me what to do and I'll do it.
Yeah. And that's what, yeah. People love the steps. Yeah. Just tell me what to do and the steps that come from somebody with experience who's wise and knows how to teach it. Yeah, I'm still doing it. I mean, the, these things that are working now for us, I'm a huge believer in that of people who are teaching also practicing so that, you know, what you're being taught is actually current and effective.
Exactly. Yeah. So tell me a little bit about, we talked about earlier that we have these soft skills and we have these hard skills in business, and sometimes it's not enough to know the hard skills. We also have to have those soft skills that come with it. So what is it for you? What soft skills for you helped you experience the most success in your business?
Um, trusting my gut implicitly, and I don't know how or why I am like that because I come from a family of wafflers and second guessers, probably that's why. So I just like make a decision and move on. And if something, you know, even as I was telling you that decision to leave law. Literally, I mean, law school was a fortune working so hard to earn this career.
And then one day saying, I don't want to do this anymore. I had zeroed out, I had zero second guesses and I wish my family, I could say the same, you know, they were worried and it was a big investment to walk away from but... I've always just been like, you know, this feels right. And I trust my instincts and I'm like that as a parent too.
Obviously I am super incredibly far from perfect. But in one instance where it really came in, you know, really necessary, it was very, very early on when my son who's now he's gonna be 12 tomorrow. He was maybe 5, 6, 7 months old. I knew that he was delayed. I knew it. And I, my first time, you know, first time as a mom, but I just felt like he wasn't progressing and really pushed to have him tested and evaluated and supported.
It's really hard for grandparents and maybe even your husband to hear that there might be something wrong with this like perfect little adorable baby, but I just knew that there was, and he wasn't developing normally. And you know, now he's 12, he was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder very early on.
He has a lot of other, you know, uh, he has, um, ADHD. He has Sensory Processing Issues Anxiety Depression and most recently I pushed for a neuropsych evaluation, which is a very, very expensive test. And it's out of pocket. It's almost $10,000, but I knew we needed to understand how his brain works. And one of the things we uncovered here, she is again, is that my son is, um, he has learning disabilities like dyslexia and dysgraphia, which has to do with writing.
And instantly I knew we have to pull them from school. It's not [dog bark] a wait till next year type of thing. It is a right now, the pandemic was horrible for all kids, but for a kid who cannot sit and focus and needs to be watched and supported. It was extremely detrimental. Uh, the pandemic was really detrimental to his development and set them really far back.
So mid-year this year we pulled him to another school. So for me, it's like, I trust my instinct and make decisions and know that they're coming from the right place. Um, and the right mind frame, you know, in skill, like in my mind, it's like, okay, this is the pros and cons like, yes, it will be hard, but look at the possibility of what this is going to do.
So for me, that has been critical in being an entrepreneur and confidence. Just really knowing that even if I lose clients or even if, you know, when the pandemic hit, I lost probably two thirds of our retainer clients. It was a huge hit, but I knew I've survived two economic downturn. Since I started my business, I knew that I just know I can find clients if I need to.
Like, I, you know, all I never panicked, like, oh my God, this is terrible. And that's, you know, I have a process I teach and I use it myself and it works. So if I need to go back to the ground, you know, back to the drawing board and get new clients, I know that I can. And of course, like storytelling, you know, brand positioning, all of those things are really good at, you know, really helping clients.
And for me, it's sales to who like getting on the phone and being able to see, you know, really understand the client's needs and what, maybe they're not saying. How to connect with them so that they, you know, and, and not over promising, uh, just to get the sale, like being really honest and serving them while we're on a sales call.
So they feel like, you know, even if I don't move down this path with generation, I got so much value out of that call. And usually it converts because you're really showing them that you're an expert, you know, right at that but I, my dad, you know, he's been a car broker, he's a car salesman. [laugh] So all my life I've been around sales. My mom's sold houses. My dad sold cars. My husband sold businesses. So I'm good at sales, [laugh] so... Yeah, natural to you. Yeah, I teach it, but I also, you know, I think that it comes from just it's confidence. It all comes from confidence. Just feeling like, you know, I can really help you here. I can really support you.
I know what you need, and I'd love to work with you and being passionate about the company you're talking to, you know, I'm so passionate when it comes to my coaching side of my business and supporting PR professionals. You know, when I mentioned my son has Autism Spectrum Disorder and all these challenges.
I have to advocate for him. And we're in IEP meetings in the middle of a lawsuit with the school district for failing to give them support. It's like I have to be present for my son and what a lucky business I've created to be able to do that where I can earn great income and support my family, but also have the flexibility to have control over my own schedule.
So, because I realized what a gift this business has been in that decision all those years ago, before I even had kids to come in and do this, I want to teach other women how to do that too. So if they have a vision in their life for having it all or having work-life integration and doing something, they love making great income, but then also like clocking out and having time with their family guilt-free and not being tethered to their phone at all times. That's what I teach because I want other women to see that there's a model for the work-life integration they're seeking. Yes. That's beautiful. Tell me about some of the hard skills you did mention being good at sales. What are some other [phone vibrating] like hard skill, whether it's, you know, like software or a skill or something that you had to learn that really helped you with your success?
A lot of this stuff... that's like technical. I don't like it. It's not my zone of genius. So I outsource that stuff. [laughs] So, um, you know, building media lists, you know, you have to really get in the nitty-gritty with a database. And figure out like how to create a search and build a list that's going to be really targeted.
So, and like programming, press releases and pitches through a platform for me, graphic design, mostly just like Canva, very simple graphic design, but it really changed how we present our results to clients in a way that our very compelling and beautiful, like imagine a, press it on a website and it's got other competitor's products and the same feature or ads running down the side.
We clip them and edit them and like a really, you know, compelling way. And clients love that. So I taught myself that I'd say, you know, Canva makes it so easy, it's very intuitive, And, you know, social media, like understanding the changes and the trends and, you know, being able to kinda talk about it and counsel clients on it, or like actually implementing strategies for them.
It's very time-consuming. I can talk about it, but I have a team that would execute because it's just like a full time, especially if we're doing customer support through social media for them. But, you know, writing and strategic positioning and, and honestly, research. If I had to move one thing to the top of the list, it's research.
So researching the publication, you want to connect with researching the specific editors or writers and what they cover and what they don't cover, because if you pitch them something that is just clearly not in their wheelhouse though. They'll, you know, they'll blacklist you, which basically means they hit the spam button on your email and they'll never see you again.
They want to know that you have done your due diligence and you're talking to them like a human. So even researching on their social media, what are, what are their hobbies? What, where have they traveled? What are they up to recently? Or do they love to cook? Or like, where can you find that connection? To make it a personal email when you send it.
So that, that person feels like, okay, you're connecting with me and I'm a human. And so are you, I'm not some robotic gatekeeper that you have to be like, you know, all business. And you're also familiar with what I cover, what my beat is, what my editorial focuses, who our readers are. So probably what comes next is going to be interesting and relevant to me.
So I'll keep reading and all of that comes from research. Wow. So it's really being prepared. Yes. Doing the research, being prepared so that when you're in that moment, you can really connect at a higher level. Yeah. And it's funny when you say that doing research and being prepared, that was being an attorney. [laugh]. Oh gosh! right.
That was exactly it comes from. Yeah. I mean, that was it. It was like, you know, knowing the facts and knowing the precedent better than your, you know, and having a compelling, telling a compelling story. That was better than what the opposing counsel could do. You know, that's what it is. So... Oh, yeah, that's incredible how those skills just transferred into this job.
And you love this job so much. Yes. And I did not like that job. [laughs] Same skills it's just a different focus. Yeah. Beauty versus like a commercial air conditioners that killed three people because of carbon monoxide. Like I'd rather talk about, [laugh] I'd rather talk about lipsticks. [laugh] So... I did have a case like that. And I was like, this is so horrible.
Um, goodness. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's just, it's who you are and it's helped you. It sounds like with your son as well, advocating for him. Yeah. And when you combine all those things, I think being a researcher and be prepared and also being a people person and knowing how to connect and sell is, is a pretty dynamic combination.
Yeah, I think so. I mean, hopefully I have it, I work on it all the time, yeah, you know, and try to teach it. So my question is, and thank you for sharing the soft skills and the hard skills, because I think that's important for people to hear and, you know, think about what their soft and hard skills are. And tell me about your program, because it sounds like you are training people to have their own PR agencies.
Do you, can people like other entrepreneurs, if they want to start pitching themselves or their own products, can they take your course for their own personal use. Yeah, we actually have two different sort of main offerings. So, and you mentioned kind of both of them. So the beginning sort of like come into our world, we developed a program, it's a membership it's called the "Pitch Lab" and it is geared towards... PR professionals like it is developed with that level of mastery, but what we have seasoned people that have been practicing PR for 30 plus years, and we have brand new people looking to learn a new skill that they can, you know, leverage and then hopefully grow a business around it. But it at the foundation sets a very in-depth really, really good program.
Around learning how to pitch the media. We say, we want to turn everyone into a pitching powerhouse and it's all around sending timely, targeted, relevant pitches. So it's beginning, you know, doing that research I mentioned and building your media list and building your strategy. All the way to writing pitches, sending pitches, follow up to leveraging those results.
And you can go through all of that content. It comes like once a week for eight weeks. So within two months, You know, for just, it's like under $200, um, you can learn how to do PR like a PR professional would do it. So for your audience, definitely there's something there that would really help them. And then we also give these monthly execution plans that are like 50 plus pages of pitch angles and ideas.
So that you can think like an editor when an editor is considering those topics for short and long lead, and then tap into holidays and seasonal trends. And those monthly, like interest holidays, like national donut day, we give you the timeline to plan. So we have people using those to plan out their social media content for themselves and for clients.
So it's a very affordable program that we have people using in so many different ways. It's really cool. Some people use those execution plans to build their media strategies for clients, and also use them on sales calls. So we can like drop these bombs like, oh, you know, I happen to know allure magazine is working on their best vitamin C products in July.
We would love to pick pitcher, blah, blah, blah, for that. And you just sound like you're a really like a media insight. Which you know, who doesn't want to be a media insider. So that's like a very reasonably priced. And then we, so we're teaching that skill and we're honing that skill so you can become the best, you know, service provider possible.
And then in my agency accelerator, I teach you how to launch, grow and scale a profitable agency. And that's based on four pillars around strategy, sales, service, and scale. And it's been the program's been around for five years. We've had hundreds of people go through all over the world. I have a woman that I'm not even kidding you Jen. Learn how to use a marketing she has a really amazing brain for marketing, but she didn't know PR. She learned PR in the "Pitch Lab" and then took the agency accelerator. And she is now running her agency from a yacht off the coast of all of these exotic locations with her whole family. She has three boys and they're big kids and they're on this yacht.
It's like the ceilings are low and everybody walks her and she dials in to our coaching calls and she's like head low in the cabin. And there's like a plant in a planter swinging next to her and she's like, I'm in Mauritius so I'm like, oh my God, it's just the coolest thing Forbes just did a story about her.
Um, you know, it's really interesting to see how people are taking what we're offering, learning a really valuable skill that businesses expert, you know, brands, entrepreneurs, you know, authors musicians. So many people want to tell their stories and get that stamp of, um, credibility through the media. And if you know how to bridge that gap, you can, you know, charge a retainer fee and I teach you how do that. And it's just been beyond my wildest dreams and it's because the community that we have. We have attracted are the smartest, I mean, smartest, most open, generous, genuine, and giving people from all over the world. Like, it's the coolest thing to see where they're finding us. But I, like I said, at the top of our discussion, when I started in PR and I looked around for somebody to guide me there, wasn't anyone willing...
To share what works or share what they charge or tell me how to connect with the media. This industry has traditionally been very close to the vest. Like these are my secrets. And if I tell you, then, you know, you're going to have an advantage over me and I never, you know, there's so much work to go around.
I don't care. Like let's all help each other. And I created that... and I found thousands of people who think like me, and they're just there to like, let's all help each other. Let's share. Let's give it is like, there's never any cattiness it's unless my team is deleting it and I don't see it, but it is like the coolest, nicest, smartest people are like, Hey, I'd love to see a proposal.
And someone's like, here, you. I give my proposal. Um, I just shared a template and all of the content that we use for a $25,000 retainer per month proposal and show our audience like this is what it, you know, so they can see, like, I can do that. You know, why can't I do that? Of course I can. Now I know how so.
It's awesome. And I'm so proud of it. It is my life's work and I just closed on an acquisition, which is so I'm so excited. Um... Congratulations! Thank you! Tell me about that. So there is a company called "PR Couture" founded by Crosby Noricks, who is so fantastic, smart giving to her audience. And she started the company 15 years ago. She just celebrated her 15th anniversary passing along all of this really great wisdom and business experiences that she's gained over the years.
And she wanted to kind of step back and, you know, kind of rethink and come up with something else. And she has always been a huge supporter of me and what I'm up to and our philosophies are very aligned and our audiences are similar. Um, you know, and she came to me and said, Jen, um, I'm looking to make a change and I can't imagine anybody else carrying on the work we've done other than you.
And so we've been in Tuxen, working on it for the last like five, six months and we just closed on Friday. We're so excited to support her community and use this as a way to connect with a bigger audience and offer them more value and support them no matter where they are... in their careers. And the ultimate goal is to help them find clients, earn an income [dog bark] and do it on their terms.
I'm so excited we have big plans for this, and it's a huge undertaking. [laugh] And I'm like, oh my God, where do we start? Um, but my husband, the business broker helps me transact and close the deal and it was great. Jen, that is amazing. Congratulations! I think that's, that's a dream. It's a dream of somebody. I think that when they're ready to move on that their business is such that they can sell it, but also to be in a place where you can acquire a business too.
And that's an incredible experience. Yeah. And, and I am so grateful for that opportunity. And I can't imagine, I mean, her baby for 15 years and the trust there. I just, I I'm so grateful. And again, it's that feeling of like women supporting women and there's no, this is my biggest competitor for the last however many years.
And we're collaborators, you know? Yeah, that was great. That's the best and, and I think that whole perspective of abundance is what really gives people hope and keeps people's energies up, you know, because you want to feel expansive wherever you are. So it's great that you, you not only teach it, but you model it. So that's what, yeah.
I mean, you have to, right. I mean, it's, it's, this is like... who I am, yeah, and I talk like a valley girl and I talk with my hands and I'm totally unfiltered. And if I'm not for you, then go find someone [laugh] else. Yeah. I don't care. You know, it's like, it's too hard to act like you're something you're not, it's exhausting, but, um, I just wanted a community where we could all help each other and share resources and we build things in our programs that our members want.
They ask us and we're like, that's a great idea. Let's do it, like I do not sit here and think that I know everything. I have a team that is so incredibly helpful and they blow me away with how smart they are and what they're able to come up with, you know? And, and it's just really cool to be able to offer super up to the day.
Things that are working now and really address our audience. Our audiences needs it's the best I I'm, so I'm so happy. I love this side of my business so much and it actually reinvigorated [laughs] my passion for my agency side. Yeah. Yeah. Right, right. It all feeds each other. You have a place to put the things you're learning into the other place. And then also it's like, if you get bored one way, [laughs], yeah, focus a little more over here. What's going on over here. [laugh] Yeah. So one last thing I love to ask and you kind of brought this up that you like to teach people that they can have a life as well as running their business. What do you like to do when you're having a life?
I'm it's... It's so embarrassing. Um, [laugh] Well, I like to hike with my family and now that the dog has her shots, she can hike with us. And I love to travel usually like local car trips and stuff. I don't love to fly, although we are going to Hawaii in two weeks, but I love, I am such a homemaker and I love being home.
If I had like a whole weekend to myself, I would organize, I would organize my pantry. I would put on the home edit on Netflix in the background and I would be color-coding and decanting my pantry and I try. And then everyone comes and messes it up, but I just love getting organized. I'm cleaning out my closet and like folding and, you know, file folding my underwear. [laughs]
I'm love it, totally. I'm like, does it stand up on its own? [laughs] Okay. It's good to go. [laughs] Um, and I like, yeah, so I, I'm a homemaker and I always have been, and I love, um, home renovation. And I am like that woman the Winchester house where she just like always built, do you know that house where there's like staircases that lead to nowhere. [laughs]
And, uh, that would be me. Oh... Um, I love, uh, ho** you know, design, you know, and, uh, and decorating and stuff. So yeah, ** both. I love organizing things and yeah, yeah it's fun. We'll have to sidebar [laughs] on like what you get this, you know, I, if I find like a cool holder of something I'm like, this is genius. I, you know, I want to tell everyone, yeah, a life changing, uh, you know, lazy Susan. [laughs]
Like you have to tell everyone [laughs] I absolutely freaked out like for joy. When I saw those little containers with the pop lid, like you, the Oxo pop tops, my full pantry is pop tops [laughs] I also love those. Yeah. Oh. So thank you so much, Jen. This was so much fun. Getting to hear all about what you do. Thank you. It's a really special side of entrepreneurship that I don't think people think about exists in this way.
And so just you revealing everything that you do, you know, through the things that you teach in that openness that you talked about, the abundance that you've talked about with how people in your industry are coming together and just being open. It's really great to hear that. And I super inspiring.
If people wanted to learn more about you where would they go? Um, I'm all over social media. Instagram is kind of my home base at jenerationpr with a J, um, my agency website is the same jenerationpr.com with a J and then all of my programs can be found, uh, profitableprpros.com and there's actually, I think like a mini quiz to see where you should start.
We want to guide people on where to jump in what program is right for them. And then there's like a success path. So it shows, you know, where are you should? You know, depending on if you have clients or not, or you're looking to scale or not, we let you know kind of the right places to jump in. Um, and everything's over there and I have a podcast called "Pitching Powerhouse."
I think people listen to it. Like I'm starting to, oh, [laughs] get pitches are just so cool. I'm like, oh my God, people hear my podcast. [laughs] Not just my mom. Ah... [laughs] Thank goodness for moms. Yeah. It's my mom watches everything and she always has notes. [laughs] Yeah. Oh, she sounds amazing. I love that. Thank you so much. And definitely if you're listening, go check out Jen, on Instagram and her websites that she mentioned and all that she has to offer, because getting into the PR part is something that will absolutely everybody needs marketing, yeah, and to know how to do it well from such a great teacher is a real amazing thing to have. So thank you so much, Jen. Thank you so great to catch up.
And if you're looking for more support challenge and inspiration and running your online business, I would love to have you apply to my mastermind.
Check it out! @jenargue.com