133 | Personal Branding and Becoming Your Own Biggest Champion with Jessica Zweig of SimplyBe Agency

Alisha and Danielle sit down and talk about building a thriving business with the power of community and self-discipline!

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This episode of the pod features the incredible Jessica Zweig CEO of SimplyBe Agency. Jessica shares more about her entrepreneurial journey of scaling her business to where it is now. Dani & Jessica also dive into personal branding, surrounding yourself with the right people, becoming your biggest champion and Danielle also asks Jessica about her experience writing her book and she gives some amazing tips for getting started! We can't wait for you to tune into this incredible conversation!

Jessica Zweig is the CEO of SimplyBe Agency, an international award-winning personal branding firm, serving clients across the globe.  She is the author of #1 best selling book, “Be. - A No B.S. Guide to Increasing Your Self Worth and Net Worth by Simply Being Yourself,” published by Sounds True (Macmillan). Jessica was named a Personal Branding Expert by Forbes, 2020's Most Notable Entrepreneur by Crain's, the 2018 and 2019 Stevie® Award winner for “Female Entrepreneur of the Year,” and a Top Digital Marketer to Watch by Inc. On a mission to debunk the perception that personal branding is an act of vanity, Jessica believes that, when done right, personal branding is an act of service, a social responsibility, and a positive investment toward a positive future. "When you set yourself free to Simply Be, you set the world free."

Connect with Jessica & her resources:

Instagram: @jessicazweig 

Book: Be: A No B.S. Guide to Increasing Your Self-Worth and Net Worth by Simply Being Yourself 

The Expand Your Brand 3-Day Challenge: simplybeagency.com/challenge 

To get a seat to the 3-Day Challenge, you must purchase either the paperback copy of ‘Be” OR “Be. The Workbook”  Link to purchase Then submit your Amazon purchase # here and you will be sent the link to join the 3-Day Challenge.

Key Takeaways:

  • Jessica's entrepreneurial journey began at the age of 26 when she started her first business, a food blog that evolved into an online magazine for Millennial Women in Chicago.

  • Despite making mistakes and facing challenges during her seven years running the magazine, Jessica considers it her "real-life MBA" and a crucial learning experience.

  • After leaving the magazine, Jessica founded Simply Be Agency, which focuses on personal branding and helping individuals build their online presence.

  • Over the past six years, Simply Be Agency has grown into a multi-seven-figure business with 25 team members and 400 clients worldwide.

  • Jessica emphasizes the importance of having a deeper purpose and vision for your business beyond financial success. She believes in making a positive impact and inspiring others to embrace their authentic selves.

Insights on Entrepreneurship and Personal Development:

  • Both Jessica and Danielle discuss the personal growth and development journey that comes with entrepreneurship.

  • Jessica shares her belief that entrepreneurship is a catalyst for personal development and self-discovery.

  • She highlights the significance of understanding your "why" and having a deeper mission for your business, which resonates with customers and creates a meaningful connection.

  • Jessica advises aspiring entrepreneurs to trust their intuition, silence the fear, and surround themselves with supportive mentors, advisors, and professionals who believe in their vision.

Our Top Business Resources to Support Female Entrepreneurs:

Connect on Instagram:

Connect with Danielle Wiebe @danilivinglife

Connect with Business Babes Collective @businessbabesco

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transcript

[00:00:00] Danielle: Welcome back. We have an incredible episode for you today. I am so excited to introduce you to Jessica Zweig, who is the c e o of Simply Be Agency, an internationally, international award-winning personal branding firm serving clients across the globe. She's also the author of the Number one Best-Selling Book, "BE, a No BS Guide to increasing your self worth and net worth by simply being yourself". Jessica was named Personal Branding expert by Forbes. And she won a Stevie Award in 2018 and 2019. She was the winner of the Female Entrepreneur of the Year, and she was a top digital marketer to watch by Inc. So today on the podcast, you will hear more about Jessica's entrepreneurial journey and we dive into so [00:01:00] many different topics;

[00:01:01] surrounding personal branding, the importance of community and surrounding yourself with the right people, and also becoming your biggest champion and cheerleader. I also asked Jessica about her experience writing her book, and she gives some incredible tips for getting started. So I am so excited for you to tune into this episode. I think you're gonna get so much value out of it.

[00:01:22] And Jessica is also one of our amazing speakers for our Business Breakthrough Conference coming up on January 30th and 31st. So, If you are ready to experience a breakthrough in your business, in your mindset, boost your revenue and gain massive vi, visibility, then come join us.

[00:01:43] It is completely free. It is virtual. So no matter where in the world you are, you can tune in from the comfort of your own home. So if you wanna join 18 top business experts from around the world who are going to be sharing their own business breakthroughs, go to [00:02:00] businessbabescollective.com and you can sign up with the link to registration there. You'll see the button right there. And registration is now officially open, so go make sure you are all registered. Alright, now let's go ahead and dive into our episode today.

[00:02:14] Welcome to the Business Babes Collective Podcast. I'm your host, Danielle Wiebe.. In this podcast, you'll learn tangible business tips and strategies on how to grow successfully and sustainably. We'll also interview seasoned entrepreneurs so you can listen in on their stories and see behind the scenes of what it took to grow and scale their businesses. Let's dive in as we discuss the wild, exciting, crazy challenging, rollercoaster ride of entrepreneurship.

[00:02:43] Hi. Welcome Jessica to the Business Babes Collective podcast. I am so excited to have you here today.

[00:02:49] Jessica: Thank you for having me, Danielle. I am so excited to be with you. You're just such a bright light and I'm excited for this conversation.

[00:02:56] Danielle: Aw, thank you. Well, I am really excited to dive in just [00:03:00] a a little bit more about you. I know you've accomplished a lot within your journey of entrepreneurship, but can you maybe just share a little bit of backstory? Like how did you decide that you even wanted to become your own business owner and entrepreneur?

[00:03:15] Jessica: Well, that's a layered answer, so I'll take you back. I, um, I've been an entrepreneur since I was 26, so I'm 41, and I started my first business when I was 26 years old before I even had ever heard of the word entrepreneur and knew what it meant.

[00:03:31] Uh, I went to college for acting. I got a degree in theater. Um, literally graduated from college and knew how to do two things, wait tables and be dramatic. And I'm not exaggerating. I didn't have any other experience. So I went into the acting world for for a few years and did pretty well at it, but wasn't gonna be my full-time forever thing.

[00:03:49] And I fell into entrepreneurship quite accidentally. I had just met a friend, we became fast friends, we started a little food blog that blew up into an online [00:04:00] magazine for the Millennial Women of Chicago, and I ran that for seven years. We raised a little bit of private equity. We hired a team and it was my first go round.

[00:04:09] I made a ton of mistakes at, you know, a very young age, which I'm really glad I did. I call that my real life M B A of hard knocks and seven years, you know, well, it, it was hard and I learned a lot of lessons, it, it built my whole acumen around how to really do this thing called entrepreneurship. And so I ended up Leaving that magazine after seven years and started my second business, which is now simply be agency, which is, you know, I, I just celebrated my six year anniversary with this company, running this company yesterday, which is crazy.

[00:04:42] And in that time, you know, I started it as a one woman solopreneur shop. I just, you know, I had taken all the things I learned from running a big online magazine, working with major brands, working on social media campaigns, and applied it to personal branding and helping people get online and build platforms instead of brands and [00:05:00] companies.

[00:05:00] And in the last six years, I've scaled it to a multi seven figure, 25 person, two cities, two offices, uh, 400 clients served across the globe. Like I was doing the math, a number one bestselling book, like it has all happened in the last six years. And I, and I think that so much of that is because of my first go round and the mistakes that I made that I was able to really accelerate growth at this at the second business.

[00:05:26] And I, you know, I don't. I just remember leaving the acting industry and being like, oh, wait, I can, I can work for myself. Like I can build something on my own terms. And you know, when you work for yourself, you work harder than you'll ever work working for a day job, a company, uh, you don't, you know, there's that famous quote, you don't have to answer to anybody when you work for yourself, but the caveat is that you instead have to answer to everybody, right?

[00:05:51] You're the tip of the spear when it comes to problems and opportunities and team fires and failures, like it's, it's on you and it's a completely [00:06:00] different level of tenacity that it takes to be a real entrepreneur. It's not the glorified hustle we all see on Instagram. It's really a siege in, you know, your own resiliency. And emotional capacity and mental capacity to expand who you are as you expand your company. Those two things are intrinsically connected. So that's the highlight reel of my, of my entrepreneurial journey. But I, uh, I'm really glad I, I ended up here. I don't think I could do it any other, any other way.

[00:06:30] Danielle: That's amazing. Thank you so much for sharing that. And I am so grateful that you shared the fact that you were able to build a business starting at 26 and making all those mistakes. And I have a similar journey of having multiple businesses before I really figured out what I wanted to do and, it, they all felt like I, I almost felt like I wasn't qualified to be an entrepreneur, which is so funny to say because like, [00:07:00] who's qualified to be an entrepreneur?

[00:07:01] What qualifies us, really? But then I started to realize, later on, that a lot of the failures, like you mentioned, are actually the things that allow me to do what I do now, and a lot of the hardships and a lot of the challenges that I face. So thank you for sharing that. I think that's super encouraging for anyone either starting out or just on their journey in general.

[00:07:23] So I am super curious and I love that you also mentioned personal development. Cause I think entrepreneurship is just a personal development journey. I mean,

[00:07:33] Jessica: yes.

[00:07:33] Danielle: Yeah. It is just, it is wild how much you have to learn about yourself and how much you have to grow, and even just emotional things that you have to deal with. And so I'm curious, like when you started your business that you run now, did you have this big vision? Because obviously it has grown significantly, also, you wrote a book. Did you have that big vision going into it, or was it kind of this vision that expanded over time? I'm curious. [00:08:00]

[00:08:00] Jessica: You know, I, I knew I wanted to be of service really. I, I knew that I wanted my company, cause my, my first business, my magazine was a social, socialite platform, you know, like see and be seen.. Here's where you go eat and drink and party and meet guys and go to events and shop and work out, which was awesome. I created this awesome online magazine resource for, for hundreds of thousands of women in the city.

[00:08:22] But my soul was sort of Dead inside. Like I was, I was really struggling actually at that time emotionally cuz I was operating from this place of kind of unconscious ego. And then when I started simply be as this one woman shop and I named it Simply Be, you know, for a very specific reason, which is inspired by this tattoo on my wrist, that is all about. Being authentic and being exactly where you okay with exactly where you are and that where you are is enough. Right?

[00:08:51] And I wanted that to be the bedrock of the, of the brand. And so, To me, that's always been the driver of the vision. It's like when you [00:09:00] set yourself free to simply be who you really are, you set the world free, you become that permission slip, and then there's this domino effect of awakening and we all step forward into who we're meant to be.

[00:09:10] What a, what a world that would be. And like I've translated that into personal branding, right? And an agency that offers brand identity and strategy and brand management services. But to your question, which is so good, the vision of the company has never been driven by like, oh, I wanna make this much money and I want these many team members and I wanna get the book deal.

[00:09:30] It all came from a higher source, like my higher self, a different motivator, which was to make an impact and to inspire people. And I think that really is the cornerstone of my 3D success, which is revenue and team and accolades and book deal. I didn't, I didn't start with that. That wasn't my goal. it was always to help people awaken to who they truly are.

[00:09:54] And I know that sounds cheesy, but it's really the truth of, of what moves me every day. And [00:10:00] so I think we all kind of have to come to realize that, you know, as entrepreneurs, like our bigger why. And really if you look at the brands that truly connect, whether they're personal brands or their corporate or company or product brands, there is something deeper, whether you can articulate it or not, it's like, oh, I feel that brand. That brand has a worldly vision. That brand cares about me. That brand has this rooted mission to serve, like you can feel it.

[00:10:28] And so, that's really what I teach people within my agency and how to really craft that and master that for themselves. So, so yeah, I, I think you know, I didn't have this plan. I, I tripled my business. I went from $300,000 in revenue, year one to a million dollars in revenue, year two. True story. And I never would've been able to have predicted that, like, I feel like the, the famous quote, my favorite quote in regards to taking, you know, a bet on yourself is leap and the net will catch you. I did not [00:11:00] have a strategy.

[00:11:00] I did not have a plan. I just knew I had this vision, this mission, this fire. I left everything behind me. I leaped into the unknown, full embodiment. I didn't hop, I didn't skip, I leapt. and you know, it caught me. And so that, that's my advice to those listening is like, if you really wanna go do this thing, have this, have that fire in your belly, have that vision and place all the bets on you and the universe will, will respond.

[00:11:32] Danielle: So Good. And I think too, like we often tiptoe when we're, when we're scared, like, we're like, okay, I'm gonna do this one thing. And I, I do believe that like, you know, small daily disciplines and actions do lead to that success. But kind of what you're talking about is moving forward and making kind of those big risks.

[00:11:54] So what would your advice be to someone who, they have this big vision, like they're [00:12:00] excited, they're like, I can see where I'm gonna go, I know I can accomplish this, but then all of the fear starts to set in? It's like, well, what if I hire this person and it doesn't work out? What if I quit my job and I'm not able to sustain it?

[00:12:14] What if I take this big risk and it and someone rejects me? I mean, I know that's not a big deal, but like to some people, like it feels like such a big thing, right? So what would your advice be to someone who feels like they're caught in this fear or self-doubt cycle?

[00:12:32] Jessica: I've, I mean, I could say so many things about that. First would be just on a quick, practical level, I would learn to really sit still with yourself. I would learn to, you know, meditate as though played out. But it just really getting quiet and listening to the fire and the burning voices before they become screams, you know. Those are, for me, I just, I could not ignore the drive that I had anymore, and that's because I, I tuned in, you know, I was not willing [00:13:00] to override my intuition and my gut instincts that like I had something to offer to the world.

[00:13:05] You know, you, you can only override that for so long. The second thing I would say is really surround yourself with people who believe in you, who know a little bit more than you, who know a little bit differently than you do. There's no reason why, if you have this idea for a concept, to establish a, you know, a board of directors, you know people who are gonna get behind you, whether in equity, sweat, just advice being in your corner that you can meet with, that you can run things by.

[00:13:33] Find a really, really smart, um, accountant, financial advisor. You know, someone that's gonna help you really understand your money and how you're going to craft your own p and l exit strategy from your day job or whatever to build that company, that dream.

[00:13:47] I remember when I first, um, started simply be you know, with my very first company. My magazine, we ended up going broke. I had, you know, left that business and $75,000 worth of credit card debt that I spent years cleaning up [00:14:00] and, um, literally went broke. Like I had no money personally because we were so in the, in the hole.

[00:14:07] And so when I got myself out that, and then started simply be, I hired this w, this amazing accountant, shout out to Pablo. I don't work with him anymore. We kind of outgrew him, but he was my number one champion. I, it was like the year I was growing my business, I had started making real money. It was like on the way to about, you know, $300,000.

[00:14:24] But this was early, earlier, early on. And I kept saying to him in these meetings, like, I'm really bad at money. And he was like, stop saying that you're not bad at money. You wouldn't be here if you were bad at money. And him saying that to me changed my life. And so it's a beautiful question.

[00:14:42] And I would really find mentors, advisors, you know, service providers that are more than just like, box checkers, but like people who believe in you, who see you because this game of entrepreneurship, one, it's lonely, it's scary, it is [00:15:00] totally risk laden, and you need other people to like push you and to believe in you a little bit more than you believe in you until you fully do.

[00:15:09] Danielle: I love that so much and I love that you mentioned that that one thing that your accountant said to you really changed the game, because I was thinking about this actually last week cuz I always, at the end of the year, I do like reflections of the year and goal setting and all of those things.

[00:15:27] And then one thing that I started doing and I started sharing with my community to do as well is what is a story that you're telling yourself that you're willing to let go of before the new year? And that is like a perfect example of a story that you're telling yourself that you're bad at money. And, um, I shared, like on my podcast a couple weeks ago that mine was a story that I kept telling myself that it was, that I wasn't a good leader.

[00:15:56] And I realized that that had been holding me back for so [00:16:00] long of like, I'm not a good leader. And then I thought to myself like, why am I, why am I thinking that? Why am I telling myself that? Why isn't it that I'm growing in this area, that I'm learning, that I'm surrounding myself with people who can help me become a better leader?

[00:16:17] And so I love that you said that because I think it's just such a powerful thing and also like an encouragement to us to build each other up. Really. Like if you hear that from someone, someone saying that about themselves or to themselves, or you can just notice it in the way that they're acting, call out the good in people and actually encourage them.

[00:16:39] So thank you for that because I think it's so powerful and it's cool that you still remember that about your accountant and that it has had such a huge impact on you.

[00:16:51] Jessica: Yeah, I, it's like, think about it, like, you know, there's that study where they show glasses of water and like if you like the crystals and the molecules, and if you say [00:17:00] loving things to one glass of water, like they become like gorgeous sacred geometry looking molecules.

[00:17:05] And then you can put like the word hate on the other glass or speak hateful words to the other glass of water and the molecules become deformed. It's like we have to speak, boost ourselves up, pour into ourselves, affirm ourselves, self-love on ourselves when we are walking this path. And it's not that easy to do.

[00:17:24] We have all have self-limiting beliefs. We're all really critical. We can be super sub, judgmental and feel small and comparisonitis, et cetera, et cetera. But it's like, really, if you're gonna do this thing and take the leap, you have to. I'm like a classic case study called fake it till you make it. Like I just told myself I could do this.

[00:17:44] I didn't know something. I'd look it up on Google. I would look up things on Google in the middle of a meeting when someone was dropping terms I didn't understand. I just allowed myself to believe in myself, despite my experience. Despite that I went to school for theater. [00:18:00] Despite that I only knew how to waitress.

[00:18:01] I've built two rather successful businesses in their own right, and a lot of it came down to the way that I spoke about myself to myself, you know, for most of that journey. So you, you, you have to be your biggest champion. Yes. Surround yourself with the right people, but you have to be your biggest champion too.

[00:18:18] Danielle: Absolutely. And it's so interesting because. A lot of the things that we say to ourselves, we would never say to other people, which is really sad. Like we would never tell other people, you're not good at this. Or, you know, you're not talented in this way. But we speak to ourselves in that way and you know, we have to live with ourselves on a daily basis.

[00:18:39] So like you said, like what are we speaking into our own lives? And that's gonna play out in our relationships, our success, and all of those things. So yeah. Thank you so much for sharing. I would love to know, you've recently wrote a book. What was that process like? I'm so curious cause I think this, that's [00:19:00] one thing that is on some people's bucket list and they're like, yeah, it's, you know, something I would love to do someday. What made you think like, now's the time to, to write this?

[00:19:11] Jessica: Well, I really have to say, again, kind of going back to what I've been sharing all, all this episode, I had a friend, I have a great girlfriend who is an author of 10 books. She's an an expert in the publishing space and she, she's was telling me for years I should write a book.

[00:19:25] Like she was the one that like lit that little fire and nudge me, and nudge me, nudge me until I was like, okay, fine, I think I should do this. And by this point, my business simply Be had been in business for a few years and I had developed a trademarked methodology and proprietary process on how to brand yourself.

[00:19:41] And I was like, okay, I think I wanna write a memoir. And she was like, no one cares about you. Like why would you? She's like, why would you write a book about yourself? No one knows you. No one cares. Like she said that, I love my friend Ria. She's like, well, what could you write a book? What could you write 60,000 words about?

[00:19:59] I'll never forget this [00:20:00] conversation. I was like, I could write 60,000 words about personal branding. And so that was really the direction of the book. I then decided I wanted to get a publishing deal. You can self-publish a book, which many people do, and there's lots of upsides to that, and it's a shorter sh uh, timeframe.

[00:20:15] And, you know, it's a just a di, a different approach. There's a lot of upsides as well as its own cons, just like when you go through a traditional publisher. But I wanted to go through traditional publisher. The caveat is that it's a longer process, but they handle all of the logistics. you know, you get a, you get a book deal, you get, you know, some dough to help you market the book.

[00:20:34] It's a, it's a different kinda way of doing it. But anyway, it took me about a year to write the proposal. The proposal was harder than writing the book because the book is really, um, Fleshing out the outline and the proposal is the outline. It's like writing a business plan for a book, which was really a, a stretch on my brain of how to structure, like sections, chapters, how a whole book comes together.

[00:20:57] That was really the most challenging part. [00:21:00] And once I got the book deal, I got a literary agent. I sent out the proposal to a bunch of different agents, got an agent. She submitted my book to a bunch of publishers. It went to auction. I got four offers, which was really cool and exciting. It was probably like one of the most adrenaline, thrilling parts of the whole thing.

[00:21:15] then I went with Sounds True, an amazing house. And um, they gave me about a six to seven month deadline to write out the manuscript, which was my favorite, favorite part cuz it was really the most creative part of the process. And then you hand in your manuscript and it literally is one more year till your book comes out cuz they, they edit it, they package it. You pre-sale market it.

[00:21:35] It's then it becomes a product that sets on a shelf for you to sell. It's no longer your little artistic baby. So all in, it's about a two and a half year process. Definitely one of the hardest and most challenging things I've ever done, but the most rewarding.

[00:21:49] And the book changed my life. Like the book changed my business. The book opened up so many doors. Candidly, when you launch a book, it's all about numbers and sales and [00:22:00] metrics and analytics and lists, and you kind of get caught up with those metrics of success, and I felt very caught up in that, transparently for, for quite some time, about six to seven months.

[00:22:12] and then I kinda came out of that haze of like post publishing, like, you know, obsession. And then you are like, oh, wait a second. Thousands and thousands of people have read my book and their, their lives are being changed and they're shifting their brands and their, their letters, the emails, the dms that I get on a, on literally a daily basis across the world.

[00:22:35] Like people have read my book in Canada and Switzerland and New Zealand and it's incredible, and you're like, oh, this is why I wrote this book, not because of anything else other than for someone to spend 20 bucks, read it front to back. It's really good. I poured my whole soul into it. It's the keys to the kingdom.

[00:22:55] I didn't, I didn't leave anything off the table when it comes to what we do at our agency. Like I [00:23:00] wanted the book to be super thorough and generous. And if you do the work, if you put pen to paper on the frameworks, you can build a brand. It's, it's really meant to be that clear. And so, yeah, I mean, it's a long-winded answer to your question, but I loved, I loved writing the book.

[00:23:17] I'm working on a second one and I highly recommend it. It's really hard. It's the,

[00:23:22] Danielle: yeah,

[00:23:22] Jessica: it's so much work, but it's so worth it.

[00:23:25] Danielle: That is so cool. And I can't wait to read it. I'm very excited to get my hands on it. And I think too, like just even that process probably taught you so much of like putting everything kind of down into one manuscript and then, you know, publishing the book, like how cool is that, that you have this like tangible asset. I know for a lot of like service-based entrepreneurs, especially, having something tangible is just so game changing when it comes to your business. So I think that's so, so encouraging.

[00:23:58] So I would love to [00:24:00] know, what advice do you have for those who are wanting to potentially write a book? What would be like a first step in the process? I know you said obviously, and I, I know people who have done both as well, both self-publishing and and publishing. So would do you say kind of thinking through whether they want to do one or the other would be kind of like a first step? And then I would love to hear kind of your advice from there.

[00:24:27] Jessica: Yeah, first step for sure is deciding which route you wanna take. And there's no wrong or right way, or better or worse way. Do your research to talk to a bunch of authors who have published through a publisher and those who have self-published, make your own decision. And then just going back to what I said, like get really honest with yourself of what you can write 60,000 words about.

[00:24:45] Like, everyone's like, oh, I can write a book. I wanna write a book one day. And then they like, they get three or four pages in and it's like, I get, you got 200 more to go. Like, what are, what are you gonna say? And obviously, A book is a product that sh sits on a shelf to [00:25:00] sell to people, at the end of the day.

[00:25:02] And there's no scarcity in a book because there's over 250,000, that's half a quarter of a million books that get published every single year. So you gotta pick your genre and you gotta pick your hook, right? Like your book has to be distinct. and do your research. You know, one of the things that I loved so much actually about the proposal writing process, while it sucked, in its own right, I had to do a competitive analysis.

[00:25:25] I had to go and read a whole bunch of other marketing and branding books that were sort of similar to what I was going into so that I could figure out exactly how to differentiate mine. and that took time. You know, I really had to do my research and understanding who your book is for, and this also goes into the proposal process of like, who is my audience?

[00:25:44] I could say female entrepreneurs. Well, female entrepreneurs run the gamut. Right? And, and am I talking to like new entrepreneurs? Am I talking to sophisticated entrepreneurs? Am I talking to corporate people who wanna become entrepreneurs? Like there's, there's so many nuances to an audience, and so [00:26:00] really doing that, um, work as well is gonna super help you just get the book sharp.

[00:26:05] It's, it's, it's, yes, it's a creative baby, but it's also a product that you have to position and market if you wanna sell it. And the way you, you know, when you sell your book, you, you power your business and you, you grow your thought leadership and you spread your message and impact like you want a book that's viable.

[00:26:22] So that's a lot of advice, I would say. Um, but pick, picking your, your hook and then really getting honest with yourself. If you can write 60,000 words about it.

[00:26:32] Danielle: So good, so good. Oh man, I loved everything you shared today. Jessica, thank you so much for being on. I wanted to ask you one last question. What are you most proud of, of your entrepreneurial journey so far?

[00:26:47] Jessica: Well, I love this question and it's, it's very relevant, ti and timely, so I'm gonna answer this question based on how I feel today versus if you would've asked me this question, like even six months ago. I have built a business

[00:26:59] that I don't need [00:27:00] to run every day. I'm really proud of that. I run a business that I can be the c e o, be the visionary be on instead of in, that I can really focus this year specifically on being of service and being the creative light versus the day-to-day in the Fray operating manager, which doesn't light me up, but, I've done it.

[00:27:24] I've built it. It took me six years and now I have a leadership and management team that literally handles most of the day-to-day operations. And that has taken me so many, so many blood, sweat, and tears, mental breakdowns, anguish on a soul level. Like the journey of being an entrepreneur is so hard and I feel so light right now, and I feel so joyful and grateful and able to write a new story where I can say to myself like, you know, a story was, I used to say I'm bad at money. I used to say, I have to work really hard to make money. I have to hustle. It has to be [00:28:00] painful if I'm gonna really profit. And I'm currently rewriting that story right now and playing with the energies of abundance and flow.

[00:28:08] And I'm really proud of that, cuz it's taken me quite some time to get there.

[00:28:12] Danielle: Thank you so much for sharing. That's so inspiring. And also, I'm just grateful that you're, you're honest about it. I mean, it, it's not gonna be an easy journey. Like, it's not gonna be something that's gonna happen overnight. Um,

[00:28:25] Jessica: no.

[00:28:25] Danielle: And, I'm grateful for, I mean, we've had amazing guests on the podcast just sharing the challenges and sharing the fact that it's not, it's not easy, but, , it can be worth it. Right? Like it really is.

[00:28:40] Jessica: Totally.

[00:28:40] Danielle: And when you get to that place where you can step back and then be in that vision state. And I'm just curious, I wanted to ask another question just cuz I'm curious personally, what's next for you?

[00:28:53] What are you, what are some things you're working on? Maybe you can't share with us, but if you wanna give us little tidbits of, of [00:29:00] what's next for you.

[00:29:01] Jessica: I'm currently in the process of, um, writing my second book. So that's Exciting. We are launching a paperback version of my first book Be, and a 100 page companion workbook to the book, and that's coming out in the next couple weeks.

[00:29:16] And then we're hosting a, a challenge, a three day challenge called Expand Your Brand. And it's really just amplifying and building upon and optimizing all of the beautiful things we've built at simply be like the roots, the foundation, so the house are here. it's now about, like, becoming the skyscraper. And I have a retreat coming up in April where I'm dropping in with a bunch of women on, you know, a a, the spiritual stuff that I'm working with as far as how I've grown my business using those energies and the divine feminine approach to like, leadership.

[00:29:47] So I have a lot of things up my sleeve, but I've learned that, this year, you know, it's funny you ask this, like I'm, I'm always like, I've got these big goals and I'm gonna accomplish like 16 things in a year, and I just want this year [00:30:00] to be like easy and attainable and we've set ourselves up to be that. So between, you know, launching the paper back and getting more of the magic of my first book Be out into the world while I work on my next one behind the scenes is really what I'm focusing on.

[00:30:14] Danielle: So cool, so exciting. So where can people find you? Where can people buy your book? Where can people connect with you? All the things.

[00:30:22] Jessica: Come find me on Instagram. I'm very active and my IG @jessicazweig. I'm very um, Connected to my community, it's me behind that, that, uh, profile. And, uh, you can go to simplybeagency.com to learn more about my company and you can buy my book, Be um, on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

[00:30:43] And then my workbook, which is coming out middle of January, can be found on Amazon and it's, it's delicious. It's like a hundred fresh new pages to take you deeper into your authentic brand. And it's been very much inspired by my own personal growth over the last two years, so really excited to [00:31:00] share that with the world.

[00:31:01] Danielle: So good, so exciting. And we'll have all those links in the show notes for you as well. So if you didn't catch any of those things, we'll have all the links below. Also something very exciting is that Jessica is gonna be a part of a conference that we're doing virtual conference at the end of the month on January 30th.

[00:31:19] So if you wanna get a little bit more from Jessica as well, and hang out with some incredible entrepreneurs as well, and we're going to have a really, really great time. So I'm so excited to have you a part of that too. And yeah, just thank you for joining us today. Thank you for sharing your story and your journey with us.

[00:31:36] Jessica: You're so welcome. Thank you for having me. I'm honored and I'm excited for that event and this was an amazing conversation. You're a brilliant...

[00:31:46] Danielle: if you love this episode, make sure you screenshot. Post and tag us on Instagram @businessbabesco. Want to know when the next episode goes live? Subscribe on your podcast app and while you're there, leave us a review. Until [00:32:00] next time, keep dreaming big, setting goals, and taking action.

Danielle Wiebe