In 2013 The Non-Nine-to-Five™ was born. In 2015 I created my first business card.

Why did it take me 2 years to create a business card?
The answer is pretty simple.
You don't need a business card to grow your business.
When I started The Non-Nine-to-Five™ I got very clear on where my energy, time, and attention needed to go and quickly learned it was NOT sitting behind my computer trying to find the best image, font, or colors.
What?! No, way Jen! Say it aint so! Oh, it’s so.
There are two actions I took (and diligently continue to take) that have supported me in growing a business I love:
1. I invested into business coaching support. When I started my first business I had ZERO support and although I made some progress, I was exceptionally STUCK. I could only do so much because I didn’t have an expert leading the way. FUN FACT: My business mentor is STILL my business mentor, almost 9 years and counting.
2. I opened up my mouth and started talking. Sound funny? I began networking both formally and informally right from the get-go. I would attend any event that looked fun or interesting. I even connected with people at the grocery store. In full admission it felt pretty vulnerable to share about a business I had JUST started. At times I felt weird, uncomfortable, and hesitant to talk about my work, but I knew I had to in order to move my work forward.
A lot of what I see from women wanting to create successful self-employment is the persistent insistence that in order to start and grow a business you must be on social media all day long. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
When I look back at what I’ve created: a successful business completely infused with who I authentically am and one that allows me to serve and support others using my own uniqueness (so they can use THEIR own uniqueness), I can tell you hands down none of this would have happened if I wasn’t willing to consistently connect with others away from my computer and phone.
Your energy, time, and attention are precious. Please use them wisely.
Seeing you Successfully Self-Employed,
- Jen
P.S.: Here is a lovely celebration from Non-Nine-to-Five member, Katie highlighting the power of in person connection:
"Celebrating that I had an amazing meeting with the creator of a local Wellness Collective today! We met for 2 hours in person, and I was able to share my Non-Nine-to-Five message and the healing work that I do. During the meeting, we also discussed how powerful it is to network with people in person. There are so many new opportunities that I foresee as a result of this."
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