We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jacquelynn Cotten. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jacquelynn below.

Alright, Jacquelynn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

My brand is called Spiritual Support System. I’ve personally been on a spiritual journey for what feels like my entire life. As someone who had a rough upbringing, was exposed to domestic violence, addiction, & so on — I have always felt very passionate about overcoming my circumstances, environment, & living a fulfilling life.

Already a creative agency owner, mom, wife, writer, singer-songwriter, mental health advocate, & podcast host, I wanted something more.

In 2020, the father of my first child died. It left me deeply wounded & even more curious about spirituality so I dove deeper. I began tuning into my gifts & decided to just let the Universe guide me down the path I was meant to go. Then one day, I had this thought land while I was in the shower minding my own business. It was ‘Spiritual Support System’ & I got full body chills even in the midst of the steamy shower.

That’s when I knew, I was going to help as many humans as humanly possible with my coaching business & Spiritual Support System movement. I haven’t stopped since. Personal evolution is the definition of spirituality & being human is hard. But now? There’s a support system for that. :)

Jacquelynn, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have always been extremely multipassionate. I have started & stopped more ideas, projects, & businesses than I can count. The two things I have always been certain of since I was little: 1. I wanted to be a mom. 2. I wanted to be a business woman. I became both. However, the road getting to both was long, painful, & full of what appeared to be (at that time) failures.

I have done everything from cleaning toilets, building shelves, service industry, washing dishes, customer service, child care, sales, working in a factory, making jewelry, buying & reselling furniture, MLMs, being a musician, acting as an extra, to now agency owner & running a coaching business.

I began coaching in 2021 with my expertise being in content creation & magnetic marketing. This same year, I began a podcast called Just Women Talking Shit as an outlet for my own mental health.

I had miscarred a baby on Mother’s Day 2020, been blessed with my miracle baby in 2021, & had been stuck at home like the rest of the world for far too long. Thus, the show began. I am closing in on 100 episodes by December 2024. I interview women (& some men) around the world who share their stories & expertises with my audience.

In 2023, I pivoted my coaching business to support those who are on their own spiritual journeys. I hosted my first spiritual business retreat in Chimney Rock, North Carolina in August 2023. My third annual women’s retreat is in Sedona, Arizona 2025. This retreat is for moms who, like me, have experienced abuse, neglect, or trauma & want to hit reset so they can become the best versions of themselves for their children.

The goal in all the work I do is to help others break generational curses, overcome their circumstances, stinking thinking, & environment so they can live a happy, fulfilled, life that radiates inner peace. (The retreat cart is now open. There are 10 spots only & first come, first served.)

When I work with my clients, we work mostly on the brain by practicing latest Neuroscience techniques. I teach them how to navigate Neuroplasticity & shift identity while releasing trauma & self-limiting behaviors, beliefs, & habits. Sometimes this work involves Energetics & Quantum Physics for those who believe in the power of manifesting. (I have a High Cash Energetics Course that is only 14 days long to help with money mindset specifically.)

The ways people can work with me include the Mobile Mentorship membership, 1:1, group programs, at your own pace programs, VIP days or weekends, in-person retreats, virtual hypnotherapy sessions, or by hiring me to speak at an event.

Ultimately, I help people unlock their full potential & rapidly evolve as a person. My coaching can not be boxed in because I lead with my heart & soul. I believe I am different than other coaches in this industry because I am transparent, openly vulnerable, & always authentic. I believe in being the permission for others to learn to be comfortable in their own skin the way I am after all these years. In honoring this crusade, that means showing up authentically even when it doesn’t look pretty & packaged with a bow. I am the real deal. What you see is what you get. I am not for everyone & that is okay. I don’t take it personal. I’m simply here to change the world.

My clients will tell you how deeply I care & am committed to their success. Whether that be finding love, starting a business, pursuing their passions, overcoming childhood trauma, or learning how to manifest a life of their dreams, I give it my all. Many of my clients I have met in person, & one I now call my best friend. (PS. I love you, Katie.)

I’m most proud of myself for just doing the dang thing. I have suffered greatly from chronic illness & mental health my whole life, so honestly, I thought I’d never make it this far. I am living proof that you can be & do anything you want. I pride myself on integrity, the ability to bring people together, & make them feel loved all while creating community, culture, & bonds that last a lifetime.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Absolutely. The first that comes to mind is well before I began my agency or coaching business. Little did I know the life experience was leading up to my purpose, passion, & career in the coaching industry.

When my daughter was almost a year & a half, I found myself without a home or car & a single mom overnight. We had the clothes on our backs & love in our hearts. I did not want to leave her dad, but he gave me no choice. I was worried for our safety. A very new friend & good Christian woman offered my daughter & I somewhere to stay while I figured out what next moves to take.

She had a red Mitsubishi Eclipse parked out front of her place noticeably unused. She told me I could use it briefly but there was one catch. It was a manual transmission. I had no idea how to actually drive one & had only ever pretended to be a backseat racecar driver when my mother drove stick.

Thanks to the help of a friend who was determined to teach me in the hilliest area of our town, I learned to drive stickshift within a couple hours. I used the vehicle to apply for welfare, which was immediately approved considering the circumstances. Thanks to the kindness, once again, of people in the community, I was able to work out a deals that allowed me to put my daughter in daycare, find a house nearby (which I had to work tirelessly ripping carpet out & heavily clean before we could even move in) & a job within walking distance until I could afford my own car.

The next several years were stressful but I managed to work my way up in any position I got. In 2019, I was terminated from my marketing position just a week before Thanksgiving, humiliated to say the least. I booked my first in-person speaking engagement the next day. I promised to myself I would never let anyone make me feel disposable again. In 2020, I lost a baby, the father of my firstborn, battled severe anxiety & depression, health issues, became overweight even.

Fast forward to today, I have dropped 40 pounds, love what I do, & am helping humans in a way that truly lights my soul on fire. I have rough days like everyone else but this go round, I am not staying silent.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Life is too short to be right all the time. Sometimes we just need to stop & listen with compassion instead of being so emotionally committed to being right.

We cannot get mad at people for not being who we want them to be.

I learned this when my ex died. We were in the middle of our second custody battle, so it definitely created drama & threatened my motherhood. However, he was struggling with addiction, had been for quite some time, & Lord knows I am no angel. When he was alive, it felt like a constant unspoken competition. We were petty. One person always had to have the last word. The other always thought they knew what was best for our daughter. It felt very childish & stressed me out extensively. It affected both my emotional, mental, & physical health. However, in the end, he died & I had no one to blame. I realize now how big of a part I played in the drama, how I fueled it, & how I could have done much better on my end. That is where regrets come in.

I wish I would have done & said a lot of things differently.

The spiritual awakening that came with his death is why I started Spiritual Support System. Although he is not here to see the movement I am building, I like to think I am making him proud.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.spiritualsupportsystem.com and www.justwomentalkingshit.com
• Instagram: @spiritualsupportsystem @justwomentalkingshit
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thejacquelynncotten
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@spiritualsupportsystem & https://www.youtube.com/@justwomentalkingshit

Image Credits

Katie Preste, Kristen Spurgeon, Stepanie Clapp, Jacquelynn Cotten, & Amber White