We were lucky to catch up with Danielle Jefferson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Danielle, appreciate you joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

My mission is to keep every small business owner from throwing in the towel on their business.

So often, someone says to me “I feel like I just want to shut everything down”. This breaks my heart because most of us start our businesses from a passion. This is what we’re meant to do. And there can be an easier way to do it.

I use my years of operational experience to help small businesses build processes, teams and structures to be the foundations so they can scale and grow in a frictionless way – without burning out.

My passion is to business owners run successful business to have the lives they want, without their business running them into the ground.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

After 15 years of corporate operations experience, I decided to start my own consulting business to give small businesses the same resources as the big guys. Process and business operations comes easily to me, but for most business owners it does not. They struggle to find the optimal balance between their business and lives because they aren’t running their business operations optimally.

They’re working nights and weekends, missing vacations and never feel caught up. This is no way to live out your passion!

I work with business owners through a variety of services. My 90 Day CEO Accelerator program is for my newer business owners who need to lay their foundations. My Coaching Retainer is for my CEOs who want private guidance and accountability. My Consulting Engagements are for businesses with teams who are ready to hit their next level.

No matter where you are on your business journey, everyone wants to streamline and optimize the way they work to save time, money and be more successful.

I do this not only through giving expert advice, but also customized direction and implementation plans so the ideas will actually get done. So many businesses know what they need to do, but can’t make it happen. When I work with my clients, we get things done immediately so they aren’t left with a laundry list after our time together.

Most clients come to me when they are deep in their business and need an outside perspective. My superpower is to see the solutions through the chaos and quickly streamline everything into an organized state.

I also tend to connect with my clients on music! If you love the 90’s (anything from Lauryn Hill to Foo Fighters), we’ll have a great time working together. I try to keep it fun and inspiring. Once you can see your business flowing the way it’s supposed to, operations becomes a lot more exciting!

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

After I left my 15 year corporate career, I went to work at a small tech start up…and realized it had all the same operational issues as the corporation, just on a different scale. I decided not only could I do this better, but I wanted to work for myself and help other business do it better too.

From there I started my side hustle and became increasingly disenchanted with my day job (because you can’t unsee poor operations and management). This led to a “mutual firing” where the CEO phased me out of my role.

I started interviewing for jobs back in corporate and found myself leaving those with a sick feeling. I just could not go back.

At that point, I made the decision to build my business into a sustainable model and go all in. I went full time and never looked back. This is how I serve my clients today. I’ve helped several side hustlers go full time and several full timers scale back. There’s not a right or wrong with YOUR business. I’m here to make it easier!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I have a reputation for impeccable client experience. I treat each of my clients like a VIP because I believe you can be great at what you do, but if the experience is poor it overshadows your expertise. I have a focus for my clients with ensuring the client experience is always at the forefront of their processes and operations.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jeffersonjamesconsulting.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellejefferson/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daniellejeffersonjames
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellejeffersonunc/
• Other: Spotify playlist! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7aZPZeUOVnmIUEXjdUYu9z?si=6da92f168a66413a

Image Credits
Denise Benson Photography