We recently connected with Janee’ Henderson, Ph.D. and have shared our conversation below.
Janee’, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
If I had to think back to how I came up with the idea for my journal, I would say that it started about four years ago with an idea. Initially, I ignored it, and every six months or so, it would pop back up in my mind. Finally, about two years ago, I started to think about what it would be like to create a product for women. I had to consider the big question every entrepreneur has to think about…..what product are you going to develop that would be different? I started with the planner concept but quickly morphed into focusing on developing a guided journal for women. As I began to narrow things down, I needed to figure out what the journal would concentrate on. Ultimately, I landed on creating a guided journal for women to assess their own emotional wellness. It was designed for the woman who doesn’t have it all together, despite how she might look on the outside. The journal focused on giving women a private space to answer the question, are you really okay?
Janee’, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Let’s see what can I say about myself. I have a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology and am a licensed professional counselor. I specialize in working with women, specifically helping them to process past traumas, learn to manage anxiety and depression, address self-esteem issues, navigate life transitions, and learn new ways to cope with life stressors.
Last December 2023, I launched my first guided journal for women focusing on emotional wellness. The guided journal is titled Hey Girl! Are you okay? My journal was inspired by my love for women like myself and my passion for seeing them achieve healing and wholeness and create healthy relationships within themselves and others.
I would like to think that my journal is pretty cute, but one thing about it is that you will work. Most of us have had to navigate the tolls of grind culture, society’s unrealistic demands, and trying to fulfill family or friend expectations. I remember what it’s like to push yourself to the brink of the edge and still be expected to get up the next day to do it all over again. In the journal, ask readers some thought-provoking questions to get them how these expectations are impacting them, consider what would happen if they said no, tighten up some boundaries, evaluate past cycles they keep finding themselves, and explore parts of themselves that maybe they haven’t been able to prioritize in a while.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
Since I am new to this aspect of entrepreneurship, finding new clients has been an interesting journey. As a therapist, I have no problem getting clients since they typically seek me out, get referred through word-of-mouth, or find me on directories. Getting a product in front of your target audience can be difficult. While I am on social media, I have found the best engagement at pop-up or mental health focused events. Usually, in those settings, participants are already interested in working on their emotional wellness and are usually predominately women.
We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.
Currently, I am using Amazon, but I am also in the process of selling my journals on my own site. I think there is no right or wrong way to get started. I think Amazon makes it easy to get started. A few of the pro’s of Amazon include it being very low cost to get started, tech support available for questions, the ability to preview your final product, and choosing a variety of layout options for your products. One of the obvious downsides to using a third-party platform is that they take a percentage of your sales. Additionally, third parties may have limited options for production and printing.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://heygirlandco.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heygirljournal/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Janeevhenderson
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/girl-really-okay-Guided-Journal/dp/B0BPVT88S5/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1682569078&sr=8-2