Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jen DuBois. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jen, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

One of my greatest risks was the journey that led to my becoming a Life Coach. I was 40 years old and felt lost. I had no idea who I really was or who I wanted to be. I had been living in this constant loop of feeling overwhelmed, anxious, indecisive, and exhausted. Procrastination became my best friend. 

My unhappiness encouraged me to take a deeper dive, taking inventory of my life and the qualities, skills, and tools I have to offer. One of these was people trusting me with their deepest secrets and my ability to support, help and guide them with kindness. 

After a period of time of studying, attending workshops and retreats my life became more grounded and purposeful and I knew that my calling was to use my skills to help others improve their lives.  

I enrolled in an extensive Life Coach Certification Program, and it became my launching pad to bring together ALL my gifts and empower others to do the same! Since then, it has been clear that I made the right decision. I love my work and feel thankful that I get to witness my client’s journeys as they gain purpose, clarity, confidence, and personal power as I had done myself. 

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

Hello! I am Jen DuBois, an international certified Life, and Empowerment Coach. I support individuals who feel stuck or overwhelmed in creating more confidence and momentum so they can stop chasing moving targets and start living their best lives!

I am passionate about helping others in creating a vision, cultivating a healthy mindset, and establishing solid habits while enhancing productivity.

The methods I use to serve my clients include individual coaching, small group coaching, and well-being workshops for businesses looking to promote wellness and personal development for their employees. These are offered in person, by phone, or virtually via Zoom.

I believe what sets me apart from other coaches is my life experience, understanding and dedication to my clients, whether they work with me one to one or attend one of my retreats or workshops. 

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

A big lesson I had to unlearn in my Coaching business was saying “YES!” to every opportunity and client that came my way.

Once I became a certified Coach, I felt my world finally opened! I had a platform to share all these incredible tools, skills, and lifelong knowledge of personal development. I was ready to impact, inspire and empower others.

However, being a new enthusiastic Coach also set me up for a long list of lessons I didn’t see coming. Discernment was not in my impulsive wheelhouse…. yet!

My heart and intentions of supporting people were in the right place but, taking on ALL things led to disappointment, exhaustion, and feeling scattered. Burnout was quickly approaching, and I had just gotten started.

I look back on that year in my business with a heart of gratitude. When I was in the thick of ALL the yes’s, it felt overwhelming, and I sometimes wondered if I could really make this a true business.

Now, being on the other side of that year of lessons, I can see that I gained, discernment, focus, and confidence in my value and worth as a Coach.

Have you ever had to pivot?

When empty nesting was quickly approaching, I decided I wanted to start my own business. My photos and memorabilia were my pride and joy. I had curated some beautiful photo albums for my family and was encouraged by several friends and family to do this for other people and make a business out of it. It sounded fun so, I gave it a go!

For 2 years I went down this path blind, frustrated and miserable. I had no idea how to start or run a business so, I started with that part first. Lesson #1 learned. Do not invest in things that you don’t need yet!

I thought I had to have all the bells and whistles to be a “real business”. So, I took every free business class offered, got a mentor, and focused on the foundation of what I believed I needed to be a legit business owner.

The fact of the matter was, I hadn’t tested my business idea first. I didn’t even know what exactly I wanted to do in the photo world so, I joined a photo organization that brought together photo organizers to learn and grow.

I loved being in a community of photo-loving people that were actually in business doing what they loved. However, it muddied the waters for me. Too many different ideas of how to do things, technology I thought I needed to learn, courses to buy, oh my!

In my 2 years in business, I realized this was NOT the business for me. I took my biggest personal overwhelm of not having all of my own collection curated and tried to make it a business of helping others curate theirs!

I had to pivot and change directions. I was trying to force a square peg into a round hole for far too long. I had my business checklist all checked off but, the actual work was not what I really wanted to do.

I found that what I enjoyed most had zero to do with photo organizing. I found a love for networking, women’s retreats, and intentional vision board training. This journey eventually led me to life coaching.

It was the best decision I ever made. Giving myself the time and space to let go of what wasn’t working to make room for something better was exactly what I needed.

Rerouting the course of what I thought I should do opened the door to becoming a certified Life and Empowerment Coach. I am finally living my purpose, and my passion, while helping others do the same!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jendubois.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenduboiscoaching/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/3789077774468639
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jen-dubois-3b2814131/

Image Credits
Corey Brown Photography
Francie Wilson