We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jen Hirst a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jen, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I lived in the sober closet for four years. I didn’t talk about it with anyone outside of the 12-step rooms. I was supposed to remain anonymous and keep this part of my life a secret, so I in turn lived in shame for many years.

So often, we hear the sad stories, the things we’ve lost, that removing alcohol is going to be boring… but WHAT IF we could show people another way?

After I attended Rachel Hollis’ women’s RISE conference in 2019, I got to thinking… That’s it!

We need something like this, but for sobriety! We need to make getting sober a fun and exciting experience and look at sobriety in a new light. Not as something you’re giving up, but something that you’re GAINING.

Because saying ‘No’ to alcohol is saying YES to…

• Productive mornings
• More Time
• Being who you are
• The sunrise
• Better relationships
• No more things you can’t remember
• More energy
• Gut health
• Setting a positive example for your kids
• Less anxiety
• Your overall health
• Better sleep
• Higher self-esteem

From that moment forward, I was on a mission: To encourage women to WANT to get sober, and to help them STAY sober together by following through on daily habits on a consistent basis. We are stronger in numbers and getting sober together in a group coaching program increases the likelihood that you’ll make it stick. We need to know we’re not alone and we’re not broken for not being able to moderate an addictive substance.

We can look back at our struggles brought us so much strength to tackle any hard thing that comes our way. Because if you can get sober? You can literally do and BE anything! Removing alcohol is nothing to dread, but something to LOOK FORWARD to… get excited about. To raise your hand first and light the way for others.

Getting sober isn’t just about removing alcohol and is far from boring. It’s about radical self-care to start FEELING better, from the inside out. We all DESERVE to feel good! And alcohol prevents us from really experiencing that. From moving our bodies to improving the thoughts we’re telling ourselves, to how much sleep we’re getting every night. Sobriety is a constant journey of improvement and discovery. It’s about building a life you don’t have to escape from and staying true to who you really are.

Jen, 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 went from an anxious perfectionist, workaholic, people-pleaser using alcohol daily to manage stress and social anxiety, to a successful sobriety coach, speaker, and creator of Lighthouse Sobriety.

I coach women struggling with alcohol not only on how to get sober, but STAY sober through group coaching courses and private coaching. I value the importance of building healthy habits to manage stress and overwhelm on a consistent basis, not just when life gets hard. Because if we wait to practice stress management tools just when life is hard, we’re already too late.

It’s crazy how your life goals change as YOU change.

My dreams of becoming an art director for a high-profile magazine began to shift the more I started sharing my sober story that began as a Beachbody coach. A daily task is to share your life on social media, which was a foreign concept to me. This thing that I kept hidden was the one thing I so desperately wanted to share. Within two weeks, I did what I call a ‘Coming Out’ post. How was anyone going to trust me if they didn’t know about my journey with alcohol?

CLICK! The post went up and the encouragement, love and support started flowing in.

Ahhh… I felt like a huge weight had been lifted and I finally felt free.

No more hiding, no more secrets… It was all there for the world to see.

Over the course of a year, the more I shared about my sobriety, the more messages I received:
“How did you do it?”
“DO you have any tips?’

I began conversations in my DMs, which led to women asking me if I would coach them.

And then it dawned on me ‘I don’t think I’m supposed to be helping women lose weight or creating pretty pages for a magazine.. I think I’m supposed to help women get sober’.

The one thing I was so nervous to talk about was now the one thing I LOVED to talk about. I had kept it in for so many years that it was dying to be shared.

Over the course of three years, I began meeting with clients weekly, having them check-in daily, providing worksheets based on their goals and guided them to shift their mindset towards alcohol and sobriety.

But one thing didn’t seem right.

What everyone needs in sobriety is community. It’s the common thread I hear from all my clients. So how could we solve that right out of the gate?

GROUP COACHING.

Let’s get and STAY sober together! Work through the Weekly Lessons, meet virtually every week, support each other in the group and keep it small so we can develop relationships and get to know one another. THAT is where the magic is. Connection. Community. Doing this together.

I’ve heard from coaches who coach coaches that private coaching is where it’s at, but i don’t think so for sobriety. We need community, so let’s mesh those two together and put women in that right away.

During my courses, I give my clients practical tools and tips to start putting into action right away. What to have on hand, days 1-7 without alcohol and what to expect, what do you say to people now that you don’t drink?, etc. I always love a good workbook, so every week an email is delivered with their Weekly Workbook (usually 25 pages) to guide them through that week’s lesson.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

One post at a time, one post a day, everyday.

Depending on your audience, really hone in on one platform.

For me, it’s instagram. That’s where I get all of my clients.

I started growing my page back in 2017, and built from there. Changing my methods as the algorithm changed: 3 posts a day, to one post a day, to creating stories and now figuring out ways to create reels that add VALUE to my clients.

SOME TIPS:
– POST ON A CONSISTENT BASIS! This is key. AT LEAST once per day.
– Find out what times your audience is on social media and post during those times (for me, that’s on Sunday). If you don’t know, what times do YOU find yourself looking at your phone more?
– Pay attention to what posts perform better and adjust your content to fit that criteria of what people are looking for
– Keep asking what VALUE can you add in your post. How does this help my client/customer?
– Post a variety of content: How-tos, tips, etc.
– Think back to where you were when you started. What did you want to hear?
– Pay attention to what posts grab YOUR attention.
– Respond to the people in your comments!
– Include up to 25 hashtags in your caption relevant to your post and niche (this is how people find you!)
– Search popular hashtags that others in your industry are using

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

It’s crazy how life works.

My dreams of becoming an art director for a high-profile magazine began to shift the more I started sharing my sober story that began as a Beachbody coach.

It’s started as a side-hustle in hopes of one day coaching women on how to get in shape would be my full-time job.

Over the course of a year, the little that I shared about my sobriety, the more messages I received:
“How did you do it?”
“Do you have any tips?’

I began conversations in my DMs, which led to women asking me if I would coach them.

My dreams went from Art Director to Beachbody Coach to now living as a full-time sober coach. It’s crazy how your life goals change as YOU change. I had no intention of ever making a career out of my sobriety. But that’s what life does. It shows you what you’re made of, what you’re meant for, and why you’re here.

The. journey to sobriety is never a straight shot up, and neither is your career path. It literally contains the word ‘orbit’. And just like things that orbit, you can do around in circles for a while, but eventually, you’ll get to where you need to be.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://joinlighthousesobriety.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenleehirst/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jkampinen
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-hirst-a03b845/

Image Credits
Lizzie C Photography