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

Jene, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

Honestly, the idea of being self-employed was terrifying to me at first.

I never planned on being a business owner. While I have many friends who intentionally set out to start their own businesses, I did not see myself as an entrepreneur. In fact, it took other people asking me to do work for them and insisting on paying me for it before I even considered the possibility of working as an independent contractor – and I only planned on doing that part-time.

One day, after waking up at 4:30 a.m. to do some work for a client before heading to my place of employment for a full day in the office, I realized I had to make a choice. I had been using my vacation time to take days off – to work. I was working weekends. I was getting up super early almost every day of the week (and I am NOT a morning person). I realized I needed to trust in myself and commit to growing my own company.

Leaving my full-time job with a steady income and great benefits was the riskiest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I’ve jumped out of airplanes (on more than one occasion), galloped horses cross country, owned a motorcycle, gambled a ridiculous amount of money playing poker, and none of those things filled me with any amount of terror as just the idea of being self-employed did. But the decision to start my own company was the best risk I’ve ever taken.

In retrospect, I did so many things wrong. I didn’t have a business plan. I didn’t have money saved. I didn’t prepare marketing. I didn’t have a backup plan. What I did have was a strong reputation in the community among people who knew my work and commitment to excellence. I was not going to allow failure, so there was no other choice but to be successful.

Every morning when I wake up, I am thankful that I get to spend the day doing work that I love for clients who value what I contribute to them and their organizations. And every day, I’m thankful I was willing to take that one, big risk.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Founder & President of Kapela Leadership Solutions, Dr. Jené Kapela is a lifelong educator and organizational expert who provides individuals and their teams with the tools and training essential to build dynamic and successful organizations.

Jené has a unique perspective toward training and talent development, with a background in educational leadership, adult learner development, and leadership program management. This, combined with her doctorate in Organizational Leadership and natural strategic thinking ability, gives Jené powerful tools to understand the challenges organizations experience related to human talent and provide people-driven solutions in the forms of training, coaching, and talent management strategy.

She currently resides in Broward County, Florida where she serves in leadership roles with multiple community organizations and is an active board member for PACE Center for Girls – Broward which helps girls with a troubled past build a stronger future, as well as SECORE, which advocates for worldwide coral reef conservation.

In addition, she is an avid equestrian and competes frequently in South Florida.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

Like many other small business owners who provide direct services, my brand IS my company’s brand. Almost 100% of my clients are referral-based, and the vast majority of those are people who have known me and worked with me through different volunteer roles in the community.

I’m not a natural networker. The idea of “selling” makes me very uncomfortable. But what I do like is to create mutually beneficial connections among others and engage in the community in ways where I can use my skills and strengths to make positive change. As a result of my community involvement, I have been blessed to meet so many amazing people who have had the opportunity to see me in action.

My approach to training and consulting is not right for every organization – and that’s ok. I’m honest about what I can contribute and what value I think I can provide, and if it is a fit for an organization, that’s great – and if it isn’t, I’d rather they work with someone else rather than invest the time and energy into a project that won’t lead to a productive outcome. As a result of this, I feel like my clients know they can trust me and that I will deliver what they need.

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

March of 2020 was a scary time for everyone. Like many others, I spent two weeks completely confused about what was happening in the world related to COVID-19 and how it would impact my business – and, as a result, me personally. I went from having a somewhat reliable income with my established contracts to wondering if I would have any work at all in the next few months. I am beyond grateful that many of my clients allowed me to transition the work I was doing for them into a virtual format. I was also presented with a new business opportunity with a community partner that has resulted in a long-term business relationship. In retrospect, my situation wasn’t that scary compared to so many others. However, at the time, there was a very real concern that I would have no source of income.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://kapelaleadershipsolutions.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenekapelaleadership/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JeneKapelaLeadershipSolutions
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenekapela/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/jenepk