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

Jenn, appreciate you joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

As an entrepreneur, there are many times I question myself about the direction to go, what to do, and how to get there. I believe I am happier overall as a business owner. I can definitely say that my everyday quality of life is better and more fulfilling. On days when it is rough, I remind myself that “divorce is not an option”. I relate owning this business to being married. I make a choice every day to love and share life with my spouse (28 years & counting!). The peaks and valleys of life come and go. Some days, months, and years are easier and harder than others. Like in marriage, when you remove the option of divorce, it presents different avenues and options to tackle stressful things that happen. Eliminating options is just as important as finding new possibilities.

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?

Hi! My Name is Jenn Dickel, owner of Seasonal Navigation Organizing where we help busy professional and entrepreneurial women restore order and peace to their homes, papers, and businesses. I’ve always loved the kinds of tiny details others hate. I grew up in a rare combo of chaos and order. I crave order, but can make chaos function surprisingly well. It wasn’t until I was working as an Operations Manager in a warehouse that I realized this gift brings me joy while being a nightmare to most other people.
This was almost 20 years ago. I was totally in my element when I was handed the keys to a 4,000-foot warehouse full of delicate medical equipment and tradeshow materials. Each piece, with its own set of tiny moving parts and multiple accessories, helped complete the procedure puzzle. Each part and set, sometimes multiple sets, had its own final destination in any one of the international and domestic locations we served. None of my coworkers wanted to tackle the job, but to me, it was an exciting puzzle! Armed with multiple colored markers, I sketched out a plan that would allow me and my team to manage everything smoothly.

This is where my love of organizing and getting people what they need really started to flourish. I designed kits to make working in the field easier. These kits had 1000’s of pieces to manage along with additional items that could be requested. In 2008, I remember having lunch with my boss at the time and she asked me, “What do you really want to do?”. I thought for a moment and said, “I want to help women live life better, to succeed, to thrive, and to enjoy life, not just endure it.” That is when the first seed was truly planted about opening my very own business to serve women.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I have spent most of my life being a high achiever with that comes some perfectionist tendencies. I like to say I am a recovering perfectionist. I understand nothing is perfect, literally nothing and that the idea that there is perfection in all things at all times is unrealistic. I have been unlearning or relearning how “done is better than perfect”. Being an entrepreneur has really solidified why this is important and necessary for me. Seeking perfection can hold me back and limit my abilities on so many levels. There is no one person who is perfect at every single thing. So seeking that in my business and personal life has had to be redefined. This does not mean we do not do a good job, it means we evaluate where our energy is best spent and where it is not. A great example of this is when I first started my business and needed to build a website.

Mind you, I had no (…absolutely no) experience in building a website, how to set one up, or even where to start. I started by researching other companies pretty, beautifully laid out, and functioning websites. Then I proceeded to build my own. I get a few pages in, many late nights, long days, coffee, cursing, and so many levels of frustration later, I had a site. It was “ok” at best. I was at a point that I just needed to launch it. I did not love what I produced, but it did get my business message out there and it was a start. I pressed “Publish”. It was done (…for now). Finally, several years later I have a site that I am happy with, still not perfect, but the “done” is a better representation of my business.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Back in 2012 / 2013 the company I was working for decided to relocate and consolidate the warehouse I ran along with my team. I was offered the option to move, but decided it was not a great move for me and my family. So with all those decisions, came the task of assisting in hiring and training me and my team’s replacements. I remember the phrase, “finish well” during that time. Even though the company was making changes, I had choices and made the best of those choices. I got to meet great people. Close a large chapter of my career and start something new. At that time, I thought there would be no problem finding another job. Little did I know, that was going to become one of the roughest times of my life.

For the first time in my life, I had no job. From the age of 12 years old, I have always had a job and income coming in. Many times multiple jobs. I applied for so many jobs, like 150 or so, and heard nothing. It was so discouraging and depressing. Searching for a job has changed drastically since I was younger. Now it is key words and making it through a computer system with defined parameters, very black and white. Versus a person seeing my resume and making a judgement call on whether to interview or hire. I have a broad range of skills and was not niched down enough to fit in the pre-defined categories an HR computer system defines. This time period, was very pivotal for me. It made me really dig deep about who I am and what I really wanted to do.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.SeasonalNavigation.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tenaciouscluttertamer/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TenaciousClutterTamer
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferdickel/

Image Credits
Jessica McIntosh Photography