We were lucky to catch up with Jenn Jamali recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jenn, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One deeply underappreciated facet of entrepreneurship is the kind of crazy stuff we have to deal with as business owners. Sometimes it’s crazy positive sometimes it’s crazy negative, but crazy experiences unite entrepreneurs regardless of industry. Can you share a crazy story with our readers?

In 2022, I made the leap from working a very comfortable job at Indeed, where I was just promoted to Senior Recruiter and got the salary increase I was hoping for, to then move to Spotify to get an even better salary increase and more importantly move to a company that offered 6 months maternity leave, as I was looking to grow my family that year.

I really loved the company but was over my job as a recruiter. I had done the job for 10 years and was ready to take the leap into my own thing, but wanted to first get pregnant and then start my business while on my 6-month mat leave. That was my master plan.

In November 2022, I was newly pregnant and the same week I was going to get my 1st ultrasound, I got the dreaded HR invite to prioritize the meeting. It was to let me know that my position had been eliminated and effective immediately. I had a whirlwind of emotions, but ultimately saw it as a sign to start my own thing, a year earlier than anticipated.

I began my Career Coaching and Resume Writing business and have had different iterations where now I focus on Money Coaching, where I help women and first generation people make more and keep more by learning more about personal finance and taking control of their own.

It was very scary at the beginning and I learned to get through self-doubt but getting laid off from my dream company, was honestly the best thing that could have happened to me. I was able to have a stress-free pregnancy and postpartum while I tested different iterations of my business and have been able to build something I’m so proud of.

Jenn, 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?

In 2020, I got obsessed with learning all things about Personal Finance and investing.

Before the pandemic, I had been saving up for my forever home that was going to be much bigger, in a great school district and where we would grow our family.

I then began a gratitude practice where my I was so thankful for my “starter home” that had kept my family and I safe, had a yard where we could get fresh air while we were in lockdown, and have enough room to comfortably work and grow our careers.

I had an epiphany that my “dream home” was just something that society had implanted in me and I took control and figured out what we truly wanted. With the money we had saved up, I was able to buy 2 investment properties, build my stock portfolio and kept trying different investment strategies.

In 2021, I gave my first “Wealth Workshop”, where I shared everything I learned along the way and it clicked, I was meant to teach this and help women and first gen learn more about personal finance, build a more positive relationship with it and take control of their wealth journey.

I now work 1:1 with clients where we:
– Rewrite their money stories
– Implement Systems for investing and saving
– Leverage their career and find ways to increase income
– Honor their personal money values

I also lead money workshops that covers all things about personal finance and money mindset.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I was laid off at 8 weeks pregnant and it inspired me to start my coaching business.

I was a Recruiter at Spotify. I specifically went to Spotify for their parental leave and was hoping to kickstart a business during my maternity leave. When I was abruptly laid off, I took it as a sign to finally pursue my dream and that it just came a year early.

I had come to terms that I was bored with my recruiting career and needed to pivot. This lay off was the push I needed to get started with my business and start testing what I wanted to offer.

I wanted to remain stress-free during my pregnancy.

I empowered myself to feel the discomfort of not receiving a reliable paycheck to focus on my purpose of empowering women to take control of their finances. I had helped women negotiate their salaries and taught workshops on getting your dream job, so I leaned into what I know, recruiting, and marry that with my passion of personal finance.

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

I had to unlearn the mindset of a 9-5 employee to really lean into my business. My postpartum anxiety was getting in the way of my creativity and the skills I had built in my 9-5 of networking, communicating effectively and crushing my goals.

Having a variable income was something that was hard to get my mind around and I had to unlearn what stability once was and push my comfort zone and lean into not having an income ceiling. I could test out different offerings that felt good and align my pricing with what feels good.

I also had to unlearn that there is a right and wrong way of doing tasks or providing value. I had 10 years in my recruiting career under my belt and I was always measured with certain metrics that let me know I was on the right track, but entrepreneurship led me to building my own metrics and defining my own success.

I’ve learned that testing is the beauty of entreprenuership and I have invested in this time to try out things that feel good for me, my family and my business.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @firstjennmoney
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenn-jamali-/
• Other: Book a Clarity Call with me: https://calendly.com/firstjennmoney/claritycall