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

Jenn, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How do you think about vacations as a business owner? Do you take them and if so, how? If you don’t, why not?

This is something I’m really passionate about. Take the d*mn vacation!

I’m a world traveler and business owner, but I took advantage of the opportunity to build my business to be remote-friendly from the start.

Of course, not everyone has that option depending on the type of industry they’re in or the services they provide, but that doesn’t mean finding work-life balance is impossible.

You just have to commit to changing habits and implementing the right strategies to incrementally move in the right direction, and firmly away from the chaos of workaholism.

As a former workaholic, I can promise your performance will level up when you take time to rest. Better yet, if you have a team, they’ll level up too.

For the sake of time, I’ll give you the broad strokes of the process…

1. You have to commit to changing habits. Most of the time, entrepreneurs hold themselves back by not breaking the bad habits that got them in the place they need to get out of.

2. Start protecting your schedule. I know an open-door policy is important for culture, but a revolving door isn’t productive for you or the business. Implement boundaries in your schedule.

3. Dedicate time and energy to help your team be autonomous – and avoid micromanaging at all costs.

The bottom line is if you feel you can’t leave for a short vacation, something has to change in your mindset or in your operations – maybe both.

Rest is too important to skip – so start working on these habits and go on the d*mn vacation, friend.

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

I’m the founder of Ascender Consulting. As a business consultant, I design solutions and action plans for motivated, but overwhelmed executives so they can regain control of their calendars and pursue the projects they’ve had to put off.

We calm the chaos in their day to day work lives so they have time to focus on what matters most.

Prior to starting my business, I became an award-winning business developer, program manager and video producer. I’m experienced in new program development, spearheading industry-leading initiatives comprised of 50 to 200
employees, and coaching leaders in grass-roots marketing and critical relationship-building.

I’ve been busy – drinking out of a fire hose busy – and I still had to get my work done, coach my team, and build key relationships for future growth. It’s not easy, but we climb a mountain one step at a time, right?

Most recently, I launched XMZ Society, an education-based networking group that champions Gen X-ers, Millennials and Gen Z-ers that focus on professional and personal development. This is really for those hungry executives and rising stars in the workforce.

Ultimately, I want to see business leaders and their rising stars ascend to new heights without sacrificing their time for other life pursuits and passions.

My services are delivered by strategy sessions, day rate consulting or workshops, and for the extra committed, annual programs.

To learn more about Ascender Consulting and XMZ Society, you can check out the website at AscenderConsulting.com.
I’m also big on networking, so don’t hesitate to schedule a call to introduce yourself!

Otherwise you can find me on LinkedIn @JennAscender or Instagram @Ascender.Consulting.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

There’s a quote that says something like, “Not all readers lead, but all leaders read.”

I love the essence of it – that all leaders continue learning. Whether it’s through physical books, audio books, podcasts, conferences, webinars, courses – there are so many ways to consume knowledge nowadays.

For me, I started with blogs written by Michael Hyatt. From the beginning of Michael Hyatt’s entrepreneurial journey, I was reading, then listening and watching – always learning.

If I had to choose two things I’ve learned from Michael Hyatt, it’s how important it is to balance work and life, and how communication drives a business forward and upward or straight into the ground.

His business has changed as it has scaled over the years, and there are plenty of ways to consume his content, but I highly recommend his books.

Two of my favorites and their corresponding links so you can learn more about them are:

Free to Focus (https://amzn.to/3PI3ENN)
No-Fail Communication (https://amzn.to/3tnKgOL)

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

Funnily enough, I never wanted to own a business! When people in my circle would bring it up, I’d tell them I had no desire to do all that work! Ironic since I was a workaholic.

When I became disenchanted with the corporate world and wanted to pursue my dream of teaching, I left my job to start grad school. I picked up a part-time job doing something I was passionate about as a child.

However, when my network heard that I wasn’t working full-time, people started coming out of the woodwork to ask for support with projects, launching businesses, and a host of other opportunities.

I declined job opportunities and projects, but there were a few I did take up.

Clients started referring people and I met other clients through casual networking. No marketing.

I loved the work and found I actually enjoy captaining my own ship too, so I formalized the business and Ascender Consulting was born.

Two important milestones for me were:

1. Finding a community of other entrepreneurs
2. Getting a coach

The community really opened my eyes to the fact that I was playing small. There’s nothing like getting that hype squad that will also call you on the things you could do better. By leveraging a network, I was able to level up my game.

The coach was important in that I made the decision to invest in myself. She helped me realize that I wasn’t using some of the skills I’m best at. Most importantly, she really helped me open my eyes to different services I could offer that aligned with my inner world traveler.

I actually live between two countries, so that was a massive leap for me and my clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: AscenderConsulting.com
• Instagram: @Ascender.Consulting
• Linkedin: @JennAscender
• Other: I’m always looking to connect. If you want to network, get on my schedule: https://calendly.com/ascenderconsulting/partner-meeting

Image Credits
Images by Apex Photography of Central Florida