We were lucky to catch up with Jess Pfeffer recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jess, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear stories from your time in school/training/etc.

From my yoga teacher training with Leslie Glickman at Yoga Journey there are two teachings that continue to surface in my professional and personal life: ” When the student is ready, the teacher appears” and “Leap and the net will catch you”.

These were two huge takeaways I try to implement and share with my community. “When the student is ready, the teacher appears”– as humans we tend to stick to what’s comfortable. We follow the same patterns over and over again and somehow expect a different result. The best time to learn is when we are ready. The “teacher” comes in different forms, it may be a lesson from a friend, something happening in the world, or a past life reminder. We can’t force the lesson because it’s not in our control. We can’t know when and where this lesson will happen. We might never be ready to learn it, however once we allow and practice openness we have a better chance of seeing it. If we keep our heads down and cover our eyes we won’t be able to see. But when we clear the fog(remove toxins, negative people, distractions, etc.) and wipe our glasses(see more than one view, be curious and ask questions from people outside of our community, etc.) we the student are ready to learn, possibly even evolve.

“Leap and the net will catch you”– easier said than done, sure. We are scared and allow fear to hold us back. Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of change. It’s a constant practice for me to choose love over fear. Each day I have to remind myself of the beautiful ways this saying has helped me get to where I am today. I left my prior careers to start my own business, I moved to a new city state to follow my heart, I stopped trying so hard to reach out to people who didn’t reciprocate in order to make space for relationships that are more equal, I decided to not fit in the box I was taught to be in, but instead embrace my nonlinear personality. And fortunately a big part of my net is my family which I am so grateful for, it’s also in my faith of the universe wanting to back up what I intend since it’s coming from a pure and authentic heart.

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.

I am Jess Pfeffer and I am excited to share a bit about myself. I am a dynamic solopreneur. I began my career in public relations in hospitality, utilized my undergraduate degree as an elementary school teacher, then went back to school for my Master’s in Mental Health Counseling. After grad school, I participated in multiple adult and children yoga teacher trainings. I co-owned an organic cold-pressed juice bar and conscious boutique market in South Florida, which was the springboard for my own conscious consulting and holistic event planning business I started in 2019.

Always eager to help people find connections under the umbrella of health and wellness I continue to add resources to my repertoire. My love of community and desire to make authentic connections sets me apart from other business consultants and event planners.

As a conscious consultant, I have relationships with companies such as Mercedes Benz Stadium, Office Depot and Fontainebleau Hotel and create in-person + virtual wellness programming. Typical sessions include yoga, plant-based cooking, sound baths, Ayurveda practices, and embodiment dance.

As a holistic event planner, I help clients achieve their goals for having an event that ranges from an intimate 3-hour retreat at Grant & Little in Grant Park to a 1,000 person festival, Dirty South Yoga Fest. I also teach pop-up yoga classes and collaborate with holistic practitioners.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Authenticity and Love— the two places I continue to come from in everything I do. I intentionally chose the sun as my graphic in my logo to represent the sunshine I like to bring to someone’s life, day, business, and/ or event.

I give a lot of credit to my mother, who is strong and resilient through all of her hardships. She smiles and makes sure she is available and loving to anyone in her life. When her neighbor had to get chemo she’s the first to offer a ride, when someone isn’t feeling well or is injured she checks in often, and even when she’s not feeling great she makes sure to take care of others around her.

Although I need to pitch on my services and it’s not my favorite part(sales) I hope that anyone hearing it feels the love I have in the ask, knows that this is my purpose to support and elevate holistic practices and practitioners. I believe that’s what helps me stand out from other consultants and event planners.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Networking! Every social gathering I go to, I chat people up. Asking questions to learn more about them, connecting with them and really listening. Sometimes we just have small talk chats but the best is when someone opens up more deeply. I love learning people’s stories, what makes them tick, what lights them up. Sure, it does come easily to me as an extrovert so I have a lot of empathy for those that don’t find it comes naturally to them(networking)

But do know like anything good there is some struggle to it too, it’s exhausting, being “on” all the time. I wonder sometimes about how much energy I give out and what the return on it is. And then I see events filling up and more people reaching out for my services and they aren’t really coming from social media, they are coming from the relationships I have been building over the years.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jesspfeffer.com
• Instagram: holisticeventplanning
• Linkedin: Jess Pfeffer Holistic Event Planning
• Twitter: wellthadvisor

Image Credits
Lizzy Johnston Jenna Mobley