We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kevin Jenson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kevin below.
Kevin, 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.
I’m an educator and researcher before I’m a business person, so for me the most natural way to make a decision is to gather my data and find the most highly recommended strategy. When I launched this business, I wanted the best advice from the leaders of the industry. But I’m working a very particular niche with an audience few people even know about. Even though I paid thousands of dollars to expert coaches, they led me to what works for other people and I followed their advice even though it felt wrong for me.
The biggest risk I took was letting go of the data and beginning to follow my intuition. Yes, it’s helpful to understand structures and strategies, but it felt fake to me and to my audience. My messaging didn’t really begin to resonate until I started to speak what was true for me in a way that felt right…even if it didn’t line up with the best advice. At that point, my audience started to recognize that I was speaking for them instead of for a want-to-be successful business.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
Faith and sexuality touch the heart of the human experience in ways that are deeply personal and vulnerable. There are some incredible resources dedicated to each topic all on its own, but attempts to bring them together often end up building walls instead of leading to deeper intimacy with God and with others. By default most people end up with a sexual ethic that looks like “don’t do it” (whatever ‘it’ is), or “don’t judge me” – missing the opportunity to find a deep integration of spirit, mind, body, and relationships. In Christian communities the root of this problem comes from a lack of biblical literacy, which has led to the weaponization of ancient texts that are meant for healing, hope, and restoration. It also comes from sexual ignorance, a byproduct of the shame that has framed this conversation for many people. Both of these issues need to be addressed, but before we can talk about sex in helpful ways, we need a framework that makes it okay to ask questions and seek understanding. We need permission to be incomplete, in progress, and still on a journey of growth.
I published my book “Sacred not Sinful: A New Christian Sexual Ethic” in 2023 as an invitation and example of how I experienced the integration of faith and sexuality. Around that, I have developed a course that provides a deep dive into the biblical texts that shape the most controversial ethical discussions. As an educator my goal is not to give people answers, but to equip them with tools to develop and live out their own. One of the things I have enjoyed most about my work has been giving people the opportunity to share their stories on my podcast, or in co-created community spaces that make room for a diversity of experience around a commonality of purpose.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
The customer is always right.
As an entrepreneur, it is possible (and necessary) to design an offer around the needs of a client. However, there can sometimes be a world of difference between what a client needs and what I am qualified to deliver. Some people already know when they start out, but it has taken me years to discover exactly what and how I want to deliver and what I have unique capacity to offer. The more clear I have gotten about my own needs and desires, the more I have been able to see which needs I am capable of meeting exceptionally well – and which ones I will leave for others. By operating in my area of strengths and interests, I stay engaged and my clients get the best I have to offer! In this respect, it’s not necessarily about meeting all of every customer’s expectations. It’s about finding the right fit of customers whose needs align with what my business can deliver.
If I could rephrase the lesson, it would be “the right customer is always right.”
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
One of the fastest ways to draw a crowd is through controversy, but it is also the best way to alienate a crowd. In search of building my social media following, I have boldly poked the sacred cows of Christianity and western culture, which has led to some fascinating collaborations and a lot of unhelpful comment wars that do not solve the problems I am trying to address. Over time, I have found that the people who are drawn to engage more deeply with my work are drawn to my story, my openness to learning, and my everlasting curiosity. In contrast with what many expect from social media, my 2 hour deep dives have led to more lasting relationships than my controversial shorts. In other words, the slow and steady sharing of my own process, discoveries, and academic inclinations have led to more profitable long-term relationships. What people really want is a grounded, humble, and informed invitation to dialogue. Content is everywhere these days. Real people and relationships are rare.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/drkevinjenson
- Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/drkevinjenson
