Krystal J [00:01:08]:
We have the incredible Jess Jacobs and Steph Erhard joining us today from the Besties and Business podcast, and I have loved what they've been creating over the years together as a team, as Besties and Business, just as their podcast title suggests. So I'm just going to go ahead and hand over the reins to them. But first and foremost, Jess and Steph, thank you so much for joining us today.
Jess J [00:01:32]:
Thank you so much for having we're so, so excited.
Steph E [00:01:35]:
We're so pumped. This is so exciting. I think this is actually I want to say this is the first podcast we've actually been interviewed on, believe it or not. So that's together.
Krystal J [00:01:44]:
Yeah, I love that. Okay, obviously, we're going to dive completely into their story, but they both have a joint podcast and they're both doing their own individual podcast as well, so we're going to talk about that. But whoever wants to take the reins, tell us all about your story. A little brief intro, the both of you, and how did your have collide?
Steph E [00:02:05]:
Oh, my gosh, of course. Jess, do you want to go first?
Jess J [00:02:08]:
Sure, yeah. Okay. I'd be happy to. Hi. So I'm Jess Jacobs. So excited to be here. Thank you, Krystal, for inviting us on. We really are so excited to be collaborating with like you are just such a like-minded person to us, so we're both so excited.
Jess J [00:02:21]:
But I'm actually a former chiropractor turned entrepreneur and podcaster. I ended up deciding to leave Chiropractic because I had this gut feeling that is just telling me that there was something more aligned out there for me. My brain always wants to say there was something more for me, but I always like to say something more aligned for me, because it doesn't mean that my path is any better or any worse than the path that I was on before. I just evolved. So my path evolved, and I decided to change up my career. So my first ever business that I ever created is Pupsibilities, which started out as an online shop with apparel and home goods and pet products, and it gave back 15% of net profits to animals in need, and it still does. But it also actually, this year, in 2023, evolved into a podcast as well, where I have really stepped into my role as an animal advocate, where I spread love and awareness to animals. And I have been loving every second of it.
Jess J [00:03:15]:
But then on my journey, while I was creating Pupsibilities, I had just moved to New Jersey. I had no friends here. I left my career path. I was in this new industry that I had no idea what I was doing, and I was really lonely, and I went through, like, a pretty dark period. And then I ended up meeting Steph. My mother in law actually asked me if I wanted to go to a local craft show, and it was the end of September, so we're coming up on two years of our friendship, and I was like, I want a fall candle. Before I even got there, I knew I wanted to get a fall candle, and I ended up meeting Steph there, bought a candle from her, and I had this little voice inside my head telling me, tell her you have a business. Tell her you have a business.
Jess J [00:03:52]:
And I'm so glad I did, because we ended up becoming besties. We were just, like, friends in the DMs for a while, and then we ended up cultivating this beautiful friendship that essentially ended up with us just having these conversations about entrepreneurship that made us realize we were not alone. And our friendship really changed our lives in general and our entrepreneurial lives, and that's how Besties and Business got here. So, Steph, if you kind of want to tell your story off of that, feel free.
Steph E [00:04:18]:
I love it. Oh, my gosh. I'm so inspired now. So, yeah. Hi, everyone. My name is Stephanie Erhard. I am a former event planner turned was, actually. I went to college for hospitality and event planning.
Steph E [00:04:34]:
Got a job straight out of college, out down here in New Jersey doing event planning for a hotel. So I was literally planning everybody's weddings, and then, unfortunately, COVID hit, and that kind of derailed everything, and I went through this life awakening where I was like, oh, my gosh. I literally had been taking so much time out of my life to go to school to become an event planner, and now event planning might not be a thing for a little while, you know what I mean? So I decided that I was already kind of making candles on the side, and I was like, you know what? I'm just going to go full force into this, into making candles and see what happens and see where it goes. And the next thing I knew, I was just getting involved in local markets and farmers markets pop up events around the area, and it just became really cool. It kind of became super addicting, where I was like, oh, my God, this is so much fun. I'm meeting so many people. I'm getting to just experience different things, and really, my business just evolved, and I'm super excited. I got to start doing also candle making classes locally in New Jersey.
Steph E [00:05:43]:
So that was really fun. I got to meet so many different people again through that, so many different local businesses. I've gotten to work now. You know, there's just been so much evolution through homemade NJ, and I'm so grateful for it because if I didn't ever have homemade NJ, I wouldn't have met Jess and we wouldn't have Besties. And like Jess said, we met at a farmer's market, and then we just kind of like Jess said, we cultivated this friendship and we started doing markets together through pups abilities and homemade and jay. And we would sit right next to each other and have these incredible conversations about entrepreneurship, where we were just going through these highs and lows, and we'd be like, have you gone through this? Have you ever had this happen to you? And we just realized how we just really wanted to bring awareness to these conversations and help other entrepreneurs realize they're not alone on this part of their journey. And you can have friends, and you can have other entrepreneurial friends and women who uplift you and help you through these things, through these lows, of course. So, yeah, we went to a networking event locally, and that was kind of like where our friendship started, and we were just like, all right, let's just go for this.
Steph E [00:06:52]:
Let's start a business. Let's do it.
Jess J [00:06:54]:
Yeah. Long story short.
Steph E [00:06:57]:
Yeah, two different points of view.
Krystal J [00:07:01]:
I love the story so much.
Steph E [00:07:03]:
Thank you.
Krystal J [00:07:04]:
For one, I host markets. I don't know if you've seen that from oh, cool. You're absolutely right. The connections that you're able to make from those markets are invaluable, and it's something that something so beautiful like this can come from from just a simple conversation and just like, do you actually want to dive into that? That you had that voice in your head saying, just tell her that you have a business. Just tell her that you have a business. Some people underestimate how much impact that one little question or that one little foot in the door can make. And look at what it's led to you exactly, both of you, from what you were both saying, you mentioned evolve, which I love because there's also that stigma of switching directions in life. And are people going to judge me? Are people going to think this sort of way? But you both kind of just went with whatever you felt was aligned to you so much.
Krystal J [00:07:59]:
So in these conversations that you guys started having, of course it's going to be like, oh, have you dealt with this, have you dealt with that? But then once you kind of started getting into the ideation of things, was it supposed to be just like a one and done collab? Or were you like, no, we're jumping into business together. Like, you are my bestie for life, wearing it?
Steph E [00:08:18]:
Yeah.
Jess J [00:08:19]:
Yeah.
Steph E [00:08:20]:
It was more like, we just had this moment where Jess and I were both at this market, and Jess looked at me and I just saw this look in her eyes where she just looked at me and she was like, do you want to start a business together? And I looked at her and I was like, heck, yeah, I do. Let's go for it. We just both knew.
Jess J [00:08:40]:
Yeah. So like I said, we met in September of 2021. Then Steph invited me to a networking event to a local group called Babes in Business around here in New Jersey. We went to that in December and then we started doing markets together, probably around March. And then I want to say at the end of like, we literally started these markets at the beginning of March, end of March. I looked at her and I was like, let's create a business. Because we actually were having a pretty slow day. And I know that all of our product-based business owners out there know go to markets, and that's a huge part of your business model.
Jess J [00:09:09]:
There are days that are really slow, and that's a really big challenge. And that day that we decided to create Besties and Business, we were both kind of down in the dumps about it. There are certain days where you can have that positive mindset and still overcome it, but we were both kind of down in the dumps, so we ended up having this conversation that just changed it for us. And all of a sudden we went from feeling so sad and so down about everything to like, oh, my God, there's so many possibilities of what we can do. And look at this conversation that we just had that changed our perspective in a matter of, like, an hour, oh, my God, we can help so many women in this sense as well. And that was that moment that I looked at her and I was like, do you want to do this? And she was like, yeah. And we both thought we were crazy, but we both were like, this is it. There's no going back.
Jess J [00:09:52]:
We are creating a full-blown business together.
Steph E [00:09:54]:
We just had this gut feeling, just this really strong pole gut feeling that we didn't know how long it was going to take. We didn't know where it was going to take us. We didn't know what was going to happen, but we knew that this was important, this was special to us. We knew the type of conversations we were having and how it can impact other women and other people who are trying to create their dream businesses. And we knew that we had to do it.
Jess J [00:10:17]:
Yeah, exactly.
Krystal J [00:10:19]:
I can already see how well your energies just mesh, you guys. Such infectious energies and I wanting to rule the world together, obviously, especially when two creative minds come together and two people that are so used to running their own things for their own businesses. Have you had any major difficulties working together? Like, what have been the ups and downs in growing your business?
Jess J [00:10:50]:
We've had our fair share of misunderstandings. We always joke around Steph, I'm going to go for it.
Steph E [00:10:54]:
I'm going to I was going to say it too.
Jess J [00:10:58]:
I love when you do it.
Steph E [00:11:02]:
Jess and I have this ongoing joke that we I don't even know when we came up with it, but at some point we did that. We're kind of like in a friendship, sistership relationship, marriage. It's kind of everything combined when you get into a partnership because you really, really have to value and respect the other person's personal space, opinions. And it takes time to learn that communication. And it really takes time to really realize, like, okay, there is another person on the end of this that I have to respect. There's 50 50. It's not 90 ten. So really finding that it takes time and it takes a lot of patience and effort and just a lot of love, honestly, that's what it comes down to, 100%.
Jess J [00:11:44]:
And the thing is when you bring two women together that are both strong minded and both passionate, both creative, both visionaries, both goal getters right. We have always from the beginning we've had a lot of respect for each other. So I can't say that we've ever had a fight that was disrespectful or anything like that. We've never gotten disrespectful towards each other, but we have had to work through our ups and downs of hey, okay, this is how you communicate. This is how I communicate and really learning to understand each other and why the other person communicates that way. We had a lot of misunderstandings in the beginning. I think just misunderstanding what the other person was saying just because we communicate differently. But now that we understand how the other one communicates, we do really well.
Jess J [00:12:26]:
And anytime there's any moment where there could be a misunderstanding, we catch it immediately and we start voice messaging or we call each other or we talk about it in person. And that's really how we have moved from there. The other thing that I will say, too, is that we had to kind of figure out where our strengths were. Right in the beginning we had all these ideas and we both were trying to do everything because we felt like we had to. But now we've gotten to a point where it's like Steph, that's your strength, like take it on and then vice versa. And that has created so much more ease and flow within the business and also within our partnership and our friendship as well.
Steph E [00:13:01]:
I was going to say it really comes down to communication and that's really something that we've gotten so much better at and I know we will continue to get better at and we will continue to learn with. But we really learned that, and I'm just going to be so blunt and honest that for one, texting was not the way to handle things, unfortunately. And we really learn that. I feel like we have something we really want to communicate to each other about that's super important. We get on a phone call, we get on a zoom call or we make sure to get a coffee date in. And another thing that is so, so important in this is what it comes down to is friendship, right? Like Besties and Business wouldn't be Besties and Business without the besties part. So we really try to make sure that every so often we kind of put business aside and have a girls night, whether that be go out to dinner and grab some drinks, have a pool night, or just really work on our friendship and just kind of just be friends. Because when you put business aside that's like our friendship is so strong and we realize that every time we go out, we have so much fun together and we're like, wow, this is why we have this business.
Steph E [00:14:00]:
So we have to really focus on that totally.
Jess J [00:14:03]:
100%. Yes. And we always do say that Besties and Business is an extension of our friendship. That's how it began. You've heard that term, right? Your business is an extension of you. But for Besties and Business, it's an extension of our friendship. So that is such a huge part of our why and it really is what runs the show here, right? Like if our friendship is struggling, Besties and Business is going to be struggling. So we value our friendship so much, but we also value the business.
Jess J [00:14:30]:
So we prioritize having that healthy communication and that healthy friendship and healthy business partnership.
Steph E [00:15:30]:
Exactly.
Krystal J [00:15:31]:
There's so much intention with everything that you're doing, and I love the focus on communication. So in my day job, I'm actually in management. And that has been something huge because I work with trainees who also have mentors. And of course, there's different communication styles, different learning styles, different mentorship styles. And it always comes to that point, right? Because written language can so easily be misinterpreted and it's always like just hop on a call, talk it. And that is where the intention comes from. You really are coming from a place of wanting to learn, of wanting to collaborate, of wanting to grow, and that's where all the magic happens.
Jess J [00:16:10]:
Yeah.
Krystal J [00:16:13]:
So you were already in New Jersey. You weren't also a recent transplant or anything, right?
Steph E [00:16:20]:
Me? No. Yeah, I've lived in New Jersey my whole life, practically the same area.
Krystal J [00:16:25]:
You already have an established community that you are pretty connected to within the small business space.
Steph E [00:16:32]:
Yeah, so I've been making candles probably for about selling and making candles probably for about a year or so before Jess and I had met. So I definitely was, like, getting my feet wet in the small business community. And like I said, just working with a lot of local businesses, whether that be through wholesale candle making classes or doing local pop up events and markets. So I definitely had some people that I had known, but I would have to say, through building Besties and Business, it truly has opened my eyes up to so much more within the local community, within just building a community in general. And the amount of people that we've met, the amount of things that we've done, not even just in New Jersey, but within the United States in general, has just been unbelievable.
Krystal J [00:17:16]:
I love it. Do either of you have any tips for any women that are getting started? And like you said, Jess, you were looking for somebody because you had just moved, you were all alone in your business. What tips do you have for women that are currently feeling that way and are trying to put themselves out there and don't know where to start?
Jess J [00:17:34]:
Yeah, I would say be open to change. Right. Because for me, my entire story is based on change, and I struggled with that for a long time. But what you need to remind yourself is that as you grow, your life is supposed to change too, right? And the only constant in life is change. Right. We need to learn that instead of fighting change. Change is the only thing that is guaranteed in this life if you really slow down and think about it. Right.
Jess J [00:17:56]:
But on top of that, too, Steph and I actually created a course called the Create Your Dream Biz Course, and it's only $55, and it's a bunch of audio lessons where we just bring you through how we actually created our businesses from start to finish, just sharing everything that we feel is so needed within that journey, whether it's mindset or hey. This is what an LLC is without giving legal advice. But we give you those tips and tricks of how to actually take on the journey. It's a whole mix of mindset, work and just taking the action. When I really look back on it, it's that deciding that you are worthy of this, deciding that you are capable of this and then doing the thing right, like taking the action and taking one scary action step after another.
Steph E [00:18:37]:
Yeah, I absolutely love that. Yeah, no, 100%, I think the biggest thing that I would say is especially in the beginning of creating any type of business is just going for it. It honestly comes down to just putting 1ft in front of the other, taking small action, aligned steps and just doing things, just trying things. When I first started making candles, I truly never thought I'd be where I am right now. But at the same time, I thought that by just putting myself on the internet that people were just going to see it and want to buy it and just taking those little steps of being like, oh, maybe I'll try a market. And then when I started opening myself up to doing a markets and stuff, I was like, oh my God, there's so many other different avenues I can go down and so many different steps I can take. And not overwhelming yourself with all that and really just being like, okay, I'm going to do one thing a day at first, right. And one of the best things that I've ever heard entrepreneurial wise or small business wise or any type of business wise, is that if you do one thing a day for your business, by the end of the year, you will have done 365 things toward your business.
Steph E [00:19:42]:
Isn't that kind of cool to think about? It really is just taking one step at a time to just get to your goals.
Jess J [00:19:52]:
Yeah. Also too sorry, really quick community, obviously, right? Like all three of us here, community. So yes, it's that mindset. It's that deciding as an individual that I'm worthy of this and that I can do this and taking that first step towards doing it. But also surrounding yourself with community, right. So Crystal, you have an amazing community that can support everyone listening. We have an amazing community that can support everyone listening. Being involved in as many communities as you can be, right? Like we have our own community.
Jess J [00:20:17]:
But we're involved in Babes in Business community. We're involved in the Empower Her community. Right. So just putting yourself out there and finding your people, that changes the game. Because like I said in the beginning, I felt so lost. I went through a pretty dark period of leaving my career, moving to a new state, starting a new business, and then when I met Steph, that changed everything for me. Right. And then that opens up so many more doors that looking back on it, it's just so wild to think about.
Krystal J [00:20:43]:
I love that you said get in as many communities as you can.
Jess J [00:20:47]:
Yes.
Krystal J [00:20:48]:
It's absolutely not a competition.
Jess J [00:20:50]:
Not at all.
Krystal J [00:20:51]:
It doesn't have to be. I'm already a part of this. Like I can't be a part of your sorry. Or if you're already part of something, that doesn't mean you can't cultivate a community of your own.
Jess J [00:20:58]:
Exactly.
Krystal J [00:20:59]:
I love that so much. And I really love how you kind of started off Jess and you were just off to go to a market. I think that's such a great strategy, especially for people that may feel a little bit more introverted or intimidated by going to networking events where you are almost forced to speak to other people. Whereas if you go to a market, you can kind of just make your way through all the vendors and then if you do feel that spark that Jess and Steph felt with each other, that can be your push to start the conversation.
Jess J [00:21:31]:
Totally.
Steph E [00:21:32]:
I would say try both.
Jess J [00:21:34]:
Right. Like if you're a product-based business, try both. Even if you're a service-based business, you can have a table there and tell the community about what you're doing and meet fellow entrepreneurs and putting yourself out there to networking events, too. Right? Yes, they're intimidating. Yes, they're scary. But there's so many different networking events. I mean, depending on your area, that could change. But in our area, there's so many different types and every single one serves the people that attend in a different way.
Jess J [00:21:58]:
And I think that's a beautiful thing. And I think that just putting yourself out there and trying out different groups, networking events, you could end up finding your home. You know what I mean? And maybe you'll find your home in multiple different communities. But just putting yourself out there, even though it is scary, I really feel that it is so important because you just never know who you're going to meet when you enter those rooms.
Steph E [00:22:17]:
I couldn't agree more. Going to networking events absolutely changed my outlook on entrepreneurship. It changed my life. The people that are in my life now would not be here if it wasn't for me taking that step and going out of my comfort zone and putting myself in that room. It is so important to just put yourself in the room. The first time I've ever went to a networking event, I literally felt like six in my stomach. I was like, oh my gosh, what am I doing? But after a while that goes away and you start meeting people and people start talking to you. And even if you meet somebody in a networking event that you never talk to again, I guarantee you the next person you talk to might be your best friend for life or might be your next business partner or you just never know.
Steph E [00:23:02]:
And it's so worth it to just get in any room that you can. Like you guys like just being a part of as many communities as you can and just finding that for yourself. It's just been absolutely life altering for both Jess and I and everything that we've created.
Jess J [00:23:17]:
Absolutely.
Krystal J [00:23:18]:
As you were talking, it reminded me of something someone else said in a previous podcast episode where fear and excitement feel the oh, yes, you are completely terrified or sick to your stomach going to this event, but you can kind of just work on rephrasing that for yourself and say, I'm just really excited. I'm really excited for all the opportunities that await me once I walk into that room, right. Once I put myself in position to meet all these incredible people.
Steph E [00:23:45]:
I love that. That is so well said. And I think that is what scares most people about going networking events is that fear, right? They don't want to be the person in the corner. They don't want to be the person that looks like they're afraid. But if you do reframe that, like you're saying in that mindset work of being just like, all right, I'm going to get in here and even though I'm going to be fear, I know I'm going to have that anxiety or that fear. Reframe is like, but I'm excited. I think it's a game changer. So I love that you worded it like that.
Jess J [00:24:13]:
Yeah. And also we know that is a very real thing that people get so nervous about going to networking events. So when we host our own Besties and Business networking events, we make sure that it is a welcoming environment. We go out of our way to make sure that someone who walks in alone is going to have someone to talk to. And that's so important. So if you are looking for networking events, definitely check out the people's Instagram profiles. If they have podcasts, listen in. Start to get the vibes before you enter the room.
Jess J [00:24:41]:
If you are a little bit nervous to kind of figure out, hey, could this be the room that I feel comfortable in? Right? Because it's okay if it's not your room, but if you want to just start figuring out what the community's why is, what the vibe is, start talking to people in the community of hey, have you gone to this event? Have you gone to that event and just go for it. Because like Steph said, you never know your best. Friend could be in the room. Your business partner, someone you want to collaborate with, could be in the room.
Steph E [00:25:06]:
Exactly.
Krystal J [00:25:07]:
You don't know what you don't know. Keep showing up. So let us turn the conversation towards your podcast. What advice do you have for anyone that is starting a podcast or kind of struggling to see any growth? Like, you both have obviously seen such success and you're both doing your own podcast, which I also want to dive into. But what tips do you have when it comes to finding your audience, getting those downloads, finding really where your niche is?
Jess J [00:25:38]:
Yeah, I would say that, first of all, you need to accept the fact that your voice is worth being heard. Right. So a lot of people don't get into podcasting or they don't let themselves grow as a podcaster because they think that what they're saying just doesn't matter. That impostor syndrome comes forward. It's like, oh, I'm not successful enough to do this. I don't have this accolade and this accolade, so why would anyone care about my opinion? Right? But if you literally just show up on your podcast, whatever you feel passionate about talking, first of all, make sure if you have a podcast, you feel really passionate about what you're doing because you have to show up and talk about it. Right. But understand that you showing up, you being passionate, you sharing what's on your mind and doing it in a way that makes sense.
Jess J [00:26:21]:
Right? Like, I'm not going to teach someone how to me and Steph made a joke the other day, we're not going to teach people how to host an event that has 1000 people because we've never done that before. Right. But if you show up talking about what authentically excites you, what is authentic to you, you literally can't fail because you're going out there and you're talking and there's someone out there that needs to hear what you have to say. So if you show up authentically and you show up with something that you are passionate about and you really prioritize creating community and forming actual genuine relationships within your community, you cannot fail. No matter what your download count is, you are making an impact. And I think that that's something that's really important for current and aspiring podcasters to learn and recognize.
Steph E [00:27:05]:
Oh my gosh, that was so well said, Jess and I couldn't agree with everything that you absolutely said. Just to add on, to know when I first started podcasting, like when we had first started Besties and Business, and we were like, all right, let's buy this podcasting equipment. Let's go for it. This is something we've talked about all the time. Jess and I, especially on the Besties and Business podcast, was I was really scared of looking silly and sounding really silly when I would show up to these podcasts. But something that I realized was when I thought I was sounding silly, the community and the people in the community thought it was great. So that's an interesting concept to think about is, here I am thinking I'm showing up, and sometimes I would sing on the podcast or I would get really goofy on the podcast and I'm like, oh, my gosh, do I sound silly? Are people going to take me seriously? Like, Jess is very good at saying things and wording her things, right. And I'm a completely different person.
Steph E [00:28:02]:
Are people going to think I'm not good enough to be on this podcast? And something I really learned through podcasting, especially through the past, I'd say ten or 15 episodes, is that it doesn't matter if Jess is like this and I'm like that. That's why we work so well together is because she brings one aspect and I bring another aspect and we're able to meet in the middle. And I don't care about that anymore, about how silly I sound or if I sing or if this happens or that happens, because I know our community is showing up for who we are. It's just exactly what you were saying before, Jess, and it really just takes putting yourself out there. And like you said, Jess, like, knowing your why and just being like, I know eventually these people are going to show up. I know that the people that are meant to hear this message are going to find me no matter what it takes and just continuing to be consistent with that and just really focusing in on that and not giving up on it.
Jess J [00:28:59]:
Yeah. Really quick, I just want to piggyback off that for a second. The comparison game will kill you. Right. So Steph and I have learned so much because we both have gone through our know. Steph just I'm I'm a little bit more of the serious one. I am bubbly, I am funny. I'm not like, stone cold, but I am a little bit more serious.
Jess J [00:29:16]:
And I've actually had my insecurities of like, oh, my God, am I not fun enough? Because Steph is just, like, this ball of energy with her arms flying everywhere, and she's adorable, and she's funny, and I've had my moments like that, too. And we've had to work through that as a partnership of, like, no, I'm amazing exactly as I am, and I do not have to be more or less like you or, like, just be yourself. That is the key, I think, to entrepreneurship and to podcasting.
Steph E [00:29:42]:
Couldn't agree more.
Krystal J [00:29:43]:
You both are full of so much great insight. And Jess, I just want to repeat what you said to kick it off that question, to accept that your voice is worth being heard. And, oh, my God, how powerful is that statement? And that is so absolutely true, because if you don't believe it, you're not going to have that fuel to keep showing up.
Jess J [00:30:03]:
Right? Right.
Steph E [00:30:03]:
Exactly right.
Jess J [00:30:04]:
Absolutely.
Krystal J [00:30:06]:
And I think with what both of you are saying with the comparison and not feeling good enough. Of course we all go through it as entrepreneurs.
Jess J [00:30:15]:
Exactly.
Krystal J [00:30:15]:
But it's so important to recognize that there is a uniqueness in who you are as a person, as an individual. You might feel like you don't need to have the most mind-blowing revelation in every single podcast episode you can messages that have been thrown out there for decades. But it is the messenger that makes it so special between you two. It allows your viewers, your audience, know, really connect with you in a special way. And there might be some people in your audience that connect to Jess more or that relate with Steph more. But then it's the power and the magic of how you guys bring that both together that, I think, is what's really special.
Jess J [00:31:00]:
Thank you.
Steph E [00:31:01]:
Thank you. I'm like a little speechless after all.
Krystal J [00:31:06]:
Of this time of being able to speak to other women, which I think is what's so special about podcasting, right? Getting those stories and the insights from other people. What have been some of the biggest commonalities or your most profound takeaways from other entrepreneurs that you think is worth sharing here today?
Jess J [00:31:26]:
I would have to say that Steph and I always, like, during every interview, we always find ourselves being like, someone else just said that, but they said it in a different way based on their experience, based on their opinion, based on their background. So it literally piggybacks off of what you just said. Krystal right. Like, it's the messenger that brings it and it's the interpretation, the perspective that comes with it. And like you just said, someone might align with me more. Someone might align with Steph more. Maybe the way I say things makes it click in their brain. Maybe the way Steph says things makes it click in their brain.
Jess J [00:31:58]:
So if we all just show up and know, share, and we're open and vulnerable and honest about what we experience, it's a really beautiful thing. And that's something that we have definitely noticed on the podcast.
Steph E [00:32:11]:
I have to absolutely agree. And it's so funny because that's exactly what I was thinking in my brain when you asked that question, was that we've had a lot of guests come on our podcast and they are all such incredible entrepreneurs and doing such incredible things in this world to bring so much impact into this world. And sometimes people say things that are the exact same thing, but the way that they bring it in in their own perspective and their own beauty, and they bring their own why to the table. We always talk about on our podcast, about having your why, about having what your really big passion is, what really makes your heart beat for your business, right? And when they bring that to the table, everybody brings it in differently and everybody brings it in in their own perspective. And it's just so profound and it's like life changing when you hear it because I always end up having a moment where my jaw drops something. I'm just like, wow, that's amazing that so many people can feel the same way. But because we're all different, because we all have different personalities and we're all our own humans, it is said so profoundly that everybody has their own perspective, and it's just said so cool, so profoundly through different people. And I love that same message.
Jess J [00:33:26]:
Two different people. There's an example right there.
Steph E [00:33:29]:
Exactly.
Krystal J [00:33:30]:
You guys have both been incredible. I feel like I can continue to talk to you for the next few hours, but obviously we've reached the end of our time here today. Where can people find you and your businesses as well? Your individual podcast list, it all out for us.
Jess J [00:33:46]:
Yeah.
Steph E [00:33:47]:
You go first. Sure. Okay.
Jess J [00:33:48]:
So, in general, Besties and Business. We're on Instagram and TikTok. The username is at @besties_and_business.
Steph E [00:33:58]:
We're picking up on our TikTok a little bit. Sorry, I just wanted to throw that out.
Jess J [00:34:01]:
Step by step. No, yeah, absolutely. My personal instagram is @heyimjessjacobs. There's like a million Jess Jacobs out there, so I had to put the hey, I'm. And then my personal business Pupsabilities is at @pupsibilities.
Steph E [00:34:13]:
Yeah. So Jess kind of put it out there about Besties and I'm also I'm just the @stepherhard on Instagram, and then it's at @homemadenjcandles for my candle Instagram. And I also am on TikTok for my personal use, but I don't really put too much on there for the candles. I'm getting there. Yeah.
Jess J [00:34:35]:
Step by step.
Steph E [00:34:36]:
And we did just create a YouTube as well for Besties and Business, so we're starting to slowly get in into that too. We're trying to figure out our platforms here and really see what works for us.
Krystal J [00:34:48]:
I love it. And of course, as always, that'll all be listed in the show notes. If you guys are ever feeling, like, in a funk, like, I was right before this episode, and I was just feeling really tired and exhausted, go check them out. Check out their podcast. Take in all their energy because they will absolutely energize you like they did me. I feel like I have, like, a whole new lease on life now.
Jess J [00:35:08]:
Oh, thank you.
Steph E [00:35:10]:
Brings tears to my eyes. I needed that today. So thank you.
Krystal J [00:35:14]:
You both have been so incredible to chat with. Obviously, this is just going to be the start of our relationship. We're all for sure going to be chatting more. But thank you so, so much for joining us today.
Jess J [00:35:25]:
Thank you so much.
Steph E [00:35:26]:
This was an awesome conversation. And like we said in the beginning, it's just cool because it's our first podcast altogether, so thank you.
Jess J [00:35:34]:
Yes. Thank you, Krystal. We had a lot of fun.
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