Starting a business can be so overwhelming and somehow so freeing at the same time. You have the freedom to use all 24 hours of your day however you’d like, but you also now have to take responsibility for all 24 hours of your day. It can be exhausting, and without the right support system, it can bring all those limiting beliefs to the surface. If this sounds like you, then what you need right now is some guidance from someone in the Chingona community who’s been where you are and found their way through it. 

Jereshia Hawk is a Strategic Advisor and Business Coach, known as the “Millionaire Maker” for her expertise in helping high-earning CEOs scale with intention and precision. She built a 7-figure net worth solely from business profits, creating a life of freedom without sacrificing what matters most. After a planned sabbatical – where she navigated personal challenges and re-engineered her business – she now guides leaders to scale smarter, not harder. Featured in Essence, Forbes, and Business Insider, Jereshia helps CEOs streamline operations, refine their focus, and build businesses that work for them, not the other way around.

In this week’s episode, Jeresha shares how she gave herself permission to pivot and how she built a business that works to support her life, rather than consume it. Let’s be real – nobody’s perfect. But you don’t have to be perfect to run a successful business. You just have to keep going, even when life is life-ing. So go find out how to keep going when your marriage is on the rocks, when you don’t feel like showing up, and when all those limiting beliefs start slowing you down, listen to Jeresha’s episode today! 

Follow Jereshia on:
Instagram: @jereshiahawk

Website: www.jereshiahawk.com/ 

The Jereshia Said Podcast: https://www.jereshiahawk.com/podcast 

Follow Erika on:
Instagram @‌theerikacruz
TikTok @‌theerikacruz
LinkedIn

Website:
http://www.theerikacruz.com

How to work with Erika:

Sign up for the free webinar “ The 90-Day Manifestation Path” here!

Join the waitlist for the Courage Driven Latina program here.

Join the waitlist for the Magnetic Mastermind here.

Podcast production for this episode was provided by CCST.

Episode Transcript:

Erika: Jereshia Hawk, welcome to Chingona Revolution podcast. How are you, 

Jereshia: Erika? I’m so excited to be here. It’s an honor. Thank you for inviting me on, and I’m just excited for the convo because you be, you be dropping the gems and bringing the tea. Okay. I’m just trying to keep up with y’all.

Erika: I receive that. I receive that. But you know, meeting you in person at the emancipation event was so amazing. And I’ve just got to say that I’ve been following you for a long time. I think every woman of color has been following you and looking at you as a leader in [00:02:00] this space, but to meet you in person at the event and like you had.

You took your time to answer my questions and I turned around and there were so many people behind me waiting to talk to you, and then I walked by like an hour later and you were still there answering questions. So I just want to give you your flowers for being a leader, but also just being so accessible to the community.

So thank you so much. 

Jereshia: Oh yeah. It means the world to me. I mean, like it’s. I just, I, I really do believe in being present where I’m planted and I’m like, if I’m there, there’s a reason. If there’s, and if people are also there, I’m like, just how can I be of service and how can I, um, leave with an empty cup from a good place?

So it, it’s, it’s truly an honor. It was so great to learn more about your business and what you’re doing, but like thank you so much for seeing me in that. 

Erika: Yes. So tell us, how did you get into the coaching industry? 

Jereshia: It was by accident. I had no idea this world existed. Um, I’ve [00:03:00] always been like the friend people would call on when like, you know, stuff hit the fan or like they’re trying to figure stuff out.

But, um, most people do not know this. I started a YouTube channel about like beauty and hair back in college. It is really impossible to find. I don’t know how to log into the YouTube account anymore, but that’s when I first got like introduced to like creating content. Um, ’cause back then I had, you know, I have naturally curly hair.

I didn’t really see a lot of people talking about what you need to do for your haircare. Looking back, I wish I never would’ve deleted that account because I was like, girl, I. The, the naturals had a moment and I, and I deleted it before the, you were ahead 

Erika: of the game with that one. 

Jereshia: You were? Yeah. But you were early.

I was too early. Um, and then I started a e-commerce business my senior year of, of school to pay for my tuition my senior year. And that’s what got me on Instagram. So I knew a little bit about like creating content and like. If, you know, I would pay these other creators, um, that had like millions of followers, pay them [00:04:00] $50 for a post and that would sell out my bags or sell out my dresses.

So like I knew that, like I knew that, but I didn’t know the coaching industry was a thing. But when I got into corporate, I was in the leadership track and rising through the ranks and a lot of my peers and my friends were just like asking me questions of like, what are you doing? How is this working? So on and so forth.

And I just started answering people’s questions on my lunch breaks, um, on Facebook Live. And I’ll be sitting in my car, um, or at night when I’d be in eating dinner after getting home from work. And eventually somebody reached out to me and was like, well, can you coach me? And I’m like, I don’t know, like, like, what do you mean?

And they’re like, well, can I pay you to get on a call with me? I’m like, I don’t. Um, I don’t even, I didn’t, I didn’t know, like, that was like a way I didn’t know like what it meant to, in like to monetize her intellectual property in that way. 

Erika: Right. 

Jereshia: Um, and then one of my girlfriends in Detroit, she hosted like a women’s empowerment event.

And it was divine intervention because there was four of us on the panel. One of the girls was a business coach, and when I [00:05:00] heard her talk, I was like, oh, this is a thing. I hired her and I’m like, teach me everything that, you know, and that’s what kind of like, it was a, a slow role, but like once. I saw somebody who was doing this and getting paid for it.

I was like, oh, bet I’m about to. Like, I’m absolutely about to give this a go. Um, so that’s how it started. Like it, I, I had some background in like creating videos and then creating live videos, just answering people’s questions, um, and then seeing, having an example of somebody else that was doing it. Um, and that’s kind of, that’s how I got my toe into this space.

Erika: Wow, there are so many similarities in our story because I actually got started with content through doing makeup videos on YouTube, which you also can’t find. And during the pandemic, I was working in the tech industry and I was so ready to leave, but I didn’t know how to leave that. I started to create self-development content and more mindfulness content.

During the [00:06:00] pandemic, and then I started doing these free workshops, like how to stay motivated during the pandemic, how to use TikTok to grow your personal brand. And then people were like, can you coach me? And I was like, what is coaching? So I’m sitting there like Googling what coaching is, and it took me joining a group coaching program.

And in that group coaching program is where I created courage driven Latina. 

Jereshia: Wow. I mean, that’s how it’s, you know, I think it’s like, like follow your curiosity. Like I just, there’s a reason why you’re like, that idea keeps boomeranging back around or you keep being like called like in a certain direction, but I’m like following your curiosity can go a long way.

’cause at the time I was working as a transmission pipeline engineer. I’m a civil engineer by degree, but I worked in natural gas and like outside. I mean, I loved my job, I loved my career. Like people don’t think about electricity and natural gas unless it doesn’t come on. It’s like, um, yep. You know, you don’t, so it’s very rewarding.

’cause I’m like, we are the reason you have hot water to bathe in or like you have internet [00:07:00] working right now for you to even do what you’re doing. Um, but there was, there’s something really activated in me when I was like, oh, I have, I’m in close proximity with somebody and I’m, the work that we’re working through is like literally helping them.

Change their life in a way that they’ve had a desire but didn’t know how to do it. And I that just like it. It does something for me. I feel like it’s similar. I used, my grandmother was a teacher and she raised me for the majority of my life. I used to love the idea of being an educator. I just did not love the paycheck that came with traditional teachers.

So I was like, I wish I could be a teacher, but girl, I can’t live off no. 40,000 a. So this was like the perfect blend of like all my skill sets and my desires 

Erika: too. Yes, definitely. So you said follow your curiosity, which I think is such good advice because we’re we’re interested in it for a reason. What I see happen a lot with the clients that I work with or people who just listen to the podcast, one of the things they’ll say is.

[00:08:00] I have too many interests and I don’t know which one to pick. Right. Or they feel like they have a lot of different directions in which they can head and they have a hard time making a decision on what to pick. What would you say to somebody like that? 

Jereshia: Yeah, like this is where my engineering brain kicks in.

I started off school in architecture, but switched. And I think that like similarly to when you are building a, uh, a building or a home, there is a process to it. Like I might love interior design, but in order for me to be able to design the bedroom of my dreams, I have to dig the hole and like prepare the foundation.

I have to then lay all the structure itself. I need to drywall everything we need to put the roof on. Like there’s building blocks to me being able to like design the house or like buy the couch for my living room or or design the perfect bedroom. And I do feel like a lot of the times, sometimes we can get all of these interests at once.

But I like to take an approach of, okay, based off of these interests or based [00:09:00] off of these ideas or these, these levels of curiosity, what’s most congruent with the season that I’m currently in? Like I, I have a desire to be a New York Times bestselling golfer. Okay. That, I don’t know if that’s gonna come this year or this month or this week, but it’s like, what can I do in preparation to develop my skillset for that, like, for that identity that I wanna hold?

And it’s like, there’s a lot of, I think too, it’s like there is a difference between what do I want to do versus who do I need to be. And I think it’s really important to distinguish those things. Like if I wanna be a bestselling author. I probably need to build a habit of writing, right? First and foremost, like, you know, yeah, I need build the skillset of knowing how to tell stories.

So I’m like, yes, I wanna hold that desire, but like, what are, what’s, what’s congruent with the season that I’m in in regards to the building block that will position me for that? That’s usually what helps me calibrate. Like if I put down all these things, it’s like, okay, these are these things that I want to do or want to have, [00:10:00] but who do I need to be?

I will start with the being activities today, um, because I know that I may not know the path of how it will get me there, or maybe even it might change over time, but I need to focus on what I can control in my season right now, and that usually will help me narrow that down when it comes to my curiosities.

Erika: Beautiful. So well said. Yeah. And I, I think once you make a decision and start working towards one, you might redirect and go a different way. But what happens with some people is they don’t wanna make the wrong decision. So they don’t make any decisions and then they stay exactly where they are. That’s 

Jereshia: tough.

Uh, and I’m like, that is like nothing but fear paralyzing us. And I think too, like life is long and you’re not a tree. Um, what I mean by life is long is like. Like you can’t, I heard a quote recently is that you can’t get back. You can’t like, get more days in your life, but you can put more life into your days.

Oh. And I do think that, I’m like, oh my gosh. I’m like, I [00:11:00] think I might’ve saw it on Pinterest and screenshot of that afterwards, but that was like, that hit me. Yes. Um, but I think sometimes too, we can be afraid of like, we want all this now or we’re gonna run out of time, or like something along those lines.

I’m like, you have a whole life to live. Um, some of these things may not come to fruition for another 10, 20, 30 years. That doesn’t make them like less justifiable to go after them and pursue them. And the other thing is that like you are not a tree like you are. Like you have the ability to move. Um, and I think that that is something else that we have to keep in mind.

But I do feel, I do resonate with what you’re saying of like, I don’t wanna make the wrong decision. A mindset that I’ve had to adapt, especially in the recent years. I had this mindset in the beginning I lost this mindset and I’ve had to retrain myself to have this mindset in this season of my life is you need to be willing to be seen.

Trying like that is a core value that anchors me right now in this season is be willing to be seen trying versus only [00:12:00] be willing to be seen if you’re doing it perfectly. ’cause perfection is like not real. Yeah. None of us are perfect. Like the people that we admire are just. Choosing to show up imperfectly.

Mm-hmm. At a high level of frequency, like none of us know for sure what the outcome is going to be, but we have faith and we have commitment to the curiosity to continue to pursue it. And I feel like that’s the real determining factor between quote unquote being a success or not. Um, yeah, and there’s, and there’s a cost of inaction if you choose not to do it.

Like, are you happy with your circumstances if you choose not to like. You’re still doing something by, by choosing not to do the courageous thing as well, and it’s like that’s something else you might have, you know, have to weigh in whether or not you wanna live with that. 

Erika: Yeah. Yeah. You said, um, that you had kind of lost this mindset.

You had it and then you lost it, which. Uh, one of the things I actually surveyed my, my audience recently, and one of the things that kept coming up is [00:13:00] people said, oh, I used to be confident, or I used to have my spark and then I lost it. And I think that’s actually a really common thing, especially as a business owner, to feel like you’re on top of the world and then like maybe life can life or something can happen that.

Maybe affects our confidence or the way that we show up. So have you ever kind of lost your spark and how did you get it back? 

Jereshia: Yes, I absolutely have. Have you ever heard of something called the Dunning Kruger Effect? Yes. Okay. I feel like that was like me to the T And if you haven’t heard of the Dunning Kruger effect, like just Google it.

But basically it’s like this chart that evaluates confidence versus like your knowledge. Yep. And in the beginning, I feel like of doing anything, your knowledge is like next to none, but your confidence is sometimes through the roof. Like you, you’re, there’s a level of naivety there, um, and ignorance. Like you just don’t know.

So you’re like, yeah. You girl, you dunno nothing, you dunno how to pay your taxes. You don’t even [00:14:00] know the details of like, the intricacies of like why this is hard. And then as you start to grow a little bit mm-hmm. Um, you get more knowledge. You hit this peak, which I felt like I did, and it’s like the peak of like, man, I can, you know, you’re just kind of running ignorantly a little bit and naive naively a little bit, but it’s working.

And then once you hit the peak, you start to drop. Where your confidence starts to decrease as your knowledge increases. And this is why I think that this, uh, Dunning Kruger effect is so true, especially for the people who have like a million degrees Yeah, a million certificates and are like knowledge up to the brand.

They read everything, they podcasting every day and it’s like your knowledge, it grows and, but your confidence will start to drop because like you now know. You know, what’s required, like, you know, that you now have firsthand experiencing, knowing how much effort it takes to do this thing. Like the naivety is gone.

It’s like all conscious and I feel like that’s [00:15:00] definitely been me for a few years, where coupled with like, kind of what you said, I’m like, it’s, it’s, you don’t know who’s watching. But, um, I feel like over time my audience. I would get, you know, when I go speak on stages or whatever, there’s like this, uh, perception that I feel like other people have of me.

So I’m like, people are holding this perception of me and my knowledge is increasing and my confidence is decreasing. I now felt. Um, this like hesitation or fear of like, well, I don’t want, I don’t wanna be seen trying. Mm-hmm. I’m supposed to be the expert. I’m supposed to know. I’m supposed to have the answers.

I’m supposed to have the advice, and I’m just like, child, I’m still figuring this out. Like, I mean, I’ve done a lot of things right. And also there’s still a lot that I’m navigating and figuring out. And then you couple that with life transitions. You know, most of my success happened in my, my twenties, into my early thirties.

And then [00:16:00] so I, you know, you’re going through life. I’m maturing as an actual individual. I’m like learning what my own real desires are. I’m figuring out my own identity outside of the labels or society or my life experiences have like shaped me into being. And then when you couple all that together.

It’s like, it’s a hot mess. But I do think that, um, it’s like a both, for me, it was a both and, and I’m like, okay, I’m growing as an individual. I’m figuring out what I actually want versus an uncoupling, what I’ve told myself I’m supposed to want. Mm-hmm. 

Erika: And like 

Jereshia: figuring out that distinction. And then you couple that with, I know, I know what’s required.

Like when I set a goal now, like I’m. I know what’s gonna be, at least I have an idea, I don’t know fully, but I know that it’s not about to be no chu effort, you know, like, like effort is required, 

Erika: right? 

Jereshia: So it, it, um, I think I, I’ve wrestled with like, well, do I wanna do the effort? And then I’m having much more like [00:17:00] aware conversations with myself versus do I think this is a possible, I think anything is available, but it’s like, well, are you gonna do what’s required to make it happen?

And I’m like, ah. So I’m working on this mindset of like, sacrifice. Because I used to think you need a sacrifice for it, which I, I do think there’s truth to that, but I think I sacrificed parts of myself and I abandoned parts of myself that were not like, needed in that definition of sacrifice before, where I’m like learning how to have a different relationship with short term sacrifice, where sacrifice does not also include self abandonment.

And that’s something I’m learning how to rebuild right now. 

Erika: Ooh. That resonates. Yeah. I think a lot of people who are listeners of this podcast or clients, they have this belief that in order to be successful, they have to work extremely hard. And can you tell us, because you’ve built a certain level of success and then you took a sabbatical.

So what did you build and then you [00:18:00] did, you intentionally planned for the sabbatical and then what happened after? How did you change your, your business model and the way that you were? And the way that you saw success? 

Jereshia: Yeah, I mean, like, I, I built this thing. I, I mean, I think being biracial, you grow up like, I’m too black for the white kids.

I’m too white for the black kids. So I’ve, I’ve grown up being a chameleon and being a chameleon is what contributed to a lot of my success because I was able to adapt in any environment you put me in. Mm-hmm. Um, raised by my black grandmother and black aunts. Whereas raised in a predominantly white neighborhood, then you go to corporate, you become an engineer.

I mean, I, I’m the only one, but I’m, I’m palatable, you know, like I know how not to ruffle the feathers. I know how to read a room, um, also attached to some of my childhood trauma, like all, but I’m like, it’s, I never was fully mean anywhere. I, but, but, and that led to my success because I, it’s, it’s a skillset too.

I think it is a, a good skillset to know [00:19:00] how to adapt to your circumstances and your environment. But I, I got so good at adapting. I didn’t, I never really cultivated, like who is my actual sense of self? Like I lived in the chameleon zone. I didn’t know what my true color was. So you, I built this, you know, great engineering career left that built my online coaching business.

Got to a place where we were doing it, maybe done maybe $5 million in five years, something like that. And I had attached my definition of success to. I didn’t know it. Looking back, I’m like, it was really rooted in how much can I abandon myself that I thought it was, how much can I sacrifice? How much effort could I put in?

Um, but I mean, I deeply cared about the work that I did as well. I, I sold coaching program. Typically, I was on the higher end of the scale. Mm-hmm. Um, selling more premium offers, solving more nuanced and sophisticated and specific problems. Um. I’ve always been very lean in my approach to building very profit focused versus revenue driven.

But I also was like, [00:20:00] I want the accolade. Like when I read the stats, they’re like, less than 2% of women ever make a million dollars in their business. It’s like point, I don’t know, I think it’s, I might have actually gone down, but it’s like 0.4 or 0.6% of women of color ever do this. Like I wanted that achievement.

Erika: Mm-hmm. 

Jereshia: So I was like, what do I gotta do to get it? And you, I got it. And I remember the first year I made a million dollars in profit in one year. And I noticed it, and then I’m thinking, okay, my life is supposed to change the next day. I’m like, ain’t nothing changed. Like, you think that you hit this peak and like everything is just going to, like, everything’s just gonna be perfect.

Like when I, when this happens, then I’ll be happy. 

Erika: Mm-hmm. And it’s like 

Jereshia: when that happened, I realized how much did you give up of yourself to do this? Yeah. And yes, part of it was like, it’s, um. I, I don’t wanna like say that from a place of, like, it was, I mean, I was fighting for my survival. Um, so part of my way to, I was my own safety net.[00:21:00] 

I was my like financial, uh, breadwinner in my household. I am like the golden one in my family. I’m the one that’s made the most money. Like I had that riding on me. Um, I wanted that sense of safety and security in my personal net worth. So that was something that was like attached to something that was very important.

I wanted choice and optionality. This in AmErika and capitalism, money is what buys that. I wanted that freedom for myself, but I realized too that there’s levels of freedom. Like there’s that financial freedom of like, and then there’s, there’s freedom in, in how safe you feel making choices congruent with your desires.

Like there’s different levels of freedom, 

Erika: right? 

Jereshia: So that was like the first stage, um, how I took the sabbatical and planned that I was, um, in Bali on vacation and met this incredible couple. Who was on a sabbatical. They were like educators though, for like a boarding school in upstate New York. And they’re like, every seven years our job will give us a [00:22:00] year off paid to take a sabbatical.

And it’s like, it is like it’s congruent with the Sabbath, you know, seven days, every seven years you should have a break. 

Erika: Mm-hmm. 

Jereshia: And that planted a seed of like, girl, wait, what? I’m allowed to take a break from all of this. Like, so that planted a seed that was back in 2019. It planted that seed of like, okay, go hard for seven years.

Do, you know, build everything you can build in seven years and after your seventh year, put yourself in a position where you can take the break off. Um, so that’s what planted that seed. And then around year five and a half, I was like, you remember you talked about taking that Sabbath your seventh year.

Um, the other thing I also learned is that like in traditional hedge fund private equity, when people buy and sell companies mm-hmm. They’ll normally buy, build it for three to four years. Or five to seven, depending on the industry. And then they will take a break for two to three years before they go buy another company.

Every other industry has built in breaks, but us [00:23:00] um, athletes, they train for a season, they’re off for a season. Politicians like every other industry typically, like especially high performers, have a, a built in break into the normal cadence. I just feel like a lot of us solo, like independent.

Entrepreneurs, we don’t think about that, right? Um, and I started asking myself, what is my exit strategy going to be? So that also coupled with that seed planted, like, okay, I’m gonna do seven years, I’m gonna have an exit, um, based off of my profit, being able to pay for that quote unquote exit. And then I will decide, take a break, come back and decide what I wanna do next.

So like all of that shaped the mindset of like, why a Sabbath and a sabbatical was really important to me. Um. And then the 18 months before I took my break, I, I had to ask myself, what type of break do I want to take? Do I want to have the business fully operational where other people are selling, delivering, doing all my content for me?

Do I want to do a [00:24:00] big launch? And then we’re still operational, but only doing delivery, not doing any sales, not doing any marketing, or do I want everything off? No cognitive load, no clients, no marketing. So I did, I tested every department of my business with the least amount of odor dependency for 18 months to help me make that decision of how I wanted to operate once I was on my sabbatical.

Erika: That’s 

Jereshia: genius. Well, it’s, it’s just, it’s engineering to me it’s like, it’s like a lot of the time, I think it’s entrepreneurs, traditional entrepreneurs that maybe don’t have an engineering background or have exposure to entrepre entrepreneurship before they start. I don’t think a lot of people have the mindset of giving themselves permission to test.

Erika: Mm-hmm. 

Jereshia: It’s just like, we gotta go and we gotta make it happen, and it has to be perfect the first time. But I think that when you look at a lot of other, like, industries of business, like many of them aren’t even profitable for the first four or five years, right? They go and get funding to pay themselves.

We are like self-funded. Yep. [00:25:00] We live off of what we can kill, like, you know, it’s, it’s, uh, barbaric in that way. It’s like, girl, you gotta go hunt. And if. So, and I think you couple that on with being a woman of color and like all, all that pressure it is just, it’s a lot to hold. Yeah. Um, but that was my, my, my approach.

Um, and I tested out having a sales, delegating all of my sales, um, tested, delegating out all of my content creation and just re being able to create a system to pull messaging for my existing content. Um, I already had program coaches that were doing delivery, so that wasn’t a big test. It was more on the sales and marketing side that we had to really figure out.

And, um, that’s also part of the reason why I designed my program so that that program coaches could fit in. We, you know, um, standardized the curriculum. 

Erika: Mm-hmm. 

Jereshia: And I think that was a really, really important tool. So, I mean, like, it was a, it was a big test in a big year and I still had hella hesitation to give myself permission to take the break.

’cause all of my [00:26:00] fear was like raging of like, you can’t do this. It’s not safe. You’re gonna like, what if it all come like this? The most terrible thoughts I was combating every single day. Then eventually I was like, I was on a drive with my girlfriend and she was like, didn’t you say you was gonna take a sabbatical?

I was like, yeah, but I dunno if I’m gonna do it no more. She’s like, what? And she was like, why can’t you? And then like, all of my fears, she was like, yeah, but you told me this. Or like, yeah, you’re actually good to hear. Like, and I was like, okay, I’m gonna do it. Um, and even then I was like, okay, I’ll, I’ll take a break for three months.

There’s no way I can go without working for three months and then I’ll check in and decide if I’m gonna keep off Chad, the three months camera. I said I ain’t, I, I’m taking a rest. I’m taking my time. I’m taking my time. Um, so that’s like the long story of like all the thoughts that went into it and how it came to be 

Erika: and which, so which one did you end up choosing?

Were you completely off? Did you still do delivery? It was a 

Jereshia: mix. Okay. So the first like four months, [00:27:00] we just maintained delivery. Okay. ’cause I did a launch. Um, my team did the launch, they did all the sales. My coaches fulfilled everything. So we like, that was the last bit. So there were still technically four months where we had clients on the roster.

Coaches were still coaching, but there was no sales and no, no marketing happening. Okay. Um, so there was like three, three or four months where the coaches were still coaching the clients, but I wasn’t on any calls. I wasn’t in any meetings. And then once all those contracts ended, there was nothing, no content, no sales, no programs running.

So there was nine months of me. I mean, my brain is still somewhat on. Like I know people are like, oh, delegated. It’s like, yes. When you delegate, you, you’re, you’re still the one in the driver’s seat though. Mm-hmm. Like you’re still holding the vision. You are still responsible at the end of the day. 

Erika: Right.

Jereshia: So part of my brain was still on, and that’s when I learned, I was like, during those first. Three, three months when people were still on and coaches were delivering. I’m like, I want no thought [00:28:00] related to the business. And that’s why I was like, okay, I’m gonna give myself permission not to do any re-enrollment, not to try to sell anything else, just let it stay off.

So there it was, um, a mixture of both. And what 

Erika: happened during your 

Jereshia: sabbatical? I felt like every version of unhealthy masculine energy that was in my life got uprooted. It was so fast and it was like, I felt like my body was just waiting. Like I feel like I had been outrunning these things that I had been trying to avoid, like my relationship with my father, um, that came to a head.

Like we had some of the most real conversations we’ve ever had. Um, my dad was in my life for a, uh, probably till like end of elementary school, but then I moved out and moved in with my grandmother and my aunt raised me thereafter. My mom left when I was two years old, so like a whole family dynamic, but like there was a lot of anger and a lot of resentment that I had towards my dad that I’m [00:29:00] like, I’m a bubbly, happy person.

But like, it was, the anger was like eroding at me and it was like ready to be dealt with and it was like, I, I can no longer avoid this anger and this resentment that I have. I need to reconcile it, uh, shortly after my dad passes away. In his sleep, like unexpectedly that that happened during the sabbatical?

Um, uh, well, the, him passing away. Yeah. That was last August. Um, when is it? June? Yeah, it’s almost been a year. So that happened then like shortly, like towards the tail end of my sabbatical, I got divorced. It was like I knew how to fight and advocate for the things that were in my life. I had this belief that I’m like, you can’t give up on people.

Your parents abandoned you. They gave up on you. You can’t give up on people. But child, I’d be fighting to the death of me for something that ain’t meant for me to be fighting for. And that was a tough situation, um, in the sense that like, he was a great [00:30:00] guy, like really good human. We did the therapy, did all the things, but like it.

Like, I felt like we both chose each other from a place of self abandonment. Um, and we were great for each other for that season, but it was like, it was like the end of a good book. It was like the, like it’s a, I don’t hate the book. I’m not mad at the book, but the book is over. Yeah. Um, so that, that got uprooted and then I felt like my unhealthy masculine energy, how I showed up in my business, all that got reconciled, like.

And a huge part of all this was just like learning how to have a relationship with grief, I feel like is like the umbrella of what my sabbatical was. And I feel like the biggest lesson was like, it’s safe to surrender. Um, my safety was rooted in like what I could control and I would pick relationships and pick things that I felt like I could cont like.

I could, I had control over versus I had, I felt no [00:31:00] sense of safety prior to my sabbatical and like surrender. Surrender to whom? Like I feel even my relationship with God is like, girl, I’m trying to help. I’m like, no big dog. I got it. Like, appreciate you, but I’m good. Like I. It was, it was, but a lot of it was grieving.

I’m like, there was, my therapist was like, you are like you are depressed and you are like grieving right now. I’m like, girl, I’m good. She was like, no, you’re not. Like, and I just, I, I never thought that. I’m like, you are just, you’re out running, having to deal with all these things that you’ve never had an opportunity to grieve.

Um, grieving the loss of your parents not being who you wanted them to be. Grieving. Yeah. Um, the version like how much you’ve had to abandon yourself for the sake of love, like grieving, how much you’ve had to sacrifice and give up of yourself for the sake of success and security. Like, so it was a lot. I did, I did a lot of like heartbreak healing and like grief work to try to process a lot of this stuff.

I [00:32:00] got into somatic therapy. Like if anybody’s listening and you are like a heavy therapy girl, you do a lot of talk therapy and like cognitive therapy, you can intellectualize, you can point back. That’s a mother wound shot. I don’t know what that is. Mm-hmm. You are in your head, not in your body. Yep. And I’m like, uh, I, so I, I learned how to be in my body.

Um, I hate it when people used to say that to me. ’cause I had no idea what that meant, but I was just so disconnected from myself. So it was a lot of like reintegration. It’s like when I started reading, uh, fiction books again, I started like, I basically also dedicated a big chunk of my sabbatical to like give yourself the childhood you wish you had.

So it was a lot of like exploration and the hobbies I had always wanted to do. I’d always wanted to do a dance recital. So I signed up for a sensual floor play class. It was lovely. I know it was terrifying. I never knew my first public recital because it was like an eight week class. You learn the routine and then you perform [00:33:00] would be in like red lingerie and stripper heels, but like here we are like, you know, like it was.

It was really like tapping into my desires. Yeah. So it was, um, it was, I call it my homecoming. It was like my, my, my return to myself 

Erika: and really like tapping back into your feminine energy after being so heavily in your masculine energy running the, the business you had run and the type of relationship you had in the past.

Jereshia: Yeah. Like I never felt safe in my feminine. Like my friends would always tell me like, Jay, you’re super nurturing. You are super feminine. But I did not self-identify with that. Because I, ’cause in my mental and in my world, it was like control force, like tight shoulders, clenched butt cheeks, like all the time.

Erika: Yeah. 

Jereshia: Um, versus like, like they’re allowing for flow. Trusting in things like allowing other people, like receiving support and help. I’m like receiving help, like I never made any, I’m like the friend that makes no asks. I [00:34:00] learned that that’s problematic. Like, like I’m, like, I was afraid of depending on other people.

Yeah. Um, and that will impact every version of your life and your business. Like I, I kept hiring people that would never be able to meet the needs of what they would be hired into. Um, and over time I learned how to, like, how to depend on people in business from like, but there had to be a financial exchange.

I have to pay you in order for me to be able to depend on you. 

Erika: Mm-hmm. 

Jereshia: Um, versus like you’re allowed to have relationships in your life. I. That fill you up just as much as you fill them up. So it was. Ooh child. I’m like, I feel like God was like, girl, I’m so glad you slowed down. Let me get to work. I’ve been trying to do this on you for years.

I’ve been trying to get your attention this whole time. I feel like he, like, it was like, okay, cool. You, you, you, you’re done now. Okay, let me take over. That’s what it felt like. 

[00:35:00] [00:36:00] [00:37:00] 

Erika: So thank you for sharing so vulnerably. I’m sure that people listening resonated so much with that. I’m curious, obviously, like in this, that year, you took the time off.

You had the time to work on this. What have you ever been in a situation like what happens when life is lifeing and you are in a launch, right? Or you are working and has that ever happened? And for people listening, they may not be business owners who are doing launches, but maybe they are, you know, they have a big presentation coming up at work and life is lifeing and like, what do you do in those situations?

How do you show up out 

Jereshia: here? It’s ghetto. I mean it’s like, I mean, it’s so interesting ’cause like looking back, I. My biggest years were also the toughest in my past marriage. And nobody knew though. Like my friends didn’t know, none of my family knew. His [00:38:00] family didn’t like nobody knew. ’cause I would just be a chameleon and I would put on face and like, I do think that there is something to say of like channeling an alter ego or a persona or channeling an an identity of who you need to show up as despite your circumstances or your environment.

I think has always served me very well. Um, and there’s like triggers that I will do for myself of like, okay, if I need to, my mood is mooding or like life is lifeing, what can I do to kind of activate like the highest version of my identity? 

Erika: Hmm. And for 

Jereshia: me, that might be a lipstick combo. It might be a certain pair of earrings.

It might be having my nails done, my hair done, like, um, it might be a certain color or whatever, like to kind of signal like, okay, like you need to get into this. Um, I was, I mean, I was very good at compartmentalizing also, probably problematic, but like during that time I had to, I didn’t have other tools.

I think that was something else. I did not have a large [00:39:00] repertoire, a repertoire of tools to use in those moments. 

Erika: Hmm. 

Jereshia: The tools I had back then to my knowledge was like, compartmentalize, put on your mask and put on your armor and put on your persona and push through. Who I am today, like my body, now that I’m in it, I, I feel now that I’m in my body and like feeling everything on the feeling wheel, my body will, like, it is very difficult for me to force myself to mm-hmm.

Like, push my way through anymore, my body will, like, will, will revolt against it. 

Erika: Mm-hmm. So 

Jereshia: that’s when I’m like, okay, you need to learn other tools to learn how to self-regulate. When life is lifeing. 

Erika: Yeah. 

Jereshia: So I feel like that’s what I, it is much healthier to do that too. If anybody listening, like what I did before worked not sustainable.

Okay. Not sustainable. Um, I don’t know if I’ll be able to ever function like that again, but I’m like, I need it to, what does it, like, how do I learn how to regulate myself? [00:40:00] And for me, that has been a lot of, um, somatic work, learning how to breathe better, which I feel like sounds. Whatever, ’cause you breathe all the time.

But I was a very like. Shallow chest breather. Mm-hmm. I did not have full body breaths. Um, so I’ve started doing, like, I do breath work. I do like, um, morning movement is critical for me right now to maintain a regulated system and to be able to regulate myself in the midst of chaos. 

Erika: Mm-hmm. 

Jereshia: And, um, just finding other tools and other outlets to support me when, when everything else around me feels like it is going into chaos.

And I will say like, life ain’t stopped laughing. It’s just, I feel like I’ve got better at learning how to regulate and be at the center of the storm versus being of the storm. And in the storm it’s like, but the more I know how to like calm myself down, the more I know how to, um, I used to do a lot of like external validation and seeking [00:41:00] outside things to fix me.

Erika: Mm-hmm. 

Jereshia: Versus like I do my solo dates now once a week that are like non-negotiables for me. Like I’m, I like the love that I’m craving or like the things that I wish other people would fix. I’m like, how can I pour back into myself? 

Erika: Yeah. 

Jereshia: Um, and I used to hear people say that all the time. I’m like, girl, dad is like trash.

I’m like, no, they’re saying it for a reason. Um, and I had to do my own work. Like I really had to like learn how to deal with these emotions that I had been suppressing for the vast majority of my life. Um, grief, anger, rage, resentment, like. All that stuff. Usually I feel like impacts me, especially when life is ing, especially when life is ing from people who are super close to me, like my family, my personal relationships, my friendships.

Erika: Right. 

Jereshia: Um, and I feel like the more regulated you are, like trying to maintain a level of neutrality and my emotional range helps me a lot when it comes to having to show up in business. And it makes me think too about when I [00:42:00] used to work in corporate, I’m like, you could be having a bad day or go through a breakup and like, you’d still have to go to work.

Yep. Um, you might take your mental health day or take a vaca like a, a sick day or whatever, but like you still had to figure out how to show up. And I think that that is something that in the entrepreneurial world, I think I’m like, girl, if you had a job you would like, what would you have to do to show up to get to work?

Erika: Yep. And 

Jereshia: I’m like, I try to just make sure I have better tools, but also that I’m better resourced, so that when life is life and it’s not like it’s all on me. And I think that’s something I’ve gotten better at over time versus before I, I was not well resourced and mm-hmm. I, I would intentionally put it all on my shoulders versus asking for help or having boundaries and not allowing certain things to come in.

Erika: Yeah. Yeah. You’re still right about having these tools to regulate and like being the center of the storm. ’cause like the storm’s gonna storm, but how can you stay grounded rather than getting swept around in it? And then what you [00:43:00] said about like. You know, with corporate we still have to show up at work.

I remember I called off an engagement and the next day I was back in the office and I felt like death inside. I probably should have taken that day off ’cause I ended up crying at work. But.

But I showed up and sometimes as an entrepreneur I’m like, oh, I’m not feeling it. But you’re right. Like I showed up at work the next day after a really difficult decision. Um, so yeah, 

Jereshia: even like you might show up at work and you might be at 70% 

Erika: Exactly. I think 

Jereshia: in business, like give yourself permission to be 70%.

I think a lot of the time we put this expectation on ourselves that, and for most of us we’re like, if we’re not at one 50, we’re not doing good. If we’re at a hundred, we’re slacking. It’s like, girl, your 70% is still gonna be better than most people’s. A hundred percent. So like, it’s okay to be in a season where you’re in maintenance mode or you’re in, I’m doing the, I’m doing the bare [00:44:00] minimum that’s required.

And like, ’cause your bare minimum is still like enough. I feel like a lot of time us meeting the standard, we still feel like that’s not enough. We need to be exceeding and like going above and beyond. 

Erika: Yeah. It’s like, 

Jereshia: it’s okay. Like girl, if you got 70%, that’s the best you can give. Give your 70%. Like that’s okay.

The business will be okay. 

Erika: Yeah. Yeah. You’re right. Especially for women of color. Right. We, our 70% is like 

Jereshia: your 70% is stellar. 

Erika: Okay. So after this sabbatical and the pretty much like death and rebirth of you, right? And, and of who you were as a business owner and of your identity, what decisions or what changes did you make when you came back to business?

Jereshia: Yeah, that was like a, I was really worried about like, how do I tell this story of how I got divorced? What is my audience going to think of me? How do I, what, what, how, how, what do I want my business to look like? I’m like, I had no [00:45:00] idea. Um, so I, I gave myself permission that I’m gonna do 12 years of testing and I’m like, I wanna test things that I have always wanted to do, but like, didn’t, like it just wasn’t the core focus of the business at the time.

So like, I, I really wanted to go back to trying, doing private one-on-one coaching. I did that for like eight clients at the very beginning of my business back in 2016, early 2017. Have never done private coaching since then, I’ve wanted to try to sell a digital course that did not come with a, you know, six month or 12 month coaching component attached to it.

I’ve never done that before my business, and I wanted to figure out how to, like not. Only create content from a place of me being like this person who has it figured out, but like lead more an identity based messaging and marketing approach. So it was a year of testing and I was like, okay, I’m gonna just slow, I’m gonna give myself permission to allow my pace to, to go at a healthy pace.

Mm-hmm. [00:46:00] Versus balls to the wall, like go hardcore, which I’ve never done either. I’ve always been a very, like all or nothing type of person. I’m like, what does a healthy pace look like? So it was all music, trying to see and feel things out. But I started, um, I did like 1590 minute intensives at the very beginning.

So I’m like, I don’t even know what people need now. What do people want? Where are people at? Like, 

Erika: that’s so smart, because that was a test, 

Jereshia: right? That was part 

Erika: of your testing process to see what people 

Jereshia: need. Yeah. So I’m like, I don’t know. And I think that is something that like, I have to remind my clients of all the time.

They’re like, well, I don’t know. I’m like, get out of your head and get into conversation. Yeah. You are not going to figure out the perfect answer in a silo. And I really tried to get back to my, like, my roots of like, how I started. It was like, you be willing to be seen trying, you’re no longer naive, but I need you to move with that type of like, who cares if somebody sees like, who cares if you, this doesn’t work out 

Erika: right.

Jereshia: Um, versus you feeling like you need to manufacture everything to have the perfect [00:47:00] outcome. Just like. Be in the process versus trying to predict and perfect the perfect outcome. Um, so I did 1590 minute intensives, and that was like really enlightening. Um, that then transitioned into either three month or six month coaching engagements that are private one-on-one because I wanted to test that out.

I needed to also, like, I think that when I was living at the, at the. There’s like, there’s the edge of what you have capacity for and then there’s the edge of what you can tolerate. 

Erika: I 

Jereshia: was living at the edge of what I could tolerate before, which is far beyond what my body had capacity for, so I was like, I need, I was really afraid of like falling off the cliff again.

I didn’t know where my new edge was. So I was overly cautious, quite honestly, for the, which I still kind of am. I’m trying not to be so cautious. I’m trying to trust myself to know that when I hit a edge, I will pull back. 

Erika: Mm-hmm. 

Jereshia: And not just keep extending. Yeah. Um, so that’s a rule for me right now is that I’m allowed to [00:48:00] operate at the edge of my capacity.

As long as that’s a conscious decision, I’m no longer. Like living in the edge of my, what I could tolerate. There might be moments where we need to like do a little push or something, but like it, I, that can’t be where I reside. 

Erika: Right. 

Jereshia: So that was a constraint that I put on myself. Um, but 90 minute intensives, I did 50 15 of those.

That transitioned into, I realized that my edge of what I could had capacity for was eight private, one-on-one clients at a time. 

Erika: Mm-hmm. 

Jereshia: Um, I did a mix. I also tested this out of doing a mix. Either client’s doing a flat rate payment or revenue share, which is something I’ve always been really curious about.

’cause part of the reason why I never hired private one-on-one coaches historically is I’m like, dude, I got to drop 10, 15, 20, 30, $50,000 for this person. And I’m like, I have no idea. Like they ain’t got no skin in my success. Like it’s just like, which I don’t know. I don’t know why I always felt that way, but I’m like, wouldn’t it be really cool to have more of a partnership approach?

Um, [00:49:00] where if I’m having a low month, like I don’t feel this pressure and fear that I can’t pay my coach. 

Erika: Mm-hmm. 

Jereshia: And if I have a high month, like, and they’re helping to support me and a support me at a, at a leadership level to make that happen. Like, I wanted to test what that was like. So I let my clients choose how they want to do their payment structure for, for private one-on-one coaching, but that’s been really, really fun.

Erika: Um, you’re the first person that I’ve ever seen do that, and I’m, I’m curious, like, do you think you’ll keep doing it? What have the results been so far? 

Jereshia: Yeah, I like the option, like, I mean, there are some clients where, like, dude, if you’re, if you come to me already making, you know, 300,000 or $500,000 a year, it’s probably cheaper for you just to do the flat rate option, right.

Um, but I’ve had some clients who even do make that much money and they still choose revenue share ’cause they like the feeling of the partnership. They like us riding the wave together. 

Erika: Yeah. 

Jereshia: Um, so it’s been a, it’s been a really fun experience. Like, I’d say so far, like out of, [00:50:00] there’s, some of my clients have been working with for four or five years.

Um, so they’ve come back, which is that they’ve had a safe place to land to come back to, which I think has been really cool for me to offer for clients that were new, they’re on average staying about nine to 12 months. Um, which has also been nice. I mean, we’ll see how long that the retention, you know, continues to stay.

’cause this is only, I’m only like maybe nine or 10 months into doing this. 

Erika: Mm-hmm. 

Jereshia: But it’s, it’s been really cool. Like, I actually really like it. There is something you have to get comfortable with ’cause you’re like, you don’t know how much you’ll get paid. Right. Of your clients who are on revenue share.

Yeah. Um, but that’s, I think too, I, I have like, you need to know your own coaching style to know whether or not that’s a smart fit for you. I’ve always been the type of coach where I, I do more than just coach. I do, I do advise, I do play to a level of consulting, like, but that’s my default. Like that is just, I don’t know how to coach any other way.

Erika: Right. 

Jereshia: Um, so I’ve, I’ve always been a very hands-on coach, even when I led coaching [00:51:00] group programs. That’s just the type of coach that I am. And I’m also, uh, really good at under, like, I’m, I think I have a good picker. Like it’s, it’s, I can gauge a leader. And how they’re gonna show up in their business, but also like, look at the health of that business and like are, like, I can see how they’re gonna interact with their business.

And it’s not like I only pick clients that are like, oh, if you’re not going, if you’re not in a hyper growth mode, then I won’t work with you. Like, no, like I, I, I’m like, let’s honor your pace and whatever that is for you. Um, but it goes back to surrendering. Like, I don’t feel like I have to have all this control anymore.

It’s, it’s been really good. It’s been really good practice for my nervous system of like learning how to surrender and not be attached to the outcome, but just be committed to the process. Yeah. So it’s been a healing journey for me too. Um, but I just like it, like, um, my clients who do choose it, some clients have done like the flat rate fee first, and then when they re-enroll, they do [00:52:00] the revenue share.

Um, some clients have done the opposite, like some clients won’t do the revenue share. They’re like, girl, I already know. I already know. We gonna be making a goop together. Let me just play you the flat rate. Like I, I’m not even about to do the revenue share with you because it’s gonna be too much money.

Um, there is a cap that I do have in a month though, like if if’s, um, if you make like 150 grand in one month, I won’t exceed $15,000 in revenue share. So like there is a cap. So like some clients are like, okay, I can’t wait till we hit that cap. Like, it’s more of a motivational thing. 

Erika: Yeah. 

Jereshia: Um, but it shifts the dynamic of the one-on-one.

’cause it is, it’s, it’s felt like, uh, you have a strategic partner on the team versus like, I don’t know, there I, so it’s, it’s been so far. I really do like it. I don’t see myself getting rid of it. I do like giving clients the option though. 

Erika: Yeah, that’s great. So obviously you, uh, launched the course. I know because I joined it, so that happened.

So what, where are you now? Where is, where [00:53:00] is Geisha now? 

Jereshia: I’m still in my tail end of testing. So that was something I wanted to test. Uh, the market, like a CEO course, like private one-on-one coaching is still the nucleus of the business. And any other offers I do are in support of. Um, like what are the steps that a client would need to take mm-hmm.

Or a skillset that a client would need where private one-on-one would feel like a good next step. I do also do like virtual VIP weeks or in-person VIP days, and I’ll still do intensives as my capacity allows for it. Um, so that’s kind of like where I’m I’m at right now. I, like, I don’t know what I’m gonna do next year.

Hopefully I’ll be pregnant child. I’m, I’m praying for my, my womb to be. Infiltrated, um, by a little, a little baby blessing, which is like wild for me to say out loud. ’cause I, uh, being a mother felt like so out of reach a couple years ago, I felt like that was just like, I’m just destined to be the rich auntie.

Um, so I do hope that that’s the case. And I, I, I don’t [00:54:00] know, I’m still figuring that out. Like I’m, I’m gonna be using the next few months just to like. I might test one more thing and then try to make a decision of what next year will look like. But I think I do really like, um, close proximity offers.

Whether that’s one-on-one or even what I did with market, like a CEO, it was a digital course, and then there was a upsell to like a mini, a mini mind. Mm-hmm. That was like a short-term container. It was only like 15 to 20 people, and I was able to still go deep. Like I, I do miss that. Um, so I don’t know. I, I have TBD I’m still figuring it out.

This is me not knowing. I don’t know. I’m still figuring that out. So still more to come, but I. I imagine it’ll stay in the vein of kind of what it looks like now. Um, so yeah, I don’t know. Maybe a mastermind next year. Mm-hmm. Maybe like a shorter term mastermind, like a six month type of thing. But still, I.

CLO intimate spaces, more like boutique style coaching or consulting, I feel like is gonna be the core, core for me for a little bit. 

Erika: Yeah. [00:55:00] Beautiful. And I just wanna point out like how comfortable you are with the not knowing, right. I think that that’s so not 

Jereshia: like me though. Like I wanna, like me before my sabbatical, like I used to have the next three years planned out, mapped out in calendar.

Like my blackout, there was blackout dates for when I would take off. Like I would know all that in advance. This is like total opposite from how I normally function. 

Erika: But that’s where miracles happen. 

Jereshia: Yeah. 

Erika: Right. Like, that’s like weaning into the unknown is where the unexpected comes from. This is like my manifestation brain that that turns on.

But um, yeah, we’re, we’re helping you manifest a child. That’s amazing because 

Jereshia: Good for that. 

Erika: Yeah. You know, I actually, I have a, a mastermind, it’s called Magnetic Mastermind. And for the first, the, the three rounds that I had, the mastermind, somebody got pregnant every round and I was like, I dunno what we’re doing here.

And it was just like learning manifestation principles for business. But it ended up like, yeah, they ended up pregnant. 

Jereshia: That stuff bleeds over. Like when you didn’t learn how to [00:56:00] apply it in one setting, you’ll be able to apply that like in your life in general. So I’m just. I don’t know. I’m just hoping that I, like, I just continue to, to trust and maintaining pace, allowing things to, to grow at a, at a rate that feels healthy for me.

Um, and just also just like enjoying this season. Like I’ve, I’ve sacrificed and given so much for so long. Mm-hmm. I’m like, girl, you allowed to take a break for it. Like, this is, this is my version of a break. Like you’re allowed to allow things to just flow, um, and enjoy that season. ’cause there’s probably gonna be another season where Pace maybe does pick up.

So like, it’s, hmm. And I think that goes back to like, life is long. Like every, every year doesn’t have to always be at like a full on sprint. Constantly. Like at like, I’m, I’m kind of like walking and jogging around. The track right now versus like a full on sprint with hurdles. Yeah. With a weighted vest on.

Erika: Yeah. It’s like you’re enjoying the flowers along the, the side of the track and, and looking around and actually enjoying where you are instead of like, sprinting to the [00:57:00] finish line. 

Jereshia: Yes. So I’m like, okay, just be cool with that because like, you know, and the next season, like, I’m like, I don’t know, maybe one day I could see me with like a TV show or doing more like in-person events again, or, mm-hmm.

Um, I don’t know. Like I’m, I, I, like you said, I’m open to the possibilities. I’m like, I’m open to whatever, whatever the world has for me. I don’t, I don’t know fully yet. 

Erika: Beautiful. Is there anything I did not ask you about that you wanna share with the listeners? 

Jereshia: Well, when you were talking about your courage, uh, project that you do.

It made me think about, even when I met you, I was like, man, what are you being courageous about right now? Because I do feel like my relationship with my ambition is in a weird place. ’cause before ambition for me was just like, it’s gotta be the biggest thing possible. Or it’s like you’re playing too small.

Um, and I’ve wrestled with that of like, what does it look like for me to have, like what am I courageously trying to start? Or what does it look like for me to have ambition? Um. Again, that doesn’t [00:58:00] require me to abandon myself. 

Erika: Mm-hmm. 

Jereshia: I don’t even know what the question is, but that’s just something that I like.

I’ve, I’ve, when I was having the conversation with you when I met you, and even at the beginning of, like, before we kicked off this conversation, it’s just like. Having that courage to start. I don’t know, there’s just something in that that has been like, kind of matriculating in me, um, that I’m probably gonna journal or go flirt with a little bit more later.

Erika: Yeah, and you know, I think I’ve always associated courage from my, like historically I’ve associated courage with like doing the brave thing, but I’ve associated doing the brave thing with like walking away from things because I walked away from a tech job and then an engagement, and then the further I got in this journey, I was like, wow, like courage sometimes.

Is like deciding to try and deciding to stay and deciding to be vulnerable. And I think for you, taking the sabbatical was one of the most courageous things you could have done. 

Jereshia: Oh, 

Erika: even right now. Saying, you know, I don’t know, like, that’s courageous [00:59:00] because like you mentioned before, you were so focused on, all right, what’s the plan?

And I’m sure your engineering brain is like, what do you mean we don’t have it planned out? Like, so that is courage in my mind. 

Jereshia: Yeah. I mean, I think that like being, having the courage to say out loud that I wanna be a mom. Yeah. I think like, um, how true I, yeah. Like I, it makes me super emo. I, I feel that’s the courageous thing I’m doing right now is like actually holding that as a real intention and.

Doing the things for like, you know, I’ve been taking re-parenting classes. I’ve been like learning how to again, learn how to regulate my own nervous system so I could regulate and teach another human being how to regulate themselves. I’ve been really intentional with my diet and like movement. Just like have a healthy body.

Yeah. But I feel, I feel like that’s probably the courageous thing that I’m been. Even with how I’ve been rebuilding the business, I’ve like, I want to do it with babies in mind, 

Erika: right? 

Jereshia: Of like, how do I build this that if I were to get pregnant or if a kid were here, there’s spaciousness and options. Um, so I don’t know.

I feel like that’s my courageous thing right [01:00:00] now. Like, and it’s, it’s, it’s uh, it’s it, sometimes I feel like, well, it’s not big enough or it’s not money related. And I’m like, girl, everything ain’t gotta be money is not like, I think that’s something else I’ve been uncoupling. Is that like success? There’s so many different variations of how I can define success beyond just like what will make me more money.

Um, ’cause so much of my identity used to be attached to like that versus enjoyment, pleasure, desire, fulfillment outside of just like monetary gain. 

Erika: Definitely. Yeah. Once you are a mom we’re gonna have to have you back on. How about motherhood and business and how are you doing this? Because I’m not a mom, but a lot of my listeners are, and a lot of my clients are as well.

Jereshia: Yeah, same. I’m like all of my client, like majority of them, they’ve given me so much advice on like what to expect with motherhood, but it’s, um, yeah, I used to be really afraid to say that that’s something I wanted and it does feel courage for me to be like, to own that as an identity that I would like [01:01:00] to add as.

To my repertoire or role. Yeah. Um, so yeah. 

Erika: Beautiful. Well, it has been such a pleasure to have you on. If people, um, wanna follow, you, wanna work with you, where should they go? 

Jereshia: Yeah, I would start by, come to my podcast. I also have one, it’s called Isha Said, um, it’s on Spotify and Apple Podcast, wherever you listen.

Um, that’s a really great place to hang out with me. Perfect. Um, and then also Instagram. I love to continue the conversation and so if you’re listening to this, take a picture, tag us on stories, send me a dm. I’m at Isha Hawk over there. Would love to, to you know, continue the conversation, see what stuck with you, what resonated with you, and, um, be able to encourage you and chat, chat some more with you individually too.

So those would be the two places I would, I would say, come kick it with me is either the podcast or over on Instagram. I. 

Erika: Beautiful. So we’ll have both the podcast and your Instagram linked down below. So those of you listening, you can just go down to the show notes and yes, if anything resonated with you, [01:02:00] which I’m sure a lot of things did, screenshot it, tag us.

We want to see, Theresa, thank you so much for your willingness to be so vulnerable and just everything that you do for, for our community. You really are a thought leader and somebody that. We all look up to. I mean at least all of my entrepreneur friends, like we all speak very highly of you. And then to have you met you in person and have you be like just as real and like humble and approachable.

It’s just been amazing. So thank you for coming on the podcast. 

Jereshia: Oh, that is like the highest compliment of like knowing that you’re being spoken well of when in rooms you’re not in. Yeah. So I appreciate it. Thank you for holding space today for this conversation. Um, this was a ton of fun. So thanks for having me on.

Erika: Thank you. [01:03:00]