Humans love to eat. There’s no doubt about that. Regardless of what type of diet you ended up having as an adult, you undoubtedly spent a good number of years of your life enjoying just about anything that was served to you by your parents or guardians. Chocolates and cookies were, of course, a treat. So were freshly-made fries, diner burgers, hearty soups, and even cereals served straight out of the box. And I’m pretty sure that it wasn’t until you got conscious of how you look like that you started looking at food differently. From a cherished experience that you always looked forward to, eating became somewhat of a burden.
It is not uncommon for many adults to have unhealthy relationships with food. And the reason? Years and years of trauma caused by immediate family, friends, their community, and the society. For years, Jais has helped countless women to stop binge and emotional eating by improving their relationship with food. She is a Hungry For Happiness Certified Food and Body Coach who believes in the power of women who are motivated to feel their best in their current bodies and prioritize their mental health.
But while she’s been a blessing to all her clients, Jaiz wants more–she wants to do more and help more people. This is why she decided to take the next step and help women start and grow their businesses.
What inspired you to be an entrepreneur?
Ever since I was little, I wanted to make a difference in the world and lives of others. When I was young, I loved helping others, inspiring people, and creating business ventures that allowed me to give back. I lost this path for a bit in high school and college, and ended up studying marine engineering and working on oil rigs, but even in the middle of a very successful career, it was on my heart to help women show up powerfully, unapologetically, and remind them that it’s ok to take up space.
How are you making a positive difference in the world?
I know a lot of women who are amazing at what they do, but get lost in all the noise. When you’re new in business, everything seems important, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed in everything and end up doing nothing. I help women start businesses, figure out their secret sauce and leverage that in their marketing, and create super aligned offers than make bank. I know so many entrepreneurs that are amazing at what they do but find it hard to share that, and my signature method makes it fun even for those who dislike social media! I’m a trauma informed practitioner as well, so I am able to help women find and eliminate limiting beliefs in business, slay self-sabotage, and ditch impostor syndrome, which I’ve found is often the hardest part about starting a business.
What has been the greatest positive impact you have seen on your clients or customers face from working directly with you?
Of course, healing past trauma that affects a client’s ability to show up in business is a huge win, but that’s not always something my clients know they need. Clarity is one of the greatest positive impacts my clients receive–clarity in who they serve, how they help, what they do better than no one else, and in how to create offerings that they (and their clients) can get behind.
What does a purpose-driven business mean to you?
Purpose driven-business means a couple of different things. I live, breathe, and sleep this work. If we meet at the farmers’ market, you’ll walk away feeling like you can do anything (because you can). It also means giving back. A huge part of my company revolves around giving back. I host a free FB community, I give out scholarships to the majority of my programs, and want to genuinely serve as many people as I can because the world is a much better place when women are empowered AF and own businesses.
How did you pivot your business during the pandemic?
When the pandemic started I hadn’t shifted my niche yet, and I was still doing body image and food freedom coaching. Instead of launching the high-ticket group program I had created, I launched a membership site with the goal to get affordable group coaching into the hands of as many women as possible, because it seemed that lockdowns, isolation, and fear were driving more women to binge and emotional eating than ever before. I still host that membership, Mindful Body Academy today. And then the big pivot happened. My 1:1 clients started extending their contracts with me because they were seeing massive results in their business, and I realized just how passionate I was about helping women be seen, serve others, and make sales. My rebrand is in no way complete, but shifting my offerings to business strategy and alignment was such an exciting decision for my community.
What are your top 5 tips to scale a business or use social media to attract new clients?
“Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.” – Dr. Suess. BE YOURSELF! It’s so easy to want to pretend you’re just like Penelope the Personal Trainer who has 6 kids, a chef, and 6 pack abs, but if that isn’t you, it’s boring and insincere, and people will pick up on that. I’m an animal lover, and I once made a bird hotel on my porch for a lost little dove that couldn’t fly. I shared it in my stories, even though it was weird AF, but people got so emotionally invested in this little bird and those people are my people. People still talk about it today. It was relatable and cute and showed I was human, not a marketing robot.
- Size doesn’t matter. I’ve made more sales with an audience of less than 200 than I did with over 10,000. If you have a small audience, love them and nurture them. The energy behind “Hey all four followers that I know and love! Today I’m going to show you how to XYZ!” versus “Oh, there are only four people on. I’m going to give it a minute to see if anyone else hops on” is real.
- Don’t be scared to serve/sell. So many people have a bad taste in their mouth from how they’ve been sold to in the past. If it doesn’t feel good, don’t sell using those tactics. But selling is serving: you can’t help anyone if they don’t know you exist. And serving is freedom for those who need your help. Selling can look like showing up on stories or live video and sharing tips. You don’t need to wrap your car or cold call (and I don’t recommend either of those tactics).
- Take action, every day. It’s easy to get overwhelmed when the to-do list is a mile long and the toddler will be up from his nap in an hour. Ask yourself, what can I do that will drive the needle forward the most? Can’t decide? It doesn’t matter. Just do anything.
- Create stuff that feels aligned AF. Not everything will be a slam dunk, learn from that and keep going. It’s hard to show up, both in launching and for the actual offer, when it’s not something you’re 100% behind. If it doesn’t feel right, it doesn’t mean scrap the whole thing and start over: one tiny piece could be off. Maybe the program needs to be 12 weeks instead of eight. Maybe they need an extra call, or a welcome video. What needs to change for you to be able to shout the offer from the rooftops? Bonus tip of advice here: sometimes it’s your mindset around serving and selling that’s off.
Where can people learn more?
Instagram is my fave platform to hang out on: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulbizaccelerator/ . I’m also on Clubhouse @jaiscurry, Tiktok, and run a free Facebook community for entrepreneurs. DM me anywhere to get access to my free Niche Checklist.