Unveiling Business Potential with Jessica Millhiser
Ever wonder why success doesn't always equal fulfillment? I'm Tim Salmons, and with 30 years experience as an actor and a career spanning work in the blue collar corporate medical field, as well as public service industries, I've seen and experienced the human condition at its best and worst. Here on powerful and unpolished, we will explore the everyday traps, draining our energy and hindering fulfillment. This isn't just another success podcast. It's about breaking free from patterns that hold you back and limit your potential.
Tim Intro:Join me on this transformative journey as we explore and identify limiting traps, detach from draining patterns, and rediscover the power within, creating a life that is truly powerful and unpolished.
Tim:Oh, hi, everybody. Welcome to Powerful and Unpolished. I'm Tim Salomons. I'm your host. We're having fun here.
Tim:I have Jessica Millhiser. She is, our guest today. And, we were just chatting right before we came online, so you kinda stumbled in on us. But, just to give you a little quick background about Jack Jessica. Jessica is the owner of J Mills Consulting, where her mission is to help entrepreneurs build better businesses.
Tim:She does this through strategic action collaboration and getting things done in real time every time. Jessica has been working in operations, administrative, and leadership capacity for almost 20 years and has received her master's degree in coaching and administration. This skill set is a passion that she has sustained throughout her working life in various industries, such as hospitality, recreation, aquatics, and nonprofits. After officially stepping out on her own in January 2021, right, you're like, yeah, I'm gonna ask you about that one. The joy of working with other women in business has soared.
Tim:There has been, no greater reward than these business owners than working with these business owners in their journey to success and whatever that looks like for them. Now when Jessica isn't working in her consulting practice, Jessica can be found paddling, biking, reading, cooking, moviegoing, and traveling. She is originally from Vermont and has lived in DC, Los Angeles, and now here in the lovely state of Colorado. And keep it a secret. It's it's horrible here.
Tim:Stay away. Anyway, and she and her husband, Joshua, happily they're happily child free with 2 crazy kitties that bring a lot of joy and love and excitement into their everyday lives. So that's cool. Welcome, Jessica.
Jessica Millhiser:Yeah. Thank you, Tim.
Tim:You, Joan. So, there's a lot here to sort of discover and play with. The first first thing I want to kind of jump off on, though it's more sort of business related. So what was it that had you jump off into your own business and helping entrepreneurs in 2021?
Jessica Millhiser:Yeah. That's a great question, and it's really I don't know. It's the JMC. So my business is J Mills Consulting. Right?
Jessica Millhiser:And sort of as an acronym nickname, I just call it JMC. So I always attribute, this is my JMC origin story, essentially. Right? So I was living in Los Angeles at the time. This was pre pandemic, obviously, and I was working as a director of operations for a swim school there.
Jessica Millhiser:It was a great job. The owner was awesome. We had a great relationship. And, the pandemic happened, And then my husband got laid off, and then we moved to Colorado because he got a new job in Denver. And I was like, oh gosh.
Jessica Millhiser:This is September 2020. I still need to make a living and work and figure out what I'm doing. So I was still working remotely with the gal with the swim school in LA. But then at in December 2020, her main instructor broke off. It was an amicable departure on all sides, to start her own program, and she reaches out to me and she's like, hey, Jess.
Jessica Millhiser:I'm starting my own program. I'm starting my own school, but I don't really know, like, how to run a business. Can you help me? And I was like, oh, okay. Yes.
Jessica Millhiser:I can help you. So I really attribute that moment, to JMC being born. And then I was able to spend all of 2021 really trying to figure out is what I do, basically, operations, business operations, back end logistics, is this something that I could do as a consultant? Is this something that I could do on my own as an independent? And I found that I could, and here we are.
Jessica Millhiser:Yeah.
Tim:Wow. Very cool. I I love that story, especially the origin aspect of it because Mhmm. We're always having origin development Mhmm. Throughout throughout our, you know, the clients you work with.
Tim:Even in our own lives, it's like there are moments that are happening that are influencing us. And where is that the origin? You know what I mean? It's like that may be in 5 years or 3 months or whatever it is. It's like all of a sudden, it's like, wow.
Jessica Millhiser:Like, this moment is here, and this moment really changed the the trajectory of my life
Tim:Yeah.
Jessica Millhiser:In a very unexpected, unanticipated, nonplanned for way. So it was cool.
Tim:Had you thought about it before then?
Jessica Millhiser:No. I had like, I call myself an accidental entrepreneur because this really wasn't, like, my original intent. However, I am extremely grateful that this is the life I'm currently living, and this is what I'm currently doing. And I feel super fortunate that, basically, I feel like the universe presents opportunities. And if I look back on my life, there have been several pivotal moments where I feel like the universe presented an opportunity.
Jessica Millhiser:And I am grateful that I had the awareness to recognize that and to be like, oh, I'm being handed this opportunity. I'm being given this thing. I am going to say yes. And in pretty much every single one of those moments, it changed my life in a really pivotal way for, like, the better, and it's been really awesome to think about that.
Tim:The fact that you have that awareness is delightful. I mean, it it because the thing is is far too often, people live the you know, we get caught up in our daily lives. They get caught up in their daily patterns, and they these opportunities keep presenting. It doesn't just happen once. Sometimes it happens multiple times, and it keeps getting shot down because the person isn't open to receiving it.
Tim:They're they're just reacting into this is what this is what my plan was. You know? There's that that quote that, you know, we make plans and god laughs. Mhmm. You know?
Tim:And that's sort of the funny aspect of it is is it's you you have this not only gratitude for it, but this awareness of, wow, looking back, look at the hindsight of Yeah. Very, very cool. Yeah. What is what is, so now that you're working with other entrepreneurs, what's 1 or 2 of the pitfalls that they have a tendency to step into that you can kinda go, oh, wow. You know?
Tim:They they just didn't realize this.
Jessica Millhiser:Yeah. So just a little bit of background, I guess, on what I do. So, really, what I do is operations, is internal logistics, really helping you establish a strong business foundation. So a lot of that comes back to business identity, client experience, client journey, internal, resources, documentation, process workflows, things like that. So that's really my zone of genius.
Jessica Millhiser:That's really where my expertise shines. And I find that a lot of entrepreneurs often skip most or all of those things. Not intentionally. Right? Certainly not intentionally.
Jessica Millhiser:But I feel like people who step into entrepreneurship, they tend to be like, okay. Well, I'm really good at this thing, or I wanna offer this thing, this service, this product, whatever. I need to have a website. I need to be on social media. I need to network.
Jessica Millhiser:I need to market. I need to get client. I need to make money. So they I feel like their gut instinct, and this is not a bad thing, is to go external. I need to go external to get all these things.
Jessica Millhiser:And that's amazing, and that's important, and that's great. But what happens when you get the clients? What happens when you have the conversations? Like, how does your business actually function once you go external and get the clients and get the money coming in? Like, what does your business flow?
Jessica Millhiser:How does it work? What does it look like? How does it actually function logistically so that you are providing a service that is sustainable, that is exceptional, that really demonstrates your expertise.
Tim:Yeah. What I'm hearing you say is it's it's also, elemental to establishing that relationship with the existing clientele. Like, you so you bring in a new client, and and this happens. I've seen this for years. I've heard people talk about it for years where they spend so much energy getting new clients that they're not very good at taking care of their current clients.
Jessica Millhiser:Mhmm.
Tim:And then their current clients go away, and they're wondering, you know, it's it's a heck of a lot easier to hang on to a client than it is to chase down new ones. Mhmm. Right? Mhmm. And so what what you're building is is how do you stay in communication?
Tim:How do you stay in, you know, rapport with with that individual or that company or whatever it is that you your business is. And all all businesses are similar yet different.
Jessica Millhiser:Sure. And, like, what is that client journey? Right? Like, one of the things I really try to teach is, like, what is your client journey? Like, through the lens of logistics and really thinking about, okay.
Jessica Millhiser:How can I simplify my life, my back end, my workflows? Yes. Yes. Yes. But then how does that actually impact the client perspective, the client experience?
Jessica Millhiser:When you're really trying to guide, you're trying to create consistency and reliability and repeatability even if you're a solopreneur. Like, this is applicable to solopreneurs, to people with large teams. Right? So really just thinking about basically simplifying the way that you run your business and making sure that that business foundation is set up so that you can go external and get all the clients and support your clients and and business the way you're looking to.
Tim:So what do you I don't this conversation goes into my head of so what do you say to an a solopreneur? Because I think it was great that you highlighted that spectrum between big corp or teams to solopreneur. Mhmm. If you have a solopreneur who doesn't really have an expertise, I mean, you you have this sort of background, but what do you say to someone who's they don't think they can afford it. They're not sure what they're even affording.
Tim:You know what I mean? It's like, a lot of times, they'll talk themselves out before they ever even get the information that's going to lead them to success. Because sometimes people shoot down the opportunity that's the door wide door open for them. Does that make sense?
Jessica Millhiser:Mhmm. So so you mean in terms of them taking a chance on entrepreneurship? Or
Tim:No. Like like, a lot of times, it's sorta as you described. Entrepreneurs, they might be visionary, and they may be going out doing the the elementals, you know, visionary big stuff as I hit my microphone. But, they may be going out doing that and realizing, well, I'm not really good at social media, or, I've got that set up, or, you know, I'm not good at the email. What is it?
Tim:The Mailchimp or whatever these other things
Jessica Millhiser:that keep doing kind of all that kind of stuff.
Tim:So a lot of times, I think what it is is and and the only reason why I asked this is after networking for many, many years, there's a lot of entrepreneurs that don't even ask the questions because they don't wanna look like, I I don't know. I can't afford it. Does that make sense?
Jessica Millhiser:They can't afford to outsource the support.
Tim:Yeah. That's what they're thinking because they're a solopreneur. Like you said, they're just they're they're breaking out. And a lot of times, they can't not not afford it.
Jessica Millhiser:Yeah. And that's really the thing. Right? It's like, what is it costing you to not get this help? What is it costing you to not bring in support in this capacity?
Jessica Millhiser:And you also have to think about, you know, business identity work is something that I do. Right? And, really, part of that is identifying, a, what success looks like to you. B, does the vision of your business align with that definition of success? Right?
Jessica Millhiser:And then what is your mission? What are your values? And then creating this identity. This is your foundation. This is how you make those decisions.
Jessica Millhiser:Right? So in answer to your question, if, let's say, their vision or their idea of success or their goals are, I wanna grow my business. I wanna be sustainable. I want to outsource this, this, and this. Well, then that's the answer to your question.
Jessica Millhiser:If you know your vision is to be x, y, and z, then you know very clearly, okay. Yes. At a certain point, I will have to outsource support. Yeah. And what does that look like, and how can I take tangible, actionable steps towards making that goal?
Jessica Millhiser:And maybe breaking that down, that's like, okay. I need to be making this much revenue a month. Okay. I need to, like, create a list of if I were to outsource social media, I would like this person to create 3 posts a week. I would like them to do one email newsletter a week.
Jessica Millhiser:I would like them to do 2 blog posts a month. Like, whatever that is. Like, if your goal is to outsource social media, really, truly break that down. Like, what does that support actually look like to you? And then you can start taking strides on what that looks like.
Tim:I love that you said that, too, because when you were talking about, you know, what is their vision and and all of that, and it's I kinda smile over here even though this, you know, this is just a audio recording, but, I smile because how often I just wanna ask you this. How often do people have one concept that is so out of step? It's like, I have this concept that I wanna be this kind of business person, but then their practices, their applications, it's a mishmash. I mean, how often do you come across that?
Jessica Millhiser:You know, it's not really so much that I'm coming across that contradiction itself. I am more coming across people that haven't thought about it like that.
Tim:Right.
Jessica Millhiser:People that haven't connected the 2, more so than than the other because they are, again, I think just in the entrepreneurship push. Okay. I've gotta go get money, and I've gotta go get clients, and I've gotta go do all these things that they haven't actually sat down to really think about, to brain dump, to brainstorm, whatever. Okay. This is actually truly what success looks like and means to me.
Jessica Millhiser:And, currently, my business vision is not aligned with that. I need to make some tweaks. Or, currently, actually, yeah, I'm doing pretty good. My business vision is aligned with that. And I think really honing in on those two things in particular, your idea of success and your business vision, that becomes such a game changer in terms of how you move your business forward,
Tim:in
Jessica Millhiser:terms of what you say yes or no to, in terms of when you outsource or when you hire on a team or how big you actually wanna get, how busy you actually wanna be. Like, all of that stuff becomes so much easier to decipher. It's it's really incredible. And if you haven't done that work before, I would highly encourage it because it's it's, I I think it's a game changer.
Tim:It's essential. It's, clarity is power. And a lot of times people you know, it it it goes along with what you were just sharing. What came to me is and I call it, especially entrepreneurs, you wear so many hats. And a lot of times, you're wearing the wrong hat for what you're doing.
Tim:And it's realizing, Oh, wait a minute, I haven't switched hats. If I switched hats, and I was in alignment with my focus, then, you know, you get a lot more done. And it's that clarity. It's it's essential to clarity. And it's for all of us.
Tim:It's not totally we're not on some sort of soapbox out here saying do this. It's, you know, it's part of the human experience, and especially being an entrepreneur. So Yeah. Yeah. So I love what you're saying there.
Tim:How did you so you said that you grew up in Vermont?
Jessica Millhiser:Mhmm.
Tim:Okay. Fill me in on how you because you have you have this awareness about you that I really think is pretty cool. So, you know, what was your upbringing? What was it how did you grow up? Did you grow up playing sports?
Tim:Tell tell me a little bit about you.
Jessica Millhiser:Yeah. Yeah. So, born and raised in Vermont. I lived there. I went to my undergrad there.
Jessica Millhiser:I I grew up in a house on 10 acres of land. We were live we were on dirt roads. We were very rustic, very rural, very country kind of vibes. People laugh at this, but my graduating class was 29 people.
Tim:Wow.
Jessica Millhiser:And I was in a k through 12 school where there were only 500 people total. So it was very small, very intimate, but very I don't know. Like, I feel like my parents were kind of hippies, but they had, like you know, my dad was an accountant, and my mom worked for the state of Vermont. And I don't know. I just had, like, a really I just small town country kind of upbringing.
Jessica Millhiser:I did play sports. I was in band. I did do chorus, all of those little things.
Tim:Nice.
Jessica Millhiser:But I feel like I I don't know how to summarize this exactly, but I feel like I was very independent from a very young age, and I was very responsible. I've always been very responsible. And I don't know. I feel like that has allowed me to have the sense of awareness that I have, understand I don't know. I feel like maybe I grew up faster than some people grow up.
Jessica Millhiser:I don't know.
Tim:Well, yeah. I mean, some people may call it older soul, may maybe, you know, a certain experience, maybe whatever you wanna call it, but it's you may just be one of those people that has the wherewithal of you know, you're you're listening on many different levels at the same time.
Jessica Millhiser:Yeah. And, you know, I won't go into too much detail, but there were definitely some personal and family challenges growing up that I think sort of forced me to take the lead, to be independent, to grow up a little bit faster. Mhmm. And I, you know, look back on that time sometimes. And when situations like that come up, you can either be like, oh, like, woe is me and this happened and whatever whatever.
Jessica Millhiser:Or you can be like, okay. Like, that was an experience. Those were things I lived with, lived through, all of that, and it really made me the person that I am today. And I am really grateful for that. So I I just I guess I appreciate that that is my perspective on that.
Tim:Nice.
Jessica Millhiser:Because it could go a different way sometimes.
Tim:Absolutely. Did you have any siblings?
Jessica Millhiser:Yep. I have a younger brother.
Tim:Did you beat up on him?
Jessica Millhiser:I'm sorry?
Tim:Did you beat up on him?
Jessica Millhiser:I was not the nicest older sister. I'm gonna be honest.
Tim:Alright. It's it's now out there in the airwaves.
Jessica Millhiser:It is. I'm sorry. That's just the truth. I'm fully transparent. But we have definitely developed a much better relationship, more loving and all of that as as we've gotten older.
Jessica Millhiser:So I'm I'm grateful for that.
Tim:So you grew up in Vermont. You went to undergrad there. So how'd you end up in DC?
Jessica Millhiser:Well, again, you talk talk about these universe moments. Right? So universe moment brought me to DC. Another universe moment brought me to LA. But, basically, I was I had graduated college.
Jessica Millhiser:I was just I was working in hospitality. I had grad okay. So my undergrad is in, journalism and creative writing. And full transparency, my goal was always I wanted to be, like, a sports reporter or something like that or write for Sports Illustrated. You know, I went to my I got my graduate degree when I was living in Los Angeles.
Jessica Millhiser:That's in coaching and technically athletic administration. But looking back, it's really a business degree, but with a focus in athletics. And so my original idea, my original concept was, well, I wanna be an athletic director. I wanna be in a college or in a school somewhere, and I wanna be an athletic tech director. I wanna run an athletic program.
Jessica Millhiser:Life has some other plans and pivot, pivot, pivot. Here we are. But so yeah. So after undergrad in hospitality, my mom got a job for with the Department of Agriculture down in DC, and I wasn't doing much in Vermont. And I was like, okay.
Jessica Millhiser:Well, I can stay in Vermont, or I can go down in DC and check it out with mom. So I did that. Mhmm. And I was there for about 3 years. I was working for an international nonprofit, and that was very cool because I was interacting with people that were in Toronto, that were in South Africa, that were in London and Australia.
Jessica Millhiser:I think we even had a board member that was in Egypt. So it was a very cool experience for me. I was in my young twenties. I think I was maybe 23 ish, and I had a lot of responsibility with that job. And it was very cool to interact with that level of professional and internationally, to boot.
Jessica Millhiser:So that was a very that was a very cool experience that I had in DC.
Tim:Nice. Very nice. Yeah. So you you came to Colorado because your husband got laid off, and then he got a job here. Mhmm.
Tim:Had you had you been to Colorado before? Had it been some place that you were interested in? Or it was just, fill fill the need?
Jessica Millhiser:Yeah. So funny enough, Josh and I, my husband, we had come to Denver for the very first time to celebrate New Year's Eve 2019 into 2020. So, like, it was basically we came for New Year's Eve not knowing that 8 months later, we would be moving to Denver. So when we were when he got laid off, we were still living in LA, and I was ready to go. I had been in LA a lot longer than I had expected to be, because, truthfully, I actually really like to move.
Jessica Millhiser:The logistics of moving suck, but I really like being in different places, exploring, experiencing different people, different cultures, different parts of the country. We love to travel. That's why we love traveling. So I actually really enjoy moving, so I was ready. And so when he got laid off, I was like, now is our opportunity.
Jessica Millhiser:Let's take it, you know, and see where we can go. So we were actually looking at Austin, Denver, Portland, and Seattle. And he ended up landing the job in Denver, and we were like, okay. Great. We don't know anybody in Denver.
Jessica Millhiser:That was the only city that we didn't know anybody. But he got the job here, and, honestly, we're super happy. I love, love, love it here. Be quiet. I know.
Jessica Millhiser:I know. Keep it a secret. Keep it a secret. But, yeah, we're we're very happy that we landed here. And, yeah, I think this month is our 4 year anniversary here, so we're excited.
Jessica Millhiser:Yeah.
Tim:Well, congratulations from a native. I'm
Jessica Millhiser:Thank you. Thank you, Kim.
Tim:I'll be one of those natives that'll be, like, going, go away. No.
Jessica Millhiser:I know. Kids. And then everyone was like, oh, everyone from California is coming here. And I would just, like, slink away, like, really sorry about that guys. We're one of those.
Tim:What's funny is everybody everybody's from everybody, everywhere. I mean, I've I've seen it happen since growing up, and it's like people talk about certain states. Oh, they're from this state or they're from that state, and it's like going, they're from all states. I mean, if you really listen, it's but human beings have a tendency to get caught up in their patterns. So
Jessica Millhiser:Well, yeah. And if we wanna go back to the universe stuff and pattern breaking and stuff like that, I can just talk real quick about my DC to LA move Yeah. Because that was really a universe moment. And, basically, I won't get into details, but I was just in a situation that I was like, meh, I think I'm over it. I think I'm done.
Jessica Millhiser:Because DC, while it has a lot of opportunity and it is a very interesting perspective of people and culture and things, For me, it was very much like everybody there is in government or military or finance or lobbyists or whatever. And while I enjoyed my 3 years there, I was definitely like, okay. This isn't really my vibe. So my friend in LA was like, hey. I need a roommate in a month.
Jessica Millhiser:Do you wanna come? And I basically took 24 hours, and I was like, again, this is the universe providing an opportunity, so I'm gonna say yes before I can talk myself out of it. So So I pretty much decided in 24 hours, and I was out there 30 days later. No job, but I had a place to live. So I don't know.
Jessica Millhiser:I think if if you're hearing anything from this podcast, just be aware of universe opportunities, universe presenting things to you, and grab a hold of them if you can.
Tim:Well, I I love that you're saying that, and I'm gonna take it to the next level or layer of awareness, which is this. You did this because you had a sense of trust and faith in yourself and your ability to adapt.
Jessica Millhiser:Mhmm. Yes.
Tim:If there's anything I after, you know, I've said it before, I I in one form or fashion, I've been an actor for 35 years. And, improvisation was one of the skills that I avoided for the first handful of years that I was doing acting Because it was like, you know, you really put your butt out there. Yeah. And, I finally, you know, bit the bullet and realized how powerful the art and application of improvisation is. And if there's anything you can teach to any soul out there in the world is you'd be surprised how powerful you are when you step into the unknown.
Tim:Mhmm. Yeah. And most people are so afraid of stepping out of that comfort zone because one, they don't trust themselves. Now they may, they may disguise it as I don't trust the situation or I don't trust this. It's like going, no, let's really get clear.
Tim:You're not trusting your ability to adapt. Mhmm. And, you know, for some people, yeah, it may be truthful. The situation may not be optimal. Don't step into thing.
Tim:You know? Don't do it just to do it. Get in a car with a stranger for you know? Oh, you'd, Uber. Oh, never mind.
Tim:No. It's like
Jessica Millhiser:Wrong error for that.
Tim:Yeah. Don't get in a car with a stranger. Oh, I guess do it do it all the time now.
Jessica Millhiser:Here. Hold on.
Tim:I I'm drunk. I'm drunk. I don't know where I'm at, but they're they're supposed to take me home. You know? Great.
Jessica Millhiser:That's my favorite.
Tim:But yeah. But, but the thing is is it's like, yeah, I'm not saying, you know, be, irresponsible. But what I'm saying is we hide behind the our experience of fear, our experience of rationalization, justification, realization, all this kind of stuff. Mhmm. And what I love about your story is the opportunity came up for you.
Tim:You really sat with it, whether it was for a day or whether it was for a little bit longer time. And then when you stepped into it, it was like, hey. I don't have anything, but I'm going to I came here, and I'm gonna adapt, and you did.
Jessica Millhiser:Yes. And I also to add to that, I think it's something that the more you continue to flex it, the more you continue to say yes to it Yep. The easier it becomes. And so then you become less hesitant to say yes to these opportunities, to take chances, to take risks on these opportunities when they are presented because you've already done it 1, 2, 3, 5, 10 times knowing, hey. It's worked out for the most part.
Jessica Millhiser:I mean, not to say that everything is gonna work out all the time a 100%, but it's basically like a muscle. The more you do it, the more you use it, the more comfortable you get leaning into it.
Tim:Right. Well and it's it's very much, we're we're we're in alignment here big time because I'm just, like, I'm appreciating what you're saying, and I'm I just wanna keep taking it deeper for our listeners, which is, you know, let's say you do make the decision and you do go and it doesn't turn out like roses as you hoped. Mhmm. The aspect of I think about when they you know, their first flight to the moon. Mhmm.
Tim:You know, between all of their trajectory, it was the the statistics says that they were only on point 3 to 4% of the time, 2 to 3% of the time, that they they're they're they were constantly readjusting their trajectory
Jessica Millhiser:Yes.
Tim:Because, it was so far away, though, you know, I mean, if you hadn't done it, you would've missed the moon by, you know, tens of thousands of miles, you know, all that kind of stuff. Yeah. And so it's sort of like that. When you step into this opportunity, as long as you are doing it, choose it, make it happen, own the choice Mhmm. And then know that it's taking you that direction for a reason.
Tim:Mhmm. And Absolutely. You you you will later on it's like, I might have said this in another show, but it's it's always a song that I found, I thought it was a cool song. It's a country song, and I forget, Little Rascal or somebody that sings it, but it talks about, god bless the broken road that led me straight to you. And he's talking about, you know, in in the verses, it's like talking about, like maybe this old relationship or this old interaction or this old person, all this kind of stuff.
Tim:But it was like each one of those led me to where I found my goal. I found my happiness. I found my zen.
Jessica Millhiser:Yes. I relate to that a lot, and it's funny that you say that because my husband and I, we we have a lot of these deep conversations. And one of the things that we talk about is, you know, regret as just like an entity. Right? Like and we kind of are of the mindset that I feel like you really only regret stuff when you are unhappy with where you've ended up.
Jessica Millhiser:And, you know, everyone has their own personal experience, their own path, their own journey, and certainly hardships and trials and tribulations and triumphs and joys along the way. But I think what you said is key. You know? Like, understanding that all of the point all of the previous points in your life have brought you to where you are right now, where you are today. And so when I think about all the changes and, you know, hardships and things that I've gone through, I don't regret.
Jessica Millhiser:That's why I don't regret any of it because I'm just like, I am so beyond happy, beyond grateful for this life that I'm living right now that had I made a different choice in any other part of my life, I would be probably in a completely different place and time. And I think that is just wild when I think about it.
Tim:Absolutely. It's, well, it it takes a deep awareness. Most people are just in these, you know, survival basic survival awareness.
Jessica Millhiser:Sure.
Tim:You know? So you're you're you're you have a practice of kinda like, wow. Let's look at this. Let's let's explore this. It's it's a state of being that takes you deeper.
Tim:I mean, I I I liken it to this. This is this is a this classroom this this this lifetime is a classroom, Mhmm.
Jessica Millhiser:And it's
Tim:an opportunity for you to grow the essence that is you. Mhmm. Whatever that is, whatever that looks like, it's your opportunity. Mhmm. And statistically, I've heard this time and time again that people more often regret the things they didn't do versus the things they did do.
Jessica Millhiser:Yeah. Totally.
Tim:You know? And the fact is is the universe this is how I relate to it. The universe is constantly giving you feedback. Are you listening?
Jessica Millhiser:Right.
Tim:Because a lot of times, especially in the last few years, more people are listening to be offended or listening to be, justified in their version of limitation and reaction and and fear and lack and scarcity and all this. Yeah. And it's like the universe is giving you feedback, and yet you're playing the victim instead of saying, wow. This has actually given me some insight to maybe consider something else.
Jessica Millhiser:Right. You know? And I think it comes to you know, I've been I just actually finished a book called the soul of money by Lynn Twist, which would highly recommend. Really, really liked it because I feel like we have gotten into this space of scarcity mindset. And not just within the last few years, but I think it's, you know, kind of been ingrained in us and generational and all of that stuff.
Jessica Millhiser:And I have really been working to shift that perspective, in particular with money. But, like, the the abundance mindset can be I guess I will rephrase and say, abandoning the scarcity mindset is difficult because I I feel like there's just it's such an ingrained thing. Right? And so actively choosing to jump into step into abundance, step into possibility, step into opportunity, step into, hey, the universe is presenting. Let's say yes or whatever.
Jessica Millhiser:You really have to, I think, have reached a level and be comfortable with owning your own truth, with self reflection, with self actualization, and really understanding, like, here are my strengths, here are my pitfalls, here are my things, my areas of opportunity, and understanding that this is you, but then understanding that I can work to correct this.
Tim:Okay.
Jessica Millhiser:You know? And it just opens up so many more doors, and you can live a more joyful life when you're in this state.
Tim:And I I yeah. I love I love this conversation, so thank you for that. I love that insight and adding that. And I just wanna add one more thing to that, only because I deal with it a lot in my work.
Jessica Millhiser:Mhmm.
Tim:And it's this, maybe you don't have to correct it as opposed to maybe it's just a different choice. We live we live in a culture, we live in a world that is constantly reinforcing that we're broken, something's not right, something needs to be fixed. I mean, we do it every day. I mean, even even businesses are constantly telling you this is not enough. This is not, you know.
Tim:And so the aspect is is, you know, this is my work, which is you're not broken. You're on your path. Mhmm. You've learned what you've learned up to this point. Mhmm.
Tim:What's available is before you. Your better years are available before you should you choose to engage them. And we are not broken. We are not. And, you know, some people will, you know, not like that statement because, you know, a lot of people don't know who they'd be without their brokenness, if that makes sense.
Jessica Millhiser:Being willing to look past that.
Tim:Yeah. It
Jessica Millhiser:it did. To move forward beyond like, who am I beyond that? Who am I outside of that? Or, you know, knowing that it's a part of you. Because we all have things in our life, traumas and and things
Tim:like
Jessica Millhiser:that, and it's just being able to recognize the part that they played in developing you and shifting your path or journey.
Tim:Right.
Jessica Millhiser:And then being able to be like, okay. That's what happened. This is what resulted in that. How can I move forward from here?
Tim:Yeah. Yeah. It does it it's not about denying what's happened to you at all. No. It's really about fully owning it, but realizing that you're so much more than the labels you attach yourself to.
Tim:Mhmm. Mhmm. So and that's what's really kinda cool. So now that we've gone deep, let's go a little bit wide here. So you talked about, in in your endeavors, you're found paddling.
Tim:What do you mean paddling? Like
Jessica Millhiser:Paddleboarding.
Tim:Paddleboarding. Okay. That's what I thought you meant. But then I was like, what's the what's the new game now that everyone's a rave with with the What the heck? Pickleball.
Jessica Millhiser:Pickleball. Yes.
Tim:Yeah. And I'm like, you know, so I mean
Jessica Millhiser:We haven't gone there yet, but we've talked about it. We have my husband actually brought us bought us pickleball paddles. So we have them. We just haven't gone yet.
Tim:You you'll have to to let me know how it goes when you do make it out there. I'm I've never never done it. I've only seen it. So Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Jessica Millhiser:I mean Now it
Tim:says you like going to the movies. What kind of movies?
Jessica Millhiser:So kinda like, we love the action y. Like, we are big Marvel fans. We love the fantasy stuff. Oh, well, did we see recently? Fall guy was one of our more recent movie goes.
Jessica Millhiser:Oh my god. It was so good. It's basically an ode to stunt men, stunt people in the movie industry. It was oh my gosh. There it was so good.
Jessica Millhiser:It was Brian Gosling and Emily Blunt. They were fantastic.
Tim:You should go listen to, our earlier podcast then with, Duke Jackson because he's a stuntman.
Jessica Millhiser:Oh my god. I should.
Tim:Yeah. So if you if you like stuntman, he was on the show, months ago. But Oh,
Jessica Millhiser:I will. That's awesome. Yeah. It's a great movie.
Tim:Yeah. Awesome. Cool. So movie, you like action? You like the fantasy?
Tim:No horror movies? You're not into horror movies?
Jessica Millhiser:My gosh. I don't like the scaries. I don't like the scary stuff, period. I can't do it.
Tim:My wife and I are going to, in a week and a half, we're going to, university, at Universal Studios Yep. And the haunted houses there.
Jessica Millhiser:Haunted house.
Tim:Got 10 haunted houses. So
Jessica Millhiser:So when we were living, we were living in Sherman Oaks part of LA. We were in Culver City and then Sherman Oaks, and we were living in LA. And we would go to Universal Studios and stuff, but I never did the haunted house because I just it got me very stressed out because I think it's, like, legit haunted house, like scary, like jump scares and things like that. So I'm gonna I'm gonna root for you, Tim, to make it through that.
Tim:We went 1 year, and there was this 12 year old that was hanging with us going through these houses. And he's like he's like, you're not scared. What's wrong with you? And I said, if it scares you, look it in the face and figure out what it is. And he's like, what?
Jessica Millhiser:He's like, it's not in your level. Yeah. It's fine.
Tim:The funny thing was is this 12 year old looked exactly like Justin Bieber. I mean, it was like we were running around the the the park with this mother and her 3 kids, and one of them was and it was just it was it was a lot of fun. They were great. So, and traveling. So you like traveling.
Tim:So tell me about traveling where you've been to? Where do you wanna go?
Jessica Millhiser:How long do we have?
Tim:Yeah. Well, top 3.
Jessica Millhiser:So, yeah, love traveling. Again, I just love being immersed in different cultures, different places, learning about like, you can learn so much about people through the way that they socialize, the the food, the drink, the the whole vibe of things. I guess we've been to quite a few places. My husband proposed to me in Prague, so that has a special place in my heart. And we were at the top of the castle overlooking the Charles Bridge, and I like to say that I missed half of it because I didn't know he was proposing.
Jessica Millhiser:So good thing he recorded it, and I could watch it later because I was like, wait. What? What's happening? So it's a fun story. We went to Scotland on our honeymoon.
Jessica Millhiser:That place is magical if you've ever been. Absolutely magical. And Italy was one of my top, top, tops. Like, that was the very first place that we went together, and I just love everything about Italy.
Tim:We need to talk because Italy is one of my tops. We went there in 2017, so I love that you said that. We
Jessica Millhiser:were in 2017.
Tim:Really? When?
Jessica Millhiser:We we were in April, like, early April, end of March, early April.
Tim:We were in July, and I was having heat strokes. No. Oh. It was horrible.
Jessica Millhiser:Yeah. I've heard it gets very hot. We avoid the summers over there.
Tim:You you were you were smart. We actually went because we we, we had a friend that, had a villa on a vineyard. Oh, interesting. They happened to be there, and it was like, okay. I guess we'll travel in the heat because we get to go hang out with our friends for a week in Tuscany.
Tim:You know? It was like going, okay. Alright. You know? But I'll tell you, being being in Rome without as hot as it was, I took 3 showers a day.
Tim:I was just like
Jessica Millhiser:It's so sticky.
Tim:Yeah. But April April was more yeah. I would rather go in that time.
Jessica Millhiser:It was perfect because it was, like, still a little bit cool.
Tim:Yeah. Nice. Very nice.
Jessica Millhiser:Great.
Tim:Prague, totally on my to do list.
Jessica Millhiser:Yeah. Amazing. So I will say we usually combine countries. So, like, that trip was Italy, Prague, and Paris. And then our honeymoon was London, Scotland, and then Dublin.
Jessica Millhiser:So we like to try to hit as much as we can. We try to maximize our time.
Tim:Right.
Jessica Millhiser:But Prague was cool. We were only there for 2 nights, and it was just I don't know. It kind of is like a storybook, kind of like a gothicky storybook fairy tale vibe in terms of, like, architecture. They have a beautiful little town square where they had, you know, kind of a market and stuff, and it was well lit up at night. I would absolutely go back there.
Jessica Millhiser:It was it was very cool. Oh, and we went to Budapest last summer, and I would go back there too. It was the furthest east we'd ever been in Europe. And, oh my gosh, the history is incredible. Abs the architecture is cool.
Jessica Millhiser:Their their their stories, it's just I don't know. I love it. I love that. But Prague was amazing. I would absolutely recommend, and I hope to get back there.
Tim:Wow. Yeah. I I I love castles. I love the old history. It's it's so we're gonna talk offline because I really want I I yeah.
Tim:And I would
Jessica Millhiser:Yes. I I'll talk travel anytime. And so I'm turning 40 next year. So wait. Yeah.
Jessica Millhiser:Yeah. And, I'm very excited. And so Josh is like, okay. Well, 40, like, that's a big year. Like, we should do a bucket list trip.
Jessica Millhiser:So I think we're gonna do New Zealand because we've moved in. And it's, like, really far. So I was like, I feel like New Zealand could warrant a bucket list trip.
Tim:New Zealand is beautiful. It's awesome. Do, if you fly over, fly over on, like, what is it, Qantas or or one of the the New Zealand Airlines. We we flew we flew over
Jessica Millhiser:I don't
Tim:know if it was New Zealand Air or what it was, but we flew over with that and loved it. It was the plane was full. But K. I mean, they give you wine and get you sort of tipsy to go to sleep.
Jessica Millhiser:Great time. Enjoy the flight. Yeah.
Tim:You're in a flight for 16 hours. It was insane. Yeah. But, but then we flew back on another airline, and, it was like it was like taking a cab versus limousine.
Jessica Millhiser:Oh, it's cute.
Tim:Yeah. So But yeah. No. Have a great time on that one. That one is awesome.
Tim:Like, if you have questions on that, I'll give you some tips.
Jessica Millhiser:Awesome. I would love it. I'll we'll offline. We'll offline, Chad.
Tim:Offline. Offline it. So I could ask you more. I can go further. We've we've been going for a while.
Tim:I just wanna dial it back to your business, though. So with your business and how you are aware and on many levels, That's what I love about this conversation as you just demonstrated. There's so much awareness. And and if you are an entrepreneur who could who has been thinking about the resources that Jessica has, realize that she's listening. She's operating on many different levels, and that that brings value and asset to what she does.
Tim:What I would ask, Jessica, is kinda give us your you know, what's your website? And if somebody had any questions, tell us about a little bit about that real quick.
Jessica Millhiser:Yeah. Absolutely. My website is jmillsconsulting.com. And, a lot of what I really practice is just simplifying your business, is helping you find more clarity, more focus, and more direction. Like, I wanna help you build a business that is sustainable, that can grow to the capacity that you are seeking.
Jessica Millhiser:Right? When I talk about what is your idea of success, like, I really mean that. And how can I help you achieve that goal? Right? So it's a what I do is really I call it operations consulting because it's really we dig down.
Jessica Millhiser:We dig in. We get to work together. It's very collaborative. Like, we are getting things done real time every time, but it's also very strategic. Like, I wanna help you figure out, like, where are you now and where are you trying to go, and what is that gap, and how can we close it, and what tangible actions can we really take together to get you closer to that goal.
Jessica Millhiser:So, if anybody is in that space or might find that space helpful, I'm always happy to have a conversation. We can like, a no pressure conversation. Let's talk about where you're at, where you're trying to go, and if I'm the right person to help you get there. Because I truly get so much joy out of helping people achieve their dreams, achieve their goals, achieve their objectives, and live a simpler, easier life, like, in business as well. Right?
Jessica Millhiser:Like, we're looking for that consistency. We're looking for that reliability, and that's really what I help to try and
Tim:bring. Nice. Very nice. Well, it's so great to to have be developing the friendship that we have and learning more about you, especially, you know, we network through women entrepreneur network.
Jessica Millhiser:Yeah.
Tim:Yeah. The e women network, which is great. And, so thank you for coming on to the show today. Maybe we'll have you back, and we'll go deeper into some other adventures that you'd like to try out or have tried out and see where that takes us.
Jessica Millhiser:I love it. And if anybody does wanna connect, I'm on LinkedIn as Jessica Millhiser. You can find me on Instagram as jmails_consulting, and you can email me at jessica@jmailsconsulting.com.
Tim:Perfect. Perfect. Thank you so much, Jessica. For our viewers out there, if you really appreciate this and really, appreciate what Jessica has to offer, reach out to her. Just ask some questions.
Tim:Get some more information. There's not it doesn't cost you anything to ask questions. So, and if you like the show, please give us a a review or share us with your friend or give us a like or whatever you do out there in this world. But, thank you very much for taking the time and listening, and we hope that you have a great day. And until next time, cheers.
Tim Intro:Thanks for joining me today. If you've resonated with any of the stories or insights shared today, don't forget to hit that subscribe button. Your support means the world, so feel free to share your thoughts using hashtag powerful and unpolished podcast. Until next time, stay powerful, stay unpolished.
