Jen Potter Shares Her Incredible Story to Success

Kevin Harrington
Hi, I’m Kevin Harrington, an original shark from the hit television show Shark Tank and you’re listening to the underdog podcast.

Pamela Bardhi
Hello, everyone, and welcome to the underdog Podcast. Today I have an incredible guest here with me one love her energy. She’s amazing. Jen is in the building. How are you, Jen?

Jen Potter
I’m good. Thank you so much for having me.

Pamela Bardhi
Thank you so much for being here. My goodness, I remember the first time we chatted on the phone and your energy was just like through the roof. And I was like this girl, I just love her. Like, I need to know her story, what she’s about and all the things and I heard snippets of it. And our last call, and I just absolutely adore you and can’t wait to get into your story today. Thank you so much for being here.

Jen Potter
Well, thank you for having me. It was that instant connection, right? Like, as soon as I started talking to you, it just everything flew out of my mouth. And I was like, we need to keep talking. We need to be friends.

Pamela Bardhi
Yes, I’m here for it. I’m here for it. Your journey has been absolutely tremendous. And I always love starting with this question. Because it’s a great way to kind of go back in time a little bit, or maybe present, depending on you. So question for you, what inspired you on your path to where you are today?

Jen Potter
I probably have to say, my upbringing, you know, coming from New Bedford. And it’s ironic because my office is here. It’s funny how we always end up back where we were. And there was just something that always pulled me back to this area. I grew up in very, you know, in poverty, we didn’t have a lot of money. My dad was an entrepreneur never actually moved forward with a lot of his businesses, super, super smart guy. But you know, never had the resources to be successful. But there was just something always about it.

Like he always had that entrepreneurial spirit. He always wanted to be in business. And he’s such a people person, my dad is such a people person. And I used to say, it was something that he did when he was in business. He failed and instead of failing forward and picking up and starting all over again, he didn’t. There was just something so disheartening in that and I wanted to learn what was it that he did, that I could do better to keep moving forward in business? Then once I learned those skills, what could I do to teach other people those skills? So it was taking that, you know, some people look at it as a negative.
And I think I even looked at as a negative for a really long time where I was just like, oh, yeah, no, my dad failed. And he, you know, should have been in business. But he didn’t keep going. I looked at it as a negative thing. But I started really changing my thought process of how could I learn from these things? How could we, you know, evolve and do it better and teach other people how to do it, too. So I’d say I’d say my upbringing and the inspiration for my dad.

Pamela Bardhi
I love that. So he’s an entrepreneur by trade.

Jen Potter
Yeah, just natural. And I mean, there was a lot of other entrepreneurs in our family too. And it was like that same type of thing. They didn’t have the skill sets, or they didn’t have the education behind it, or they didn’t have the resources. There’s so many resources out there now. Especially with coaching and consultants and free programmes that offer all kinds of things. And my background is not in business at all. I actually my degrees in exercise, health, science and biology. So I am a science nerd by trade. Then I went to be an analyst and I am a numbers person. I loved it.

It made me super excited to like do numbers. But there was nothing tangible at the end of it. I was like, No, I did a report. That’s fantastic. I get up, I do my job, I come home, and everything would shut off. And I felt like I needed something that was gratifying. How could I help other people? What my purpose, I would always get around with my mentors. I’m like, my purpose is to help people find their purpose. It is. But then like, I got really specific, like I had an aha moment, even not that long ago. My purpose is to help people realise that they are not a product of their environment. And that no matter where we grew up, in, no matter where we come from, you can do anything and I’m proof.

Pamela Bardhi
I love that you use that as inspiration like at such a young age. It’s so fascinating how like our upbringing really affects like who we are. They say that the years one through seven are the imprinting stage, which is really fascinating. So it’s like you watch everything around you, you absorb it all. And that’s who you become right. And so like absolutely, Nouriel roots, and then that’s why we come back. we always come back to it, right, which is super fascinating.

I love that job. And I mean, when you see that at a young age, it just changes you. Like for me when I was 10 years old, being in the restaurant business. I didn’t know how much it would shake me to be honest. Like be able to engage with people interact with them. See, you know, how they react if there’s a conflict, conflict resolution, like all of these things that, to me feels like second nature. Yeah, but it’s really not

Jen Potter
Because it was ingrained in you. So you’re you’re absorbing all of that from a super young age. And as a mom, like I have three kids under the age of 10. I hope that they see what I am doing and why I do it. Especially in their age since they’ve been Since my first daughter was born, 10 years ago, I was diagnosed with a heart condition, I’ve had a heart attack. I’ve gone through some, like really live traumatic things. And if I could teach my kids anything, is that no matter what someone tells you. You can do anything, whatever life hands you, you can do anything.

If you’re told you can’t do it, you’re gonna go ahead and do it. You’re gonna find the resources, if you want it bad enough, and my kids are in that stage. I want them to absorb that I want them to know that like, their mom is a badass. That life handed you all of these things, what are you going to do about it. You can sit back and cry, or you can move forward and you can change the world. That’s my job. I want to change the world.

Pamela Bardhi
So question for you. Like, what did you want to be when you grew up? Like as a kid, what was the dream?

Jen Potter
So growing up, I think about this all the time, because you know, I’m a really big person with manifestation. So when I was really little, I was like, I want to be an x ray technician. I don’t know why. Growing up, I wanted to be an x ray technician. And then as I got older, I wanted to be like a doctor or PA, I was always fascinated with it. As I got older, I became like an EMT. And I went to school, I graduated from the College of Nursing at UMass Boston. I was like, I’m gonna be a PA. Then I had my daughter, and my whole life changed.

And then I’m like, I don’t know what I want to do. It was weird, because I was so convinced that I was going through the medical field and or I was going to do something in the health field. Then all of a sudden, my mind shift, it just changed. Because I knew that wasn’t me. I’m not a person to work for somebody else. While I can work well with others, I know that I know, I’m a visionary. It was really hard to accept that. Because I feel like the way that we’re brought up sometimes. we’re always told, like, we have to hold back or not. And to kind of do things if you don’t have money, you can’t start a business.

And I felt like what was around me wasn’t giving me enough resources to be able to move to the next level. And I had to change that thought process. You know, and I think that that’s what changed me because I think I’ve always wanted to own a business. like I, I owned a chocolate business for a while. you know, I would make chocolate and pastries, and I loved it. But I always had other jobs while I did it, because I always felt like that’s what we’re supposed to do. Like we’re supposed to work. once I kind of got the skill set, under my daughter, it made more sense.

Pamela Bardhi
No, but I absolutely love that, like you were just, I love that. I love that. And so you mentioned your dad was a big source of inspiration for you growing up. would you say that it’s your number one mentor and inspiration? And if so, we can keep him as that? Or was there others too, that contributed to your inspiration kind of growing up?

Jen Potter
So I definitely think my dad was a big, you know, inspiration for me he did. own businesses also worked in other businesses. He was a single dad, he raised me for most of my childhood. So you know, he had to wear many hats. And he was he wasn’t always present. Growing up, I kind of, I had a little bit of animosity towards that, or maybe a lot of animosity. But we’ll say a little bit now, you know, now that we’re getting through the trauma. But I didn’t realise how much he had to do to take care of all of us. And being a parent now. Like, I realise how much work kind of goes into that.

But back then, like, I didn’t always see that I just saw my dad is like a workaholic. And he was like working a lot and but seeing all the things that he did as a single parent, and the fact that like, we all turned out pretty fucking decent. I’m like, Alright, so I mean, he did do his job, like he did his job. And, you know, me and my other siblings, like, we’re all very successful. And we all do completely different things. And I think that’s because even though we had limited resources and abilities and certain things growing up, he did always make sure that we were kind of pointed in the right direction.

Like he did always push college, he did always kind of push us. If we were doing something, it’s like that old-school mentality. And I’m sure you know, people in your family that are the same way. They’re like, look, I got an A, they’re like, Yeah, but it’s not an A plus. Oh, look, I got a 3.9 Yep. But it’s not a 4.0. And, oh, look, I got my bachelor’s Great. Are you getting your masters? So it’s like everything that I did kind of growing up, it was just kind of like that additional push. I’m like, I never felt supported, but then realised that was the mentality. that was actually the support. It’s like, Yeah, but you need to push harder, but you need to push harder.

And I kind of had that upbringing. While I don’t think it was the right way. I do think that it helped to kind of push us and growing up. There was this programme called Upward Bound. When I was in high school, and it was for predominantly, you know, kids in poverty that lived in low income areas that couldn’t really afford to take college classes. Or they didn’t have like anything to do in the summertime and they needed like resources. To, you know, kind of help further their education. And it was like, coupled with like the local university here, like, UMass and stuff.

And it was when I was in it, I didn’t quite understand what the purpose was. I finished the programme with a bunch of college credits by the time I got to college, and not realising the worth that was in that. but my dad always pushed us towards things like that, like free resources that were able to give us a little bit extra. And it’s funny because now with one of my companies, I’m actually working with the exact same programme to help kids get jobs.

So it’s so weird because I would have never coupled the two things together. And now I’m working with the state and an agency like a state agency in ordered to kind of get these kids jobs. and get them in summer programmes and kind of help them in these areas. So it’s amazing how when you’re going through it. you don’t realise how it how it comes around, if you’re manifesting it,

Pamela Bardhi
what’s crazy about that is like, you just don’t realise how many things actually come full circle. And it just fascinates me every single day of my life every day. I’m like, wow, I remember thinking this as a kid. Like, or when I was younger, and then all of a sudden, you have this deja vu moment of like, way back. it’s so, so, so cool. I love that. I love that. And I just love that from a young age, like that sweet word, this is what you wanted to be embedded in. ike, just that was your world. now full circle. You know, however, many years later here it is the same programme with how freaking cool is that?

Jen Potter
It is, it’s so cool. And just there was just something about it. you know, and there’s like a few different other programmes that are kind of intertwined with it. but just the fact that the resources that were given to me as a kid that I didn’t realise how important they were. now they’re handed to me again. But now I have an opportunity. I was that person. So now I can teach these kids, hey, this is the opportunity I had, because I took advantage of it, this is where I am now. There’s a lesson in it. And it’s something that I can teach to these kids. it’s something that I can tell them like, Hey, if you’re doing this, this is what this is going to turn out into.

These are the resources that you have. And you know, I throw myself into a lot of other programmes that I feel strongly about. there’s this one called entrepreneurship for all, it’s an E for all, and they’re all over the place. They’re in Massachusetts, they’re all over the country. And it’s a free programme that I actually went through with my T Shirt Company. they literally tell you how to run a business, they give you resources of how to run a business. you can do one of two things, you can listen to all of it and do nothing.

Or you can take all of those resources, take all of those people make the connections and blow your business up. Because of the information that I received. Well, I had a T Shirt Company, which is my apparel company. And I was able to take that investment that I made in that company. I started my babysitting company, and I just I learned how to become a better businesswoman. and how to teach other people how to be better in business. you know, I give back I mentor for that programme, I now own a consulting company.

So like I do strategic consulting. So I take it, you know, five steps ahead of where that programme is. because those people are typically at the beginning of their business. But now it’s taking people who are further along in business, and they need additional help. they want to take it to the next level where they want to think outside of the box. And the resources and connections that I’ve made it so I’m able to help them elevate to another step in their business.

Pamela Bardhi
Oh, I love that. I love that. And I mean, you have had a crazy journey. And it’s I want to backpedal just a little bit like where did it all start? So started when you were young for sure. But like walk me through like middle school in high school and beyond.

Jen Potter
Yeah, so you know, the part that I don’t always talk about growing up. And I feel like it’s where I get, you know, slightly a little bit more emotional. My dad was a single dad. But that was because my mom wasn’t necessarily a great person. She was a drug addict and very abusive, and beat the shit out of me as a child. And so that really changed my perspective with how I did a lot of things. While when I got to middle school in high school, like my parents were divorced. but like she was very much still part of our lives.

So it was very, it was difficult. You know, for me, as a teenager growing up with younger siblings, I had a stepmom. she always meant well for us, but you know, rough around the edges, and she’s still with my dad. So like Good for her. Because you know, anyone that can stick out with someone for that long power to them. But it was a really hard dynamic for me growing up, and I just I never knew like, where I was gonna go, I wanted to rebel. I wanted like, I went to art school, and I want to just do all the things that my parents don’t want me to do.

Because I felt like my life was, it was so controlled, but not controlled at all. growing up like I needed to kind of spiral a little bit out of control, which I mean, it wasn’t really that bad. But as far as like me spinning, but Middle School in high school, were those a really weird time in my life where I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I didn’t know where I wanted to be. I didn’t know who I was. And I was very shy, quiet. Everyone will say, My friends will tell you that I was not quiet.

But I was just very timid about, you know what other people would say, even back then, like, I actually force myself. like there would be like speaking contests and I would force myself to do it. And I was terrified. Every time I went to speak in front of people, I was terrified. What are other people gonna think of me? And it wasn’t till I hit like my late 30s where I just stopped caring what people think about me.

but it was it always would spiral back to when I was in high school. What do people think? Why do people care? You know, they’re gonna care about what I have what I have to say what I have to do. And I think that’s also why it was really hard for me to want to start a business. because I was so worried about what other people thought. And then when I stopped caring, my whole life changed.

Pamela Bardhi
Same thing happened. I mean, you just get into this, like, I don’t give a shit type of mentality and it just changes the game.

Jen Potter
It really does and then you realise who your true friends already realised. Who’s meant to be in your life and who is not to be in your life. And I so often give advice and I say to people, you know, it’s okay to break up with your friends. And then the friends that I’ve broken up with, like the things that they say, or they get super offended. not everybody is always going to want to be in your circle, not everybody is going to want to cheer you on.when you elevate to a different level, and you want to be in a different place. Not everybody’s going to want to be there, and they’re gonna want to be your cheerleader And that’s okay.
And it took a really long time for me to get that way. Like, I felt like that the people who weren’t cheering me on, I felt like they were like, soul sucking me. Every time I talked to them. I’m like, Oh, I just the conversations like I would have to go to have a conversation. I’m like, Oh, I don’t even want to answer my phone. Because right now, this is just like way too draining. when you’re doing all of these things, you want to be surrounded with people who want to cheer you on. I don’t believe in competition. And some of your businesses, there’s a lot of heavy competition.

And while the competition exists, I think it’s so important for people to realise that the more you collaborate and cheer on the person on the side of you. you’re going to grow that much bigger, because you are looked at so differently. Like, we’ll use real estate agents, for example, like some people are cutthroat. Some people are each other’s cheerleaders.

And I feel like the ones that are cheering each other on are the ones that are the most successful at the end of the day. Because I’m not for everybody. You’re not for everybody. If we find people who mesh with our personality for somebody else, you’re now making a connection. and you’re more relatable, reliable, trustworthy, your word. I feel like it’s a different a different mentality

Pamela Bardhi
completely. Absolutely. And I mean, that shifted throughout my years to somebody in high school. I was always the one trying to band friends together and have everybody hang out. and all that it took me the longest time to understand. Not everyone’s supposed to go with you.

Jen Potter
Right. And it’s hard, right? Like, it’s like when we break up a significant others. like, sometimes they’re meant for the long haul. sometimes they’re not, but they come into your life for a reason. And then like, I’m a firm believer, Like, if you’re gonna keep redoing the circle, there’s, there’s something wrong. Like, you need to step outside of that circle. If you’re with someone and they’re dragging you down, but you’re still taking them with you. That’s you. you need to be able to be that person to say it’s okay to put that off to the side. Like I tell people, it’s okay, if we take a break. It’s okay.

Like, if I don’t talk to you for six months, that doesn’t mean that I’m not your friend. It just means that right now I’m working on something else. And the people who are your friends are going to be the people that say, All right, cool. I’m here when you need me, or they’re going to show up unexpectedly. and they’re going to cheer you on and they’re going to be a person don’t be like, I don’t understand why you call me. I really don’t give a shit.

Pamela Bardhi
Absolutely, absolutely Jen. And so like, it’s funny, because I was also shy in middle school, too. And then I went through this, like evolution that in high school. I was just like, in every single group, like class president, things like this. it’s just so fascinating how it like shifts, but there was a whole, like, identity shift. you know, there was, there was, you know, teenage moments of, of blow ups and you know, teenage things where, like, you just can’t use things like that. But, you know, it was interesting watching the trajectory.

And as you were talking to you were saying that you were also shy in middle school, like, yeah, that was the same thing. I was actually bullied in middle school. So like, in middle school, I was very much like, shut out. And then the interesting thing is, I was bullied like fifth and sixth grade. But the problem is, when I got to sevens, and A’s, and I got comfortable. I started learning about who I was, I actually became one.

Not even knowing, because of the projection of all the trauma that I faced, and I didn’t even realise it. And the minute that I did, I like shifted everything back. But it’s crazy how things can spiral very quickly, if you’re not aware of. like, consciously aware of how you’re projecting yourself out to the world. it’s just so interesting to see, like, how the emotional path of of who we are growing up to is like, super interesting.In High school , I was like, prom queen, and like, you know, did the quarterback. The traditional like

Jen Potter
So for me, like, I felt like I always, like everybody that I dated, it was just like, artsy, or some, like, I don’t know. I look back sometimes, like I dated the military guy, and then I dated like the super artsy guy and the guy into music. And everybody was so different that I dated. But I feel like that that’s just how I’ve, how I got to the point of where I am today, right? so often people are like, oh, I’m going to try this. Yep, this is vanilla. I like this, I’m going to keep this this is chocolate, I like this, I’m going to keep this and I’m not going to try something else. Relationships.

They’re like trying on shoes. Not just because they look pretty, it doesn’t mean they’re comfortable. And so you have to try on all different ones right to make sure that they fit well. And you’re gonna wear them for the long haul. So I dated a lot of people in my you know, my husband’s can be like, great. but we date lots of people to see who our personalities mesh with what you know, people that we can come out to. say the things that we need to say to these other people that we’re spending our time and our energy with. But they make us realise what we want and what we don’t want. when you find someone that you’re like, Oh, I’m just gonna settle and then I talked to my friends. that are Like, are miserable and like that’s because you settled.

And it’s really important to like, for me, especially in high school, like I dated all different types of people. because I’m like, is the artsy thing My thing is the music thing? My thing is that you know, handsome like military guy, my thing. I don’t know what it what my thing was like we were young. And so like even going through my 20s Like, I always felt that that was super important. Like, I didn’t want to settle down. I didn’t have my daughter till I was 30.

And because we I decided to wait. And even then, in hindsight, I’m like, probably could have waited a few extra years. But I was 38 when I had my youngest, and in hindsight, I probably would have. you know, 35 would have been the sweet spot I should have just. I love him so much with the energy that I was not anticipating from the third child. He has more energy than any human I’ve ever met. Like, just so much energy. So yeah, I digress.

Pamela Bardhi
did you after high school? Did you? Did you go to college and start your business or how was like your, your trajectory because I love it. I know, You’ve told me before.

Jen Potter
I was so all over the place. So after high school or during high school, my family moved to Florida. And I decided that I was going to stay up here. But my parents were like, well give you the option to come into Florida. lasted like three weeks, I like call my grandparents. I’m like, I can’t do this. This is terrible. They’re like, you only have to stay there for the summer, you’re going to college in Boston. And I was like, I can’t do this. So they like flew me home because like I just Florida wasn’t my thing. I don’t, I like to be hot, but I don’t like to be human.

So like the whole sweating thing just was not my thing. Especially like, you know, I mean, I’ll go back to vacation. But ya know, I’m like a west coast. The more that I go to the west coast, the more I realised I’m like a West Coast person. like my timeframe, the way that I eat, the style, my thought process, everything is like on the West Coast. If my kids weren’t here, if I could get up and move, it would definitely be to the west coast. But yet Florida was not the thing. And so like, I moved home, and I went to the Art Institute of Boston, and I went for photography, and I loved it.

And I was very like going through like an art phase. And I actually had a full scholarship to go to college somewhere else. I denied it because I was thought I was rebelling. Then in hindsight, I’m like, What the fuck was I thinking like I had a full, like degree paid for. So in hindsight, that was a little, you know, we won’t say a mistake. But you know, I decided to go back to school, I went to school, and then I decided to move home the following year. Because I was just like, school is not my thing. So I moved home, I worked full time I went to school part time at UMass.

And I don’t think I took education seriously, like all I did was work like I am such a workaholic. And I think that that has always been embedded in my brain. Like, if you didn’t work like a mad person, then like life is not going to be gratifying. like you have to work super hard to get all the things that you want. I came from nothing. So I knew that the more I work, the more money I made, the more things I could have. while I’m not really a material person, but I just I wanted to let that financial freedom, there was a lot of ups and downs.

And you know, I dated people in between. And I dated a really awesome person. We lived together here. then he got an opportunity in Hawaii and I decided to stop doing everything that I was doing and get up and I we moved to Hawaii. we lived there for some time. so I just kind of went with the flow. Like if an opportunity kind of came, I took it and I wasn’t really focusing on a business, I wasn’t really focusing on myself. I was more so just saying, you know, I’m 25. if I want to live in Hawaii, I’m gonna live in Hawaii.

And my parents didn’t actually think that that was the best decision, but I would never change it. And it gave me the experience to say I was able to do all of these things. Before I have kids, I was able to fully like, live my life in my 20s. so it was a really great learning experience for me. because it allowed me to kind of do all different types of things. then like as I started getting a little bit older and getting a little bit closer to 30. I’m like, I probably should finish my degree. So I went back to school.

Initially I had an art degree. And then I was like, you know, I’m really into science. there was a point in my life, which I kind of like completely left out. I did get halfway through my degree. I passed my M tells in the state. I did teach eighth grade science for a little bit. I was a substitute teacher and I taught eighth grade science I coached at like Division One, lacrosse. That’s what I gave up to move to Hawaii.

And then fast forward I was like I want to go back to school for science. Well, when you decide to go back to school for something that’s not the degree that you were in, it’s like literally starting over. So I moved back up to Boston, I went to Bunker Hill, I went to school up there. And just decided to kind of change my life and change the things I was doing. I started like doing stuff with charities and Boston Children’s Hospital. I started running races and I started getting like, into like athletic things a little bit older, and ran the Boston Marathon in 2011.

And I finished school in 2012 and I got pregnant with my daughter in 2012. I got diagnosed with a heart condition in 2012 while I was pregnant with my daughter. I was seven months pregnant and I almost lost her. The heart condition was something that that changed my life that literally going through that it really made me rethink all of the things that I was doing. And you know, I always would tell my story from that moment. I would never tell anybody the backstory I would never tell everybody about my shitty childhood.

But I would never tell anybody about the way that I was brought up. I would always just talk about the moment that I got diagnosed with a heart condition because that was pretty traumatic. I was pretty hard on myself. I had my daughter, and then after that, they’re like, Oh, you probably you’re probably never gonna run again. your heart gonna be really hard to control, you probably should just, like do other things. And for me, it was, it was that moment, like, do I just give up and just say, You know what I can. I’m gonna concede and I’m just, I’m not going to run again, I’m not going to do other things.

And I decided to start training for Spartan Races, you know, doing things that allowed my body to do the things that I could do my heart. I had to control my heart rate and stuff like that. And I was able to start running all of these races. And it actually got to the point in 2018, after I had my second son. my second child, my son, in 2018, I, I ran a race. I don’t know how familiar with Spartan Races, but they obviously originated from Boston, and I ran a Spartan beast. which was up Mount Killington.

it took me seven and a half hours to complete it, it was the hardest thing I ever did in my entire life. And it was in that moment, when I crossed the finish line. I realised like, no matter what anybody tells you, it was that moment. you can do anything, anything that you put your mind to. And that was the year that I started, I started the T Shirt Company. that was the year that I was like, You know what, like, I can fucking do anything. It was such a mind shift for me, because you know, how many years before six years before like, I was told, I was never gonna be able to do anything.

And I started, the T Shirt Company, And I started doing all these other things. And I started like working on myself and how I can elevate myself. then in 2019, I had a heart attack, which was crazy, because I’m so young. but it was, I was actually driving to EA for all the programme. It was the first night that I was driving there. I had a heart attack while I was doing it. But leading up to that the weekend before. So like two days before I ran a Spartan Race, and I fell eight feet off monkey bars. So they think my heart went to an arrhythmia.

And within 48 hours, I had a heart attack. thankfully, it was a minor heart attack. And you know, because I’m so healthy. because I take care of myself and I was literally right down the street from the hospital, I managed to get myself to the hospital. I don’t recommend that in hindsight, I tell everybody, like, I was on the phone with Jim and I was like, I’m having a heart attack. he’s like, pull over to the side of the road. I’m like, I’m not gonna die. Like I have kids at home, like, I’m not going to die. so I continue to drive myself to the hospital, and I probably should have pulled over to the side of the road.

There was a whole traumatic experience that kind of happened with that. And that’s, that’s a whole nother thing. But, you know, thankfully, I got to the hospital and I was taken care of, and within six weeks, I might earn another spark. So I got right back up, I just kept doing the things and I was like, if it doesn’t kill me, it’s only gonna make me stronger. And it those things, it changed my life. It really getting up every morning, I wake up every morning. I’m like, Thank God, I’m awake.

like I’m awake, the universe is allowing me another day. I have an opportunity to like, take it full advantage of all of the things. I’m here today, what am I going to do to be the best possible version of myself? How am I going to impact someone else? What kind of conversations am I going to have with people that are going to change somebody else’s life. like I said to you before we started recording, changing one person’s mentality, one message, that’s it,

Pamela Bardhi
thank you so much for sharing that I can only imagine I mean, the mental toughness that goes into that. And for you to just get right back up and run a Spartan Race. Like, first off, you’re not just running a mile on the treadmill at like the YMCA, you know what I mean? Like you’re running, pretty Spartan Race, like God bless you. That is that takes great determination and all of that stuff. And like, sometimes we’re faced with situations where we’re told X, Y, and Z.

And I’m like, for me, it’s embedded in me that like, Hey, this is it, there’s gonna be a way we’re gonna figure it out. And that’s that, like, that’s always been ingrained in my brain, but like, the more like PEP is not normal. So like for you, when you heard that news, Where most people would like, shut out and turn into a shell and just kind of isolate. How did you manoeuvre those thoughts in your brain? Because that too, is like not normal? Like, how did you even like, how the hell did you reprocess it? And like, bring it right back? Well, I just wait and be like, I’m just gonna run.

Jen Potter
It’s hard, right? It’s hard because it’s that mentality. It’s, I use my kids as my example. And when I do all the things I do, I’m confident like, all of these things happened after I became a mom. And I mean, we’re some people you know, they can’t they have their you know, I call it my come to Jesus moment. before you have kids and or some other life experience that happens that brings you to that moment. But there was something there was something in me that just said, how are you going to show these kids that they can do anything that they put their mind to.

like you had this traumatic childhood, you had a mother who she gave birth to me, so I’m very grateful for that. and I try to be very amicable with those with those emotions, but there was nothing else there. I have an opportunity to show my kids that they have this incredible person in their life, who is going to be determined. who is going to if someone tells you that you can’t do anything. like I am going to do it Everything to prove you wrong, I am going to say, you’re gonna say I can’t do this. And I’m going to do this, I was told in 2013 that I will never run a marathon or long distance race in my entire life.

Let it be known. I’m running the Boston Marathon on April 17 2023, for Boston Children’s, and I am currently training for it. And while it is fucking hard, I am doing it. I ran Fenway this weekend at a Spartan Race at Fenway this weekend. And it’s not easy, because I have to maintain my heart rate at all times. But I’m not trying to win a race. I’m just trying to cross the finish line because everyone’s like, Well, what happens if you have a flare up? Can I walk it? In the grand scheme of things, I will cross that finish line, but I’m training for it. I have a trainer, I have someone who’s helping me, I’m paying attention to my diet, and I’m doing all the things.

But I’m taking action. And I’m finding ways to educate myself and do it the proper way. I’m not just getting up and running a marathon like That’s dumb. You know, it’s making sure that I’m doing the things the right way. But it’s my kids that they’re the reason why I do everything I do. Like after I had a heart attack. I’m like, You know what, I think I want to have a third child. Why? I don’t know.

Maybe it was just saying, the universe is giving me this opportunity. How am I going to seize it? How am I going to take advantage of it? What am I going to do to to impact somebody else’s life. Because I am a firm believer that the decisions that I make and the things that I do. whether it’s growing a business or being involved in something, it’s directly impacting other people.

Pamela Bardhi
Absolutely. And I mean, speaking of that, you started your T Shirt Company, and like, now you’re working on some crazy things and walk me through the trajectory of your business isn’t like, well, you’re amazing.

Jen Potter
I feel crazy when I say it. So I recently I’d say in the past, in this year, at some point in time, you know, I always I always kid around because I, I love Mel Robbins. And you know, she’s from the area. And I, I always would say like, there’s something about her, like the way that she presents her message. I just, I adore the like, the things that she does. you know, I love Tony Robbins and his business, not so much his speaking but I love the way that he has like all of these businesses and does all of these things.

So but if you were to take Mel Robbins knew how to take Tony Robbins and I say this to people all the time you smash them together, I am their baby. Like, I want to own all the businesses and I want to talk to all of the people and I want to inspire all of the people while I’m doing it. And I always had this like this notion in my head that that’s what I was going to do. Like once I became like, determined, and I’m like, I’m gonna do all the business things. It just, there’s no stopping me now. And you know, I came up when I came up with the consulting name with the consulting business.

so this is like, you know, going forward before I go back, I came up with epic 47. And, everyone’s like, why epic 47? What’s 47 I go well, I’m very spiritual person, like the four and the seven. Like my birthday is in April sevens, my lucky number blah, blah, blah. And I was talking with one of my mentors, Kevin snow, and he goes, That sounds terrible. He’s like, You need a better story. I’m like, What do you mean, I need a better story. He goes, Well, let me tell you the story about how this business and you know, the number 46. it was conceived from when you know, they were in Afghanistan. you know, the kill cards and the 46 numbers and he’s like telling me this like traumatic story.

But like this, like really great story of like, why this business had this awesome name. So like, if you’re gonna have a name, and you’re gonna have a purpose. like, you better have a good fucking story. As soon as he told me that I was like, shit, like, I really gotta come up with like, a reason. Like, what’s the reason that I’m going to have for business. So I was going for a walk one day, and I always have like these moments where like, it’s like, these aha moments. And it could be like, either later on at night, while I’m going for a walk, or while I’m in the shower, I’m like, Oh, my God, I have the best idea.

now I have to like, do it. so I feel like that’s my ADHD. I’m just like, and as soon as I come up with an idea, there’s like, no stopping me. there’s no turning around like this is it like it’s set in stone, it’s already happened, it’s manifested, it’s there. so I’m going for a walk. And I was like, I know what it is. I want to own 47 businesses by 2047. I’m doing the math in like 25 years, in 25 years, I can own 47 businesses and 25 years, that’s completely doable. I own four, I’m like, I can totally do this. And I started saying it to myself. as soon as I started saying it, I’m like this is really this is going to happen.

because my end goal is to take all the businesses that I do and the business models that I have. and push them forward and teach other people how to do it. And while I’m doing it, I want to invest in other people in their businesses. So it’s going to happen. it’s already happened, right? We already manifested it. So I started the t shirt business, and spiritual apparel and all of my all of my businesses. It’s called Beautiful collective and there’s either the word B in all of my logos or a B logo. I just I couldn’t even tell you where it came from. I’m obsessed with bees. I love them. it’s like they followed all of my businesses. all of my businesses have a B logo in them.

And you know, I started this inspirational apparel company to inspire other people, other inspire women to be Beautiful embrace yourself. no matter who you are, whether it’s your personality, whether it’s you know, your looks. or whatever that may look like, be yourself, be beautiful, be the person that you’re meant to be. it was through that message that I started saying all those things to myself. And the message wasn’t for other people, I started this business.

For me, this was the moment to keep telling myself that story in my head. be the strong businesswoman, be the good person, be the person that you want to be, keep living your best life. And by wearing the shirts and wearing the message and doing the things and this wasn’t even on purpose, I wear these shirts, like every day. but it was through that message that I learned how to be a business owner. then I took that business. And I invested in my babysitting company, which turned into a nanny agent, agency. we’re doing work all over the state now, which is fantastic.

And through that, I decided that I wanted to start a different type of company. I want like a cleaning company, because that was like a necessity. And then through that I was like, Well, I’m doing all of this business stuff. I probably should start a consulting company to teach other people how to do this. then taking that business model and moving it forward and being able to say, How can I teach other people to own a business and run a business and kind of move that forward.

So my long goal is to be an investor, I want to be an investor, I want to invest in people who have an idea who don’t have the funds. I want them to be educated, I want to teach them how to run a business successfully. I want to hold them their hands through that. And through that mentality. And through that thought process. I’m actually starting two more businesses this year. Super excited. Yeah, I already have two in the process.

Pamela Bardhi
No way, do we get the sneak previews.

Jen Potter
one of them does have to do childcare,the other one’s an NDA. So I can’t talk about it yet. But and then I also have a meeting, talk about another opportunity. it’s really exciting, because I don’t feel like I need to outright own all of my businesses. I feel like partnerships are, as you know, they can be messy. but at the same time, if they’re set up the right way. all of my businesses are employee run businesses. So I talk about this a lot to my cleaning company, making my GM part owner and giving them an opportunity.

Because if I mean, if they never had this opportunity, and they have worked so hard for it, why shouldn’t they own something? Why shouldn’t someone else be able to say, hey, you’ve worked so hard? You should own this business? I never had that opportunity. But if I have the opportunity to offer that to other people, why wouldn’t I? Yeah, it’s the only reason why I do what I do. To be perfectly honest, like, I wake up every morning, and everything that I do, it’s invested in my business. it’s invested in other people, I instantly went into debt for my babysitting company. because I knew that I had to pay a full-time like nanny, who is now my GM.

And I said, it wasn’t debt, And I don’t look at it as that I look at that as an investment. Like it was a solid investment, I would not be where I am today if I did not make that investment. so it’s hard for people to wrap their minds around that because they’re like, Oh, my God, I have no money. Oh, my goodness, I can’t do this. I work for two years without a paycheck. You know, that’s what we do. That’s what we do. And I keep reinvesting in the things that mean the most to me. at the end of the day, I do it for everybody else, because I know I’ll come back someday.

Pamela Bardhi
Absolutely love that. Now, question for you, Jen. Because you’re balancing a tonne of businesses and so much energy, like so much energy, so much, and I love it. how do you time managers? Like what are some of like, your secret sauces in business to like, first off your energy levels? And second off, like, how do you time manage all of the things with three kids? Oh, my God.

Jen Potter
So that’s a great question. So time management is super big for me, especially and I actually teach time management. it’s funny that you asked that question, I actually present all over the place. like people will have me come and be a guest speaker and I talked about time management. that’s probably my biggest topic that I talk about. And so I believe in boundaries, boundaries are super big for me. like, I work between nine and five and boundaries, I tell everybody, they’re for us.

They’re not for anybody else. And when you set the boundaries for ourselves, you have to stick to them. it’s hard sometimes, and sometimes will bend like emergencies happen. Like I had to have a phone call at 630 last night while my youngest son was screaming in the bath. and I go, just to let you know, this is after business hours. So you’re gonna hear screaming child in the background, but it’s an emergency. So we’ll deal with it right. making sure that we’re being solid with the with our times and being intentional.

So for me, it’s scheduling all the work in that short period of time. Again, it takes time to get to that point. I have a lot of businesses every time I start something new. there are nights where I have to get up and I have to write a proposal or I have to read a contract or I have to do other things. But I try to be really efficient and it present with my time. And within that time streams. I then schedule set everything so I have lots of calendars that are very intentional with times. Like if I’m recording something for myself, it might only be on Mondays.

If I have virtual coffees with people it might only be on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If I have in person meetings it might only be on Wednesdays when I have calls with clients. They get my my calendar and they’re just like What do you mean, you’re not available? Like, I want to call you and talk to you right now I’m like, well, that’s not how this works. Because I have boundaries. And some clients aren’t okay with that. And that’s okay. Because not everybody is my clients. But I set these really hard boundaries, because I want people to respect them. But because I’m so strong with those boundaries, if you call me after five o’clock, and I don’t answer, most people will say, I don’t expect you to respond.

because I know this is the time that your phone shuts off, my phone actually goes on silent at five o’clock every day. at five o’clock every day, only four people can call me. And then if I get look at my phone, and I can respond, that’s great. But most people know that I won’t respond to the next morning. If you send me a text message on the weekend, chances are, I’m probably not gonna respond. If I look at my phone right now, which this is always my favourite. because I always love looking, I have 24 Missed text messages. And I will get to them when I get to them.

And I scheduled time that I actually set and I answer all my messages. In the morning, I wake up at between five and six o’clock, I do all of my emails. I schedule, send all of my emails first thing in the morning. So that way I can have these phone calls, or I can go to a meeting. And I can be present in the moment and not go, oh my goodness, I need this, oh, my goodness, I need this. I know with your job and the things that you do sometimes there, there’s going to be like those fire drills. there’s going to be times that you have to like kind of go outside of those boundaries.

But we also can kind of control how we handle them to like, it’s all about being proactive and not reactive. And though that’s so I get so excited when I started talking about time management and scheduling and then like, you know, setting a timer. Okay, for 15 minutes, I’m going to work on this. I have severe ADHD because I’m like squirrel, what were we talking about? And so for me, it’s really hard to stay focused. But I think that’s why I do so many different things. I mean, you can’t have all of these businesses and all of these kids and I even have a puppy, and you know, husband. so I have to be really intentional with all of my time.

What Would Jen Older Self Tell Her Younger Self

Pamela Bardhi
Well, thank you so much for sharing I love that boundaries are it’s everything. And it’s something we all struggle with. And now for you, I’m so interested to see what you’re going to answer for this question. But what would your older self tell your younger self based on what you know, now,

Jen Potter
believe in yourself at an earlier age, I think I didn’t believe in myself. I didn’t believe that I could do all of the things that I wanted to do. Because you know, the outside force, that environment told me that I couldn’t do it, you were brought up this way. So this is how you should be this is where you came from. So this is what you should do.

The you know, everyone tells you that you should be working or you should be settling down. you should be having kids, you should you know, this is what you’re really good at. So that’s what you shouldn’t be doing. I was listening to everybody else except for listening to myself. And I think once I turned inward, and I really started listening to myself and listening to the things that meant the most to me, I think my life changed.

Pamela Bardhi
And I love that jen. What good is your energy? So beautiful. Now? Tell me what’s up in your world in like the next like six to 12 months that you mentioned. gave us some sneak peeks on on the things and new businesses coming in. But like, what’s your next like six to 12 months looks like 2020 23? What are we looking at?

Jen Potter
That’s a great question. So 2023, we’re starting to two other businesses. One of them is fully mind. Another one is a partnership. And it’s the partnership is the I can’t talk about it. But man, this woman is so flippin smart. She’s so amazing at what she does, and what has like no business background. So I’m like, I’m going to teach you how to be a business woman. like we’re going to go in this and I’m going to help you start this business. And I’m going to teach you how to be a businesswoman. I like it’s predominantly going to be her business. But it’s game changing. This is a business that I know nothing about. I know a lot about business.

And so I’ve really educated myself in a field that I was very uneducated, in which I think is really exciting. So I’m learning all of these new things and all of these new skill sets for something I would have never like ever, like done in my life. And it’s funny because in hindsight when people were like, Oh, well, you have this type of company and this type of company and a cleaning company. I’m like, if you ask me about any of these companies, childcare, I’d say yes, because I’ve been setting this up for some time. But anything else? I’m like, kind of surprised. I always surprise myself where I’m just like, yeah, no, I would have never done that. But you know, it’s really cool, because I’m learning all of these other cool things.

And because I’m starting this about one particular business, it’s kind of shifted my mindset about how other businesses could I could work with. so I’m having a conversation with somebody next week, about their business and what they do. how I can take that business and now integrate it into the other businesses that I’m working on. Because I have like this other aha moment. It’s like 1130 at night, and I walk into the bedroom, like, Oh, my God, I have this great idea. And Jim’s like, Oh, of course she does. Like it’s 1130 at night, I want to go to sleep.

And it’s it’s when I have my all my ideas. And I’m like, I have this great idea. he’s like, great. What’s, what’s the idea, Jen? I was like, Well, I’ve been thinking for the past few days that this person who has this business and I need to talk to this person. because I think that we need to partner and he’s like, Well, why? I kind of say why and he was like, okay, but that has nothing to do with your business. I’m like, but it has everything to do with visits and I’m like ding ding ding ding ding. so like, I have like this weird crazy like innovative and I tell you it’s like my ADHD brain.

It’s almost like we can find solutions to like random problems in different places, and somehow make them all connect. someone used to tell me, or people used to tell me. but someone said this to me one day, and he looked at me and he’s very, like, really great guy. I sat down with him, he goes, What if you took all the things that you did, and just turn them all in and focused on one thing. And I was like, maybe that’s what I should be doing. Maybe that’s what I should be doing. This is way before I started all my businesses. And I was like, Maybe I shouldn’t be focusing everything in in one direction.

And then I tried to do that. as soon as that happened, I went right back out like this. I’m like, No, I just, I don’t think that’s what I’m meant to do. I’m meant to be this person. And to connect all of these things, but not here. It’s like here, and how can I get connect you with someone else and make your business grow? to me, it’s just it’s such an amazing thing. I feel crazy most days

Pamela Bardhi
saying same year. I love that to know, what’s your number one piece of like business advice to any entrepreneur who’s listening or aspiring

Jen Potter
my number one advice to people and I say this, don’t listen to anybody else’s advice. Number one advice. It’s parenting advice, It’s business advice, It’s self-advice. Do not listen to anybody else’s advice. However, listen to everything. Listen to what works for me, what works for you. And if you’re still listening, I’m going to tell you what I what works for me. But what works for me isn’t going to work for PAM, what works for PAM may not work for Jen. But listen to what they have to say. And then take bits and pieces of those things. then create your own opinion and the way that you’re going to direct thing. It would direct things but if someone says you can’t do something, that doesn’t mean you can’t do it. So I think it’s super important to like follow that advice

Pamela Bardhi
amazing Jen absolutely adore you. Oh my goodness, like you’re an absolute Rockstar. like all the things that you’re working on like everything that you’ve been through what you’re building like I’m so excited. I’m here for it being in the same state of like we’re gonna get to do lots of fun things together without a doubt. But like, needs to know where to find you my friend where can everybody find you? What’s your website links? Whatever? Yeah,

Jen Potter
absolutely. So we’re redoing the website right now. So you can if you look up jen underscore live your best life on Instagram. That’s where everything is if you look up Jen Potter on LinkedIn on Facebook. my maiden name was Frazier so I’m all over the place. I’m all over social media follow on my stories. I love doing reels and talking about the days and just every everything day to day business advice and my life. I love talking about it, I clearly love talking and if you want to, you know, reach out to me. Let’s have a coffee in person, virtual coffee, whatever that looks like. I’m always open.

Pamela Bardhi
Yeah, and you’re absolutely amazing. Thank you so much for being here today for inspiring us and all the things

Jen Potter
Thank you.

Pamela Bardhi
So that’s it for today’s episode of underdog. catch us next week, always dropping on Thursdays. And remember, if you’re interested in real estate, or want to learn how to create more money and magic in your life. check out meet with pamela.com and let’s chat. sending you so so much love.