Jess Glazer is a former celebrity personal trainer and elementary school teacher who turned her “cute side hustle” into a million-dollar business in 18 months. Since leaving her teaching job in 2017, Jess has hired a team of incredible heart-centered leaders, served hundreds of clients through her business coaching, helped create over $3 million in revenue for her clients, and raised/donated over $60,000 to charity. Her entire motto is about investing in herself and her business and she is the ultimate resource.
Please tell us a little bit about your company – what is The Digital Business E+volution all about?
My company is currently going through a re-brand and launch of a completely new “umbrella brand” called The Digital Business E+volution. This movement is home to all of our signature group coaching programs, resources, and physical products that help aspiring/hustling entrepreneurs start, grow, and scale their businesses. All of our clients and company missions are focused solely on impact. We believe that when you make a bigger impact, you can easily create a bigger income, which then allows you to continue investing in your own growth; which in turn, is what you teach from..so the ripple effect continues.
Our company mission is to cause a ripple effect and inspire change for generations to come; making a massive impact and leaving a lasting legacy beyond her singular actions. This mission is exactly what supported our decision to be so heavily involved with Pencils of Promise; an organization in which we donate one year of education to one student overseas for every one client we enroll. Our dedication to the cause has enabled us to break ground on our first physical school in Ghana, Africa during the summer of 2020 (door should be opening for the children at the end of Jan 2021).
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company?
I never had intention of starting my own business, let alone a company. I’ve also lived multiple career lives and never would have believed you if you told me I’d be here. Let’s take a look:
- I became a personal trainer the day I turned 17 and for the last 17.5 years trained clients both in person and online. I went to college for my Doctorate of Physical Therapy and dropped out during graduate school.
- I then worked full-time as a personal trainer while attending fashion school and interning for companies like Jordache, Heidi Klum, and US Polo
- After 1 year in fashion, I decided to take my “back up plan” job as an elementary school physical education/health teacher
- I taught for 8 years while working as a trainer on nights/weekends and relentlessly trying to make “my cute side hustle” of online coaching/blogging/community building work
- In 2017, I decided to leave my secure teaching job for another stint of full-time personal training while giving myself space to “go all in” on entrepreneurship
- I quickly grew my “cute side hustle” into a multiple 6-figure business in less than 6 months
- My personal trainer friends saw my success and began asking me “how”, so I just started teaching 1 friend, then 2, then 3 and next think you knew; I had become a business coach
Once I realized my ability to teach, the bulletproof method I had created, the lives that were changing, and my passion for teaching being so aligned with my purpose; I let go of training clients, stepped up my business coaching, began hiring help, and zoomed the vision out for what it could turn into. After two years, hundreds of clients, tons of mistakes, lots of feedback, and insane client results, the DBE+ was born!
What are your plans, how do you plan to grow this company?
The transition between 2020 and 2021 is really about introducing The Digital Business E+volution to our audience and differentiated myself from the brand to no longer be the face of the brand. We see DBE+ as a a digital school, a platform to learn, teach, connect, and grow globally. We will be introducing new digital products, courses, physical products, collaborations, and more throughout 2021. Of course, they will all be centered around education, entrepreneurship, and impact.
What were the top mistakes you made starting your business and what did you learn from it?
Some of my bigger mistakes (which were really just perfectly timed lessons) were:
- Not asking for help sooner
- Being afraid to invest, thinking I needed to make money before I could invest
- Not hiring/delegating sooner
All three of those lessons brought me to burn out, health issues, resentment, confusion, frustration, and lack of clarity. Time and time again, I’ve learned that asking for help is actually a strength, not a weakness.
How do you separate yourself from your competitors?
I do the same thing I tell my clients to do (which isn’t the flashiest of answers), but that is “Just be the most YOU you can be.” At the end of the day, people by from people so the more human and unapologetically you that you can be, the more the right clients will be attracted to you. Let’s face it, we live in a time where everything is “googleable”. We’re a society suffering from “infobesity” and “consumptionitis”, so the thing to stand out is not what you know and can share, it’s HOW you share it.
I stand out by simply showing my bad days, bringing my audience with me, putting up content without filters, not having perfectly manicured page, messing up and leaving the bloopers, taking messy action, sharing my real life, filming IG stories with zit cream on (yes, I do this often), giving my opinion (even if others may disagree), and just being as “sweat pants on the couch with no makeup hanging with my mom & dad” as I can be.
All of that and we take our client feedback extremely seriously. We are constantly improving our courses, content, client experience, automations, systems, you name it. We are wrapping our 11th class of E+mpower (our signature 90-day program) and not one round has been run the same. The experience our 11th class just had versus the 1st or even 6th class; well, it’s a like comparing apples to oranges and THAT makes us unstoppable.
What is one thing that you daily to grow as an entrepreneur?
As an entrepreneur who is really a personal brand/coach, my number one asset is my health/energy. So, I protect both unapologetically. I have an extremely strict morning routine that helps me stay in alignment and energized while also giving me the space to grow spiritually and tactically.
I never skip a day moving my body, meditating, journaling, listening to a podcast, and reading. I’m a huge advocate of both podcasts and books. I believe “readers are leaders” and it is my responsibility as a leader to learn. I’m also obsessed with learning and being a student, so wiring new synapses in my brain is an incredible source of inspiration and motivation for me.
Lastly, I am constantly getting myself into rooms that make me uncomfortable. I’ve been investing in coaches/masterminds/courses since 2013 and have become addicted to growing my network. Every year I commit to learning new skills, taking new courses, and getting a seat at the table. For 2021, I’ve already purchased a Neuro-linguistic Programming certification course to expand my own knowledge/coaching techniques. I also recently invested in an advanced Sales Page copy program, Human Design breakdown, Project Management training, and during 2020 worked with 3 coaches and was a part of 1 elite mastermind.
What are three books or courses you recommend for new entrepreneurs?
A few of my favorite books to recommend/gift are ones I re-read year after year:
- Secrets of the Millionaire Mind – by T Harv Eker
- The 4 Agreements – by Don Miguel Ruiz
- Deep Work – by Cal Newport
As for courses well, I would crazy not to mention E+mpower (formally EmpowerUniversity)!
E+mpower is our 90-day group coaching program that helps coaches/aspiring coaches extract what they already know, identify who/how they can help, master online marketing strategies to organically attract their dream clients, create impact through creating their own signature course, and generate revenue out of thin air. This is all done within our 12-week framework; we take them from ideation through sales and actually working with clients.
If you only had $100 dollars to start a new business, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
I would take the $100 and store it for a rainy day; not an investment yet. I would then utilize my expertise and put out tons of massive value and content for free while building my “know like trust” factor and credibility/authority. All the while, I’d be bootstrapping learning (marketing, sales, business, funnels, investing, pricing, course creation, technology, building an email list, etc) from my favorite digital “mentors”, watching Youtube videos, taking free courses, joining free webinars, reading books, and consuming podcasts.
Finally (not when I’m “ready” because I know I’ll never be ready, but when I’ve figured out what/who I can help), I would start offering paid consulting and coaching. This would give me experience in coaching, social proof and testimonials, as well as proof of concept and market demand. Over time a small handful of clients can easily be turned into a larger group coaching program, evergreen up/down sells, and more!
How can we get in touch with you?
You can visit my website www.jessglazer.com, find me on social media via Instagram. You can also email Jess@jessglazer.com
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