ļ»æTranscription
00:00:00
You. Hello and welcome to the Champagne Lounge.
00:00:07
My guest on today's episode is Jen Bowers. Now, Jen is a style and branding guru. She's had 30 years in the industry. She's a fellow pink lover, a fellow champagne drinker. Welcome to the Champagne Lounge, Jen.
00:00:22
Woohoo. So glad to be here you for having me. Beck I'm so excited for this conversation. It has been a long time coming and I did completely forget to mention that your prime working space now is all things pink and helping ladies over 50 live their life in full color. Which I'm very excited to deep dive talking to you about.
00:00:41
I'm very excited to talk about. It amazing how things evolve over time, isn't it? Very much so, very much so. But Jen, I like to start where business isn't for everyone. Like we are unicorns in our own right.
00:00:56
We're very special creatures in terms of the businesses that we run and the lives that we live. You've been in the industry for 30 years, it's evolved over a long time. I'm guessing from freelance to business idea to next thing to next thing. What are you actually doing now? Why did you start it and where did you come from?
00:01:16
Oh my gosh. So do you want the long story or the short story?
00:01:22
I'll give you the short story. I've, yes, been in design and branding and advertising agencies actually. I've been working on and off in them for, well, actually over 35 years. And I hate to say that because it really shows my age. However, in 2020 I was working in a corporate branding position for a corporate company and I was made redundant.
00:01:44
Thank you. COVID and the decision was try and find something else in the corporate world because as a designer at the age of 52, I was literally too old to get a job in a design studio. They want the young and the funky or should I take the opportunity and run with my own business? I was working with business coaches at the time because I did have another business called Ping pompom Social, which is a content library for any sort of social content that you may need. And they said, this is such a great opportunity.
00:02:19
And I'm like, no it's not, it's. The end of the world. And turned out it was a great opportunity. So I came into being go back into branding and strategy and styling and I've been doing that now since 2020. But along my journey I've realized once you hit a certain age that you're like an invisible person.
00:02:43
And I was an invisible person too, myself. And so I changed that after a lot of work, after a lot of soul searching. And now I'm living just my best life in full color and I really want to help other women. That I was going to say over 50, but honestly, it can happen to anybody who's in their 40s as well. We all just get to this age where we feel like we should be at home in our slippers knitting.
00:03:10
I mean, I might be home in my pink. You're not old enough for that. I might be at home in my pink slippers, but I'm certainly not going to be knitting.
00:03:21
I say that, I say that lightly, but I like the idea of being able to knit. You know, those really big chunky jumpers. I feel like I'd be quite good at that. Although it does come with that stigma of staying home and being a bit of a Nana, doesn't it? Let's be honest, I am a Nana.
00:03:38
I am actually a nana, but I don't feel like a Nana in any way or form. Yeah, I feel like I'm still living in my twenty s and having fun and just living my best life. Because life is short, Beck. Life is short. You and I preach from the same page, babe.
00:03:59
Just a slight. I know generations of people and I love it so much. But you and I live in a lot of color. Like, we wear all the video right now. I'm not wearing pink.
00:04:09
Today is a black day in my day, but we wear a lot of pink, we wear a lot of color. We live life to the max. We do all the wonderful, fabulous things. But life and business isn't necessarily easy. We make it look that way.
00:04:22
We make it look that way on the outside, I'm going to go from 2020, unless you want to go before that. But what has been the biggest struggle that you've had in growing your business along your business journey from that moment where you were made redundant to where you are now? What's been the biggest struggle piece? So I guess it's probably easy in one way is to say, believing in myself, to sort of really give it some context. I probably have to go back to the day I was born and suggestive language.
00:04:52
Suggestive language was brought into my world last year. I had no idea what that was until I found out that literally my whole life I'd been trying to be somebody that I simply was not. So discovering that actually allowed me the freedom to be who I really was. Not knowing the limitations that I had made, it very hard for me to move ahead. I'd get to a certain place, I'm like, no, I can't do that.
00:05:20
I'd try and be invisible and stay small. And that's what really stopped me. That's probably been one of the most difficult things for me, is to actually put myself front and center and become a personal brand. And that was because of the limiting beliefs, the self sabotage, the mingle, all those walking, cliche things that I had in my head brought about by suggestive language over the course of my whole life. And for people listening that don't know what suggestive language is, can you give an example of what that looks like and the impact that it's had?
00:05:52
100%. It is literally what it says it is. Suggestive language. Now, I'm going to talk about my mum here and please note, I had a wonderful relationship with my mum. She passed in 2020.
00:06:05
I still miss her every day. There is no resentment towards this, but my mum was a teeny tiny ballet dancer. She weighed like 51 kilos. When she had me, I was four and a half kilos. So joke was the little mother with the big baby and it just went on from there like she was trying to be helpful because that was that generation.
00:06:29
She's like, oh, Jennifer, I think you're maybe a bit too big for know, you should always wear black. Black so flattering for your, you know, and I was Jennifer to my you know, you're very loud, you're very know. I don't know where you get that from. We should always be a lady and just things like that. But the overriding thing was big.
00:06:56
You. Shouldn'T wear the little short shorts because you're too big. So therefore, for me, I was too big in my mind to do many things as I got older. And I did put on weight and Mum would then, huh, Jennifer, you've put on a bit of know, maybe you should try losing some. I became so paranoid.
00:07:15
It didn't help that I did have a narcissistic ex husband that jumped on the bandwagon as that. And this is the thing, this gets inside your head. The easiest example to probably give is when your parents are maybe introducing you as a child and they go, oh, this is such and such and this is such and such and this is Rebecca, she's the shy one. Now, you may not be the shy one, but you grow up thinking you're the shy one and that actually dictates how you act. So, for me, being big meant that I was always trying to stay small and fit in a box that simply wasn't made to fit me.
00:07:51
Yeah, I'm sure listening to this, so many people going, yeah, that's me, I can feel it, I can relate to it, I can lost count of the number of times I've been told I'm too loud, I'm too much like little bit out there. So, yes, I'm sure there are so many people relating to it, but we don't get past that stuff by ourselves, right? Like you said earlier, it takes a lot of work. What role has community and your tribe played in the growth of you in that journey? Oh, my gosh, I could not be without my people.
00:08:27
You know, I have three business coaches now. I'm not a business person, I'm an ideas person. So, like, I'm the one that goes, oh, I have an idea. And then that's the way I work with business coaches, because I need somebody to help me implement the things. So these ladies have been amazing.
00:08:43
And of course, their communities that obviously I've got to know being in the groups that I'm in, everybody has been so supportive. They have been there for me when I'm in pieces and I was sobbing so hard that I actually couldn't talk. I will go back to one time with Tina in Palm Springs when I just realized my whole life was a lie to some degree. And all the things that I'd missed out on over those years because I'd only found out about the suggestive language two weeks previously and I was digesting how it had changed the way I did things. And those women that were there in that group were just so supportive.
00:09:24
And every woman that I've worked with in any group that I've been in have been so amazingly supportive. You can't do it by yourself. You simply cannot do it by yourself. Way too. We need each other to lift each other up.
00:09:37
I don't know if you know, there's a quote and I'll try and remember it. Women weave the circles. Oh, my gosh, now I can't remember. Weave the circles of women weaves anyway, I can't remember the quote. I don't know this one.
00:09:50
I can't help you. I shouldn't have said it because then I can't remember it. Go me. But women do support each other and they weave the circles together to lift you up when you're down. And it's just so important to have that.
00:10:05
Otherwise you're still fighting your own battles inside your head. So much so and the talking through and the just brainstorming ideas and just letting it out. It's not necessarily all business talk sometimes, right? We're personal growthing. It's talking business wise.
00:10:23
It's talking life balance. It's everything. It's everything life wise that other business owners get. Yeah. And the thing is, too, and this is something I realized that's so important, if your mindset isn't right, you will not grow that business.
00:10:38
You will get to a level and you'll be stuck there because you're getting in your own way your limiting beliefs. And as I said, these might sound like cliches, but they're so very real and it's a struggle to beat them. And if you don't go and address the problems and become self aware, you're not going to be able to take. Those steps forward and it's so easy to slide back. So you've got that tribe around you to keep going and going and going.
00:11:06
What was the one thing that you got from your community or the people around you? It could be the tribe. It could be your business bestie that helped you on that. I'm going to call it the repetitive journey. Right.
00:11:18
Because we do need to remind ourselves. For me it was I wrote poster notes and stuck them on the like, what was your thing that was like, get up in the morning, Jen, we're doing this. Like you've got to get yourself in a bit of a routine for the what was the little hack that you had that helped you stay on that track?
00:11:39
I won't say it's a quote, but remembering that my perception of myself is very different to how others perceive me now, I did, like, sort of in a retreat, it's not a game, but we did, like, an exercise where we had to say words about other people, the other people that are at the retreat. And when it got to my turn, the words that these ladies came out with were just they blew my mind. I, again, was a sobing mess because, again, it made me realize how other people perceive me and how mean I've been to myself over the years and how much I've missed out on how much I've held myself back and how much joy that I just have not had in my life. So what I really realized is, hang on, you might be thinking those mean thoughts, but that's actually not what other people think. You're standing there talking to somebody, you're doing a presentation.
00:12:35
They're not sitting there thinking, you're too fat for this. They're thinking, wow, isn't she vibrant? I love the color of her hair. She knows what she's talking about. They're not going, she's too fat to do that.
00:12:48
So that remembering what you think about yourself is not what others think. That's so powerful. It is so true, because we are our own worst enemies and our own biggest critics like, that. We almost need to leave ourselves at the door, right. Leave the internal person and just walk forward just as our next level up person.
00:13:10
100%. And again, as I've got older, it's even become worse because it's like someone of your age. And then when I realize and I talk to younger people, they're going, that's amazing. You're doing all these things. And I'm like, again, that's my perception of who I should be.
00:13:27
It is. Yeah. I have banned should. The word should doesn't exist in my vocabulary anymore. I just said it then.
00:13:35
But because we should not be anything, we can be who we want to be. Yeah. The Champagne Lounge isn't just a podcast. It's an instant digital community for ambitious businesswomen and entrepreneurs like you wanting more connection, community, and celebration. So wherever you are in the world, whatever stage of business you're at, if you're looking for that ultimate female cheer squad of like minded women, head over to thechampainlounge.com to come and join us.
00:14:07
I removed should a very long time ago. And I've even got a T shirt that says, sorry I'm late. I didn't want to come. I got it. That one from Confetti Rebels that you and I both love.
00:14:19
And I wear it a lot because it just reminds me of boundaries. Like all those things you should do because other people are expecting you to do it, or should be because you think that's what society expects as trailblazers. As business owners, we need to do things differently and walk to our own beat, do things our own way. Sparkle. Like when other people aren't sparkling 100%.
00:14:44
So just coming back to the Confetti Rebels T shirt, I love my one that says and I think it says this, if I'm too much, go find less. I love it. And don't be a lady, be a legend. That was my chat this year. It's so true.
00:15:01
It's so true that we've brought ourselves up. We're going forward. It's a journey. If you're listening to this now and you're at the start of that journey, find that tribe that will guide you along it because it does take time and it's a constant work in progress. But one of the things that I love to do, which is really where the Champagne Lounge came about, you and I know that more joy, more connection, more celebration right.
00:15:25
Is needed in our lives. What has been your biggest achievement to date in your business? I am actually going to have to say my biggest achievement has been reinventing myself. Going from living in black and white, going from doing and being who I thought I should be to being who I actually am and who I was meant to be. So my favorite quote, unfortunately, it's just above my desk, so I won't not remember it.
00:15:54
But maybe the journey isn't about becoming anything. Maybe it's about unbecoming everything that you weren't meant to be or that it really isn't you. So you can be who you were meant to be in the first place.
00:16:08
Every time I hear it and see it and look at it's right there, I get goosebumps because that's what I have done. So, yeah, I would be the most proud of my unbecoming, so I can be who I was supposed to be in the first place. I love that. That gives me goosebumps. That gives me goosebumps.
00:16:25
So we've reinvented. I know that you have two things. Tinkering on. I say tinkering on bubbling away. You're releasing them into the world, and I'm sure they'll come with gusto when we've got all the sites and stuff ready to go.
00:16:38
Reinvention takes time we don't realize, and I'm going through the same thing, how much stuff you have in place as a business owner, that just works. And then you got to do something new and start it all again. And you're like, this is a lot of work. I've learned the lessons, but it's a lot of work. What does 2023 hold for you?
00:16:55
Where are you going with what you're doing? I've realized that I feel like it's my mission now. It's like just this calling to help other women that are feeling faded. Hang on. Let me start from the beginning.
00:17:11
Did you know, Rebecca, that when flamingos are not looking after themselves and for those that don't know me, all of my business is about flamingos being a flamingo and a Flock of Seagulls, et cetera. But when flamingos are actively parenting and they're not looking after themselves properly and they're not eating properly, they lose their pink. Wow. I did not know that. So when they start doing this and eating properly, the babies leave the nest, they start looking after themselves, they get their pink back.
00:17:46
And my mission for this year is to help as many women as I possibly can bring back their pink. Because we do not want to live life in black and white. We want to live in full color. We want to be vibrant, we want to have joy. We want to live our best lives.
00:18:02
Now, that will be both in my branding business and also in Bring Back Your Pink, which is my new, my very brand new community that really doesn't exist just yet, but it will, because I am absolutely obsessed now with helping women live their best lives. Because the thing is, you don't want to just live. You want to be alive. Yeah. Oh, yeah.
00:18:28
And I love that you're targeting this over 50s, late 40s, early 50s, because they are the forgotten they're the forgotten people that are just in the sidelines. Right? It's like, it's mom, it's aunties, it's done the corporate job and don't really have that corporate job anymore, but can't find anything else. It's that sort of stuck generation, almost stuck age group of women, because it's. Like the kids have left.
00:19:00
Yes, a lot of us still work, but we've given so much to the kids and then we have faded and they leave. And you're kind of going, Right, well, what's here for me? Well, I can tell you right now, your best life is here for you. And I mean, the thing is, I've done this. I've actually walked this road, I've flown as a flamingo along this journey, and I know that it can be done.
00:19:24
There is life after 50 and.
00:19:30
There'S. No reason we can't be talking about sex and all of these things because we're still out there doing the things. Why should we be invisible? Why should we have to pretend we're not? We're just as important as everybody else.
00:19:45
Cheers to that. I'm going to cheers that. And I've got another cheers question. Jen, you and I have chinked, very many glasses. My last question for all my guests on the show is always, what was the last milestone that you've achieved in your business and how did you celebrate it?
00:20:06
Last milestone? I'm actually going to make this milestone one that's just been very, very recent. I started my Instagram page, bring back your Pink. Now, I've wanted to do that, but again, income, the self limiting beliefs. Who am I to do that?
00:20:24
Who am I even to think that I can talk about these things? But I went, no, bite the bullet, do the thing. And I did it. And now I have my baby Instagram page and I really feel it's going to be for what I've got planned for this year. I know that this is going to be so beneficial to so many women.
00:20:43
So what did I do? Of course I opened a bottle of champagne, because that's what I do every time I celebrate, just like somebody else I know. And have you got a postit note on a bottle of champagne for the next milestone of followers? Well, no, I haven't, but maybe I should just make that. Yeah, I reckon.
00:20:59
I reckon. Put some mileage on it. Definitely a milestone to celebrate with the numbers attached. I think that would be now I've. Got to actually I've done the thing I've started up.
00:21:11
Now I've actually got to start putting the milestones and the goals in place. But this is a thing. Businesses are forever evolving. I thought that I would be able to keep this within my branding business. I've suddenly realized it has an entity all of its own.
00:21:25
I can still talk about this for branding, but this actually has its own legs. And it's something that's really important because we are an aging population. There are so many of us out there just doing the things and existing. Why not exist in full color and have the fun? Make this the best time of your.
00:21:44
Life, living your best life, living in full color, celebrating the milestones, living life to the fullest. That's what it's all. Because, you know, this isn't a dress rehearsal, is it? Beck this is the real deal. We don't get a second chance.
00:22:00
No, it is not. Jen, I have absolutely loved having you on the show today. It has been eye opening, enjoying, as always, and I wish we were closer to chink our glasses in real life. When you and I are up in Palm Port Douglas later in the year, I think you and I will be seeing each other there. But it's been amazing.
00:22:21
Keeps letting women put all the links into the show notes. We'll make sure that we've linked all those, including the bring back your pink, because I just love that you're helping women bring back their pink and getting their self care and their love and their joy back into their world over 50. So cheers to you, Jen. Thanks for being on the show. And thank you so much for having me.
00:22:44
Beck it's been an honor to be here. Thanks for listening to the Champagne Lounge podcast. If you'd love to be part of. Our thriving global community, head over to thechampainlounge.com to join us.
