"Nothing ventured nothing gained."
By the time Jen Nash was 18, she’d already moved ten times, landing in different cities in Canada before moving to Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, and the United States. All this globe-trotting gave Jen a sense of urgency when it came to making friends and connections.
Over the past twenty-five years, Jen has had the privilege of co-founding a digital agency that went from $1.1M in revenue to over $15M in just three years. Building a multi-million dollar real estate portfolio and working as a writer and strategist for some of the biggest Fortune 50 companies in the world. In 2017 she became the CEO of a cryptocurrency start-up before transitioning into coaching.
In 2022, leveraging her understanding of just how powerfully important small connections can be, Jen wrote the book: The Big Power of Tiny Connections—How Small Interactions Spark Awesome Outcomes. Today she calls herself a Connector in Chief and Executive Coach. She is currently focused on supporting high-net-worth female clients to embrace their abundance without guilt or shame, as well as running corporate training which focuses on improving human connection, culture, and employee retention rates.
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Table of Contents
Tell us a little bit about your current projects. What exciting milestone would you like to share with our readers? (Don’t hesitate to delve into your achievements, they will inspire the audience)
Jen Nash: I just wrote a book! It’s called The Big Power of Tiny Connections and it’s about how small interactions can spark awesome outcomes if we’re open to them. I’m calling my book a love story of encouragement to everyone because more than ever, in the middle of a pandemic people NEED to feel connected. I know I do. So I used true-life stories and scientific research on how we listen, talk, and crave connection to demonstrate that making time to connect is the most productive thing we can do to thrive at home or work. Whether you want to go to more parties, get a better job, make more money, or get laid more—reading this book will give you practical strategies for doing it all. A happier, more successful, and more fulfilling life is within your reach and while I know I’m 100% biased, I believe that The Big Power of Tiny Connections will show you the way.
Additionally, I’ve been a real estate investor for close to twenty years and I decided to pay off several mortgages so that I could leverage the passive income more fully. It’s a really powerful feeling to know that your long-term vision and years of planning are paying off and you can step into a super-abundant mindset. I work hard to do this with my high-net-worth coaching clients because so many of us have guilt and shame around our financial empowerment. So it was nice to be reminded of that feeling in my own life, and I know that insight will help me continue to support my clients powerfully.
Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? Did you ever consider giving up?
Jen Nash: I have had many career pivots because I’m always learning and evolving. When I graduated from Parsons School of Design, I wanted to be a magazine writer or copywriter for large ad agencies…but no one would hire me because my portfolio was too designed-focused. So I worked as a head hunter for six months redoing my portfolio to be more copy-focused, then I landed a job as a financial reporter for Institutional Investor. That wasn’t the kind of writing I had in mind, and I was very frustrated initially but in time I started to love the job and I was good at it. Plus a year later I ended up working at Ogilvy & Mather one of the world’s largest and most prestigious ad agencies, partially because I had more interactive experience than others but also because I’d been doing some pretty serious financial writing.
Years later, I wanted to get into real estate as I was determined to create a passive income stream so I would be solid financially later in life. I had no background in that world and just had to jump in and do it. Buying my first house gave me hives, and made me so sick with stress. I almost walked away several times because I thought I was going to get crushed by my investments. But almost two decades later I’m paying off mortgages so something’s working.
Often leaders are asked to share the best advice they received. But let’s reverse the question. What’s the worst advice you received?
Jen Nash: I think the worst advice I’ve received was to sell Amazon stock. Seriously. It was $120. I wish I hadn’t listened. But seriously, the worst advice is usually fear-based advice. Stay with your job. Stay in that relationship. Stay with what you know. I was too conservative when I was investing in real estate initially and I wish I had had the stomach to play more aggressively. I would have gotten so much further, but I am a financially conservative person, and I didn’t have anyone bold to model after. Do you do what you can you know?
Is there a particular podcast you listened to, or business thought leader that you find helpful while maneuvering this pandemic?
Jen Nash: I am an avid fan of mental fitness, which is a foundational thought found in Shirzad Chamine’s New York Times bestselling book: Positive Intelligence. This book helps you recognize your 12 negative saboteur mindsets such as the hypercritical, the stickler, the hypervigilant… or my two favorites the controller and pleaser. Once you can begin to recognize your saboteurs, you can kick in a healthier mindset or a sage mindset. And you do that using tiny somatic techniques that bring you into your body and the present. We think we need to be stressed to get that report done or get our taxes done on time but Positive Intelligence supports there is a healthier, happy way forward and it’s been great for myself and my clients.
What is most important to your organization—mission, vision, or values?
Jen Nash: I’m a huge believer in culture. So for me, values always come first. Values take into consideration the people, how they show up and interact, and how they feel about what they are doing. Right now people are quitting right, left, and center. Everyone is so bored with their lives and the lack of flow that we’re all feeling (or the languishing as the NYTimes article called it) they want to make a change, and typically getting a new job is the easiest change anyone can make. (It’s certainly easier than moving or changing your primary partner.) This is why it’s so important that companies have a really clear value construct, and that employees understand what their firm stands for and why that’s powerful. More than ever people want to work at companies that have a tremendous and powerful purpose so they feel their precious minutes, hours and days are being well invested.
What do you consider are your strengths when dealing with staff workers, colleagues, senior management, and customers?
Jen Nash: I’m an incredibly energetic and enthusiastic person. I bring a lot of positivity and focus to all my client initiatives and I always have. I’m also a powerful storyteller who loves connecting with her which makes me an excellent keynote / corporate speaker. My passion for connecting with my audience but also my content is why I wrote The Big Power of Tiny Connections to inspire others. to also really lean into fostering a wide range of relationships.
How important do you think it is for a leader to be mindful of his brand?
Jen Nash: I am my brand frankly it’s harder than it looks sometimes just because sometimes I don’t feel like wearing red glasses and bright-colored clothing. Sometimes I want to wear black like everyone else and just not think about it. But because I am the brand that’s not an option. I take how I present the Jen Nash brand very seriously and as such, I think it’s pretty important to show up in a consistent and brand-appropriate manner.
How would you define “leadership”?
Jen Nash: I think coaching is leadership. We didn’t have a construct for coaching until pretty recently, so most of what they teach in leadership training is very much focused on supporting your team members to be their best selves. How do you do that? Well, often the best advice is to be focused on the higher outcome and to act from our most resourceful selves. I think it’s also important to stay in a positive mindset, which involves staying: Empathetic. Exploratory. Activated. Innovative and to focus on forwarding Navigation.
Some tips I use to stay in this positive, or sage mindset, are as follows. If you think about the fact we were all gorgeous 5-year-olds at one time it’s easier to be “Empathetic”. Being curious about what’s going on and not judging is powerful and keeps us in an “Exploratory” mindset. Staying “Activated” means staying ahead of the voices in our head, and cutting them off at the pass. While being “Innovative” is about navigating ahead with clarity around what’s real and what’s just a perceived threat and “Navigation” is having a longer-term perspective about all the small things that can sidetrack us. So much of what is stressing us out today won’t matter in 1 month, 1 year, or even 10 years.
Do you think entrepreneurship is something that you’re born with or something that you can learn along the way?
Jen Nash: I think anyone can be an entrepreneur if they have a certain ability to tolerate risk and uncertainty. I’ve worked with people who think the idea of forgoing a regular paycheck sounds like a nightmare of stress and anxiety. Where I know others that think a regular desk job that restricts both their lifestyle and the earning potential is just not a tolerable option. I think it’s important to know what types of uncertainty you can stomach and play to your strengths. The world needs all kinds of people illuminating the way forward.
What’s your favorite “life lesson” quote and how has it affected your life?
Jen Nash: This is an oldy but a goody: “nothing ventured nothing gained.” Whenever I’m hesitating I’m often reminded that we have to strike out and venture into the unknown to grow, shift, change, and certainly to connect. And at the end of the day, I am passionate about wanting to get the most out of time on earth and so I must keep venturing forward learning new things, growing new skillsets, and connecting with other like-minded souls.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Jen Nash for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Jen Nash or her company, you can do it through her – Instagram
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