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Do the Thing
346 Plays3 years ago
If you’re going to do the thing, do the thing. If you’re Jeni Lee of Mac’d, the thing is creating a meal prep service that combines providing a tasty variety of food, making it easy to get, and ensuring it covers the balanced nutrients you need to meet or exceed your fitness goals.
This week we talk to Jeni about how a three week span between jobs changed her career and life forever. Plus, how the desire to not feel arbitrarily limited in life, coupled with the gift of discernment, forms the entrepreneurial gut instinct that helps give you the ability to act in boldness even when it isn’t clear where the leap will land you. Also, we hear more about how she got started in meal prep, how her work is changing lives, and the future of Mac’d.
To learn more about Jeni, you can visit her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/macdbyjl/
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Transcript
Introduction to the Uncommon Life Project
00:00:02
Speaker
Everyone dreams about living an uncommon life, but how we define that dream is very different for each of us. And for most, it's a lifelong pursuit. Welcome to the Uncommon Life Project podcast. We're going to introduce you to people who are living that life or enjoying the journey to get there. We're going to also give you some tools, tricks, and tips for starting or accelerating your own efforts to live an uncommon life.
00:00:27
Speaker
a life worth celebrating and savoring. Please welcome your hosts, Brian Dewhurst and Philip Ramsey. Hello and welcome everybody to another episode of the uncommon life project where I am your host, Philip Ramsey. And I'm Aaron Kramer. Well, welcome back, Aaron Kramer. Yeah. Nice to have you here, buddy. Nice to be here.
Investing in Personal Interests
00:00:46
Speaker
It feels good to have you here. Okay. So if this is your first time listening, why in the world would you listen? Probably because you are tuning in for our guest. But before we get to our guest,
00:00:55
Speaker
I can't wait to bring her on the show. She seems like a rock star. Aaron brought her to the program, so we're gonna see how in the world they got connected. News flash, it was probably the gym because Aaron is a beast, okay? And also, thanks for tuning in. We know time is a huge value and you're spending time with us and I'm talking too much, but we're advisors who really think that you're your best asset. What in the world does that mean?
00:01:22
Speaker
It means there's no other investment that you're going to put your money in other than the things that you get excited about. And it's going to catapult you to, we think higher cashflow, better understanding of who you are and a realization of like, you know what? I do have something.
Jenny Lee's Entrepreneurial Journey
00:01:37
Speaker
I am valuable and I have something to share the world. So that's what we do at the uncommon wealth partners, which is our company that we get to pour our life into and hang out with people every day. That's my 30 second elevator pitch. That's all I got. It was great.
00:01:50
Speaker
Okay, let's get on to the show because it's way more exciting than I am, or Erin. So here we go. So our guest is the one and only Jenny Lee from Mac'd. She owns her own company. She's always been entrepreneurial. She never knew exactly what she wanted, which I can totally relate.
00:02:10
Speaker
Let's just be honest. And now she's running a hugely successful company, rocking and rolling, authentic as ever. Welcome to the show. Thank you. Yeah. I had an introduction. I love it. I don't know if that was great, but I feel like normally, so I have a business partner named Brian and he usually does the interviews for us and he usually does the bios. And so I usually just take that off of Aaron's plate, but it's not really my thing. And so she really had a better bio than what probably I said, but I like to make it authentic and she's authentic. So I feel like it works.
00:02:40
Speaker
Okay, so where do we start? I want to, I guess, maybe start by saying you never knew exactly what you wanted to do. And how normal is that? Right. But when you're growing up, like you kind of feel weird about it. You know, like, I don't know what I want. Everybody else seems to know what they want.
00:02:57
Speaker
I want to know what I want. And so I can relate to you because I took a personality test or, you know, like a career assessment. I was either going to be a hairstylist or airline like attendant or something. I can see it hairstylist. Yeah. I mean, it's really, it's really like, Oh, wow. Like this is two things that like, anyway, they just never was be able to like put me into a career.
00:03:22
Speaker
that I thought like I could thrive in. And so like you, I was kind of like, well, what do I do for college? Like, I don't know, you know? And so tell me how you started getting like traction of like, wait, this is how I'm uniquely gifted. I want to pour into that more.
00:03:39
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, growing up, I loved animals. I had horses. I showed horses. I played soccer. I was pretty normal kid. I think I wanted to be a veterinarian. And then I loved watching like crime shows. I still am such a sucker for a good crime show. Yeah. All the murder. Give me all the murder. I love this dangerous thing. No, I didn't want to learn how to do it, but I did want to be like the fact that you have the knowledge of it because you're taking it in. That's why I'm scared of my wife. I love it.
00:04:06
Speaker
No, I honestly like I'm, I would feel way too guilty. Like I could never do it, but I loved watching it. So I wanted to be a detective growing up. And then, um, you know, the whole, what do I go to college for? Well, I didn't know. So I just went for business and it was fantastic. Which is never a bad idea. No, you know, like you feel like you can probably use that in a couple of things. So yeah, I liked marketing. So then started going to school. I wanted to be like,
00:04:30
Speaker
Wine. I loved wine too. I get it. Still don't. International business wine marketing. I thought that would be really cool. There it is. Travel. So, you know, I love to travel. I love to communicate with people to an extent when I'm done, I'm done. Like I need to go like, I'm tapped out. Yeah. Power up like all over again.
00:04:49
Speaker
I love that she understands that because we've talked about this. That's a big deal. It's huge. I love people, but when I need a break, I need my break. I like, no. So, you know, I knew sales would probably be good. I'm a very passionate person. So when I talk about something, I mean, I can sell. I can sell. I believe in it and I can sell it. And you're not selling, you're just excited about it, which that excitement sells.
00:05:12
Speaker
Yep. Yeah. If you believe in something, you want to convey that to other people that it is fabulous. Um, so I went to college, I graduated, I was still working. Where'd you go to college? St. Claude state. Okay. Minnesota. Yeah. Yeah. So hockey. I love hockey. Um, yeah, I got the full college experience. Yep. Here you don't have to say any more to that. Yep. And I never thought I'd move back to Iowa. So is that where you grew up? I grew up. Yeah. I grew up around here. I went to Saudi spoke.
00:05:42
Speaker
You did? What did you graduate? Oh, wait. Okay. Yeah. I went there for middle school. Seriously? Yeah. Mrs. Rumpel. Shout out. Yeah. She was awesome. She was awesome. I know. We almost went to college together. Seriously? You did? I visited St. Cloud to wrestle there.
00:05:59
Speaker
It would've been awesome. And you would've graduated in 08? I graduated in 07. High
Importance of Health and Sustainability
00:06:05
Speaker
school. So you would've been like, yeah. Yeah. Sorry. Realization. Light bulbs went off here. Light bulbs have gone off. Oh my gosh. And I lived with five, you probably would've known my roommates because I lived with five guys at the very last two years of college. You probably would've been friends with them. Wow. That would've been crazy. Okay. So live with your parents in Altoona, Pleasant Hill area. Reynolds. Reynolds, yeah. Yeah. Uh-huh. I actually grew up on the land that my grandma grew up on.
00:06:28
Speaker
Interesting. The old farmhouse wasn't there, but. You were a ram. Yeah, that was great. You were a ram. Yeah, you were. Okay, then you would go to Minnesota. So what was the tie there? Just, hey. Get out. Hockey. Go get on my own. Yeah, Matt too. I was a hockey fan my whole life. But it was, I didn't want to be close enough to home where I could rely on my family, my parents. Smart. I wanted to get out and if you're going to do the thing, do the thing. Right. You know?
00:06:54
Speaker
But far enough away that it's not good, or close enough that you don't have to take an airplane back. Exactly. I think that's good. That was the goal. So you nailed it. Yeah, I looked in Texas too, but it was a little too far. Yeah, no, I can't do that. Love it. It's so cool. That's, that's part of why I moved back. I could still, I don't know about these winners. I could still move to Florida. I don't know.
00:07:14
Speaker
Right. I get you. Okay. So you're up in Minnesota and you're loving life. College is your jam. It was pretty fun. Yeah. And then you get your business degree and then when you were like, I'm coming back, coming back. Yeah. I worked for a company. I was promoted really fast. Um, I was in charge of half the state when it came to, what was that job quickly? Um, okay. And what was your like role in the job?
00:07:42
Speaker
So I started as recruiter and then I got moved to an account manager. I had half the state. I had the East half of Minnesota. Um, I worked all the time, but not for myself. Right. Right. It's totally different. Think about how much money, this is fun little exercise. How much money do you think you made that company in the time that you work there?
00:08:03
Speaker
A lot. Yeah. And then how much money they actually paid you. You started thinking that way. And by the way, if you're a listener and you have an eight to five job, don't do this calculation because you will quit very quickly. You know, you'll jump down this uncommon path pretty quick. So sorry. So anyway, so then you were doing the deal, getting promoted like crazy, getting edified, encouraged. And then at one point we were like, listen though,
00:08:29
Speaker
Yeah, my sister and my brother were both married. I knew grandkids would be, my mom and dad were going to be grandparents. I wanted to be an active aunt. I wanted to get back in touch with my family and be closer with them again. That was just tough to do, it stayed away. So I moved home.
00:08:51
Speaker
which is a real big deal. Like you just say move home, but like there is something psychological about, okay, yeah, you moved to go do the deal, do the deal and now you're coming back. Yeah. Was that tough or was that just like, well,
00:09:05
Speaker
It was, but I was more ready than I thought. And like I said, I never thought I'd move back. And it was just the kind of thing where one day I was just like, it's time. And literally a month later, I was here. But I'm very much like that. Like, I'm like, if I want to do something, how do I make this happen and how do I make it happen now? And if there's a process to it, sure. But step of the way every single day. Right. I like that.
00:09:26
Speaker
You, and we talked about this before, so I just want to bring our listeners up to speed. Her faith is a big thing about her life. And so where was your faith at that point coming from Minnesota back to Iowa? Did you have some kind of faith or were you just kind of like, I was just doing Jenny Lee.
00:09:42
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, there was, he was always, God was always in the background, but that's not where he belongs. So I think, you know, a very common term used these days is lukewarm. And that's definitely where I was. I didn't consider God and pray about decisions before I made them kind of thing. And that's definitely changed today. Right, lukewarm is exactly where Jesus, like the devil wants you for the record. Right. If you're on the fence, you're on the devil's side.
00:10:12
Speaker
Right. For sure. Right. I know about this. Like, do you though? Right. Okay. So you come back. Did you keep the job that you had in Minnesota? I was in the same line of work, but with a different company. Okay. So, and I mean,
00:10:28
Speaker
Minneapolis
Scaling and Business Challenges
00:10:29
Speaker
area versus Des Moines. There's a big difference there. So I wasn't as busy down here. Um, I didn't, I had broke accounts up there and I got handed some, which was really nice, but I had broken a lot. Um, and it just that huge sense of accomplishment. I did feel very edified. Um, and what I had done. And when I moved here, it wasn't,
00:10:53
Speaker
I didn't feel as accomplished. I felt a little purposeless, you know? Um, and purpose is huge for me. Like I'm super passionate about everything I do. If I'm going to put 5% into it, I'm going to put 100% or I'm probably just not going to do it. Yeah. Yeah. What's the point? Right.
00:11:09
Speaker
Even in your bio, you said you've always had that entrepreneurial spirit. I feel like that's a lot of people. And like, that's a really good example of like, it just doesn't, it just, is it not right? It's just not right. If it's right, it's right. Those are the people who are like, those are my people. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. And I think that's a huge part of where my faith comes in that has kind of always been there is,
00:11:29
Speaker
I could just feel if it's right or wrong. And if it's wrong, everything in me just says, no, go away. And it's not that it's bad. It's just that it's not for me. Yeah, exactly. But then when, God is saying, when that discernment, I think that's probably my number one spiritual gift is discernment. I can just feel if it's right or wrong, if there's a green light or if it's a, no, turn around. Yes, stop right now. And if it's a green light, it's like it's a big, huge, clear green light.
00:11:58
Speaker
Right. Go for it. Right. Okay. So you got to Iowa, that green light has been always pointing you in the right direction. Then you were like, I'm dissatisfied or not feeling as such a purpose that's being fulfilled. So when you were like, okay, I need to start something. And did you always have this like idea of what you wanted to do if you ever did it or, um, I am a huge proponent of freedom. So I don't,
00:12:27
Speaker
You can talk about it here actually. It's a safe place. Yeah. All right. Um, I don't like to be told necessarily not, not even like what I can or can't do. I don't like to feel limited. Yeah. Don't back baby to corner. Don't do it. And, um, I felt that a lot with that job. So, and actually one of my clients that I had just grown really close with, he kept saying, come work for me, come work for me, come work for me. Whenever you want, you have just, you just say the words. And so one day we're in a meeting and I'm like,
00:12:58
Speaker
You know, he goes, you're ready. And I was like, I think I am. Yeah. He's like, okay. So they were like finishing up their fiscal year. And so it was going to be like three weeks. He offered it to me on the spot. He's like, I want you to come in. He's like, it's yours. I want you to come and meet the team, but it's yours. I was like, okay. And they were like finishing up their fiscal year. So there's just like three weeks until they could, um,
00:13:19
Speaker
give me an official offer. And in those three weeks, I was at that time training for my first bikini competition. The gym that I was working out at, we had started doing a lot of meal prep classes. The ladies wanted to learn how to meal prep.
00:13:38
Speaker
And so we had been doing that and essentially they had just been like, yeah, yeah, yeah, this is great. It's good to know. But will you do it for me? Yeah. And I love to cook. Right. So I was like, you're going to pay me to do something I love to do. Yeah. Yeah. At my, you know, at that point it was like for these ladies, I was like, in my own home, I don't do that now, of course. But I was like, sure. And especially in those three weeks, I was like, I could quit my job that I hate, do this in the meantime, and then take that offer.
00:14:04
Speaker
As a project manager is what he wanted to hire me as which I think I would have really enjoyed honestly. Yeah And in that three weeks, it just kind of took off and it was like sink or swim It was like you can't dip your toe in the water. You got to jump in or you're out and that's that green line I'm talking about. Yeah, and I totally felt like yeah, this is you can do this I was in a position where I could
00:14:27
Speaker
kind of take that leap and take that chance and I did and I never looked back, I'm so glad I did. But it was a total risk chance. Oh yeah, it's the best thing ever. So on Commonwealth Partners, we help people, we call it kind of jump off the bridge. And we give them enough confidence to be like, your parachute will open. And so as scary as it is, you still have to walk up, stand up on that bridge and look down and like,
00:14:54
Speaker
I can't tell you how many people we've seen like, all right, take that lean forward. And I love it. The point that you're talking to the point that I bringing this up is there's a point where you're too far in to come back. So you might as well jump and let's rock, you know? And so what you're saying is like, you either have to, you can't just dip your toe into something like that. Like, no,
00:15:12
Speaker
No, and that point for me was actually quitting my full-time job with, I don't have this offer yet. Security. Yeah, it was promised to me. But yeah, that's security. So if I quit that full-time job and do this in the interim, and you know, I had said, you know, maybe I'll continue to do it on weekends and evenings or something like that, you know? Right. Like as a part-time passion gig, you know? Yeah. And so, I mean, that was kind of that point of jumping off was letting go of that job.
00:15:39
Speaker
Oh, so good. You're now falling, which is like the scariest, most exhilarating, the most life you'll ever going to live in that moment. I'm glad you said exhilarating cause that's exactly what it was. Yeah. And you start seeing, and all of a sudden here's the deal. Here's the scary part is you start working for yourself.
00:15:58
Speaker
And like things, you gotta be really careful with the whole work-life balance because it's all just like fun. So do I get the three things done today or do I just be done? And if you're working for somebody else, like it'll be there tomorrow. But when you're working for yourself, now I'm gonna get these three things done and then these next three things done and then maybe two more. Which is exciting, but also there is a pitfall there, obviously with everything. But for you, you were loving it.
00:16:25
Speaker
I was, I was like, I remember there would be nights where I, it would pull an all nighter because I had a 5am delivery because there was 10 people in that, you know, 5am workout class that we've done at 6am. And I, it made sense in my mind.
00:16:41
Speaker
that they should have that ready to pick up by the time they went home after their workout in that morning. So I had to be there and that was my choice. Yeah. Right. But it made sense to me, I'm going to get more sales if they know they can pick it up right here as they head home and be prepared for their week on Monday morning. Yeah. So that was the business is a meal prep.
00:16:59
Speaker
Yep, meal prep and then it grew. Well, and I would write macro meal plans. Okay. So now I've created different programs, but that's initially how it started was. Wow. And it would be now it's just meals, but at that point it was like every single meal of their day. So I'd be prepping out like 14 ounces or 14 grams of almonds if that was with the breakfast or whatever that might look like. It was like ramekins of this and that. They literally didn't have to do grocery shopping.
00:17:24
Speaker
So we altered that. Yeah. Right. Yeah. That's like my dream. There's got to be a pretty good margin in that because people will pay it. People will pay it. Yep.
00:17:37
Speaker
Okay. So this is the part in the show where I kind of dismiss myself and Aaron's super excited to talk about all the different
Advocating for Healthy Living
00:17:44
Speaker
nuances of meal prepping. He's excited to talk about food. I know it's food. Like I think I've told Jenny that so many times like when I get to a point where I can afford your services, I'm doing it because I can't wait because I hate cooking and all that. And then like, it's important though.
00:18:00
Speaker
No, it is. Yeah. So, okay. So you started out like in your first initial like network was like, you know, lifters, right? Bodybuilders, bodybuilders. Yeah. Yeah. So I know for our listeners, like same lifters cause I know like people get confused by like bodybuilding and powerlifting and like basically your workout enthusiasts, like you're, yeah. So there's so from there, like, so how'd you get from there?
00:18:27
Speaker
to hold on. So this wasn't your like full on things, but how'd you end up acquiring all the knowledge that you needed for this? Cause you're like, good question. And the last time we talked, I was like,
00:18:39
Speaker
snap like you like know your stuff like because it was going over my head and like I Feel like I'm in this world a little bit. I didn't understand what you just said So like uh, so how'd that have that journey because I mean you jumped off this and you're doing business and like Start acquiring the knowledge. Yeah, I mean you had the time to cook for us. Mm-hmm. Yep. I grew up cooking for sure and
00:19:04
Speaker
Like I said, if I'm gonna do something and I'm passionate about it, it's like dive in or get away from the pool. So when I decided that people, and I value people so much, and people's health is very important. So I was like, well, if I'm gonna be doing this for people and people are trusting me with this, I need to know what I'm talking about.
00:19:26
Speaker
I need to learn. You can't fake it. No, no. I mean, it's very results driven. So if someone's doing this and paying for this, they're going to want to see results. Yeah. And that's very important. You can't hide that. It is or it isn't. Right. So I took a certification course. I was bodybuilding already. So I was putting my own body through it a lot and seeing what worked and what didn't.
00:19:52
Speaker
feeling what worked and what didn't. And I didn't want to put people's bodies through something that they couldn't come back from, which is what I think a lot of coaches out there today do. Oh my gosh, so much. Yeah.
00:20:04
Speaker
There are, there are so many clients that I get that they'll tell me what they have been told to do. And I'm like, okay, well we kind of have to start behind ground zero because we need to repair a lot now to get you where we want you to be, because I'm not just going to keep cutting your calories. Like you can't just keep eating less and less every time you want to cut.
00:20:28
Speaker
You can't do that. That's not good for your health. That's not sustainable. That's not sustainable. And then the next time you want to do that, you're in an even worse position. Yes. So it makes zero sense. Yeah. I know you want results in six weeks, but guess what? Those six weeks, I need to take those to get you where you should be. That way we can get results and you're healthy.
00:20:45
Speaker
That's the number one thing. I want to make this very clear to all the listeners. I know we're talking about right now, we're going to get into the overall health period, but athletes take things to the extreme, so if you know the extreme, you know the everyday stuff. On the bodybuilding side, I know it really turned me off, especially for women doing it, is that they get into it and they're like, I look amazing, but then when they're all done, they looked worse before they started their cut.
00:21:12
Speaker
Yep. And it's like, Oh, you're like 10, 15 pounds heavier now than you before you even started cutting. Yeah. Cause like the diet was on it. Right. And things like that. I know for myself, like not being a woman, I remember getting my cut, get on stage and then get off stage. And I was like driving truck and delivering to grocery stores at the time. Like, man, my feet just feel really funny. Like what is going on? Huh? My feet were swelling up. And then I like call my coaches. Like, dude, my feet are swelling. I'm like, I can barely get them in my shoes. And he's like,
00:21:42
Speaker
Dude, you gotta reverse diet. I'm like, um, what's that? And he's just like, duh, reverse, you gotta like, slowly ease back there like, bro, you're my coach. You need to help me. You're supposed to tell me that. I was just eating ice cream and cookies cause I didn't get to do it for 15 weeks. Cause that's what you're craving. Yeah, exactly. And you know, a lot of that cravings and stuff, and this is something that, oh my gosh, I just, I wish that,
00:22:06
Speaker
I try to tell all of my clients, I wish that people understood a little bit better is when you have a craving, oftentimes it's not that you just mentally want that or your body. It's a micronutrient, a vitamin or mineral deficiency that your body is dealing with. And what our brains think of is, Oh, my body is telling me I need calcium. Okay. My brain is telling me I want ice cream, you know, or I'm, I haven't slept well and I am really low energy right now. So my body's telling me I want sugar because that is the most automatic response to getting immediate energy to digest so quickly.
00:22:36
Speaker
Uh-huh. That's really cool. I heard of a story of a person that was stranded on a boat like a raft and then he kept fishing and all of a sudden he was like, I want the eyeballs. And then the doctor after he got saved was like, Oh, you wanted those because that's iron and you were deficient in iron.
00:22:52
Speaker
Exactly. Weird. Your body's like, this is what I want. Yeah. Get it as fast as possible, even if it's not the healthiest way to do it. Yeah. I know the coolest thing about when we're eating healthy, because there's a point in time, I feel like, especially when you're starting off kind of fluffy like I am for bodybuilding shows. Me too right now.
00:23:10
Speaker
Where you're just eating clean and you're like, oh, okay. But then like, you're never craving, cause you're getting all your nutrition in and you're eating healthy and clean, but it's interesting to get to the point where like we all like, I don't know if, if anybody listening out there, if you're an energy drink junkie, like I am, I love my energy drinks. Like, and, but when like a spoonful of peanut butter or a good meal and you get done, you're like, I feel like I just drank a monster. Cause you got proper nutrition in and your body's just loving it.
00:23:39
Speaker
an apple is more effective and efficient and giving you energy than like a cup of coffee. There you go. There's your application for the day. Yeah. Uh, no. Okay. So we kind of went into the weeds there, which I've totally think that was great. Good job.
00:23:54
Speaker
Uh, let's pull back out. Yeah. So how did we, okay. So we started there. Now your meal problem for everybody. And you've got to pull back. So you said your safety net. What did you tell that guy? Like, listen, I'm not doing it anymore. So.
00:24:13
Speaker
We, I mean, to this day, we still have a great relationship. Um, I think just like six months ago, he's like, so you don't come back and work for me. And I'm like, honestly, like you couldn't pay me enough. Yeah. Pretty much what I told him. And he's like, all right. Well, had to ask. I'm like, okay. Appreciate that. Appreciate that. Um, so no, he understood and he knew I wasn't happy. I, like I said, I'm kind of an open book. I'm not going to sit there and lie to your face that I'm loving my job right now.
00:24:41
Speaker
I wasn't going to do that to him. He deserved to know that I wasn't happy, but I also knew he probably, well, I didn't know, but I never would have imagined he would have fired me. So if there's, if I'm not happy in my work and I trust my boss, I'm going to tell him I'm not happy that way. If I'm going to stay, we can work together to make the situation better. Absolutely. You know, which is, communication is key, right? Um, so he understood, he wasn't happy about it, but
00:25:08
Speaker
The opportunity that I was going to take was a great one. It was betting on yourself. It was investing in yourself. For sure. Well, the project manager job that I was going to take was great. Oh, okay. Gotcha. Gotcha. And that was what he thought I was leaving for. I see. Then when I didn't take that and I had to tell my client that had offered me the project manager job. Right. That's the guy I wanted to talk about. Oh, okay. Okay. I want that guy. We still communicate too.
00:25:37
Speaker
I'm a huge fan of him great guy great guy and he was probably excited like there you go At least you're doing that if you're not gonna be working for me at least do it for yourself Yeah, and he was kind of just like of course you are you know So he's very supportive. He actually ordered meals from me before he moved to South Carolina. He lives near Charleston now Super supportive great. He was so cool. Let me know what I can do to help
00:26:01
Speaker
Right. So you start the business. You rock and roll. You get an LLC. How do you do that? Yep. Do you know all of that? Or do you just like, how do you become knowledge? Yeah. Which is a lot what we hear. Uh, how did you get up and running on that to get educated enough? Did you just go to Google? Yeah. Well, I knew I had to pay taxes or I was probably just like going to get arrested or something. I didn't want that. Um, so hard to run a business. Yeah. Right.
00:26:29
Speaker
Yeah, I was like I'm gonna have a little bit more freedom if I'm not in jail so and I value freedom so I was like well if I am gonna report income. I need a company to do that
Financial Freedom and Future Goals
00:26:39
Speaker
through all right um It was a really it was easier process then even than it is now because I just went down to the other What is it the? Some state building yeah, and walked into the thing filled out my form and I think $40 later. I had an LLC great and yeah, so easy and
00:26:57
Speaker
It's easier now, you can do it on the internet. You don't have to drive downtown, pay the parking. Yeah, there you go. So maybe it is easier now. Did that, I had never like kept books before, which I still am horrible at, but I have someone do that for me. That's right. Now, I cannot keep up with anything.
00:27:14
Speaker
Um, started all of that. Um, like I said, those first initial clients, I didn't, I wasn't licensed out of a kitchen. Um, quickly realized I needed to do that. Um, realized that they would come after me. Didn't again, didn't want to lose my business or be in jail. Um, when I did that, it was a game changer instead of taking like.
00:27:38
Speaker
13 hours, it would take like five. So it was a lot of efficiencies that we began working on. And oh my God, I'm still four and a half years later, I'm still creating efficiencies that I thought I had it all down by now. And that is the one thing that all of this has taught me is
00:27:55
Speaker
I was not, I didn't have so much of an ego that I thought I knew at all. And I definitely don't now. If I ever stopped learning that today, just like bring me up to heaven, you know? But I realized how little I knew and how much I had to learn.
00:28:11
Speaker
Which is such a blessing because if you would have known how little you would have known, you never would have stepped off the proverbial ledge. But the fact is we're just kind of like, we don't know, we don't know, like let's go. How did you start, have you ever read the book, E-Myth? This is where this question is coming from. Basically this baker, she wanted to open up her own business, baking. And what she realized is that she created a prison for herself because it was successful if she was in the kitchen baking.
00:28:40
Speaker
And so, how did you start getting this realization of like, wait a second. Truly, the more clients we get, the more time I have to be in this kitchen. How did you scale out of that?
00:28:52
Speaker
Um, I'm at a point right now where, and maybe, maybe I should, I should, I don't, I'm going to say it. I'm at a point where I'm ready to hand off the cooking aspect because that's the point that is the area that I don't need to be there. I have that so down to a science that I can convey to someone else how to do that. Just like I do. And as long as they're willing to listen and learn someone else can take that over. Absolutely.
00:29:19
Speaker
Because i am gonna be at a standstill until i am i'm one person right i can't scale it up enough to help as many people as you want if you're the only person exactly cuz there's a lot of other aspects that and i think my grandma's this is so funny she's like
00:29:34
Speaker
Well, if you're only in the kitchen one or two days a week, like what do you do with the rest? And I'm like, I can barely sleep with you so much. Grandma, bless your heart. You get to work on the business instead of in the business. Exactly. And that is where I'm needed right now. Absolutely. You know, to grow. And so I, um, I get really overwhelmed so I can totally relate to putting yourself in prison. I can totally relate. Right. Right. Um, so I think just,
00:30:05
Speaker
being able to delegate, which is really hard because it's not that I'm a control freak. It's that I care that much. It's your baby. It's my baby exactly. And I want it to be done right. And I don't want anyone to be let down. And I want people to enjoy doing it if they are helping, you know, or what, in whatever capacity they're looking. Um, so it is, it's a catch 22 big time.
00:30:29
Speaker
Yeah, it's like it's that we don't we talk about the sauce a lot. It's it's like leading, you know, like how do you lead and stuff? Because like you see all the chefs all the time. We're talking about like, you know, being a little hesitant about saying like you need to find other people because you have it down to a sense. But you go to big, fancy restaurants. The chef, the famous chef back there is not actually cooking your food. Right. He's delegating and leading the entire kitchen. Yeah.
00:30:53
Speaker
Right? Yeah. Let me just encourage you because I feel like that's kind of where our business is. And it's been so hard for me to level up of like, no, I want to be with every kitchen table that I can with the clients that I know, like, and love. And I want to see their uncommon journey unfold.
00:31:09
Speaker
And what's changed in me is the delegation of like, why would I rob that of somebody else? Does that make sense? And then how do I delegate in such a way that they have as much care about these clients as I do? And how can I like, basically,
00:31:27
Speaker
change my mindset to be able to grow as an individual. Does that make sense? Like, okay, we've done this. Now we need to grow this area. And it's been life giving for me to delegate. And then also for me, the first time I delegated and it didn't go well.
00:31:45
Speaker
how encouraging it was for me to encourage the whole thing. Does that make sense? Like listen, I can't tell you how many mistakes I've made. So like the fact that you made the mistake, great job. And we're going to be doing more of this. Like you should get a promotion when you, when you screw up and people are like, well, why would you ever say that?
00:32:03
Speaker
because if I discourage people from screwing up, they'll never feel comfortable moving out of the box. If that makes sense, they'll always be scared of like, oh, Phillip's going to be mad or I'm going to take it back and like, I'm going to do it myself. But the absolute opposite has happened. When I get more encouraged, just encouraging other people like, listen, things like this happen all the time. In fact, I did this like 75 times. I'm here for you. And like, how can we then go help more people? Yeah.
00:32:30
Speaker
So in your life and in your career trajectory, as scary as it is, the more enjoyable it will be because things change. And I think this is important in the whole uncommon journey. We wrote a book. We'll give it to you. It's kind of fun, but we wrote like four stages. The first phase is how much do you need a month to live?
00:32:50
Speaker
If you're not willing to do the hard work in that, let's don't even go down the uncommon journey. You just go work for somebody else. Does that make sense? Because if you're not willing to do the hard work there, you're definitely not going to be able to be willing to fight through the battles when some something hits you in the face, which it will. The second phase is like, what's your capital fund? Meaning every businesses all want to start and grow well. Well, but the cash flow of things is what gets them. So if you have a pretty good capital fund, my uncle, which is not my uncle, Dave Ramsey, says,
00:33:20
Speaker
You gotta have, what is it, an emergency fund? We call it a capital fund, a little different. That's phase two. So you know the budget, you have a capital fund, then you can go on to phase three, which is investing. What are you gonna invest in? And Aaron Kramer is gonna invest something different than Philip Ramsey, which is gonna invest something different as Jenny.
00:33:40
Speaker
Jenny Lee. So whatever you're interested in, like figure out what you're passionate about. That's what you should be using your money to invest in, which you've done. The fourth phase is time freedom phase. When your business or whatever you're investing in generates enough for your monthly budget, you move into time freedom and this is where everybody gets excited. This is where I get really excited because if you do it right and you invest in the right things, you look back at phase three, which is the investing phase and say, I can do it better.
00:34:10
Speaker
I feel like I love this part of it. This part of it, I hate the books, for example, right? So I'm gonna go invest in somebody to do the books that they're wired that way. And then I can focus in on something that I get more excited about, which then gets the flywheel moving even faster. That make sense? And really this whole uncommon journey is really all about like, we never are done being so like learning and understanding and adopting different strategies.
00:34:40
Speaker
And like, if you ever do get done, we were like, I really have so much money. I want to vomit. I don't know what to do with. Then like, go mentor somebody else to like, Hey, what's your budget? What are you passionate about? Like get a savings. And like, so it's this constant turning of we're all here to help each other try to be like Jenny Lee and like rock it out. But, but like how we do that is all different. But then as like business owners, I'd say that you're in the financial freedom phase and you're looking back at your investment and saying, I can do it better.
00:35:09
Speaker
Yeah, like and I want to do it better. Like get you excited to wake up in the morning. So you're like an uncommon through and through. I love it. Yeah. Um, and so Aaron, great, great find. So tell me this as you start looking at your business in the future, like what is like the end goal for you, like top of the mountain, at least as you see it now.
00:35:32
Speaker
I always get asked if I want my own storefront. I honestly don't think I do because of all of the overhead. I just don't think it makes sense. If someone else, so I work out of a shared use kitchen right now and I love the concept and I love that there are so many entrepreneurs that get to get under one roof at different times of course, but to build their dreams and to bounce ideas off of each other and all of these different things.
00:36:01
Speaker
One of them is talking about opening their own space where it would be a little more intimate of a space and inviting some of us to go and do that. I would love to support someone's dream in that capacity where I had maybe a little bit more of my own space.
00:36:19
Speaker
But I don't want that's my passion isn't the building part and managing and maintenance and all of that. That's a lot. Yeah, that's a lot of overhead. Um, so that is not, I don't think where I would want to end up, but I would like to be maybe on a, um,
00:36:36
Speaker
like a more intimate scale like that where it's our kitchen, you know what I mean? And we're all utilizing it and bringing things to life on a smaller scale than a big shared use kitchen. I think that would be fantastic. I think handing that
00:36:53
Speaker
cooking piece off and diving a little bit deeper into the client aspect, the online aspect, I would love to dive into a little bit more. I just don't have time to. Because then you can reach a ton of people. You can answer a ton of questions. Honestly, you can change a lot of lives because when your health is optimum, your life is different. Like you were saying, when you are eating super clean, that is when I feel the most connected to God. I feel like I have the most clarity in life. I feel fulfilled. I feel happy.
00:37:22
Speaker
And think about that. Like there's not as much crap in your body that you have to filter through. It's not just your stomach and your weight and your appearance that are feeling all of that. Your stomach is directly connected to your brain. If you don't have mental clarity, guess what? Look at what you're eating. It changes your life. When you, when you look at all of that, I want to be able to help people with that. And
00:37:49
Speaker
you know, on a huge scale, way more than what I'm doing now, because I get such satisfaction from helping the client tell that I have. Their wins
Conclusion and Final Thoughts
00:37:57
Speaker
are my wins. I love that. Right. I'm putting a pebble in your shoe. That's what I'm saying. At the end of the day, think about how much more people you can help serve if you just have somebody to cook for you.
00:38:08
Speaker
Like, and then it's like, this is a no brainer. I'm almost doing a disservice to the person on the internet that needs my help. You know, like, so that uncomfortableness, when you think about it in terms of serving somebody else for me is enough to be like, jump off the bridge, Phillip, like go, you know, you know, and that, that reminds me, um, couple months ago.
00:38:25
Speaker
Oh, five, three months ago, um, someone had mentioned an old coach that I used to work with. Oh yeah. He told me about your little business and it stung. Oh yeah. My little business. Yeah. Yeah. And you want to talk about my little business. Yeah. And so I was like, all right.
00:38:45
Speaker
There's going to be some things changing here and that was kind of a little catalyst. Like you're saying, that was a little pebble on my shoes. I have like three or four pebbles in my shoe right now. Shoes are going to come off. Yeah. Right. Right. That's good. I think it's so powerful because it's a good thing to get out there to do. Like I don't, I'm biased because I like the whole workout thing and being healthy, but like the, the biggest change, like I love the fight that you're against in my mind is like,
00:39:11
Speaker
You're combining time management, which every young family struggles with, 100%. This is why the fast food market does so well. It's so easy and convenient. Just run through the drive through. But then on top of that, you're not going to somebody who's like, oh, you need to do keto. You need to do this. You need to do all these fad diets.
00:39:31
Speaker
It's a let's break it down. Let's break it down and let me make it convenient for you. Yeah. You know, that's the last thing I would ever do is guide someone into any sort of a fad diet because God made three beautiful macronutrients that unless you have some sort of a health condition, you require all of those. I'm a huge proponent for that. I do want people to enjoy what they eat.
00:39:55
Speaker
And I think, I think that's really important. You aren't going to get everything that you were supposed to get, even if you supplement it, if you're not eating everything you're supposed to eat. Yeah. You know? I don't know. And then on top of that, like, my thing is like, too late. I don't like, um, we all go through this phase as me heads. It's just like, I take supplements, supplements.
00:40:15
Speaker
And you're like, Oh yeah, I gotta get bigger. Let's take some more protein. You know, like when you actually grow up and you're like, Oh, I have to just eat food. I actually works way better. Yeah. Yeah. But like the same since like, can you actually promise that these supplement companies are putting in there is actually what they say it is? No, but if you eat in the steak, you know, it came from a cow, right? Right. Like there's no denying that. Right. But you're going to waste so much money.
00:40:39
Speaker
The money aspect, people will talk about groceries being expensive, but what are you spending your money on with all of these supplements that you don't even know if they're working? If you're not eating correctly, you have no business taking any supplements. We're totally adopted this whole naturopathic idea and all this stuff. And so they always said, and we always watch these documentaries that say, well, it's cheaper. And that's baloney until you look at what the health ramifications are for not eating it.
00:41:09
Speaker
Does that make sense? And that one for me, I was like, oh, okay, maybe it is healthier to eat healthy now, even though it's a little bit more in the pocketbook. But then later down the road, I'm hopeful that that's going to pay off and we don't have these chronic illnesses that come up. So I think that was helpful for me. I'm not saying that this was helpful for you, but it was helpful for me to like, oh, that's why they say it's, it's less expensive.
00:41:29
Speaker
because they're thinking about the totality of what you're going to be spending your life on, you know, your health and this and then the other. Not even from like a money perspective, like there are so many things that you can't put a dollar on, like in your old age, being able to watch your grandchildren grow up.
00:41:44
Speaker
and walking from your house to your car. Breathing. Yeah, like breathing without having to tilt around an oxygen tank. And there are just so many things that if you take care of this now, those things, you can't put a dollar sign on later. You can put a dollar sign on the steak that you're going to buy at the store and the fresh vegetables that you should be eating, but you can't put a dollar sign on life expectancy or... Quality of life. Quality of life in any capacity, you know what I mean?
00:42:13
Speaker
Okay, this is what I got. We're gonna start lining the plane. How many clients do you have currently?
00:42:18
Speaker
That varies from week to week because I have clients where I write their meal plans. I have clients that are like on a macro level, like I tell them exactly what to eat. I have clients that are on, it's called a lifestyles program. So I essentially, I tell them what category to eat and they get to choose from that category. So it provides a little bit more variation in their diet, which it is very individual. Some people work way better on one program. One, some people work way better on the other.
00:42:43
Speaker
Yeah, but you have to do that or because one it's nutrition is not one size fits all I know everyone says that but it is the truest thing People don't think the same either. Right? So even if one diet would where I wouldn't say diet was one nutrition plan would work for Someone mentally if they're not there, it doesn't matter, right, you know, it has to be sustainable fit within their life so I do have the clients where I'm actually writing things out for but then on a weekly basis whoever puts an order in and
00:43:12
Speaker
At some cooking for to anyone can put an order in online and order whatever even though I'm not in charge of their nutrition So right on average though, like how many we cook between like I mean between four and six hundred meals a day when we're in there Wow, yeah
00:43:32
Speaker
And I mean, it varies. That's awesome. That's a good number. That's a good number just to like, no, yeah, you need to get out of the kitchen. Uh, okay. So the next thing is, uh, like how much are each one of your tears, you know, like just talking through, like, if you just want this, this is how much ever you want this is, this is how much.
00:43:49
Speaker
Um, you can order any meal online, um, pretty much from like eight, 50 to 10, 11, 12. So not crazy. No, no. And like the, the top ones are like what Aaron would eat, like a lot of food. And then if you were to want to join a program,
00:44:09
Speaker
It's gonna vary you're gonna get a discount if you're ordering food through me as well as the programming So if you want a meal plan and you're not ordering food through me, it's $85 per meal plan I do have packages where you can buy like six at a time and it's gonna be discounted beyond that if you are ordering meals from me and
00:44:26
Speaker
and you want me to write you a meal plan, I drop that from 85 to $60 and then you're gonna pay for your food cost as well. And then there is a package for that if you're wearing it in bulk as well. And then the Lifestyles program where you're choosing what you eat, I'm just telling you kind of where you can choose from. That's on a weekly basis, so it's 20 bucks a week. You get a check and you get access to a Facebook page, recipes, tips, tricks, ideas, facts, access to me.
00:44:53
Speaker
That's cool. That's really cool business. I like that. Cool. Okay. So how do our listeners hear more about you and your company?
00:45:02
Speaker
Yeah, I have an Instagram. Got the gram. Mac'd by JL, Facebook, Mac'd. That's M-A-C apostrophe D. That's helpful. Otherwise, you know, you can email me my phone numbers on all of my social media and I respond much better, I will say this, much better to text than email. Just because I'm always on the go.
00:45:27
Speaker
I have my phone on me and I can click into email, but if I see a text pop up, guess what? You got my attention. And you know how to clear that out as well. I'm good at my work emails, but my personal emails are just so hard. It's overwhelming.
00:45:43
Speaker
I hate to look at it. And I'm, I like to be organized, so I don't like when my email gets backed up. I don't like getting more emails because that's just where I have to like sift through and sift through. So if you text me, I'm so happy. That's good. Thanks for the call. Jenny, I'm super proud of you and you don't have a little business. You have a thriving business. Let me just say it out loud. So that guy just like, you just wait, sir. You just wait. Well, I'm, there's two of his clients so far that are coming over to me saying,
00:46:12
Speaker
I feel like hell on this nutrition plan. Will you take it over? Yes, I will. I'm all about that life. Well, thank you for one being here with us. We know your time is valuable and we really appreciate it. And so closing thoughts quickly, Aaron.
00:46:29
Speaker
I mean, I think what you're doing is amazing. I think the fact that you're really helping people with food is awesome and how you're like spreading the word and then you're not shy about being a one of God and all those things. Like I love reading your posts and I don't have the bonus to like be that out there as I should be.
00:46:48
Speaker
I think that's awesome, but keep changing lives. You're making people so much healthier. Like it's unreal. Keep learning like you are. Like your total attitude is amazing. So I would not have any of this. If I weren't forgot, I will tell you that much. He gives me all of my great ideas. They're not mine. That's awesome. Yeah, it's good. We'll keep shining your light. Jenny, thank you for listening. You've been, you've been listening to the uncommon life project. I've been your host, Phillip Ramsey and I'm Aaron Kramer until next time.
00:47:15
Speaker
Go be uncommon. Thanks. Bye.