Hey guys, I’m Caitlyn and I’ve had the absolute pleasure to work alongside Jenna over the last 6 months as her right hand girl. To be honest, I still get a little starstruck when we meet, but I also feel like she’s my best friend after about one second of being with her. Today I wanted to share 3 life lessons I’ve learned over the last 6 months and share a little behind the scenes of what it’s like to work with THE Jenna Kutcher.

1. Being kind matters.
Jenna is the real deal. The way she writes in her newsletter and Insta posts? It’s how she is in real life all the time and with everyone. I’ve witnessed her greet people by name at the nail salon or coffee shop or the pub and ask genuine questions about what’s going on in their life. From chatting with the college student about her upcoming semester to whispering to the pub owners boyfriend about his plans to propose or genuinely inquiring about the coffee shop owners son. She asks thoughtful questions, listens and sincerely cares about them.

She is kind, genuine and just loves people and wants to brighten their day. She reads and replies to every single email she gets from those of you who reach out after her weekly newsletter (which can be hundreds a week!). Her consistent message is to communicate that they are enough, right where they are, doing whatever it is they are doing. These aren’t just catchy phrases she hand letters for us to hang on our walls or repost in Instagram. She lives it every day. I believe Jenna receives so much good and kindness and success in this world because that’s what she genuinely puts out in it.

2. Take Action.

I’ve discovered some people just operate on a higher level and it should be no surprise Jenna is one of them. We all have our unique gifts and she’ll be the first to tell you to stay in your lane and not compare your life to others. But, Jenna? She is an example of knowing her purpose and strengths and running – no sprinting with them! I’ll text her an idea I’ve been working out in my head (probably for weeks with no action) and she’ll have a draft in my inbox with next steps outlined by the next day. “Imperfect action is better than perfect inaction” – Harry Truman

What good is an idea if it only lives in your head? How many ideas have you had that you ultimately talked yourself out of before anything became of them? Or saw someone else doing something great with their business that you had only dreamed about?

3. Prioritize real rest.

This summer I took the first truly unplugged vacation with my family since starting my business 7 years ago. Even on our 10 year anniversary trip to Mexico I was taking client calls and answering emails. I’ve watched Jenna work really hard and then hit the pause button and take the time to rest and spend time with her loved ones. From a trip to Greece with her mom and sister, to Vancouver for her anniversary to a yoga retreat to recharge.  She texted me from the retreat saying “I am shutting my phone off, you’ve got it from here girl”. And you know what? I did. Her business continued just fine while she took the time to take a step back, rest and evaluate. She came back ready to dive back in refueled with a million new ideas to attack.

Intentionally putting an entire week on my calendar with nothing on the to-do list but making memories and spending quality time together was life changing for me and I encourage you to make this a priority as well. As small business owners, we think everything will come crashing down if we let go of control – but it just is not true and there is so much life to live in between the hustle of our daily lives.

What is it like working for your boss?