Operating At Your Edges
Kizuna Women Founders Interview Series: Jessica Yarmey
A few quick updates before we dive into this month’s interview!
Last couple of hours for early bird pricing on the Aligning with Change and Read Like a Writer programs! I’m incredibly excited for this and can’t wait to work with you! 💫
Next episode of the With Grace podcast - featuring Justin Castelli - will be going up either Friday or Saturday!
Paid subscribers will have access to bonus behind the scenes content (our convo outside the episode) as well as additional personal commentary from me.This month, the Kizuna Studio will be trying out live video discussions on LinkedIn! We’re going to see how it goes and if we like it, we’ll continue our monthly chats there.
If you’d like to stay up-to-date on these live Kizuna Studio Roundtable discussions, follow the Studio on LinkedIn or Twitter (X)!I need your feedback! I’m considering doing an event next month that will be exclusively for paid subscribers. I’m currently tossing around two options:
a 60 minute AMA group Zoom call with all of us (recording will be available for those who can’t make it live)
a 5 day self-guided virtual retreat (via email)
Kizuna Women Founders Interview Series
This series shares the stories and voices of women founders who are building and carving out their own paths. My hope is that it will help educate and inspire up-and-coming entrepreneurs as they navigate their own way forward.
If there's a woman leader you'd like to see me feature, let me know!
Jessica Yarmey | Founder & CEO SizzleSociety
Jessica has spent the last 25 years promoting and protecting global franchise brands such as Gold’s Gym, Club Pilates and Burger King.
In 2020, she shifted her focus from driving demand for brands to building brands. She built her first start-up, KickHouse from 0 to 30 locations before exiting to Mayweather Boxing + Fitness in 2022.
Currently, Jessica is launching a brand new fitness concept called FlexSociety as well as a marketing agency called SizzleSociety.
The legacy she’s writing is inspiring and encouraging others to pursue their passions and reach their potential through fitness as well as entrepreneurship.
How did the idea for your current business come about?
SizzleSociety came to life fast and organically. In the middle of 2023, I was working on launching a new fitness concept called FlexSociety. I was hitting dead ends on all funding outreach and was getting frustrated that I couldn’t find the right partner. All of the “no’s” and stalled energy were really having me questioning my value and pushing me to the edge of burnout.
Late in 2023, I decided to step back and stop pushing on it. I shifted my focus from building that business to some marketing consulting work and within a few weeks, I had some good momentum on the marketing work. I filed my SizzleSociety domain names and trademarks late in 2023 and dove into it with full effort in 2024.
Was there a challenging situation you faced in building your business and what lesson(s) did you learn from that experience?
My exit from my first entrepreneurial adventure was bumpy at best. People I was partnered with did not act in good faith as partners. People I hired to build with me quickly turned against me and spoke poorly of me and my efforts when I was no longer in the room. The stakes are higher when you’re building with others. It’s heart-breaking to trust people and then have that trust broken but you have to move forward.
The lesson I choose to take from that experience is that it’s the “who” not the “what” when you’re building. Trust is harder to come by than any other skillset or asset. When you have trust with your partners, you have a foundation that can support just about any entrepreneurial pursuit. If trust is lacking, there is a cap to your speed and your potential.
No matter what we’ve accomplished or how experienced we may be, imposter syndrome, fear, and self-doubt are common struggles that many face.
Have you experienced this in your own journey? Is there a larger purpose or vision that drives you? What keeps you moving forward during those difficult moments?
In 2020, at the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey, I felt massive self-doubt. I was a new entrepreneur building a company during the first year of the pandemic. There really were no playbooks for navigating the disruption that was happening across so many industries. I felt completely exposed as the proven playbooks were stagnant and I made bad decisions based on projections that ended up being too optimistic. Watching the rest of the industry falter, including giants like Peloton, actually gave me motivation to push forward. With all of the resources they had at their disposal, they were doing things wrong too.
Now, I think of self doubt and imposter syndrome as a signal that I’m operating at my edges. It’s uncomfortable because it’s new experiences that I’ve never worked through before. When I feel imposter syndrome I now can embrace it as evidence that I am pushing myself and working to level up. It’s me versus me trying to get to that next level. Now, I try to avoid comparison with anyone else.
Starting our own business requires time and wearing many hats, especially at the beginning, because there is always so much to do.
How do you take care of yourself to ensure you don’t burn out? How do you find your work-life balance?
Balance is so critical in entrepreneurship. It is very easy to fall into a trap of working constantly as there is always work to be done. You have to set boundaries or hacks in pursuit of your own balancing act. I have found fulfillment and moderate work-life balance by weaving my life in with work. When possible, I walk while I’m on calls to de-stress and get my steps in. If it’s not a video call, I’m outside multi-tasking.
As a mom, I feel the push and pull of mom priorities versus professional priorities. Work-life balanced with motherhood is nearly impossible, however, I have found some fun overlap involving my son in my current marketing projects. He is 13 and enjoys editing videos so I push him projects whenever I can. He’s using his hobby to earn money and he’s getting a taste of entrepreneurship at the same time.
If there is one piece of advice you’d share with women founders who are at the start of their journeys…what would it be?
Whether you’re diving into entrepreneurship as a full-time job or as a side hustle, don’t go into it alone. There are so many unique challenges that come with entrepreneurship, it’s important to have a network of people around you who have built businesses themselves and can offer perspective when needed. And as you add those individuals to your network, don’t be afraid to ask for help.
When I got started in my first business, I felt like asking for help would be a sign of weakness. It is the opposite. Asking for help from your network can help you fast-track results and dodge failures. At a minimum, you’ll find comfort in shared entrepreneurial experiences.
Connect with Jessica:
From My Desk: Culture of Ideas
Sketches #003: the thread of voice (I’ve really been enjoying this experiment!)
Thought-provoking essay on Alice Munro and art monster discourse
“What if Maverick is ‘Top Gun’s’ Real Villain?” : Loved this breakdown of the movie from a new perspective
“The Allure of the Literary Ranked List”: I deeply enjoy Celine’s ideas and writings. Wonderful essay with fantastic book recs
Work with me:
Join one of the Break Down the Box summer programs