Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Millhiser.
Hi Jessica, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
So I’d like to start by saying that becoming an entrepreneur was never actually a goal of mine. I knew it was something people did and I have several entrepreneurs in my family; my husband also has a past life as an entrepreneur. But it’s just not the direction I thought I was heading.
I was living in Los Angeles, CA at the time, working as a Director of Operations for a swim school there – it was an excellent job for me, something I was very good at. Well, then the pandemic happened and my husband got laid off. We took that as an opportunity to leave Los Angeles (I’m originally from Vermont and was ready to move on). He ended up taking a job in Denver and we moved in September 2020. During the move, I was working with my then-boss, trying to figure out how to still make my role work from afar.
We were able to make some tweaks and since everyone was remote anyway, it ended up working out fine. So we rolled with that for the remainder of the year. Then, in December 2020, one of the main instructors at the company split off to run her swim school. I want to clarify that the parting of ways was totally and completely amicable, with no hard feelings anywhere – it was the right move for all involved.
That gal reached out to me and said “Hey, I’m doing this thing, but I don’t know how to run a business. Can you help me?” I attribute that moment, to JMC being born. I was now helping run two businesses and I thought to myself, ‘Maybe there’s something here’. For the entirety of 2021, I decided to see if there was. I continued to work with these two businesses, I slowly started networking, I slowly started connecting with other small business owners who needed help and things seemed to grow organically. It wasn’t actually until January 2022 that I officially got my LLC and decided to make a real go of it.
Now, I’m 2 full years in and I’ve learned so much. I feel like each year offers new challenges and opportunities. My first year was all about figuring out how exactly I wanted to help, who exactly I wanted to help, and then figuring out how to network. Year two was more about refining my services, refining my rates, and refining my messaging. I also recognized that I wanted to speak and educate more so I put a lot of energy into that in year two as well. This year is really about continued consistency, visibility, and focusing my efforts on Operations Consulting and Fractional Director of Operations work for small to medium-sized businesses.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The life of an entrepreneur is FULL of ups and downs. In the earlier part of January, I had a meltdown in the kitchen with my husband because I hadn’t signed a new client in over a month and had no new consultations on the calendar. Entrepreneurship is hard. It’s rewarding.
But it’s hard. There are days when you feel on top of the world and all the things are working out and going well. Then there are days where it feels like you’re grinding at max capacity and nothing is hitting. You have to be strong mentally. You have to be disciplined. And you have to have a bigger purpose, a bigger why, that helps you get through those tough periods.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I help businesses in one of four main ways:
1. Business Identity.
2. Manuals Creation.
3. Business Organization.
4. Operations Consulting/Fractional Director of Operations.
I’d like to break each of these down so readers can get a good sense of what each entails.
1. Your Business Identity is one of the most crucial components to your success. It is fully understanding and embracing who you are, what you’re about, and where you’re going as a business. At its core basic level, it’s mission, vision, and values. But I teach it in a way that is much deeper than that. I like to call it a business North Star, the central component from which every decision you make stems from. Having a strong Business Identity gives you better clarity, more focus, and clear direction.
It helps you know what to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to. And I tie this part to your idea of success, however, you define that for yourself. If you understand what success looks and feels like to YOU, you’ll be able to better align your business vision. Businesses need a plan and a path, your Business Identity gives that to you and makes running your business easier and simpler. We work together to deep dive into all the nitty gritty and complete the project with the polished mission, values, and prioritized vision focus points.
2. One of my favorite things to do is work with someone ready to grow their team. I encounter a lot of entrepreneurs who are nervous about this step towards growth. And it can be scary! You’re now taking on the responsibility of an employee. But if you want to grow, if you want to scale, it’s a step that needs to be taken. When I work with someone on this project, our main objective is to create a plan and path to successfully bring on a new team member – even if it’s just one, part-time employee to start.
We assess the current needs of the business, we determine what the role we’re hiring for should be and we build out the documentation necessary. What processes and procedures are in place for this role? What resources are currently available and what gaps are there? Then we work together to create a Hiring & Training Manual and an Employee Handbook.
The Hiring & Training Manual is essentially the owner’s guide to how they’re going to find, interview, evaluate, hire onboard, and train this new person. We go deep into each section so that the manual is thorough and the path is easy to follow.
The Employee Handbook is the team’s guide to working for that company. Things like employee conduct, communication, workplace policies, time off and sick pay, etc. And of course, the state and federal policies that are applicable.
This is a project to be sure, but I hold your hand every step of the way. I guide you with weekly meetings, checklists, and guides to help move through the work. This project is usually wrapped up in about 2-3 months. Every person I do this work with is beyond grateful by the end. They are ecstatic to have a solid plan and path for how to do this. And the great part is that once it’s created, it can be used over and over again as your team needs to grow. It is well worth the investment if team growth is a goal of yours.
3. I also have Business Organization blocks. This is kind of a catch-all for anyone who wants help analyzing their current processes and procedures. What are the different categories in your business? How does each one function? What documentation is currently in place and what’s missing? Analyzing your client journey and the processes behind that is also something we do here. Maybe you need help with time management or productivity. These blocks are all about addressing current systems and finding ways to improve them.
4. The Operations Consulting and Fractional Director of Operations work is geared more towards businesses that have 5 or more staff and are struggling with their internal structure. They want to grow, they want to scale, and they want to be more consistent and reliable with their operations but are having a hard time figuring out how to do that.
I love coming into those businesses, learning how they’re currently operating, and then determining the best path forward. How can we improve their workflow? How can we streamline processes? How can we make sure that everyone is talking to each other and all moving in the same direction? We need to take that big-picture vision and break it down. I’m all about execution and implementation and this work is all about that.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I would not consider myself a risk-taker, but I have done some brave things. I left VT to follow my mom down to DC. Three years later, I decided to move from DC to Los Angeles in 24 hours and then moved within 30 days. I decided to go back to school to get my master’s degree so I could change my professional trajectory.
In 2020, my husband and I decided to move from Los Angeles to CO where we knew no one. In 2022, leaped into entrepreneurship, sort of out of necessity, and have so far, been decently successful with it. I don’t think I would call any of those risks. But I’m proud of myself for recognizing opportunities and being brave enough to say yes to them. I think that’s key.
The universe has a way of presenting things to you, things that will be life-changing, really; you have to have an awareness of this, and you have to be able to recognize these opportunities when they present themselves. And, be willing to say yes. All of those moments were extremely pivotal for me.
Had I not been brave enough to say yes to them, my life would be vastly different.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jmillsconsulting.com
- Instagram: @jmills_consulting
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicamillhiser/
Image Credits
Studio 37 Photography
