They say readers are leaders. If that’s the case when I was nine years old I was read to lead the world! I was obsessed with the Baby-Sitter’s Club series and being a leader.

The funny thing is, back when I was nine I secretly felt the most connected to Kristy, aka the leader, but I was afraid to publicly own that. I was afraid to say hey guess what, I am nine years old and I know I want to lead and be the boss one day.

Y’ALL, I WAS NINE-FREAKIN-YEARS OLD and I was already afraid of being too much and claiming my truth, because it felt uncomfortable and different.

When I worked in corporate America I would proclaim loudly that I never wanted to be a manager, I didn’t want to be in charge of people. But the truth was I didn’t want to work in corporate America, and I didn’t want to manage people under someone else’s rules.

What I have always dreamed of doing is leading a team of women and empowering them to lean into their gifts. Having a business where I get the privilege of employing women who are rockstars at their talents is basically the grown up version of Kristy Thomas starting the BSC.

Because here is the interesting thing about me, while I often think I am not smart enough or good enough for the job I have this amazing ability to see what others are good at and encourage them to pursue what they are afraid of, but so clearly amazing at!

So while many of my friends want to run a business where they are a one woman show I want a team of powerhouse rockstar women making things happen.

It wasn’t until I was working for a client and dreamt about this business that I realized that I wanted to lead.

I realized I was meant to lead.

That I had always been a leader.

I’ve had leadership rolls since elementary school. But I always brushed them off.

I always made it seem not important or like I didn’t work hard or try to be the leader, but I was trying hard and I did care.

Somewhere along the way I decided I wasn’t supposed to want to push to be a leader, it was just supposed to happen.

I started to believe that if I was meant to be a leader people would just pick me out of the bunch to lead and when that didn’t happened I started to doubt myself. When I did push to lead I always felt like I was stepping out of bounds.

I’m tired of thinking I don’t deserve to lead.

I am tired of thinking I’m not good enough to lead.

The truth is it is in my blood. It is part of my being. Leaning into the idea of leading a team of women makes me feel alive, not scared. I am ready to lean into being leader.

I wish I could go back and tell nine-year-old Jen to lean in hard to the leadership roles you were given. I wish I could tell her not to think a boy would be better suited.

Being a leader for me has always meant you’re helping the people around you become the best version of themselves and to the core of my being I know that is my purpose in life, to empower women to be the best version of themselves, UNAPOLOGETICALLY!

It’s time I own who I am and who I was made to be, A LEADER.