Jen Waak

Website: keyboardathletes.com
Twitter: @jenwaak

Attended: Lift Off 4 (August 2011)

Where were you in your entrepreneurial journey before Lift Off? I was in my 4th year of the side-hustle, getting nowhere fast. I was sick, burned out, and exhausted from trying to make both work. I was making very little money from my side-hustle, and hopelessly frustrated from my lack of progress. I had to make a major shift in my life, and needed the weekend to help me figure it out.

What are you up to now? I quit my day job the week after LiftOff and continue to be amazed day after day by the opportunities that continue to present themselves to me. My book is at the printer, I get almost-daily phone calls and emails from people interested in reselling my book, I have gotten some great guest posting gigs that significantly up my visibility, and I’m on the verge of selling my first corporate gig. I had said at the end of LiftOff that I figured out that I needed to play a bigger game, and it seems that just by saying those words that good things started happening.

What was your favorite thing about Lift Off? Saying “all of it” is probably cheating, but it was. Pam, Charlie, and Angela did an amazing job of setting the room to be a very safe, open, and collaborative space so that we could be honest about things, have the difficult decisions, ask the difficult questions, and get real work done. There was lots of laughing, dancing, smiling, and even tears throughout the weekend as we collaboratively worked to raise the game of everyone in the room. Without 4 days of continual feedback I never would have had the confidence to know that I can quit my job and I won’t be living in a van down by the river.

Listen to more from Jen here