Female Founders: Jaime Villalovos of Happy and Strong On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Clarity is your best friend! You have to really know what you want and know why you want it. I see so many people — men and women — who will find companies with big goals for their products and ideas. The ones who really thrive are the ones who have clarity on where they are going. They can clearly see the life they will have in the future and the difference they will make. Each day they move closer to that vision. It keeps them motivated in tough times. When there are changes in their industry or the economy, they quickly adapt. You must have a dream that you are personally chasing and a mission that motivates your company. If you are not lit up with passion daily about where you are going next, your company will usually only have average results.
As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jaime Villalovos.
Jaime Villalovos grew up in rural Montana, the oldest of six kids. She became an entrepreneur at the age of 22, and a seven-figure earner before the age of thirty. She is an active philanthropist, serving on the board of the All for One foundation, as well as anti-bullying and children’s wellness organizations. Jaime is also very active in her community. Her passion is to help people reach their biggest goals while finding true happiness. She is happily married, and she and her husband Shawn have four children. She loves reading, working out, and traveling the world on fun adventures with her family. Happy and Strong is her first book and will be available nationwide May 17, 2022.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
Well, I grew up poor in a tiny town of only 325 people. It was a small-thinking community and there were no jobs or opportunities for women. Being the oldest of six kids, I felt a lot of responsibility to help my younger siblings. My stepmother was very ill, and my father was always in and out of work. After high school, I moved to California with the intention of getting a job to pay my way through school. I also wanted to help my family back home and show my younger sisters that it doesn’t matter where we came from, all that matters is where you want to go in life. I had a corporate management job for four years, making good income, but I was growing dissatisfied. Not only had I hit an income ceiling, but I had also stopped growing. I was doing the same things every day and felt I wasn’t making an impact with my life. I knew I wanted to have my own business. I wanted to pour my time and heart into something that mattered, and I wanted to take back control of my time. Luckily, one day while at my job I met a sweet woman who noticed how hard I was working and offered to introduce me to her husband. He mentored me in the early stages of getting my business off the ground.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
I had been working hard, building my first company for a few years. There was very little growth and a lot of trial and error, and I wasn’t where I wanted to be. My organization was small and financially we were not doing well. I decided I needed to reach out to someone who had done what I was trying to do. So, I called a mentor — a successful leader in my company who had no reason to help me. We had a few phone conversations, and he gave us action steps. I implemented everything he told me to do as quickly as possible. A month later, he came to town to do an in-person meeting. I wasn’t going to waste the opportunity. I booked the biggest meeting space I could find and invited every client and potential client I knew. I had hundreds of people show up. I had him speak and I poured my heart out that night about the vision of my company and why I loved our mission. Within two months, my income doubled, and we grew 500% that year. Referrals alone from that meeting allowed me to help thousands of new clients and even hire some of our best leadership team members that took that company to a nationwide business with offices all over the country. More than anything, my confidence grew and my conviction about what we could do changed. Sometimes you just have to do something completely out of the ordinary and flex your muscles to realize how strong you actually are.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
What mistake didn’t I make? Honestly, making mistakes is so important; it just means you are growing. Just try not to make the same mistakes twice. Early on, I made the mistake of thinking too small. I remember creating my first business plan and being so excited to execute it. I decided to show it to someone I looked up to as a mentor to get advice. Remember, I grew up very poor in Montana and no one in my family ever made any money or was successful in anything. So, I thought my goals were big and exciting and honestly a little scary. Fired up and thinking that he would be so impressed, I proudly carried my very logical plan into his office and sat at his desk smiling and imagining his encouraging words or a high five when he finished it.
About halfway through, he looked up at me with an expression on his face like, “Are you kidding me?” It reminded me of Dwayne Johnson, The Rock, when he does that raised eyebrow thing. “This is crap!” he said as he threw my plan on the floor.
“Huh? What is happening?” I thought. He was always so nice. What did I do wrong?
The crazy guy across the desk was yelling now, “Look around! Look at what is possible! What do you really want? You need to get clear on your ‘whys’ and what you really, really want,” he said. I walked out shocked and a little disturbed.
After that, I learned to really dig deeper each time I came up with new goals. I learned to plan and dream based on what moved me emotionally versus logically. I learned to think and dream big.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Wow, it’s hard to narrow it down to just one person. I’m the product of mentorship. I have been lucky enough to have so many amazing people help in my success. If I had to narrow it down to one person, I would say my husband, Shawn. He has always supported me in everything I do. He encourages me, makes me laugh when I am frustrated, and reminds me when I’m overthinking things. He is my partner in life, in raising our children, and building our dreams. Shawn never had to be the one in the spotlight. He never had an ego or felt that because he was a man that I needed to slow down my success. He has stepped in and helped wherever it was needed to help me be the most effective in business. He cooks, helps with the kids, and fills in any area where there is a hole in my business. I really wouldn’t be where I am at without his belief in me.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this EY report, only about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women to create companies. In your opinion and experience what is currently holding back women from founding companies?
Founding a company may seem like a daunting task. Even for women who have the skills and ability, they just don’t know where to start. It’s harder for us to find female role models in our industries that are examples of success, and even harder to find strong mentors. There are also still the inequalities and biases that we constantly deal with in almost every industry. Our brains like the familiar. Male founders are what people are used to and unfortunately when a woman wants to start a company, she may not find a lot of support, even from family and friends. Most startups also require a great deal of capital. Because of income disparity, many women don’t have the savings to launch their own business. Gender discrimination may also make it harder to secure a business loan or venture capital. Females are overlooked for funding. And, of course, as women, we worry if it will be too hard to balance all the other important areas in our lives like family, so taking the risks is harder. Women carry the weight of having to juggle children, run a home, childcare, and the mommy guilt of pursuing our passion in business.
Can you help articulate a few things that can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles?
Well, we all have our own individual biases. Until men’s overall perception of women in business changes, then these obstacles will continue to be a challenge. Women are seen as “too emotional” to run a business. Stereotypes and biases move from generation to generation, so we must make sure that when we see inequality, we speak up. We can’t ignore sexism or any other “ism.” We shouldn’t shelter our children from it either. Our children will learn to be activists for gender equality by watching our example. That’s a big part of it. I would also love to see more business loans specifically for female entrepreneurs. The funding for the creation of female founders’ associations and networks for women would help females have more opportunities. Ideally, these groups would have experienced, successful female entrepreneurs mentoring new women business owners. More private networking opportunities for women would also help. Women need to see other women leading. Men need to see it even more, so it becomes more normal and comfortable to them.
An appropriations bill for SBA to support newly venturing female small business owners and independent contractors would be helpful as well. I wish there were incubator-type programs that have scholarships or seed money that would go to women with great business ideas. The women chosen would not only receive financial help, but also mentors and the ability to work in cohorts with other new female founders. We obviously have progressed a lot, but we are still so far from gender equality in this area.
This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?
Because women are the bomb! Lol. More women should become founders because the reality is we want true balance to feel whole. Women may want to be a wife and mother and have accomplishments outside the home. This balance only comes through freedom, and freedom only comes with control. This cannot be achieved at a job. This can be achieved only through calling our own shots! Studies have shown women can be better at working in a team, leadership skills, and problem solving. They can also be more nurturing, making them ideal for mentoring others. Women in entrepreneurial roles can create a business schedule that allows them to control their time, which means they can have flexibility as mothers. If there were more successful female entrepreneurs, the gap in wealth between genders would start to become narrower. Women are making more of the decisions in the home now. They want someone who understands their needs and what they are going through to be making decisions at these companies they are buying from. We need more females’ voices and perspectives in every industry to help in product development, innovation and to be in tune with what female consumers need. We also need more females winning in business to change the biases and inequality that exists.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?
There are many myths about being a founder — things like you have to be born wealthy or that you have to know everything before you start. One of the big myths about being a founder is that since you are great at your industry or job, then you will be great at running a business in that industry. It takes a completely different set of skills to work in a business than it takes to found one and run it. Just because someone is a great mechanic doesn’t mean he will be great at running his own body shop. You must become a student of leadership and entrepreneurship. Another big one that I would really like to dispel is the myth that entrepreneurs don’t have a personal life. People think founders are all business. The fact is we can control our schedules and have more balance and lifestyle than most employees who work a typical 9–5 job.
Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean?
No, not everyone has what it takes to be a successful founder. You need incredible tenacity and perseverance. You’ve got to have thick skin and extraordinary work ethic, especially in the early years of getting your business off the ground. Leadership skills, communication skills, sales skills, and adaptability will increase the likelihood of success. If you are someone who is slow to make decisions, risk averse, or not willing to make sacrifices, then maybe seeking a “real job” is for you.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)
1 . Clarity is your best friend! You have to really know what you want and know why you want it. I see so many people — men and women — who will find companies with big goals for their products and ideas. The ones who really thrive are the ones who have clarity on where they are going. They can clearly see the life they will have in the future and the difference they will make. Each day they move closer to that vision. It keeps them motivated in tough times. When there are changes in their industry or the economy, they quickly adapt. You must have a dream that you are personally chasing and a mission that motivates your company. If you are not lit up with passion daily about where you are going next, your company will usually only have average results.
When I started my first business, my goal was to win so big that my younger siblings would know that it didn’t matter where we came from, all that mattered was where they wanted to go in life. I wanted to be their hero. I wanted to help my family and I knew if I didn’t do it, no one else would. They were all counting on ME. Every day, I pictured my little sister searching for loose change in the couch cushions to buy groceries, or the home they lived in that was falling apart. I kept myself properly motivated with the WHY, so on bad days I kept working.
First, build it in your mind. What exactly do you want your life, your family, and your business to look like? What contributions will you make? Next, build it on paper. Write down exactly what you want and your plan to achieve it. Have clearly defined goals that light you up daily. THEN GO BUILD IT! I have a mission that not only motivates me, but also everyone in my company. We know in our hearts that what we are doing daily makes a difference in the lives of others. My work took on more of a feeling of a calling and not just a way to make money. To really thrive as a founder, you need to show your passion and enthusiasm and be on fire and excited about the future and what’s about to happen in the lives of the people around you. That comes from having clarity and focusing on where you are going, not on where you are currently at. If not, you tend to focus on the challenges and tasks of today and that’s pretty much where you stay.
2. Delegate & systematize quickly! — As women, we tend to try to take on more than is good for us. We have a hard time delegating sometimes. I used to say things like, “I will just do it myself to get it done faster.” Or “if it’s going to be done right…” I even found myself doing my assistant’s job at times. I learned that to be a great leader and also be able to grow in every other area of my life, I could only have so much on my plate at once. I don’t have to say yes to everything. If I’m going to add something new to my plate, I have to be willing to take something else off. I learned to delegate EVERYTHING but people. I don’t check email, open mail, or anything else that someone else can easily do. I free myself up to only do things that develop my people or grow myself or my company. I have created SOPs and systems for just about every aspect of my business. From how the phone is answered to the hardest management task there is. This allows me to not waste time having to train people over and over again, and it also frees me up to not be working IN my business all the time. I can work ON my business instead, thinking like an entrepreneur and growing it to a new level. I’m less stressed and this allows me to think more creatively and have more fun as well. Think of anything in your company that can be handed off to someone else so you can do more important work. Think of what can be systematized so you can scale easier. What do you need to let go so you can grow?
3. Put people before profit! Hurry up and get past the money. Of course, in the beginning I really needed to make money. There were bills to pay and the first order of business is to stay in business. I worked tirelessly to get ahead and get to a place financially so that I wouldn’t be in panic mode. However, for a business to be a great business, it has to be about others. The mission has to come first, the team has to come second, and then you come last. What I mean when I say “mission first” is that your client has to come first. You must do what’s right for the consumer 100% of the time. Make sure that you always have a reputation of integrity and excellent customer service. This is a key to winning in business long term. The team must come second. That is your staff, employees, management, and all levels of the men and women in your company. Treat people right. Treat them with respect and strive to find ways to encourage, praise, and recognize them often. My philosophy in business is “team over me.” All decisions are win-win. The decisions you make are best for your people. If it’s best for your people, long term, it is what’s best for the company and you. It also makes a better work environment, culture, and community. You will have better retention, productivity, and loyalty. In corporate America, they use threats and management techniques that discourage their employees. Leadership is quite different from management. As a female founder, use your gifts to increase your people’s belief in themselves and they will work harder for you and your mission. Put people and their families before profit.
4. Resist the urge to quit! Let’s face it, you have to have thick skin to thrive as a founder, especially as a female. There were plenty of times I felt like quitting. I remember one time coming home exhausted. It was one of those days. A big client canceled, nothing was going right, and I had been working day and night for months with no results. Debt was stacking up and doubt was creeping in. I went into my closet to change and felt like a failure. All of a sudden, I knelt down and just started to cry. I wondered if I would ever make it. All the successful founders you see had tough times. They also all had adversity, sickness in their family, many of them had pregnancies and health challenges. They all wanted to quit at some point, but they just kept going. There was one night that I had had enough. I had decided I couldn’t do it anymore. As I lay in bed feeling sorry for myself, I heard my business plan and goals for my family in my mind. Finally, I got up and went into the other room, I got out my goals and read them out loud over and over again until I felt them. I made the decision that I would never quit. The next day I worked with more enthusiasm than ever. Adversity is going to happen! Ignore the haters and fight through the tough stuff. You must increase your will to win! Adversity is for your good. I know it’s no fun, but it’s so useful to your growth if you allow it to be. If you are going through it, take a nap, get better at self-care, slow down a little if you have to, but don’t quit! There are TWO of you! The gal that is and the gal that is meant to be. For you to grow into that version of yourself that you really want, you need to go through some tough stuff. Learn from it, become better, not bitter. Expect and welcome adversity; ignore the urge to quit. It’s normal and OK to be feeling down, it’s OK to be hurting. It’s not OK to quit.
5. You have to keep growing! Once you start to have some success, don’t stop personally growing. I see so many plateau or settle. Continue to rewrite those goals. Make yourself think of new dreams, new possibilities. Challenge yourself to new levels and hang out with leaders and people who are doing better than you. I love the saying, “If you are the most successful person in the room, you are in the wrong room.” It’s tempting to say, “I’ve been working so hard, I deserve to coast for a while.” I promise you that one of the major causes of unhappiness is lack of progression. Keep growing, learning, and becoming a better version of yourself. After having four children and making a multiple seven-figure income, I had to dig deeper and see what the next version of me looked like. Was I getting comfortable? I had hit all the material goals, was living my dream life, and really had no financial worries. But I promise you that the best part of being a successful female founder is not the money, the trips, or any accolades. It is the person you become if you push past this new comfort zone and dig deeper to find what that second version of you is made of. What good can you or your company do for the great causes out there that are in need of funding? What can you do to mentor or lift others? When you reach the top, please turn around and reach down to lift the next person up to where you are. I’ve felt stuck so many times. What I’ve learned to do is rewrite a whole new vision for my ideal life. I meet with mentors often. I got great at asking questions and being the student again, just like when I was new. Stay humble and keep stretching your vision of the possibilities and the impact you could make.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
Once you have financial success and the time freedom that having your own business allows, then you can use your success to impact the lives of others. It is a way to ensure that you always continue to personally develop as well. I now spend most of my time mentoring others who are trying to get started in business, or entrepreneurs struggling to find balance and happiness. I’ve helped hundreds of people, especially women, to start up their own business and become successful six- and seven-figure earners and philanthropists. I am on the board of different charities. I helped start an anti-bullying charity for young girls and I’m very active with the All For One Foundation, which is a children’s education and wellness organization in third-world countries. I’ve helped build orphanages, schools, and medical clinics in Africa. I’ve raised awareness and money for amazing causes for children with autism, cystic fibrosis, and victims of trafficking. What I am most proud of is that I’m raising four great kids who are learning to be leaders and in service to others. I love what I do in business, but I’m most passionate about changing a life that can in turn lift and change the lives of others.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
There is a Chinese proverb that says “If you want one year of prosperity, grow grain. If you want 10 years, grow trees. If you want 100 years of prosperity, grow people.” Focus on people instead of the money. Instead of just giving money to good causes, I believe that if successful entrepreneurs also teach and build other successful leaders and entrepreneurs, we can change the world. I have a goal that myself and my leadership teams’ impact 100,000,000 lives.
When someone is equipped and empowered with leadership skills and they have money, they can change the world. I would love to see a group of like-minded successful founders give back by mentoring and raising up more founders, leaders and successful entrepreneurs that are also philanthropists. This is my goal and passion now. While I teach and mentor these people, I want to spark the fire of charity inside them, help them to find out what injustice they want to correct or who they would love to make a difference for. For one person, they may be passionate about helping children with autism. Another may be excited to help vets or to be an activist for gender equality and another may want to help with the suicide rate among the youth. I just want to get that fire burning, but also make sure they have the skills and financial means to create lasting and meaningful change in “their world.” Imagine if the influential leaders and entrepreneurs came together to create a movement to build a new wave of world-changers. Access to the best of the best brings out the desire to be the best version of ourselves. Without it, there is a lid. People need to be inspired and shown what is possible.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
Wow, so many. Of course, Oprah. She is the greatest example in our time of a woman in business who is not only successful, but also making the biggest impact in the lives of others. If I had to pick someone, though, I would love to have lunch with Sara Blakely. I love her tenacity and grit as she worked and willed her brilliant idea of Spanx into the tremendous company it is today. But it’s so much more than that; she continues to innovate, create and grow herself and others. She is not only a philanthropist, but she also inspires others to give to the causes that touch their heart. And above all, she is an incredible wife and mother first. It’s hard to find role models for women in all areas of their life to look to and Sarah is that for me.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this
Female Founders: Jaime Villalovos of Happy and Strong On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.