Ep. 274: How This CEO Of Introvert Helps Women Amplify Their Voices Through Stories with Jenny Alberti
In this episode, I speak with Jenny who is the CEO of Introvert, She Wrote Publishing, a Best-Selling Author, and a Content Marketing Coach.
She helps Introverted Female Visionaries leverage their strengths and amplify their voices by sharing their stories.
Through her collaborative book projects and one-on-one content marketing program, Jenny intends to revolutionize marketing & visibility for Introverted Entrepreneurs.
So listen on to find out how Jenny is helping introverts market themselves effectively.
Listen Below:
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Transcription:
Debbie:
Hey everyone!
Thank you so much for being here. I am so excited to talk to my friend today.
I’m here with Jenny.
Hi Jenny!
Jenny:
Hi Debbie!
Debbie:
I’m so excited to talk to you.
So, before we even pressed record, Jenny and I talked to each other for like an hour already, because we’ve been catching up on life.
So Jenny, can you tell us about you and why you live an offbeat life?
Jenny:
Yes, absolutely.
So, thank you first of all for having me. It’s been like a year and a half in the making. So yeah, thank you.
It’s so nice to actually be here. So yeah, a little bit about me.
So I have kind of always wanted to have my own business, to break free from all of the societal expectations of working a nine to five and going in every day and punching the clock and being told, you know, when you can take vacation, when you can like use the restroom, like, I have wanted to get away from that.
So in 2018, I had, like, it was the last straw, I had, with a boss of mine. I was working in fitness sales at the time, managing boutique fitness centers and she called me and just like, she just went off on me because we weren’t projected to hit the end of the month goal, and it was in December.
It was right after Christmas and I wasn’t working and I was at home, she was screaming at me and I was like, “no, this is it, I’m done, I’m done with this.”.
So, I started my own digital marketing company, like, the next week. And I started doing that and I, originally, I thought, this is going to be great like I finally get to do whatever I want. I’m free from, you know, having to go in and you know, do what other people tell me to do and I could travel around. I’ve always wanted to travel, see new places, travel the world has always been my dream and I finally get to do it.
Well, that business turned out to be like I was working more than I was working in my nine to five and I quickly found out that, that was not my thing. And so, although I made money, I did very well, I didn’t have the freedom that I thought I was going to have because I was always expected to be talking to these people’s customers. And to be like, as if I was an employee.
So, I shut down that business cause it was like, “oh this is a red flag. Like, I am doing exactly what I don’t want to be doing.”, and I didn’t travel at all in that, I guess it was about a year, I wasn’t able to travel at all and since it was always part of my big plan is to be able to travel and to work from anywhere and you know, these dreams of sitting on the beach and like taking, you know, screenshots of my feet, while I’m working on my laptop and I wasn’t ever able to do that.
So, I shut the business down and I started my coaching business in 2020. And long story short that you already know that, like, it didn’t pan out as well as I had expected.
So, I just started in 2021, my publishing company which is geared toward helping introverts and highly sensitive female entrepreneurs, to amplify their voices through story.
So, Introvert, She Wrote Publishing is my publishing company now, and I am, like finally, absolutely loving it. I did a lot of traveling. So far, I have two trips planned already and it’s like, finally, I get the freedom to do the things that I’ve always wanted to do and not have those strings attached.
So, yeah, that’s me.
Debbie:
And you and I, like Jenny and I, we actually ended up meeting because we were both in that coaching/mentorship program, that cost, like, a ridiculous amount of money, and we ended up talking to each other because we needed, like, a buddy, right? Cause they always tell you, like, “get a buddy”. It’s kind of like a buddy system.
So, you helped each other become accountable and Jenny, and I used to talk to each other every single week, we would tell each other what was happening and she and I were always in the same level, like, “oh my gosh, like, like we paid so much for this were trying everything that we can, cause we’re both not quitters, and like, why doesn’t this feel right?”. And we were always like, “is there something wrong with me? It just doesn’t feel right.”.
And pretty much meeting each other was the best thing that came out of that program.
Jenny:
For sure!
Debbie:
You were worth all that money, Jenny. You were worth all that money.
Jenny:
So are you, Debbie.
I’ve never paid for a friend but now I have.
Debbie:
Yeah, you have and so did I. We paid for each other!
But your story is pretty incredible, because you actually made money as an entrepreneur and there’s, I feel, because, I felt like, I was told this too or not even told, but may be expected, like, “once you become an entrepreneur, then you’re going to have all of this freedom and you’re going to have all this money coming in”, and then you actually do it and you realize that you’re working more than your regular nine-to-five job, you have all the responsibilities that maybe was taken on by other people in your business, or in your other company because there was more than one person and you ended up having less freedom than you actually had in your nine-to-five.
Yes, you have freedom with your time, but if you don’t work 24/7, 7 days a week, you’re not going to make any money and that’s exactly the lesson you learned, Jenny.
And I’ve learned that too. So, there is that, I feel like there is a huge misconception about starting a business and why a lot of people fail at it, because you do have a different thing that you think is going to happen. And it doesn’t, like, “okay, I was robbed.”.
Jenny:
Seriously, yeah.
Well, you know, kind of these big coaching programs and that the guru’s out there, they paint this very glamorous picture from day one. Not that that glamorous picture doesn’t exist, but it doesn’t exist on day one, or day 90.
It takes a lot. It takes a lot of trial-and-error and a lot of failure to get to that glamorous place. And a lot of times you have to make pivots, like you and I have both made a lot of pivots to get to where we are.
And that is not part of the, like, marketing for these big companies, you know, they don’t tell you, “you’re going to have to fail a lot, and you’re going to have to make a lot of pivots, but eventually you’re going to get there if you hang with it.”, right?
So, yeah, for me, that was the thing, is like, you know, and I had invested in a program to teach me how to put my skills that I had, in my nine to five into this digital marketing company. And even that was like, it was like, “oh yeah, you know, work from wherever you want and do this and make, you know, 10, 15, 20K a month.”, and it’s like, “oh yeah, like if I paid you and I start this up, then, cool! I should just book my trip to, like, to Bali right now because that’s where I’m going to be working from”, you know, and it’s like, it’s not real.
Debbie:
Yeah, and I think that’s the thing. I mean, obviously we’re not saying it doesn’t work for people, but I just feel like there’s a lot of us that are really confused when we’re first starting out, right?
And I’m not saying you shouldn’t do this, you shouldn’t charge people a certain amount, but especially if you’re very confused, there’s going to be a lot of things that, it’s just not going to work for you. That’s why a lot of times when I see these mentoring programs and we’ve paid for it, unless it’s a, it’s not a one-size-fits-all, because I think a lot of them are, it’s not personalized, then it just usually doesn’t work out very well. I do love the mentorship programs where it’s like one-on-one and it’s personalized because they do take into account your strengths and your weaknesses because everyone is so different, right?
Jenny:
Yeah.
Well, it’s an interesting point too, that you brought up about, like, everybody kind of fitting in the box for these kinds of programs and it not being tailor-made. And one of the, you know, why I am where I am now at this point with my business is because I really got to understand like why it wasn’t working for me and those programs that I joined didn’t work for me because I’m a hardcore introvert.
I am like on a Myers-Briggs scale, I’m 9 6%, introverted. Okay, if there’s only four percent to 100, all right, so I am almost as introverted as a person can be and the way that they were teaching us to, you know, go out there and to get clients to build your business was very abrasive for me and it drained all my energy. And if my energy is drained, how do I come back and do it again tomorrow? How do I be consistent? Like you’re telling me to be when I physically cannot think, I can’t even think, because I am so drained. So, they don’t take that into account. And they don’t tailor it, you know, for introverted people.
How do we align the strategy? So that they are energetically aligned for who you are as a person, you know, your personality.
So, if I took anything away from those programs, other than our friendship, it’s that I need an aligned way to market my business and to get visible and to do business.
So, I really learned that through going through this process as well and that’s kind of why I have a business that I have now. And I help people like me! You know, so that was a good thing that came out of it.
But, it took how long, you know, two and a half years in the process. So.
Debbie:
Yeah.
And I do have to say don’t want to sh!t on and I think it is a really valuable lesson to understand that it’s not right for you. And I do know for a fact that Jenny like she was one of the hardest-working person in that program cause you or like trying all sorts of things, like you were just out there every single day and you’re like, “why doesn’t this feel aligned?”, and I’m like, “me too, why doesn’t this feel aligned to us?”.
And it’s so interesting how you and I would talk every single week about what we wanted in the future and we pretty much are going after what we said like, “oh, in the future, hopefully, we’ll do this”, and like we ended up aligning it so that it actually came sooner than we thought, even though it was like something that we thought wouldn’t happen until years from now, like 5 years from now, 10 years from now, “hopefully this will happen.”.
I do have to say it is because we paid a lot of money for things that didn’t really align with us. Making a lot of mistakes going through a lot of failures and just being like, just feeling really dumb all the time.
Jenny:
So true!
But you know, obviously a key trait that both you, and I have is, is perseverance. And it’s like, you know, yeah we felt dumb a lot and we tell each other how dumb we feel, and like what’s wrong with us, and you know, maybe someday, we’ll actually have the life that we want, but, you know, if I know, we have the perseverance gene that, you know, we just keep going and we keep figuring out that our failures are actually lead to success. So.
Debbie:
Yeah, and I do remember, one of the last times we talked to each other Jenny, before your interview today. I think it was, I think we said, like, August or September of last year, and I remembered that day, I was talking to you in our car because I had gone with my husband, Aaron, to his job at that time and I was like, “oh, I’m waiting in his car, you know, let’s do our talk here”, and then one of the things that you told me that you wanted was that you wanted to be a writer, one day. And then one of the things that I told you I wanted was to like, get my husband out of his job and to make enough money and then like it just to have freedom and like that was a year ago and we’re literally both doing those two things, like, how crazy is that?
And we thought that that wasn’t going to happen until like 5 years from now or like years from now. How crazy is the universe?
Jenny:
It’s so crazy that you just said that because that was the last time. It literally was the last time we talked to each other before now. And we both said that, on that call with each other and it was like, “oh, this is just really what I want in my heart”, right? I just want to be like Jessica Fletcher on Murder She Wrote and I want to travel the world and write books. That’s what I want to do.
Debbie:
Yup.
Jenny:
And you’re like, I want to retire my husband and I want us to work together, right?
Debbie:
Yup!
Jenny:
And it’s like, “okay and then…”.
Debbie:
And work on my blog and writing and like, oh my gosh!
Jenny:
Yeah and, here we are! It’s crazy!
Debbie:
Yeah, it’s kind of crazy!
But it didn’t, okay, so, it took us to where we didn’t even think it would take us like, it got us to where we got to, but there were so many things that happened in the last year that got us there.
So, how did you get to where you got to speak? Because like, the last time I talked to you, you were still coaching, like, you had clients like, so, how did you get from coaching to now having this publishing company for introverts? Which is so perfect for you, by the way.
Jenny:
Yeah, so, I don’t know. I think I did tell you when it happened.
So, I had joined another, right? I had paid another amount of money to join another large mastermind, and I was in that, and it was towards the end. It was almost done. And I was sitting at my breakfast bar, in my kitchen, and I was supposed to have a zoom call with my coach. So, here I am at my kitchen table with my latte and a little notebook, my laptop all set up, right? And we start our call and he’s like, “okay, so, you know, how’s it going?”, and I’m like, you know, “I’m just kind of feeling a little discouraged. Like, I’m working really hard. I’m doing everything that you’re saying, but it’s really hard for me to send 100 cold DMs pitching my services everyday.”.
And he turned around to me and he said words that like, literally, changed my life. So, I can’t fault him for this, because it changed everything. He said, “well, maybe you should rethink being a coach.”.
If I couldn’t do that, maybe I should rethink being a coach. And so now, even when I say that back to you right now, at the time, I was so heartbroken. I like closed my laptop like I ended the call quick.
I closed my laptop, I laid my head on the laptop and I just started crying. Because now we’re talking about like, $20,000 in debt. I remember we’re talking about how many months of trying and if I can’t do this thing that I can’t do then, I can’t be successful is what I heard. And that I should rethink being a coach.
But now when I say this back to you Debbie she was right! I should not be a coach trying to do things that extroverted way, that’s not me. And at the time it was like, “oh, you know, I’m a failure. I need to shut this business down. I need to go back. I need to call my last boss up and apologize, and get my job back because I can do this thing.”.
And in reality, he actually did his job, you know, like, as kind of crappy as it sounds that he said that and you know how many women or just people in general, men and women that have heard those words and actually quit, because they think that, “okay, I’m not cut out for this.”.
But, he actually did his job because he was right, I shouldn’t be doing that. I should be doing what my heart always wanted me to do since I was a kid, which was writing books and publishing books for other people. Cause I used to do that, when I was a little kid, I would like, have journals. I’d buy journals with like, little locks on it and I would design the cover art and I would make, you know, make my own book and I’d write inside the journal. And at the end of it, I’d write, you know, published by Jenny Alberti Publishing and I got a book.
And I did that as a kid. And so when he said that to me, I was like, you know, I have to, I have to figure out what this means, and I have to advocate for every other introverted, highly sensitive, socially anxious, you know, entrepreneur out there that may otherwise be quitting right now.
I need to give them a different way to go about growing their business and go about marketing their business.
Debbie:
Yeah.
Jenny:
And so that’s what did it.
So, I joined a multi-author book myself last year. It’s called Align The Leaders, that went to be published in October of last year.
And through that process I was like, “Yep. This is it, this is what I want to do” and so I launch my Publishing Company earlier this year.
Debbie:
That is amazing, that’s why it’s good when you hear Nos because then it leads you to your true path, because sometimes you’re just not supposed to be there and you know you definitely heard a lot of nos, Jenny and you work really hard and I think it’s so much harder, to hear that when you’ve been working it on it for so long. Like, you put your heart and soul, you know, your time, your energy, your money, and then it’s like, “oh my gosh, did I just waste all of this time?”. You know? You and I both question that when we were talking last year like what the heck are we doing with ourselves?
Jenny:
Yeah.
Debbie:
And, and, you know, it’s so interesting because of, I’ve heard this before actually, Aaron told me this, one of his mentors said this to him and he said, “business, when you find the right one for you is not supposed to be hard, it’s not supposed to be an uphill battle.”, and I do definitely agree with that and also there’s a twist to it, it is easy once you have the skills to get there, right? And it aligns with you, because right now, you and I like, I don’t think I’ve ever felt this aligned to something or felt like, like I just feel no real, like there, cause there’s always that contrast, right? There’s like, it’s like being a magnet and something’s always pulling you one thing and then another thing, and you’re questioning everything you’re doing, “is this right? Is it wrong?”, and then, like, for me now, everyday, I’m like, “this is what I’m supposed to do. I’m so happy, like oh my gosh!”, and then I wake up and I’m talking to my husband, like, “I’m so happy with what I’m doing.”. Like, I’ve never said that about other things before, right?
So, it’s just like when you feel in alignment like there’s going to be messes, there’s going to be things, there’s going to be obstacles but it still feels right. It just feels weird.
Jenny:
It feels fun and it feels easy.
Debbie:
Yeah.
Jenny:
Fun and easy, and it doesn’t feel like I don’t dread waking up every morning and having to, you know, figure out how to find a client. That was a massive stress on me and I didn’t enjoy it.
And I didn’t enjoy the business that I put together because frankly, somebody else put it together and I just went with it. It wasn’t what I wanted to do in my heart. And so, yeah, when you finally find that thing that aligns, it’s just, it’s light, it’s not heavy.
Debbie:
And it’s, I don’t know. It’s like, it’s hard to describe, but it’s just, like, it just feels right. It just, and then sometimes, you know, you kind of feel guilty and my husband’s feeling this right now because he’s like, “I don’t feel like I’m working enough.”. And, but then you also have to get used to the fact that sometimes you don’t have to over hustle, you don’t have to constantly be working to actually succeed in something. And that’s another thing that when we have that complete hustle mentality in, like when you’re not constantly failing or you’re not, you know, questioning everything that you’re doing, that you’re doing something wrong, because it’s what you’re used to most of the time.
Jenny:
Right. Yeah. You’re just, you’re, weird pre-programmed to think that we have to constantly hustle and that hustle equates to money and hustle equates to happiness and it’s pretty amazing when you find out that that’s not true.
Debbie:
Yeah, one of the things that you and I talked about, Jenny, because you’re a writer now. So am I and you know you’ve always wanted to be a writer and I told Jenny, like one of the things that I always envisioned myself as being in like, like a cottage, like a stone cottage or cottage somewhere and I had a big window and then there’s like water overlooking and then I’m just like sipping my tea and writing.
Jenny:
I literally see that when you describe it.
Debbie:
Me too! Like, somewhere in Ireland or Scotland, you know, like something, that I don’t know why it’s those two things. Maybe I’ve read too many romance novels but those things are…
Jenny:
That’s so funny! Oh my God.
Debbie:
I was telling my husband, like, “can we go there just to do that? Even if it’s just for a day? Just want that moment.”
Jenny:
Just that moment!
Debbie:
I was like, “but if I’m there, I love doing that. I’m like, you have to be quiet. Like, I need my moment.”.
Jenny:
Let me sip my tea, as I look out on the lake with my pen and paper in my hand.
Debbie:
Oh my god, so yeah, it’s kind of like, I keep saying this, it’s nuts, right? It’s nuts when you go for something, you question yourself for so long and then things actually feel like they’re happening.
And I also know what it feels like to be on that, you and I, you know, this just recently happened to us, this is just the beginning. There’s going to be obstacles, that’s going to come our way. This is not just all peachy-keen, you know, it feels great now because we’re starting in that journey where we feel like we actually found something, but this is just the beginning for us, which is ironic, if you think about it, Jenny, because we’ve been trying so hard to do something for so long, like finding the right place for us and then when you finally find it, you’re still at the beginning.
It’s not even like, “Oh, I’m great now!”, you’re still at the beginning, so there’s still more to come.
Jenny:
Yes, I know. It’s so crazy because It’s like yeah, I’m, you know, I’m currently putting out my first multi-author book project and to say that it’s my first is, it’s, it feels good. But it’s also scary because there’s so much more to come and I don’t really know that path in front of me. You know, I have my plans and I have my visions and it’s like being in the beginning again, like when we first, we were like, we’re going to start a business.”. You know, it’s like that same kind of unknown, but it’s just, this time is so different because we know what we’re doing. Like our vision is clear, our confidence is high. It is, it’s just the beginning again and it’s like for me, you know, I started in 2018 doing this. So, you know, how long have I been working at it and pivoting and learning and trying to find my way? And yeah, like you said, it’s just, we’re starting at the beginning.
Debbie:
Yeah, it’s nuts to say that because we’ve literally been at it for years and years, but if we’re still at the beginning, so, you’re listening to this and you’re like, “oh my gosh, I don’t want to start something”, Jenny, and I keep starting new things all the time, so don’t feel bad.
Jenny:
And each time, It’s like, it gets a little bit better each time, right? That we start something or we move towards it, you know, a different direction, it gets a little bit better and it’s funny because you asked me a year ago to come on the show, and I was like, “yeah, why wouldn’t we do that?”, like, “we talk all the time, anyways. It’s no different.”, right? But, like, deep down subconsciously. I was like, “what do I actually have to bring to the listeners? Because I’m freaking lost, man. Like, what am I going to tell anybody to help them?”. You know, “what value would I bring?”. So, it never happened.
And now this time, I’m like, “I need to go on Debbie’s show because I can, like my story can actually bring value, can actually help somebody.”. And even though we are you know at this this new beginning for us that in itself is extremely valuable.
So, if anybody is listening like you know being at this new beginning, all of these failures that it took to get here and it feels this amazing, you know. So, it’s like just continue to stick with it and it’s okay if you fail and you might need to make 100 changes in your business and what you’re doing, none of that matters because in the end if you stick with it and you find what it is that you want to do and you’re meant to do, the whole journey is for you, it’s for you to get to that place. So.
Debbie:
And I think it’s so much more sweeter when you finally find your place and you struggled for so long because it just feels so good. Like, “oh my God, I suffered for so long.”.
You feel like you actually earned it, you know? Like I learned this sh!t. Like, I did so much work for this, like, I feel so good because I did so much and I deserve this, you know?
And I think that, I, personally, I don’t think I would have this feeling of accomplishment and feeling like I actually learned something if I just earned it super fast, I mean, we all want the instant gratification, but I think the feeling that you got the sense of accomplishment that you feel, after so many struggles after trying to figure out so many different things and you finally hit that sweet spot that you feel like you should be in it just brings so much more value and joy into your life. And also the lessons that you learned throughout that whole process is just something that you can’t buy.
That’s just something that is not priceable.
Jenny:
Absolutely. So true, it is so much sweeter and it’s so much sweeter that for me, that I came back to this dream that I had as a child, you know, writing and helping other people write, this dream that I had as a little kid before society told me that I couldn’t do it, before, I was programmed into thinking that, you know, working hard and hustling meant success, before, I was, you know, before, I was having to think of how would I come up with the money? How would I come up with the way to put a business together? How would I do that?
It’s just, it’s so much sweeter having gone through all of that, and coming full circle and had I not done all of those programs and all of those tears that I shed and all of the, you know, the conversations with you, about how frustrated we were, you know, it’s like I just don’t know that I would be here.
I just don’t know that. I would be in this place and be this happy and to see these women that I’m helping that have always wanted to write a book and how thankful and grateful they are that they have found me and that they’re able to do this, it’s just like, oh my gosh, you know it’s so worth it, everything, everything was so freaking worth it. So, yeah.
Debbie:
I love that and I can’t even imagine you know, we have this conversation now, like a year from now, where your agency is going to be, where mine is going to be and where it leads us, where it takes us causeI pretty much know that it’s going to be completely different and there’s going to be things that we didn’t even know was going to happen, because, Jenny who would have thought that any of this would be here right now? Like where we are right now, like I didn’t think that this was going to happen, did you?
Jenny:
No. I thought that we would still be complaining, that we were dumb and something was wrong with us.
Debbie:
Yeah. Little did we know the universe was like planning for us, you know, had things for us, and that, things were going to be okay. And all of the suffering, like they do, pay off, like it’s kind of nuts, but I’m glad that we went through all that pain, you all that suffering, all the tears, you know, little bits of joy sprinkled in there, here and there to get to this point because it’s definitely worth it.
Jenny:
Absolutely, worth it, yeah.
Debbie:
Love it.
So, Jenny, let’s look forward to maybe like 30 to 40 years from now and you’re looking back at your life, what legacy would you like to leave and what do you want to be remembered for?
Jenny:
Ooh, well I want to leave a legacy that truly paves the way for introverted, highly sensitive socially, anxious, shy women entrepreneurs to have a seat at the table with extroverts and that their weaknesses that society sees as their weaknesses are actually celebrated as their strengths.
I want to champion them and give them away to comfortably step into the spotlight.
So, you know, 30-40 years from now, I want to revolutionize the way that they market their business online through telling stories and inspiring people with their stories and that by doing that, they’re able to grow these amazing businesses and live their dreams.
Debbie:
That is an exceptional legacy to leave and also, I feel like introverts make really great storytellers because you observe a lot, so.
Jenny:
Absolutely.
Debbie:
You see everything.
Jenny:
And we listen to a whole lot more.
Debbie:
Yup!
You see everything, you hear everything.
Jenny:
Yup! Got it!
Debbie:
I love that.
Well, thank you so much, Jenny, for being here! We really appreciate you. I appreciate you and your friendship the last few years and, you know, we are going to come back here a year from now and then we’ll see what the future holds. We’ll see what happens.
We should do this every year and so, catch-up time, what happened?
Jenny:
Yup, the anniversary, the one-year anniversary show, every year.
Debbie:
Exactly!
Jenny:
Absolutely, thank you so much for this, it was amazing, it was amazing catching up, it was amazing being on the show and yeah, let’s have some big stories from a year from now.
Debbie:
Exactly, we will, we will, thanks, Jenny!
Jenny:
Thank you!
Listen to Jenny’s extended interview where she talks about how to harness your strengths as an introverted entrepreneur.
What you’ll find:
In this episode, Jenny talks about harnessing your strengths as an introverted entrepreneur.
