Client Case Study:
Jenny Slingerland is the high-achieving owner and principal designer of Black Ink Interiors. When Jenny first came to me, her business was already thriving, profits were climbing, and the phone never stopped ringing. Still, running her business didn’t feel good.
Jenny was struggling as an entrepreneur wearing all the hats and feeling the pressure of ‘the buck stops with you.’ She was investing everything she had into her business and very little into herself. She wanted to be more present with her family but kept feeding the monster, giving the business more and more of herself. And no matter how much she gave, it didn’t feel like enough.
Jenny was a slave to her inbox and overwhelmed because she had a hard time letting go of tasks and delegating to others. She was also struggling with her ADD which made prioritizing and staying focused difficult. Jenny’s mind and body weren’t in a healthy place even though her business was. She felt like she was short-circuiting and got to a place where she’d had enough. Jenny realized she needed somebody to give her direction on how to manage her ADD, hold her accountable, and form a game plan for transforming her business so it fits in with the life she craves.
I look at Jenny today and am so proud of the progress she’s made in taking back control of her business and life. She is no longer bogged down working IN her business and actually works ON her business. She weighs opportunities against her goals and only goes down avenues she deems worthy of her time and energy. She anchors down her list of priorities and makes them happen instead of making excuses for why they can’t.
Jenny now executes strategies to curb her ADD and enable her focus. She no longer lets her inbox determine her day and is okay with something not being perfect but perfect enough so that her team can take the reins on some tasks and she can stay in her zone of genius.
Finally, Jenny got the permission she needed to create a schedule that allows her to work from home two days a week so she can be more present in her daughters’ lives. She now walks them to and from the bus stop twice a week and follows her passion for art by teaching art classes - things she could never have imagined doing before. Once Jenny’s eyes were opened to what was possible, she felt empowered to change her family life and did. Major props, Jenny!
What You'll Discover In This Episode:
In this episode of Productivity Straight Talk, I sit down with Jenny Slingerland, the Owner & Principal Designer and Chief Operating Officer of Black Ink Interiors, a full-service interior design firm operating out of Scottsdale, Arizona, and her husband Ben. We take an in-depth look behind the scenes in their business and discuss everything from Jenny being a quick start, naturally having too many ideas and not enough focus or time to see them to fruition, to discovering ways to keep her ADD in check, and everything in between. The episode is full of nuggets of wisdom I have no doubt could be applied to your own business.
Episode Links & Resources:
Hear A Clip From Jenny Slingerland:
About Guest:
Jenny is the Owner and Principal Designer of Black Ink Interiors, a luxury residential design firm based in Scottsdale, AZ. She is an award-winning designer, and she has appeared on Houzz TV and in local Arizona publications. She and her team service clients in Arizona and throughout the United States.
Ben left the corporate world to join Jenny at Black Ink Interiors in 2018. As Chief Operating Officer, he oversees the back-end operations so that Jenny and the design team can focus primarily on the client facing activities. Ben has over 15 years of business experience across multiple industries and disciplines including real estate development, procurement, human resources and operations.
