CEO, Jen Groover Productions

www.jengroover.com
www.butlerbag.com
www.launcherscafe.com
www.toptipsforcreativity.com
www.jengroovernews.com
www.mcneillbrighterminds.com
www.whatifandwhynot.com

Don’t try to put Jen Groover into one business category—it’s just not possible. Jen spans multiple brands, products, media, and markets. She says she doesn’t want to fit into one box—she wants to thrive in all of them. And she manages to do just that.

Jen has already developed such products as the Bulter Bag (a compartmentalized handbag), one of the fastest growing handbag companies in history; product lines that include accessories, dolls, clothing, parental aids, and games; and mentoring blogs. She also has a television program slated for the fall and a book launch in 2009. Her enviable publicity record includes ABC’s “Money Matters,” CNBC’s “The Big Idea With Donny Deutsch,” O, The Oprah Magazine, Success, Entrepreneur, and Redbook.

While in a Ladies Who Launch Incubator, Jen observed how many women with multiple passions felt they had to choose just one. Her advice—you don’t have to. She encourages women to join LWL Incubators to identify their passions, and then find a way to live all of them.

What we learned from Jen: “No matter what stage of the game you’re in, you still have those days that challenge your fortitude, perseverance, and strength. They are your tests—if you don’t pass those tests, you don’t get to the next level.”

Slip Into Something Less Comfortable

“My mother was a woman ahead of her time. She would always push me out of my comfort zone. I will do the same thing with my daughters. I do it with my employees. If you didn’t feel uncomfortable today, you didn’t grow.”

From the Classroom to the Boardroom

“I graduated in December of ‘95 with a degree in education and psychology from Kutztown University. I didn’t want to be a teacher in the traditional classroom sense. Throughout college I had always been an athlete, and got into fitness as a full-time career. I co-owned a successful gym in Wilmington, Delaware, called the Groove Shop. We also did corporate wellness programs and lifestyle management with companies like MBNA and DuPont.”

Hitting the Wall

“I was a fitness competitor working many hours, over-training and teaching three to five aerobics classes a day. When I was 27, I got really ill and my kidneys, liver, and heart starting shutting down—basically I had a ‘come to Jesus’ moment where I had to look at who I was and what I was doing. My doctor said you need to change your life or you’re not going to have children and you’re not going to be healthy.”

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