I was delighted to talk to my guest Jess Ndenda for this episode. Jess is the founder and owner of two businesses - Olive Louise Social, a digital marketing agency, and The Belle Evolution, a platform to bring together women entrepreneurs and provide networking opportunities, support and resources as they navigate growing their businesses.
While Jess now revels in her life as a busy businesswoman, it hasn’t always been this way. Growing up her sense of self-worth was challenged by an unsupportive family environment, which carried over into her teenage and adult years. As a 19 year old, she fell pregnant for the first time and thought her role in life was to be a mother and wife, and she threw herself into this new phase. But, as Jess candidly puts it, she realised that while she loved her children and her husband, she hated her identity being solely based around motherhood and being a wife.
Over the years, Jess has been on a voyage of self-discovery as she’s built her business, her family, and her sense of self worth. Her story is one I’m sure many can relate to.
As a side note, in the podcast Jess mentions she’s pregnant with baby number five! At this point, the baby is still cooking but we’re looking forward to meeting the newest addition to the Ndenda family in a couple of weeks.
To find out more about Jess and her work, follow her on all the socials, but a great starting place is Instagram: @thebelleevolution, @olivelouisesocial, or @mrsjessndenda