Hey there Gold Star Revolution Squad! It's Funtastic Friday, which means that it is time to announce our #staroftheweek!
Future Stars of the Week will be chosen from reader nominations! But since we are at the beginning of this project, I will be the one nominating our Friday Star of the Week until the time when nominations from readers start to roll in. Please send me your nominations, and please see the end of this post for more details on how to do that!
This week, I thought I would take a different approach and nominate someone I don't personally know. I have admired this person from afar for a little while now, and she has definitely been an inspiration to me in starting the Gold Star Revolution. Our star for this week is Jess Ekstrom!
Have you heard of Jess Ekstrom? She is a graduate of NC State University here in Raleigh, so that caused me to like her right away! While she was still in college, she started a company from her dorm room(!) in 2012 called Headbands of Hope. For every item that is sold on the company's website, one headband is given to a child with cancer. Very inspiring!
Another thing that I find very inspiring about Jess is that she published her first book in 2019! It's called Chasing the Bright Side, and I think it's amazing! Her optimism is contagious!
Whether you are trying to start a business or are feeling stuck personally, Chasing The Bright Side will motivate you to take action with regard to whatever challenges you are facing. Jess's writing style is so relatable, you will feel like you are getting advice from one of your best friends.
Jess was supposed to have a Chasing the Bright Side conference here in Raleigh back in March of this year. However, she was unable to hold the conference because it was right around the time when everything in NC started to shut down due to the Coronavirus.
But Jess didn't let that stop her! She quickly pivoted and turned the conference into a virtual conference that took place just a month later. She had never done a virtual conference before, so I was shocked that she could turn the whole thing around so quickly!
The virtual conference was pay-what-you-want, which I thought was awesome. And I think she ended up having more success with the virtual conference than she would have had with the in-person conference. Way to improvise!
Jess is about to launch a new podcast called Business on the Bright Side. The first episode will be released in just 4 days! If you are in business for yourself or are even thinking of starting a side hustle, I highly recommend that you give Jess a listen. As Jess herself says, the podcast is for people who want to learn how to make a living while making a difference at the same time!
Jess also offers a class and Facebook group for women who want to become public speakers. It's called the Mic Drop Workshop. I am hoping to take the class one day myself!
And, finally, Jess lives in an Airstream and travels around the country with her husband and dog. How cool is that?!
With that, I am very happy to present this week's Star of the Week Award to Jess Ekstrom! Congratulations Jess!
Would you like to nominate yourself or someone you care about to be our next Star of the Week? To read the rules about the nomination process and get more information about the free gift that U.S. winners will receive, please click here. Then submit the Nomination Form!
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