The Design Business Show 205: Becoming Iconic with Jen Szpigiel

Jen Szpigiel has created a multi-million dollar global iconic brand for legendary leadership, life and business. As the owner and founder of Becoming Iconic®️, Jen is infusing years of wisdom, pure-clean energy and proven strategies for the visionaries, legends and entrepreneurs who want to break expired paradigms and shift the narrative within their businesses, relationships and lives.

As an industry leader, top mentor and podcast host, be ready for Jen to expand you into your full potential as the most epic, vision centric leader for yourself and your legacy.

Here’s what we covered on the episode:

How Jen Became Iconic

Jen is a mom of 4, has been an entrepreneur for 16 years, and has been in marketing and sales for even longer
When Jen was younger, she had a corporate job that she loved, but after the birth of her first baby, she decided to stay home to be with her daughter
While being a stay-at-home mom, Jen felt like she lost herself, so entrepreneurship seemed like the answer to her prayer because she didn’t want to set the example for her daughter that you had to either choose your career or your family – she wants to help be an example that you can have it all
In 2019, after growing in entrepreneurship and helping people all over the world, Jen felt called to build more of a company and brand
How Jen kept hearing the word ‘iconic,’ but she was worried about what people would think or turning people off until she heard the word ‘becoming,’ and as soon as she put those words together, Becoming Iconic, her soul lit up
Becoming Iconic will mean different things to different people, but we can all relate to it at some level because we share the purpose of wanting to become all that we can be
The Spark of Becoming Iconic was from Jen wanting to eradicate the narrative that we have to choose and have a sacrificial life – Jen was living a harmonious life and still has a gorgeous family life and booming business, so she wanted to translate that to others
Now Becoming Iconic has grown into a personal journey – in February of 2021, Jen’s Instagram and Facebook were hacked and disabled, and she never got them back
When Jen’s accounts got hacked, she had tens of thousands of followers and was looked at as an influencer; Jen was leaning on social media to grow her business, it was her main way of communicating with her community, and in a matter of minutes, it was gone.
How Jen decided to look at her accounts being hacked as a real-life example of becoming iconic – so many people came in during her success and hadn’t watched her grow, so Jen thought this would be a great opportunity for people to get to know her and her grit, work ethic, love, passion and see her lead
Becoming Iconic is now a movement that’s growing exponentially, and since losing her social media, Jen shares that they’ve created their first seven figures in less than six months
Jen reflects on how she is doing the same things to grow her business now that she was doing 10-15 years ago
Many people like to blame social media or use it to justify, but Jen says the truth is if you are wasting time scrolling, you’re comparing, or it brings you down, that should be a point of reference for you to lead yourself better, it has nothing to do with social media
Why Jen loves social media is because it opens opportunities to find incredible connections and relationships that you would have never been able to make 10 years ago
When it comes to social media, Jen says consistency and discipline are the most important
A lesson Jen learned as a people pleaser who lived for outward validation was to be full of herself, which most people need to learn – as an entrepreneur and leader who wants to grow a business, Jen says you are going to have people who don’t agree with you or don’t tell you you’re doing a great job even when they think you are so, you have to look inward for validation
Jen explains that she has a team and support, but she has built a business on ethics and integrity, which she feels strongly about – so when you come into her DMs, it’s not someone pretending to be her; it’s actually her
It’s a contradiction in your life and business to want to be a seven-figure business owner but want to do as little as you can in a day and want to rest – they can exist together, but it’s this harmonious living and working hard, and feeling like you had a productive day that Jen thinks people are losing
Part of the reason people don’t want to work as hard is that they grew up in hustle culture, but Jen shares some great things about hustle culture, too, like having a work ethic, following through, and being dedicated
You can work hard and get rest – when you work hard in your business, Jen says, that’s when it starts to thrive
Becoming Iconic is mainly mentorships; Jen does a lot of private, deep, relational mentorships, which is what she thrives on
Jen also has a podcast that is part of the brand – it is rated top in business and lifestyle across the globe
Another part of Becoming Iconic is Jen’s magazine and boutique agency
How Jen describes Becoming Iconic as an umbrella company that supports entrepreneurs, whether service or product based, to build multiple, six or seven, eight-figure businesses
Jen focuses on leadership, who are you being in your life and business because she will not grow a business that hurts your family or breaks relationships, nor will she let her clients lean in on that as an excuse to not fulfill your dream and destiny within your business

Jen’s Rebrand + Magazine

The story of how Jen and her business partner decided to part ways so Jen could stand on her own two feet and the things that came to light because of it
Most of Jen’s time in business was dictated by what people told her she could and couldn’t do until she started doing it her way and began pioneering the coaching industry
Jen shares that she went to school for fashion and has always loved style – when she went on her own, she decided to explore that in her business and did more fashion and branding photoshoots, which she loves
How Jen was finally able to fall into herself and follow her intuition in her business and create her Becoming Iconic Magazine, which has been a dream of hers since she was 20 years old, even after so many told her it wasn’t a good idea
Jen wanted her magazine to be a place for entrepreneurs to get sound business advice but also be inspired by beautiful things, lifestyle, places to visit, and things to eat – so she created it, and it has been one of the most successful things she’s done
What holds many people back is wanting to do something perfectly the first time, so Jen shares some of the errors inside her first issue of the magazine and how she used them as an opportunity to be better
Jen walks through the different features and columns within her magazine and how some are more business based while others are more life based
You can have the digital copy of the magazine complimentary on Jen’s website, or you can subscribe to get the beautiful glossy pages delivered to your doorstep
The two other people Jen has on her team to help with the magazine are her designer and her operational business manager – Jen does all the copy and even handwrites the addresses on envelopes because it means so much to her that people would subscribe

The Becoming Iconic Podcast + Offers

Jen created The Becoming Iconic Podcast to explore conversations, meet new people, and help those who aren’t ready to come into her world to be mentored by her
How Jen’s intention for her magazine and podcast was not to make money – they are passion projects of hers, but they do bring in income
In Jen’s offers, it’s a lot of intimate setting work because she loves relationships and partnerships
In 2023, the main ways to work with Jen are through private coaching or her mastermind called Icons which is about teaching women that they do not have to wait for success to feel like the women they want to become
Jen feels that 2023 will be a year of deepening the experiences she offers to make them the best they can be
If Jen wakes up tomorrow and wants to try something, she can because she’s not attached to the outcome; she’s attached to creating an exceptional experience which gives allows her to do things in a playful, curious way

Creative Direction in Photoshoots

Jen says she found a great photographer and videographer who work together and says she wanted to create a fashion influencer vibe under a coaching umbrella
The inspiration behind Jen’s photoshoot came from a fashion influencer in Germany, and she shares that she wanted to create photos that were mysterious, inspiring, professional, and edgy-elegant all that the same time
Jen does her hair and makeup for her photoshoots because it’s more about the feeling than how she looks
Why Jen believes putting on clothes and being presentable is part of what makes her feel good because after Jen had her first daughter, she lost herself and became the sweatpants mom after having gone to school for fashion, so it makes her feel better to get up, put a little makeup on and get dressed
Jen talks about how we’re told to build our email lists so if we lose our social media, we’ll still have access to everybody, which is true, but Jen doesn’t believe the outcome is as solid as we’re teaching – not all the people on your email list will refollow you on your new social media
How Jen communicates through email but is not consistent with it because, to her, there are so many other ways that are more elevated to connect and communicate with her audience
Jen’s 3 favorite places to communicate with her audience are through her magazine, podcast, or Instagram
Many of us spend too much time in the ‘waiting’ – we’re waiting to feel ready, confident, for the right time, for somebody to give us to go ahead, etc., and what Jen knows is that these things don’t lead us into decisions, what does is our heart, soul, and trust
You don’t have to wait to do what you want and chase your dreams – Jen says there will never be a right moment, so create the perfect moment for yourself
Check out Jen’s website, Becoming Iconic, listen to her podcast, view her magazine, and connect with her on Instagram