Why Entrepreneurs Need to Leave Their Home

Building a business from home can feel like freedom, until it starts to limit your perspective, energy, and growth.

In this solo episode, Jen shares why physically leaving your home environment can be one of the most powerful shifts you make as an entrepreneur. From expanding your thinking to increasing your visibility and opportunities, this conversation reframes getting out of your space as a strategic decision, not just a lifestyle one. This is about placing yourself in rooms, environments, and experiences that stretch you beyond what is familiar.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• How working from home can limit growth and perspective
• Why travel and new environments unlock new ideas and opportunities
• The role proximity plays in expanding your business and network
• How to start getting into rooms that challenge and elevate you
• Why leaving your home is a strategic move, not just a personal one

Connect with Jen:

• Read Magazine here: www.instagram.com/iconicmagazine__
• Business Mentorship here: www.instagram.com/becomingiconic
• Watch here: www.youtube.com/@theiconicmagazine
• All resources: www.becomingiconic.co

Transcript

Speaker: 1:06

Welcome to the Iconic Podcast. I am your host, Jennifer Leigh, CEO, founder, and editor-in-chief of Iconic Magazine. Each week, I bring you into the rooms most people never get access to. The cover features, the contributors, women who are making big, bold moves in their life and business. I sit with them, learn from them, and I'll bring their stories, their thinking, and their standards directly to you in real time. Alongside those conversations, you will hear from me. With over 20 years of experience building brands and over 100 million in client sales, I share the insights, strategies, and leadership perspective that most people have not yet accessed. This is not surface level advice, but the real decisions, standards, and shifts required to build something that lasts. This is how iconic women think, build, lead, and live. And while I have you, I want to encourage you to go download the most recent copy of the magazine, whether in digital format, or to get your hands on that physical copy delivered to your door every quarter. And I'd also love to see you in the House of Her membership. Thank you so much for being here. So when was the last time you left your house as an entrepreneur? Welcome back to the Iconic Podcast. This conversation, I hope, is going to inspire you, have you book your next trip, get in the next room, do the things that light your spirit on fire. So this was an interesting journey for me. Prior to COVID, I was on stages all over the world. I was at events more nights than not, living a great life, seizing moments, and I really loved it. There was a part of me that felt a little tired, if I'm being truly honest. Speaking and going across the globe does play a little bit on you physically, but I loved what I was doing. And suddenly, we were forced to stay home. This was the first time in my entrepreneurial career that I didn't have to physically leave my house. This was the first time in 15 years where I could build from my computer and my phone in the comfort of my home, wearing sweats, not getting up and getting ready. And there was a part of me that loved this moment. There was a part of me that was craving that ability to be home and be comfortable and rest a little bit, but I took it way too far. And I ended up being so comfortable being home, almost acting, even though I have a great team, but I was acting like a solopreneur, just not getting up and being in the routines that used to hold me to a higher standard. And after COVID was over, I remember being stunned by several things. First of all, I had created for myself social anxiety. I had never had social anxiety before. But the idea of leaving my home and being with people in person just had my nervous system completely go out of whack. Not because I was fearful of COVID or anything like that. I just wasn't in that routine and rhythm of being around people anymore. I also, because I had rested so much, had realized that I really was running before COVID. I really was probably on the other side of the spectrum, doing a little bit too much outside of the home. So going from that place of feeling tired, loved what I was doing, but feeling tired to all this rest and still being able to do what I love to now saying to myself, you've got to get out and meet people again. That was a really difficult transition for me. And I didn't expect it. Again, I had always done it. So why all of a sudden did I have social anxiety? Why all of a sudden did this feel like a really big deal for me? I also didn't look after myself during COVID. I had gained 35 pounds, and that was a lot of work with chips and dip and a glass of wine. I enjoyed my evenings because for me, that was my outlet, the way I created the survival mechanism. My kids and I actually were talking about this last night, and they were saying to me, oh my gosh, mom, do you remember how many charcuterie boards we had? And Nick, my youngest, goes, I remember saying, mom, when can we have a normal meal again? Because I had just gone into this place of at some point I have to look forward to something and so I'm going to look forward to my charcuterie board and my glass of wine every day and it was great it was delicious it was wonderful but my body paid for it and you know wearing jogging pants every day and then all of a sudden going to your closet to put your clothes on nothing fit me I used the joke that my jogging pants were lying to me for all those years so that kind of pulled me out of wanting to be in person with people as well when we're not feeling good about ourselves physically, when we are feeling a lack of confidence, it doesn't really support us in getting out and meeting and greeting people. So that was an interesting thing that I had to walk through as well. But I also know I'm not alone in that. How many women say no to events or say no to their brand shoots or don't go to the networking event because we think we have to look a certain way or get ready to get ready or we think, oh, what if I don't fit in or what's it going to be like? I don't know anybody. And I share this with you so openly because I know many of you share this same thing back with me. So if you're feeling these feelings that you need to get ready to get ready, here's something that I did for myself that I would love to gift to you. Just for one year. Ask yourself and commit for one in-person event per quarter. Every three months, you're going to go to a personal growth and development conference. You're going to go to an event that's hosted locally. It doesn't even have to be that you have to get on a plane. What can you immerse yourself in once a quarter? That's a promise everybody can keep. It's an investment in self. It's the best way to get back in the room and kind of put yourself out there and build the confidence muscle back up. But you're also investing in your personal growth and development. So sometimes that, knowing that that reward is on the other side, is a great accountability partner for actually purchasing the ticket. You know that when I purchase this ticket and I invest and I commit to going in this room, sure, I may feel self-conscious. Sure, I may not know anybody. Sure, I may find a million reasons why not to go. But I'm committing to going because I know this investment on the other side. I'm going to be a radically different woman because I've been around like-minded people. I've been in the energy of the room. I've learned something new and I'm standing a little straighter. It kind of like dusts the room, you know, dust your mindset, dust your heart set when you're in rooms like this. So I'd love you to commit to once a quarter going to a personal growth and development conference or event that's going to really help you stay in the energy of your dreams and your goals. Again, you don't have to feel like it. You don't have to feel ready. It's a matter of buying the ticket and holding yourself accountable, knowing that on the other side, it's going to be so worthwhile. Investing in personal growth is a sure bet. It's the one thing that I know has paid forward over and over and over again. I have not gone to a single event that hasn't taught me something or improved some area of my life or business. Even if that event wasn't phenomenal, even if I didn't leave going, wow, that was the best thing ever. and I left going, we know what, when I do an event, I might do things this way. Or I didn't love how that ended up being. So when I speak, I'm going to watch how I speak and present this. And so I might be learning a lesson to take with me for growth, or I might be leaving with so much energy and my heart filled up because I was in that room just to be poured into. So those personal growth and development conferences are a non-negotiable. If you are in business of growth and entrepreneurship, which is the greatest road to personal growth, you've got to be invested into getting rooms. The other thing about getting in those rooms is who you meet. Your next business bestie, your next client, your next collaboration. Every woman walking in that room feels the way we feel. A little self-conscious, a little nervous. What's it going to be like? So we all have the same level playing field. We know this. But what are they also looking forward to? Connection. Every single woman is secretly saying to herself, or maybe she's, you know, very extroverted, but most women are secretly saying to themselves, I hope I meet somebody great today. Or I wonder if I'm going to have someone that joins the community. Or I wonder if I'm going to find somebody I can collaborate on this project with. And so if we know everybody has that heart set and they're going in this room a little fragile, vulnerable, little like out of confidence, but simultaneously really hoping for something fruitful, then we can all kind of lock arms and be with one another in community. Because community is where the growth is. If you're not building your community constantly, your business is going to fall flat because you're turning over the same stones over and over and over again. My business has grown exponentially as a result of being in rooms again. You can't actually even fathom the amount of growth, not just in Instagram with following, but new clients, new projects, new collaborations, new speaking opportunities. I mean, it's almost like a fire hose right now because I said to myself, I cannot stay home. Yes, I feel these feelings and I could lean in on these excuses, but I'm choosing to get back in the arena. I'm choosing to be around women who are doing what I'm doing. I'm choosing to feel uncomfortable knowing on the other side, I'm going to be so glad that I did. The other important piece to entrepreneurship and leaving your home is travel. This might be a bit of a turn in the conversation, but an important one. I grew up without traveling. I was an only child. And so if my parents traveled, usually it was just to go have a solo vacation together, reconnect. I was left home or a couple of times they sent me to my grandparents in Florida. So I didn't have a taste. I didn't even understand what travel was like until I did. and travel became one of my biggest whys and reasons why to build a business. I was floored at the beauty of this world. To live in our city or to live in your town and think it's the best in the world when you haven't seen the rest of the world is really naive. We don't even know until we know. What do we like? What is beauty to us? Are you a mountain person? Are you an ocean person? Are you a both? Do you like boutique hotels or do you like big, huge resorts? You've got to find yourself in those experiences and they actually really pull you into a higher standard. That was something I didn't expect. I loved traveling for the beauty. What I didn't know is that it would actually raise my standards for everything in my life. My palate, like what do I love eating? And when I go to a restaurant, what do I love to order? It showed me that I really value a great meal. I would rather pay more for a really beautiful meal than save money and not enjoy my food. That was something I didn't know until I traveled. I also learned that I love a beautiful hotel room. Like, I appreciate details. And I didn't know that prior to going to beautiful resorts. It's something I invest in, my family invests in now because of how we feel in that moment, but also what comes home with us. We just sort of look at these beautiful things around us, whether it be the linens or the art or the decor or the smell, and we invite those things into our home. As a matter of fact, when we did our renovation, most of the renovation was like, what did we love about the Ritz-Carlton? What did we love about Bisha? What did we love about Atlantis? And how can we invite those things we love into our home? It helped me expand. It helped me build beauty and abundance around me. And I thought it was just about a seven-day trip to a Mexico resort. But what it ended up being was a reminder of presence, a reminder of how important it is to seize and soak in every opportunity you can in this lifetime, a reminder to enjoy your life while you're building your business. We can all put off the trip. There's not an exception to the rule, whether it be I don't have the finances yet or once you have the finances, I don't have the time now. There's always going to be a reason why not. You've got to find the reason why to do it because you've experienced something with the people you love. My fondest memories, those memories in my mind that kind of come forward and make my heart swell, are the times that I was on vacation with my family. My kids laughing down water slides, sitting at dinner and giggling, trying different foods, knowing what our rhythm is and how we work together. Undivided attention, playing in the water, making sandcastles. It was all just such a beautiful experience that ended up becoming such an important focus and intention in our lives. But until you do those things, you get out and you invite that in your life, you're never going to understand how incredibly abundant and beautiful it gets to be for you. I also believe that it teaches you about culture. In a world that's so divided, in a world that is judging culture, in a world that's wanting to make people wrong. Go and immerse yourself in culture and learn how beautiful and wonderful it is. I love Mexican culture. They're happy. They treat every day like a celebration. The food is delicious. The music's delicious. I love everything about that culture. I have such appreciation for that culture that I don't believe I would have if I hadn't immersed myself in it. It's those moments where you open your door, you step outside, and you look with your eyes, you smell with your nose, you taste with your mouth, you listen with your ears, and you touch with your hands. Gorgeous world that God created for us. You're not meant to sit at home. You're meant to go do these things. Go and invest and put yourself in the nice resort. I'll tell you right now, the few thousand dollars it may cost more, you'll be so glad you spent it because of the experience and the enjoyment you had. I was just talking to someone who traveled. We have very similar tastes in resorts, and she tried somewhere new. And they did it on a bit of a budget because they were traveling with other people, I sat down with her. I was like, how was your trip? Did you love it? She said, the whole time, we just wanted to pack up and go to Moon Palace, which is our shared resort that we love in Mexico. She's like, it took everything in us every single day just to stay. And she's like, I would have paid $10,000 more to have gone to that resort, now experiencing something that just didn't have the same level of care and detail. She's like, there's so much to offer at that resort. And this one we went to, the food wasn't great. It was bare minimums. They didn't clean our room in time. And so it reminded me that our investments and who we become through those investments are so imperative. Go and stay at the nice resort, okay? Money will come back. You're going to be fine. But who you are on the other side of staying at a beautiful place versus a mediocre place is radically different. You may leave going, it was okay, excited to get back in the office, or you can leave coming home going, wow, I feel better. I have these standards. I can't stop thinking about that delicious meal we had. Oh my gosh, I had the best sleeps of my life. That bathtub. Oh, the bathtub and the smell of the products. Oh, That ripples for a lifetime. So I challenge you to get in rooms with events. I challenge you to go and travel and soak in this world. Do the things that are going to expand you and hence expand your life and business. Because it's not about earning trips. It's about going and doing those things so that you can earn the success because of the identity shift you have on the other side. So when I travel, I also have my greatest, biggest ideas. I'll never forget this one time in Bahamas. I went for a run. As I was running, I just felt this call to sit down on the beach and look out at the ocean. It was just like my whole body requested it. And I call those God winks and God moments. And I went and did what I was told and sat down at the beach and looked over the ocean. And the birds were singing and I could hear children laughing in the background. And the sun was just kind of coming up to that mid-morning sunrise. eyes. And I heard, bring women back here to experience the beauty the way you have. I didn't know what that looked like. I didn't know what that was going to mean. But I followed through. And that created a $100,000 offer where I brought eight women, eight of us together, back to Bahamas to enjoy the experience that was blessed upon me. And when these women came to the resort, they said, A, I would never have stayed at a place like this. One of them said, I didn't think I would belong. But oh my gosh, I belong. Their wealth embodiment and who they sort of looked at themselves as shifted in real time before my eyes. Because there's more to it than the immersion in a beautiful space. It's who we are in that beautiful space. Like we receive. Think about ordering room service or having somebody you're traveling with bringing you coffee in the morning. That feminine energy of receiving and having somebody bring something to you and you're so grateful and you sit on your balcony and you sip your coffee and enjoy the view. And when I'm on vacation, I move my body. Suddenly, I'm a runner. I like to run and run along the paths and explore and see where I am. And it reminds me, why don't I do that at home? Why at home do I just get up, have the coffee and get to work? You see, all these habits, behaviors, things that are important to me, I'm reminded of when I'm on vacation because there's Spaced. So the greatest ideas come to life. You learn to receive by sitting and having somebody bring your meal to your table, ordering room service, having the person you're with go grab you a drink or grab you a coffee. There's such beautiful practice in that. Moving your body. I mean, how many people are like me where suddenly you want to go for a walk or walk along the beach or go to the gym, whatever it may be. It demands us to roll our shoulders back and be how we want to be in our everyday life. So those reminders get to come home with you as well, where you ask yourself, why don't I do those things for myself day in and day out? Why don't I make time to move my body? Why don't I sip and enjoy my coffee before rushing to the computer? Why don't I sit down and savor my meal and just rush through it to get to the next thing or clean up after dinner? It's these reminders of who we desire to become that are such a great asset and reward to the investment of going and traveling. So think about all of these things and pull it into your lived experience. When's the last time you went on a trip? When's the last time you got out of the house? When's the last time you went for a really beautiful dinner? It's time. It's time to do that for yourself because it is going to be your next great idea. It's going to be the energy that fuels you forward. And it's going to remind you of the important things in your life that maybe have been neglected. Thank you so much for your time and presence with us. I would love to nudge you now to respond to the generosity of this podcast by leaving a review and sharing this episode. Please tag the guest and myself as well so more people can be served. Our latest issue of the magazine is now out and linked below for you for your convenience. And if you're interested in this incredible PR and visibility opportunity, we've linked that below for you as well. Now let's go make it a great day. So.