Trendsetter to Know: Jen Gallagher

Name: Jen Gallagher

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Age: 34

Title: Owner & Founder of KarbonConscious and Host of The Conscious State of Mind Podcast

Married/Single: Married to my husband Michael aka, @themrwineguy

Kids: Two fur babies; Maci the Maltipoo and Rusty the Beagle.

City you live in: Scottsdale

A typical day in my life includes…

I am an early riser and usually get up around 5am. I try my best to not look at my phone first thing in the morning but I’ll be the first to say I’m not perfect, so I do slip and look at it from time to time and work towards getting better with that every time I find myself tempted to pick it up.  This is how I look at it, if that is the first thing you are looking at in the morning, you are letting it control your day because you never know what you are going to see if you check your emails or social media. And 99.9% of the time all of those things can wait and it’s so important to get yourself in the right mindset first before letting all the outside noise creep in. By 6am, my husband and I are out the door for our daily morning 2 mile dog walk with our two fur babies. The first half of the walk we walk quietly without talking for a silent morning meditation. Then, at the halfway mark we stop to give each other a kiss and start saying what we are thankful for. Maci (our maltipoo starts first) and YES Maci has a voice LOL (that we speak for her of course!). She and her brother Rusty also have a morning mantra they both say which is “I am youthful, I am spunky, I am fit”. Maci is 13 years old and Rusty is 10… you would never even be able to tell so it’s working! Most people think Maci is around 3 or 4! She likes to look at herself like a fine wine, she only gets better with age! After Maci says her thankfuls, Michael speaks in “Rusty’s voice” for him to say what he is thankful for followed by me and Michael.  It’s a great way to start the morning off with gratitude and feel good. When we get back, we read and do a guided meditation (using Insight Timer) and then go workout at Trufusion. I like to finish off my morning routine after the workout with my favorite meal of the day, my go-to morning smoothie with my KarbonConscious organic bamboo straw (To get my morning smoothie recipe you can go to www.karbonconscious.com and sign up to have it sent straight to your inbox!) Our mornings are for us to fill our cup so we can serve others to our highest potential for the rest of the day. The rest of my day can be a mixture of working on things for my brand KarbonConscious and also my podcast, depending on the day. I do things like sales calls, work on new product development, social media content and outreach, podcast interviews, collaborations etc. Basically, name anything in the business world, I can make it happen and if I don’t know how I am super resourceful and will find a way or another person to help me make it happen.

I was born…

in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia called Snellville.

My favorite thing about Arizona…

the clear blue skies and warm weather – yes, I don’t mind the heat! At least up until about 100 then it is a little intense. I grew up around humidity so 100 feels like 85 in the Southeast.

I’m listening to…

podcasts for inspiration, personal development and business tips. Podcasts have inspired me so much that last April 2018 I created my own and its called ‘The Conscious State of Mind Podcast’ (available on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify).

My family…

my husband I moved across country from South Florida all the way to Scottsdale back in November 2017. We call it our “reset move” away from everything familiar. After hitting a rough patch in my previous business and my husband getting laid off from his job, we almost lost everything and hit rock bottom. We had to sell what I considered my dream starter home in South Florida so we wouldn’t lose it. This is the part of the story that is uncomfortable but I’m open and willing to share because it is the things that people need to hear that is not often talked about.  I don’t share for sympathy, I share to be REAL and in hopes to help inspire someone along the way who may need to hear this. We tend to see through a lens of the highlight reels of peoples lives through an Instagram filter these days. The truth is, entrepreneurship is not easy because if it was easy EVERYBODY WOULD DO IT. You have to be willing to get extremely uncomfortable, have faith in the unseen, eat things like pasta A LOT (since it’s cheap and you need to save money for your business and bills), work a crazy amount of hours while you are building it all up and turn down fun social events so that you can focus on your business. Friendships shift, family starts to question your sanity all while deep down if you know this was your calling you can’t step away from it and give up because that is not an option. I have been told in the past by some really close family and friends to just give up already. Snap back into reality and go get a “real job” and a lot of other hurtful things that would cause a lot of people to give up and listen to that advice. I had to learn to be mindful of who I shared my dreams with, surround myself with people that understand and get this entrepreneurship world I’m living in, and to stay in my own lane laser focused with my current end goal in mind. I am thankful to have a supportive husband who is also an entrepreneur and host of the ‘Mr. Wine Guy Podcast’. We have been married for 7 years and together for 11. So much has changed as we didn’t start off as an entrepreneur couple. We have gone through ups and downs together and everything in between which in the end has grown us that much closer to one another and although like any couple we have our disagreements we are also stronger together than ever.

If I could have dinner with anyone, it would be…

this is a hard choice but I’m going to name a few: Sara Blakely, Elena Cardone  and Mark Cuban (all 3 in one extended dinner would be AMAZING)!

 One thing I cannot live without…

hmmmm, this is hard but if it’s a thing and not a person I would say a good face moisturizer. If it is people, it’s my husband Michael and my fur babies.

When I was younger, I wanted to be…

a dolphin trainer at Seaworld and also a news anchor.

I’m inspired by…

people that are working towards or living their dream and not holding back.

The people who motivate me are…

Chris and Lori Harder.

If I could change anything in the world, it would be…

to eliminate the consumption of single use plastic and eventually plastic as a whole. Hence why I started KarbonConscious starting with a sustainable organic bamboo straw to replace plastic and will be expanding with additional conscious products along the way.

The perfect day would be…

waking up full of gratitude and stepping out into my balcony overlooking the ocean and taking it all in. Going for a family walk with Michael and our two fur babies alongside the beach, followed by an amazing workout.  Afterwards having a speaking engagement or collaboration of some sort that would help positively impact the lives of others, and afterwards going out to celebrate an amazing day having a date night out with my husband drinking nice wine with incredible vegan food overlooking the water.

My first job was…

I taught dance (clogging). I was on a competitive dance team growing up and used to dream of having my own dance studio. Since then things have shifted but my love for dance still remains true!

My favorite escape…

anywhere tropical and warm. Palm trees, salty air, ocean breeze and crystal clear waters…YES PLEASE!

My life…

I am a Sicilian true Aries girl, meaning I’m super passionate and I am not afraid to go after what I want no matter how crazy my dreams may seem to others. Once I have made a decision to do something I do whatever it takes to make it happen. I am a serial entrepreneur and resigned from my 6 figure corporate job in January 2015 to go all in cash in my 401K and savings and start my first business. I am not afraid to take risks and my superpower would be resourcefulness and relentlessness as I will always find a way and push past the unknown and never give up. I am “vegan-ish” meaning I don’t eat dairy or meat but love sushi too much to fully go without seafood! Good health and well being is also super important to me.  My husband and I workout on a daily basis and go to Trufusion classes in Scottsdale 5-6 times a week. Our favorite is Arsenal Hiit With Kenyatta! I like to live each day with no regrets as I believe there are no guarantees for tomorrow.

I’m currently working on…

I just launched my new brand KarbonConscious starting with organic customizable bamboo straws and I will be expanding with additional conscious products along the way including reusable togo silverware, multifunctional grocery bag totes that you actually are excited to wear and much more! Currently I am accepting custom wholesale orders with the straws which is the perfect unique sustainable marketing opportunity for your business, personal brand, or special event. Each straw can be custom laser engraved with your logo or anything you would like it to say! On top of offering wholesale, I have just launched a Kickstarter campaign for direct to consumer preorders. I have all of the manufacturing in place in Vietnam and am raising capital to meet MOQ (minimum order quantities) and create a conscious sustainable lifestyle movement. KarbonConscious bamboo straws are REUSABLE – lasting 1-2 years with proper care, ORGANIC – meaning zero pesticides or chemical coatings used ever, and BIODEGRADABLE – meaning at the end of their lifespan they will naturally break down back into the earth the way Mother Earth intended it to be, as opposed to plastic that will sit in landfills for up to 100,000 years without breaking down. At the end of the day I am one person working towards making a MASSIVE IMPACT imagine when that turns into thousands, hundreds of thousands and millions of people all around the world. Together we can take a stand and make a difference. Come join me as we create this movement together!

Always…

be kind.

Never…

pass judgement.

Favorite Quote…

“Entrepreneurship; if it was easy everybody would do it.”

Biggest Dream…

to be a highly sought after public speaker, speaking on stages all around the world spreading awareness about conscious consumption and also sharing my story to inspire others that they too can go after their dreams and make a massive impact. Anyone looking for speakers for their event that feels like I would be a good fit, feel free to contact me anytime!

My Pet Peeve(s)…

people who complain or talk badly about others. I just don’t tolerate it and if I find myself in a situation like this I excuse myself from the conversation and walk away. We all have something to be thankful for and you also never know what someone is going through behind closed doors so I never believe in passing judgment either.

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