Jen Sterling is the winner of the 2010 Hot Mommas Project case competition. The Hot Mommas Project is an award-winning research project making stories of women teachable to serve as virtual role models and mentors. In this series, students comment on what they learn from the cases both from a personal and career standpoint.
Greetings from Li! Hope everyone’s summer is going well. Today, I blog on Jen’s case, who is one of the Hot Mommas Project 2010 winners . P.s. Please pardon my English grammar errors. I am an international student, posting from Beijing, China this summer. Thanks!
Jen well balanced in her life and career. She is acreative entrepreneur who has had her business since high school!
Jen as a role model Jen Sterling is a George Washington graduate with a major in Visual Communication and a minor in Psychology. Jen always has a belief in herself, her career, and her family. From reading her case from The Hot Mommas Project, I have a strong feeling that she is a well-organized and detailed person. Jen clarifies her agenda book into different colors—Red for Company, Blue for household, Green for her daughter, and Purple for Volunteering and Networking.
The entrepreneurial spirit in us all
Jen’s mind is full of new ideas which leads her success to the next Chapter. Many “aha” moments sparked her since Junior year in high school. During that time, she worked in a retail shop, which experience helped her realize her entrepreneurial. Her creative mind had been dominated by an idea of automobile cigarette lighter. This idea developed into reality. This entrepreneurial light keep shining.
Overcoming challenges
“You have to be able to grow and support the business as it grows, but not grow so fast that you are going to have to turn around and let people go.” Jen’s biggest professional issue is planning her business and making it grow bigger. However, talking about personal life, “work-life balance” is not a big challenge to Jen. Instead, she considers her business as her first child. She balances both well by regarding the business as one of her family members!
My career learning from Jennifer
I can always feel her positivity and creativity through reading Jen’s case. She keeps entrepreneurial spirit all the time, trying to plan and develop her business. In addition, she came out a new idea that business is a part of her family. From this idea, I can tell how devoting Jen is! I also learned a new hint of solving “the balance” problem, and that is being in work and family at the same time.
Li’s friend Alexandra’s comment
Thanks Li for introducing me into Hot Mommas. I read couple cases, and to this one Jen is teaching us to pay attention to our surroundings. Hope I can find my business soon.
Alexandra Kelly, University of Washington Alumna