Entrepreneur Intel

Wes Mathews: So welcome, uh, an energetic entrepreneur, a good friend of mine, Jennifer Moss, a talented founder whose experience as a parent led her to start her own business. Uh, she served on the board for the Detroit EO chapter has been on the EO, uh, EO for many, many years. And she's the owner of IXL Learning Center.

Jen, thank you so much for being here.

Jennifer Moss: happy to be here.

Fun.

Wes Mathews: Now question like, let everybody know a little bit about, um, IXL before we get it, before we get started. Like what, where is, what is IXL today?

Jennifer Moss: So currently IXL is a child care center and we're in the metro. Detroit area. There's nine locations. We're opening up our latest location, um, this upcoming January 2nd, 2024. Um, I, there's roughly 350 employees. I have managing partners that help me with all the locations. Um, we, you know, what, I don't know exactly how many children we serve, but probably a couple thousand in the, area.

And we've been in business for about 20 years.

Wes Mathews: That's, that's pretty amazing. So the show is called Entrepreneur Intel. Uh, what I love. Uh, meeting and talking to entrepreneurs and everybody listening is to get right to the details of, you know, get, give Intel, right. I mean, you have such a great story in terms of, you know, starting as an entrepreneur to where everything's at today, but I mean, kind of going back, like, I'd love to hear, and for the listeners, like, how'd you get started?

Right. I mean, my mom used to tell me like. Go to college and get that good job. You know, that nine to five, like that was kind of pushed on me. I went the unconventional route to become an entrepreneur. And I'm really fascinated with everybody's reasoning as to why. So like, why did you decide to take on, you know, this entrepreneurial journey?

Jennifer Moss: Okay. so let me just go back to some of the messaging that I had too. It was, you know, you, you go to college, you work hard and you, you know, you work for somebody, but I also paid attention to the people that around me that were successful and had like businesses. Things like that. And what I noticed is that they were willing to do things that other people weren't willing to do to get to where they wanted to go, whether that's working on the weekends, evening, having a side hustle.

And so me watching that, I knew in order to have a lifestyle or even including not just financial, but. The freedom and being able to make my own choices. I knew that I was going to need to be able to do something different. But to be honest, I thought I was going to be a stay at home mom. So, um, I did go to college.

My, my degree was in business. It was not an education. Uh, I married my husband and we thought, okay, I'll be a stay at home mom. But that wasn't for me, which then led me to doing in home childcare at my house. And that is, that's kind of where it started. My friend in the neighborhood was doing it and I was like, well, I can do this too.

And so I was doing that. And then, um, My, uh, cousin's husband was like, Hey, there's this childcare center for sale. And then that's kind of how it started. So it was like the next natural step, which I think is the very first lesson in becoming an entrepreneur. It has to me, it has to be something that you're familiar with and it becomes the next natural step for you to take.

So I was doing in home childcare. It was the next natural step then for me to, um, take it outside of my home and have a facility. And it was only a small four rooms facility when I started.

Wes Mathews: So we're, we're parents, entrepreneurs, like you saw, you know, kind of had ideas, but like, was that your upbringing? Like, did you see your parents have their own businesses or

Jennifer Moss: interestingly, um, my dad did have like a day to day nine to five job. He was a, um, mechanical engineer and he worked for Michigan Bell. He worked that from the time he graduated till, um, till he retired, but he did have a side hustle. He had, um, Discount Poppin Beer was the name of his business. And it was a side hustle.

You know, he had two, To, um, locations and my mom would go and like take inventory and stuff like that, but he would do that like on the weekends or

evenings and, um, And he owned the real estate, which, which I watched that. And that was extremely important for me to see. So yeah, I guess in a way he was an entrepreneur as well, but he also kept his day to day, his day job through that whole period of time.

Wes Mathews: So thinking back, you said like 20 years, right? So like, go back in the mindset of like Jen 20 years ago, neighbor says, Hey. You're doing this out of your basement, so to speak. There's this little center for sale, right? Like what, like how, how did you formulate that or like take on that initiative? I always find it fascinating.

We're like, how did you get that desire to say, yeah, I actually can see something outside of my home. Or, you know, I just want to take care of my kids, maybe a couple of neighbor kids, like what really pushed you over the edge?

Jennifer Moss: Okay. So for me being a stay at home mom, it is the hardest job on the planet to be honest, because you don't ever get to leave it. You're, you're doing it day in and day out. And I felt like I needed to do something more. And so when this opportunity came up now, first of all. It takes a long time for something to happen.

So even though this opportunity came up, it took over a year for me to actually buy the center Cause it kept, the deal kept going away. It would be like, Oh, someone else is going to offer us more money. And, you know, and so I just had to sit tight and wait patiently and the deal kept coming back to me.

And so nothing happens overnight, which I think sometimes a lot of entrepreneurs think that like, okay, I'm going to do this. And then, you know, two months from now, I'm going to be successful. Well, I didn't. I didn't even get in the game till a year after I had decided to get in the game Cause just the way that it it went down and and I I went in there being like, I'm going to, I don't care what it takes.

I'm going to succeed. And I don't even care if I make money, I know I'm going to succeed because I was that driven and that determined to, it sounds cheesy, but I needed to realize another aspect of myself. I was, you know, I'd been. You know, stayed home mom, you do all those things, you know, laundry, whatever else I needed to Proved myself that I could do something else because I had kids really early.

I did some day trading. I did some retirement, but I didn't really have a career and I, I was determined and I was going to do something. So there, three accountants looked at the books and said, don't do this. You're going to lose money. My parents were like, please don't do this. You know, they were so scared for me to, the debt was more than our mortgage was on our house at the

time.

Wes Mathews: Oh, wow.

Jennifer Moss: so, but

I just,

Wes Mathews: And that's probably scary then, right? I mean, you're 20 years ago, like, I don't know what the situation was at home, like, if your husband was working, or like, you know, it's a huge risk, right?

Jennifer Moss: Like, yeah, he made a living, but you know, we were young. So we had two young kids and, um, yeah, we didn't have. Really any money to to speak of. So, um, it was very scary, but you know what, there's this thing. It's like, I was just, I just knew it. I was just determined. It was, it was again, everyone except my husband told me don't do it.

And,

Wes Mathews: So he was supportive. He's like, go for

it.

Jennifer Moss: for right from the, he didn't doubt it for one second. And I gave him a lot of credit because it was, I mean, again, like I said, the, the more, the loan that we were taking out to buy this business was more than our mortgage was at the time. So it was pretty. Scary. And You

Wes Mathews: So it's gonna feel good. He

Jennifer Moss: years.

You don't make money for years too. A couple, at least a couple years.

Wes Mathews: Yeah, no, that's interesting. Like, in my journey, my wife was like, my biggest cheerleader. Which, you know my wife well, obviously, and everybody else around me was like, you're stupid, or like, you should just go down this route, and like, everybody else is doing this, what's going to make you different? Like, all this, all this noise.

So, it's always fascinated me, because I think, you know, a lot of people, especially now, like, I have five kids, and I watch, like, their, how they look at the world, and it's the instant gratification of, like, if I can't get it now. I think a lot of people take for granted, like an entrepreneur, like it is time.

Like, so, you know, and what's, what's interesting to me about like your business, cause to me it's kind of like, from my perspective, and I'd love to get your clarification, like you've built such a huge business and to me, it's kind of turned into like real estate and like all these other things and like a by product is, oh yeah, like we, we watch kids and there's a preschool or whatever the terminology is, but it's fascinating to me.

So like, talk a little bit about. It's like you had this idea, kids are in your home, and then you go off to this venture, so like You close on that deal, things start to happen. Like what's, what happens then? Right. Cause I I'm assuming it wasn't all roses and

Jennifer Moss: your ass kicked. You get your ass kicked because you don't know how to be a leader yet. So you make all the leadership mistakes. All of the leadership mistakes. So reading every leadership book really ends up helping, but you kind of have to go through it yourself and, you know, have people quit on you, you know, accidentally betray people's confidences because you're trying to solve a problem.

And this person told you about that person and you make all, all the mistakes, right? You off parents because you don't know how to be diplomatic yet. Like you just, you know what I mean? You may, I made all the mistakes for sure. And I would stay up at night, like sick to my stomach, replaying conversations.

The thing, the thing I think that differentiates a leader and, you, Of course, everyone likes to think they're a good leader. I think I'm a good leader to a point. I'm sure there's a lot of things that I can work on. Is you have to be able to be self reflective and go, Ooh, I did that wrong. You know, I said those things and really learn from And it doesn't, you can't have the, um. You can't have the idea that you're bad or you're wrong. You just have to be like, Oh, I know better. I can do better. And, being able to be flexible and move and to change what your thinking is on the fly is, is, is very, um, very important to leadership. You can't, you can't grow and improve if you aren't willing to reflect back.

But man, did I get

Wes Mathews: no, that's great. That, that, that's really good advice. I think a lot of leaders at some point realize that they're forced to realize that, or they haven't experienced that yet. So for you in those situations, like, did you have, like, was your husband, your partner? Did you bring in a partner? Like who, who was like your rock throughout this whole process, throughout that initial stage of your journey?

Jennifer Moss: I mean, I certainly came home and like vented things to my husband, but he wasn't in an entrepreneurial or, you know, he wasn't the. Like, he wasn't the leader at his company. So it

really,

Wes Mathews: worked for a company. So it was

very,

Jennifer Moss: a company. He had the stable job, all all the things. Um, I didn't really have that many people until EO came around and that was like four or five years into, into the journey.

And then that was exponential for sure. But initially you just go home and kind of, you know, regroup and, and read books. You know, I, I reading books, you can read about what experience you're going through without being judgmental. Cause there's no one there going, you did that wrong. You just go, Ooh. You read, you read yourself in the book and you go, yeah, I did that.

Oh, this person handled it this way. Okay. So reading books, I feel like for me was significant.

Wes Mathews: So you mentioned something. So for the listeners, Jen, Jen mentioned EO, which stands for Entrepreneur Organization. That's actually where Jen and I met. Uh, and EO is a group of like entrepreneurs, like founders, um. That are grossing over a million dollars in revenue. You have to be the founder, be part of the group.

So EO Detroit today, I think has about 120, 130 members and it's a great organization for entrepreneurs because it's, it's like minded your tribe of people that you can do learn and do a lot of experience shares with. So it's cool in this journey to have other people that are. You know, going through the same things, even though we might be in different industries, um, it allows us to like bounce questions or, you know, some of the stuff that Jenna was alluding to and some of the challenge she was facing.

But, you know, to me, it's fascinating that, you know, you, you kind of went out on a limb, started this thing, right. And then all of a sudden, like you look back and you have not, you said nine centers. So at some point you're like, this one's to a point. Like, was it all buttoned up and all rosy? And you're like, let's go on to number two or like, what, what was that transition like, or that next leap?

Jennifer Moss: You gather a team and I picked a freaking phenomenal team. If that's the one thing that I can take credit for. is I have a phenomenal team, the rest is all them. And one of the things that you learn when being a entrepreneur or leader is you don't have all the skill sets and that is okay. And other people can fill in your gaps and that's okay.

So, uh, knowing when. To bring on your team, knowing how to set them free to do what they do best, knowing when to back off, like all of those things is a learning curve, but that is what you have to be able to hand off your roles in order for you to grow your company. It's the, the old entrepreneur saying you have to work on your business, not in your business.

So

Wes Mathews: Yeah. That's a, that's amazing. And like, I have a question around that. Like, did you like go to the observer or the local, cause I'm rewinding 20 years ago, so I'm thinking like where technology is like, were these close friends and family referrals? Did you go to the open market? Like, how did you find or attract these, these leaders that were able to help you get to the next level in your business?

Jennifer Moss: they were actually working for me. And, um, you can, you can tell leaders they're, there. sometimes they're just natural born leaders. So the people who are open minded, who are willing to help that stay late, that are there for you and that kind of get it. And then I just, I went to them and I was like, Hey, I kind of want to do another one of these.

Do you want to go on this journey with me? And they were like, yes. And then a lot of trust has to happen because that takes time. That took, that took a good, you know, couple of years to get to the next. next destination and the destination after that. So it takes a lot of trust and, um, and letting go of your role so that you can grow other roles.

Wes Mathews: So I'm assuming that as you scaled your businesses, like you have nine, so you kind of find that individual and now they're in charge of that location. Right. So like fast forward today quickly, and we'll kind of toggle back and forth, but like, do you visit your locations like every week? Is it just, do you meet with those leaders of each location?

Like what's your cadence? Like what's your rhythm in terms of, I mean, you said 350. Employees, nine locations. Like that, that's a lot. Like, how do you go from Jen Moss in her house, a couple of kids. So now this huge, massive company, like how, how do you manage that?

Jennifer Moss: I'm going to go back to the team. Um, so even though there's individual, uh, managing partners at each location, the very first two people that I engaged to do this journey with me, fortunately were phenomenal and they, they grew as well as I grew, uh, like our capabilities. And they actually do a lot of the day to day and they, they're really more the interface.

Like I, I interact. with the individual, um, you know, the directors and the assistant directors and the managing partners, but they really handle a lot of the the day to day. And my focus now more is on facilities. So I'm securing the next location, I'm doing the renovation so that my role has shifted and that.

So it's, it's your team.

It's just your team.

Wes Mathews: So you take like a natural progression, right? Like I imagine like you were all hands on deck, like sleepless nights building the company, but now you've sort of transitioned and elevated as the company's grown. And now you have different problems, right? I look at like little kids, little problems, big kid, big problems.

So like you're on the real estate side. Um, is that more fun to you? Like, do you miss the, you know, the grassroots of the business now? Or are you like, no, I'm good. I'm I'm onto the next build. And

Jennifer Moss: It's hard. Cause I really love both things. Like when, when I was, um. The first director at Hamburg, which was the small location, you know, with the four centers. I think no one can do this better than me. Like, I love these families. I loved my, the teachers, like, and then you realize that there are people that actually can do your job better than you're doing it.

But it was really hard to let go. So it was, um, I love that aspect. I miss that aspect, but I also love what I'm doing right now. So I absolutely love what I'm doing right now. So we're all kind of in, in the wheelhouses that we're good at.

Wes Mathews: So I'm 42, but if I rewind back to like when I was a kid and like daycare. I didn't go to daycare, but if I did, I imagine my mom just like kicking me out of the car and like driving away and like, things were different fast forward to today. Like I look at that and like parents and like what's going on in the world and like, how has that evolved?

Or like you're, you're essentially taking care of the most prized possession. Right. And you're dealing with parents. Like, I can't even fathom, um, like the different levels of people and like, how do you, like from where you started to now, like, are there any, like. And that are things you've learned. I mean, cause for me, it's like, you've, you've probably had some of the most challenging conversations or like little Johnny falls or so much could happen.

Like how, how did you start and where did that evolve?

Jennifer Moss: so interesting. It's process and procedure So, um, as you grow and as you build, you have to have processes and procedures. And as technology has gotten better and we've gotten on board with it, we were able to manage things way better with communication and how we care for the children.

So we have apps that are like, it's like a face app. So like you're coming in for months inside and you, you like check, yep, I've got this. Cause you know, sometimes there's two classrooms out, out at the same time in the, in the playground. So you have to like, the teachers have to gather their kids. So now we have apps and tools to be able to, to manage that.

And, and I mean, kids do get hurt. It's what they do. It's, it's what happens. Like they, they're going to get hurt at home. They're going to get hurt at here. But if you, if you are upfront, always. direct and honest and you have good communication and you follow process and procedure it it usually helps and and keeps things um, consistent and as safe as possible as well.

Wes Mathews: Yeah, it's really good advice. Cause I think any entrepreneur, right? Like a lot of them are visionaries. They don't spend a lot of time in process and procedure. And I could see in your business and experience, like how important that is. I think oftentimes, and you brought up a good point about. You know, just a lot of entrepreneurs are visionaries and you might need to find somebody who's better than you to actually implement these processes and procedures and take your ideas and do it.

And I think that's some really good advice you gave about just hire smarter people that, that, you know, can, can fill the void on your weakness. Cause like personally myself, like I can never be in charge of a daycare. Like my processes and procedures are terrible, but you know, taking it to the next level of like the real estate and the stuff you're working on now.

Like you just talk a little bit about your center that just opened or it's opening relatively soon. Like walk everybody quickly through that process. Like, I remember talking to you and how excited you're like, I found the location. I'm doing this. And then all of a sudden I drove by, I'm like, holy shit.

Like. It's it's here. Like you, you made that a reality. Like talk a little bit, like, that's really fascinating for me. I think the listeners would love to hear just that vision to reality and how you just go for it.

Jennifer Moss: Well so I think there's a couple of things here to answer your question and to add something to it. Sometimes you have to make your luck. And so, um, like, yes, I've used real estate brokers and they're always involved, but I do a lot of driving around and finding my own stuff because if you wait for it to come to you, it might not ever come to you.

And then once you're, you're, it's like, you know, the universe brings it to you, right? Like you're driving around and. So, you know, especially the location that I just opened up, I drive by there cause I live, I live close to this one. And I'm like, I need to be on this corner. I need to be here. And I didn't even know that building existed.

And then all of a sudden it just. Popped up, but that one I got through a broker, a very good broker friend of ours, which I very much appreciate. But it's like you, you almost like conjure it. I feel like it might sound silly, but it, it is, I feel like what it is. And you've got to be driving around and you always have to be looking at opportunity.

And not only that, I get excited for other people's opportunity when I'm like, Oh, cool. That business opened up like you. I feel like the energy that you put out comes back. So if you're excited for other people's opportunities and you're excited for other people doing well, it like you, you start to see opportunity all around you instead of problems.

So, but you have to make it yourself.

You've got to

Wes Mathews: No, that's awesome. And like, how do you feel about, so like you see that area, like you drive by there. You see that I see a golf course, right? Like I, you know, we all see things a little bit differently, but like, how do you then, like, do you worry about filling that place? I mean, or is it like, I put a daycare here and like.

Your name carries the weight and there's just enough houses. Like, how do you approach that? Cause obviously you're driving around, but a lot of other demographics I'm sure come into play in terms of how many house homes are there. And I mean, they're building

Jennifer Moss: I don't do, any of that kind of stuff where you're looking at logistics. It's gut instinct, I feel you, especially, you know, I don't know if I were to open one up in a different state. I don't know if I would, because I don't know if I would be able to, to know better, but I'm familiar with this area.

So I know where there's good areas. I know where people travel, but yes, you're, you're definitely afraid of like, is it going to fill up? When we opened up the Northville location, we had one kid for like six months. Because every, we, we hadn't built up our name yet around here. So it was like, everyone would come in and be like, well, I don't want my kid to be the only one in here.

I'm like, well, someone has to decide, you know, someone has to come here. So, you know, I always looked at it as what? Your kid's getting one on

one care, but they, it was, they wanted their child to be playing with other children. So that one took a while. So you have to be prepared for whatever it is. And I truly believe if you put your heart and soul into it and you provide the best that you can provide, the business comes.

Wes Mathews: That's awesome. So you're at nine today. Is it open yet? Or is it opening in like a couple of weeks?

Jennifer Moss: one, That last one is opening in a couple of weeks, and that's my first new build. I built it from the ground up

Wes Mathews: from the ground up

Jennifer Moss: all the

other buildings were

Wes Mathews: is that like your new baby now? Like, do you love that? Like, is that something you want to keep pursuing now? Like fresh, new construction or?

Jennifer Moss: Not really, Cause it's really expensive to do it that way. It really is. It's probably, it probably added another 40 percent to like, if I just retrofitted a building in that, in the location that I'm putting it in, in New Hudson, there isn't other buildings there. So there was not an opportunity and there, you know, that, you know, that, that area is just exploding.

So do I love it? Cause I got to design it exactly how I wanted to, for the most part. Yeah, that part was fun having somebody else build it. Cause normally I kind of GC my own projects. That was fantastic. But from a financial perspective. It's a, it's a lot more expensive. that I'd rather retrofit. You know, the, the common sense for me would be to retrofit a building.

Wes Mathews: and the real estate side is fascinating for me, from you. Does it all go back to that watching your dad and that, like back in the day, like. To me, you always get really excited about real estate. And

Jennifer Moss: estate now, but you want to know why I, did real estate is because my very first landlord, which of course they're building my building now, who I love, but I didn't get to control what the outside looked like, how it was taken care of. And I wanted control of, of the area that my business was in.

So to me, it was more about control. And and then of course I had my dad being like, Hey, owning the building's a great thing, you know, blah, blah, blah. So you've got a couple of things going on. I wanted to control what it looked like. I also put a lot of infrastructure in there, so I can't have a landlord in 10 years being like, yeah, sorry, we're not going to renew, you know?

So I wanted to take some of the risk factors out of it. And I opened a year or two before the recession hit. So everything that I do, I'm trying to recession proof myself. And so me owning the real estate paying down the debt, like making sure that I can stay open through a recession. And so that if we, we end up with half the kids because you know, what happened in 2008, people moved out of state.

I can still stay open. So everything for me has like an end goal in mind. And that is to control. Um, what, what I'm doing in control your destiny really. And then also recession proof myself.

Wes Mathews: did you learn that along the way? Like the whole concept of like the landlord saying, Hey, sorry, we got, we're leasing this to somebody else. Like, were you in a situation like that? Or did you just inherently from the get go? No. Like, I want to be able to control this. I foresee this as being a potential problem.

Jennifer Moss: Yeah, because

Wes Mathews: Or did you get actually get caught into a situation

Jennifer Moss: thank goodness I didn't, I got caught in a situation where they weren't maintaining the exterior how I would like them to, you know, and, and then you start putting money into your own building and you're like, wait a minute, I'm putting money into someone else's building. So, you start to think of those things and you know, you're only signing like a five or 10 year lease.

And then I'm like, well, what happens after this? You know, so, you know, you got to think short term and long term at the same time.

Wes Mathews: So, the 9th location's going live in a couple weeks, like, what's next? Are you looking to go to like, 20 locations, or like, where does this stop? Or, or, you know, when?

Jennifer Moss: Yeah. So so a lot of people like always have like goals, right. And they're like, Oh, you know, and yeah, I have a goal in mind. Like I've always thought, okay, well maybe I'll do 12, you know, like, but that is like an arbitrary goal for me. I always am open to opportunity. So if something happens, like I'm looking, I have my eyes open, you know, some of the, like one of my locations, South Lion, a previous employee went there and, and didn't like how it was run.

And she was like, my old boss needs to buy this from you, you know, so you never know where opportunity is going to show up. So I'm always open to opportunity. I love hearing, um, you know, any, any new, anyone's opportunity to me is fun. I think business and opportunity is super fun. So I really, I don't know.

wherever

Wes Mathews: think what I hear from you is like, you just, you put so much good out there. With like no expectation coming back and then these opportunities start to present themselves. But I think the reality is it's, it kind of goes back to the character and the person you are and how you show up and how you do business.

I mean, to me, it's pretty amazing. Like you have the ultimate trust with parents. I mean, I have five kids. I don't really trust a lot of people like to, to be able to drop a child off like that. That's a huge responsibility. Like I don't know what's bigger than that.

Jennifer Moss: So the, so I agree with that.

I mean, I have kids like, you know, I brought my kids to my own center and, and the thing, one of our like guiding tenants is, is always to go above and beyond. You have to build the relationship with the parents and it takes a long time and it takes communication. It takes like their child fell down, they have a small bump.

So you call them to let them know that you're paying attention to their child. Like you have to really build rapport and you, and you, and then you have to teach that to the people who come after you. Right. And, and then they have to see the value in that. So there, it, you're, there's no, there's no doubt about it.

It's, it's trying to exceed people's expectations. So every decision we make, we're trying to, um, always look for what's best for the children, then the teachers, you know, and, and then the families. If you take care of the children and the teachers, the families should take care of themselves because that's where the the crux of it is.

So we always make decisions with that in mind.

Wes Mathews: so as a crazy successful entrepreneur, you, you mentioned you have kids like. Do the kids play a role into the future of IXL or like rewind back from when they're a little till now, right? I think it's kind of It's different being an entrepreneurial parent, right? And your kids are watching you and a lot of different things are happening.

And sometimes the kids come into the business. Sometimes they go in a different path. Like, are your kids interested in the business at all? Are they, are they going to be entrepreneurs or

Jennifer Moss: I think, I think. I think at least one for sure will be an entrepreneur. I don't know. Like, I hope they they get to pick whatever pathway they go. Um, have we talked about. growing up. Oh my God, they could probably recite the lectures that I have given them just in me working on my own stuff and talking about it out loud.

Like they have learned a lot, but one of the things that makes, um, IXL a little bit different is that we, you know, in order for me to grow, like I said, at the beginning, I thought I was so good at it, you know, and that no one could do it better. And I loved it so much. And I'm like, how do I. Have someone else love it as much as I love this.

And so then I came up with a managing partner idea, you know, like you just kind of. You sit there in the universe or God gives you, you know, insight. And so all of the centers have an exit strategy already. And so they're, they're run by a managing partner that, that, um, shares in whatever profits there they are.

And then it is going to be theirs to, um, buy the business and the building, um, when the loans and debts paid off and things like that. So they, so that they love it as much as I love it. And that, you know, to me, when you're. You, when you start to become successful, you have to bring other people with you.

And so that's That's what I did. And, and it's. You, you have other people cheering for your company as much as you're cheering for your company. And it's, it's really hard to get people that bought in unless they have a financial incentive. So, um, I'm sure over the years I've made a lot less money, but I don't care because I'm, I'm loving the journey from here to there because I'm working with so many amazing, wonderful people that care as much as I do.

Wes Mathews: Well, it's great too. I think the advice I hear the nugget is, you know, when, when people have a little skin in the game, it's a little bit different, right? And I think

Jennifer Moss: different.

Wes Mathews: your path of like how you architected your business is fascinating to me because it's, it's created this pathway for you to kind of do what you love, but allow for the right operators to have skin in the game and running successfully and have the right people.

So it's, it's fascinating, um, from the start. So like, talk about like what's holding your attention now. So like you have this grand opening and it's like. Are you just kind of like go about life and see if another corner appears? It's all like, do you see yourself staying with IXL and the real estate there, or are you also looking to get involved in other types of real estate and other types of deals?

I mean, a lot of our listeners are entrepreneurs. They're into a lot of things and they might want your expertise on real estate. Like, it's fascinating that you've been able to do all this real estate, but like, it, is it all IXL or are you looking to get involved in other things?

Jennifer Moss: we did have a, we have a painting company as well. So we have ventured off into other, um, entrepreneurial things. Um, and yeah, I'm totally interested in a new real estate. So now that I feel like I'm kind of matured and underway here, I have now, I'm still keeping focused here, but in my free time, I'm trying to learn. How to invest and do other things. Because at some point when I sell these to their operators, I'll need to know what to do with, you know, the, the income or the, the sale of that business. So now I'm definitely interested in learning more things. I'm, I'm, well, hopefully have a new area of expertise.

After, you know, a couple of years of investigating new things. So,

Wes Mathews: So like, how do you balance, you know, I always get the question or I'm always fascinated with like, to me, what sticks out in our entrepreneurial life is personal family business, like juggling those three things. Like, how do you, how do you balance that? Like, how do you, you mentioned your husband that worked in corporate or doesn't work or your kids and the business.

Like, how do you balance your personal time, your family time and like the time allocated to your business? Like what's, what are a couple of things that like reflecting back, you're like, like, here's one thing I do that's just kind of keeps things in perspective.

Jennifer Moss: so, so what you're talking about, and I'm, I'm going to broaden this out to the people that are managing, so managing the other locations when they first start. Managing the location. Everything that goes wrong or what they perceive to go wrong keeps them up at night, right? And then it's taking away from your family time and it and and you're taking work home And you're you're not learning how to have boundaries and or you know I mean when you're an entrepreneur like initially the boundaries are not There, but when you build in enough infrastructure and you delegate and you, you give some of your responsibilities down the line, you're, you're doing many things.

You're teaching, you're teaching, uh, the, the people that want to maybe do what you're doing, that they are capable, because if you don't give them your tasks, You're basically saying I don't trust you to do it. So that's a real big lesson that people who come into the, um, the managing partner where they don't want to give away their tasks so they don't want mistakes to be made.

Well, honey, mistakes are going to be made and it's how you, we have a saying, it's how you handle the mistake. It's not the mistake. So no one, there's no like no one gets in trouble or whatever. It's always how you handle it. So in order to have boundaries and balance. You need to learn how to delegate. You need to learn how to be okay with mistakes.

There, in IXL, we have a lot of perfectionism. So we talk a lot about what that is and how that impacts you and why you have perfectionism and, and that it's okay for everything not to be perfect. And, and when you allow things not to be perfect, then your assistant director and your admin can go, okay, I don't have to be perfect either.

And everyone can breathe a collective sigh of relief that nothing is ever perfect. And once those things happen, you then free up time for yourself and at home. And it doesn't take up space in your head where you're worrying about all the things. You have other people helping you with those things.

Wes Mathews: That's really great advice. Cause I think as an entrepreneur, you mentioned perfectionism, right? Like, Hey, if I want it done right, do it myself and the ability to delegate, you know, and I think as an entrepreneur constantly working on delegating things, it's super important. It's really hard though, right?

Cause you, you start the company, it's so to speak your own baby, right? But at some point, if you want to grow like Jen to nine locations and 350 employees, you have to realize and give up a little bit of the control and understand that. You know, it might be 80 percent to where you would do it if you're looking at a hundred percent.

Um, so that's really good advice. So like any, any, any books, I love any book that like completely change your perspective. Right. I think you've got this mentality of like growth, go for it, put good vibes out in the world. And your operators seem like, like you would be an amazing, I don't know if I'd call you boss, or I don't know what you were referred to as, but like, you're a great leader to them.

Like what, what one book was transformational for you that kind of got you into this mindset? I'm sure there are several, but like, are there any standouts?

Jennifer Moss: I think Brene Brown, um, there's daring to lead, uh, I think she has a couple of new ones. We, we've actually done like a book club amongst our, uh, managing partners and directors where we've read this book. Um, it talks a lot about shame, you know, and, uh, that really comes into play a lot of times when you think you're making mistakes.

And, um, it teaches you how to. A lot of times leaders will not take responsibility or they will defer blame and you lose, you lose respect from people that are, that are working for you when you aren't able to step into your own mistakes. And so it teaches a lot about that. I mean, there's so many good leadership books, um, but that one, I think it allows you to not, to To understand and have language around, um, being a good leader and not being perfect. If I had to pick one,

but

Wes Mathews: That's great. Uh, she's a great author. Yeah. There's so many, but that, that's a, that's a really good one. So like outside of all this, like, what do you do for fun? Right. As an entrepreneur, real estate tycoon, all these employees, like what gets you going, like what, what grounds you, what do you do for fun?

Jennifer Moss: play a lot of volleyball with your wife, play a lot of volleyball. And, um, I'm a big mountain biker. Um, I love to travel, um, and listen to podcasts. Actually, I listen to a lot of podcasts and read books. You got to have your, you know, the latest leadership book. So a lot of books, I probably have read thousands of books.

I can't. You can listen to them. You don't have to read them, whatever you want. I can't stress that enough, as is whatever area of expertise that you want to have more knowledge or more um, agency in, read a book, someone else has already done it. You don't have to even reinvent the wheel, you know, just step into it.

Wes Mathews: Yeah. What's interesting is I, I honestly can tell you, I don't, I don't think I ever read a textbook at middle school or high school and I went to like community college, but like once I knew I was going to make the leap to become an entrepreneur, that's when I read thousands of books and that's where I actually think I started learning.

And today, like I constantly listen to audio books and read and like new information data's changing so quickly. Um, so yeah, no, I, I appreciate your share. I mean, there's a lot of nuggets in there. Um,

Jennifer Moss: so much

Wes Mathews: the one thing I, yeah, there's like, there's a ton. But I'm really fascinated with like the operating model, um, of, you know, having that individual get skin in the game.

I mean, have you thought, I mean, you talked about maybe other States, like has franchising come across your radar, like does evolving the business that way, or is it, you know,

Jennifer Moss: get that question a lot. A lot of people ask me if those are franchises. Um. I don't want to franchise and because for me, you, you, I want to maintain some level of control, um, as far as, you know, what one, one center does here impacts another one over here. And also part of the, part of my guiding light, if you would call it, is to bring others with me and someone who can, who can have a franchise already has resources and, and.

And the wherewithal to do something. So the people that are managing partners, they don't, they don't actually put any money in it. They put their time and love and effort into it. And now they're in a position where they wouldn't have been before, where they're, um, learning how to run a business, learning how to become an entrepreneur, which they might not ever have had that situation.

on their own. So I feel like part of what I, what inspires me and part of what keeps me going, doing other locations, because if it were just money, I think I would have been okay, you know, for where I was probably three or four centers ago. But for me, what keeps motivating me to do this is that the leaders that I work with are so extraordinary that I want to give them an opportunity.

That now I have more bandwidth that it's easier for me to do and like, you know, buy the building and I know what I'm doing and then put them in a situation where they can be successful.

Wes Mathews: no, it's awesome. I love the model. I mean, we could probably sit here and talk for, for a very long time. Um, but where can people find you? Right. Uh, I know you have LinkedIn, Jennifer Moss on LinkedIn, right? Can people go to the website? IXLkids. com. If I fill out a contact form,

you know, I think if there's other, you know, people listening, like there might be some opportunities or some real estate things, or, I mean, you offered a lot of great advice today.

So I think some people listening might want to reach out and kind of pick your brain. I think it's fascinating. So again, Jennifer Moss, thank you so much for, for sharing today. Uh, thanks for the audience. Hopefully you learned a thing or two. That's the point of the podcast. You can pick a couple of things, which I think, uh, Jen, you shared a lot today.

Super excited. Uh, No, this has been an episode of Entrepreneur Intel. Jen, thank you so much for coming on. I really appreciate it.

Jennifer Moss: for having me. I appreciate it.

too.

Wes Mathews: Thank you.