I am so happy and honored to have as the first interview for my Pantheon of Notables series, Jennifer Lee.

Jennifer Lee, author of The Right-Brain Business Plan, is a certified coach, writer, artist, yogini, and the founder of Artizen Coaching. Before pursuing her own passions full-time, she consulted for ten years for companies such as Gap Inc., Accenture, Sony, and HP, helping leaders and organizations manage change. Now she is on a mission to empower people to awaken their innate creativity and make a living doing what they love. When she’s not coaching, writing, or leading groups, she’s either painting up a storm, reading in her hammock, practicing yoga, making arts and crafts, or indulging in a midday nap (one of the fabulous perks of being self-employed).

I discovered Jennifer not too long ago, and as a coach that works with many creative people, I was completely taken with her Right Brain Business Plan.

Many of my clients are embarking on new ventures and now I have a tool that can help them create their vision. The traditional business plan or mission statement type stuff never seemed right for these creative souls.

Me: What is your background and how did you become a coach?

Jennifer: I spent 10 years climbing the corporate ladder doing consulting, change management, organizational development, and executive development at companies including Accenture and Gap Inc. I had my first coach in 2000. I got so much out of the experience and I thought I’d like to be a coach one day. Well, it wasn’t until 2003 that I started taking coach training while still working full-time. I built my practice on the side and in 2006 after co-leading a powerful leadership retreat with a friend, I realized that I needed to walk my talk and live my passions full time. So in June 2006 I took the leap and haven’t looked back since.

Me: What do you work on with creative people?

Jennifer: I believe that everyone is creative, so part of my work sometimes involves helping people get reacquainted with their inner muse. Mostly I help people get clear on what they want in their life/business and what’s most important to them, and to help them take steps to move toward their dreams in life and business.

Me: You have some wonderful tools for people to use on your site. Frankly, I’m green with envy at your productivity! Could you talk about how you created these tools?

Jennifer: I worked with a coach to help me develop my first two products – the original Right-Brain Business Plan™ 9-page illustrated e-book and my Unfolding Your Life Vision® portable vision board kit. I did prototyping for my kit, I used my workshops to help me figure out how to package the experience into a do-it-yourself process. I hired my designer to do illustrations and to design the print materials.

Me: When did you realize that the Right Brain Business Plan would turn in to a book and how did it happen?

Jennifer: The Right-Brain Business Plan concept has developed over time since making my first RBBP on my kitchen table back in November 2007. I went to Book Expo America in 2009 with my book coach so I could meet with publishers. I had a whole different book proposal ready to go, but consistently publishers expressed interest in getting a proposal for The Right-Brain Business Plan. It was like having my own focus group! I knew I wanted to write a Right-Brain Business Plan book, but I didn’t realize it would be the first one I wrote! So, when I came back from the conference I pounded out a new proposal and sent it off and the rest is history.

Me: What sort of obstacles did you encounter with writing your book and how did you overcome them?

Jennifer: I encountered many obstacles writing the book. The first was after sending off my proposal, I got my first rejection letter within the first week and a few more after that. It was hard to hear the “No’s.” I spent several months waiting to finally land a contract and that was so hard to be patient and trust the process. I had my book coach to help me stay focused and I did intuitive painting to help me work through the emotional side of being in the unknown. The writing was quite challenging a lot of the time. I just kept plugging my way through bad rough draft to finished chapter with the help of my book coach. Having support is key!

Me: You also had the amazing Video Summit to kick off the book. Could you talk about that and the community that you’ve created? (I attended and thought it was so well done and full of great information).

Jennifer: Thanks! Glad you were able to join us. We had more than 2,000 people sign up from around the world to participate in my first-ever Right-Brainers in Business Summit. It was amazing to see so many creative entrepreneurs gather each day from across North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and the Middle East to connect, learn from experts, and to feel a huge sigh of relief that thank goodness we are not alone! Now that the live summit is complete, we have a vibrant and growing group of right-brain entrepreneurs who are part of the private online community that came with the summit upgrade. I’m amazed to see what these inspiring people are up to in their work!

Me: On my site, I like to ask people how they would rate their Satisfaction Quotient. On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being nonexistent & 10 being off the charts) how would you rate yours?

Jennifer: I’d say I’m pretty consistently on the high side – from an 8-10. When it’s on the lower side, that’s when I’m focused more on what I haven’t done yet, or I’m getting down on myself for whatever reason. However, when I connect back with my core self, I get overwhelmed by an immense feeling of satisfaction and gratitude. Sometimes it’s probably a 15 or 20!

Me: What do you attribute to having so much satisfaction in your life?

Jennifer: I do my best to stay true to myself and live my life aligned with my values. I’ve learned to say no to things that don’t work for me or drain my energy. I surround myself with positive, empowering people. I am willing to take risks to follow my passions.

Thank you so much, Jennifer. It has been wonderful talking with you.

Here’s where you can connect w/ Jenn:

Twitter: @artizencoaching
Facebook: RBBP Facebook Fan Page
RBBP website: Right-Brain Business Plan
Video Summit website: The Right-Brainers in Business Video Summit
Coaching website: Artizen Coaching
Personal blog: Jenn’s Blog
Instagram: @jennlee (please note two n’s)