We are excited to have Jen join us this week!
Jen is a goal-oriented leader and seasoned communicator with a wealth of experience in communications, public relations, technology, and healthcare. She utilizes problem-solving and leadership skills to ensure stakeholder satisfaction and success.
Throughout her career, she has managed and led business teams to meet and exceed goals and expectations – every time. As a strategic thinker, she is able to grasp abstract ideas and concepts, achieving positive results.
Jen’s entrepreneurial ideations allowed her to be the first to develop a program for online help software in the Cardiology IT division for GE. As a media insider, she is well networked in media strategy and has developed creative messaging and story ideas resulting in client coverage in top-tier media – Forbes, Fortune, WSJ, MSNBC, Fox, New York Times, Chief Executive, Mashable, TechCrunch and Digiday – to name a few.
Jennifer has leveraged brand awareness and lead generation for global and national clients like Google, DocuSign, TubeMogul, Liberty Tax Service, Mitel, SMART Technologies and many others.
Resources:
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We referenced a book about facing your fears in the podcast – “Hello, Fears: Crush Your Comfort Zone and Become Who You’re Meant to Be” by Michelle Poler
Transcript
John Simon Sr. 00:06
Music. Welcome to Simon Says, inspire a podcast about life, leadership and building legacies. I'm John Simon, SR
Dina Simon 00:14
and I'm Dina Simon.
John Simon Sr. 00:16
Our guest today is Jennifer Fleming. Jennifer is a goal oriented leader and seasoned communicator with a wealth of experience in communications, public relations, technology and healthcare. Jennifer, welcome to our podcast.
Jennifer Fleming 00:31
Thanks, John, it's great to be here. Yay.
John Simon Sr. 00:34
Why don't you take a minute and tell us a little bit about yourself, where you live and and your family, and maybe some interest that you have outside of work? Yeah, definitely.
Jennifer Fleming 00:43
Well, I'm a South Dakota girl, born and bred. Have spent most of my life residing in South Dakota, but I've had the opportunity to travel and work all over the country and even into Canada. Haven't made it to Europe yet, but that's on the list. And yeah, I've got an amazing, supportive family, all of most of whom are located here as well. But I have four kids. I have three boys who are 1918, and 14, and then I have what I call my bonus daughter, who's 34 and she lives in Colorado. Beautiful, beautiful children. They are amazing humans. And I'm, of course, every mother's proud of her children, but, you know, I am. I am really proud and amazed of the things that they've accomplished in their lifetimes. So and excited to see the rest of it, too. So, yes, yeah. And then you asked me what I do, like for fun or, you know, so I work from home. Thank you. Pandemic, but it's actually turned into kind of a neat experience for me in that I really control my time. I'm way more productive. I still miss people. I'm very much an extrovert or an ambivert, as I like to call myself. But yeah, for fun, I love to read, and that's something that I've kind of hadn't picked up when I didn't do much of you know, when you have little people running around, short people, I call them. So I love to read. I love to cook all the way, not doing as much of that these days as I used to. But I love I think food is love, and making food for people has just been my love language. So and then I just love to hang with friends. I love to be outdoors. I spend a lot of time walking or sitting in nature, in my backyard, or wherever I happen to be. So those are some of the things that I love.
Dina Simon 02:24
You've traveled so much and so coming from Sioux Falls, which isn't the easiest place to like get out of, right? Because you have to connect either in Minneapolis or Chicago, but you, you do travel a lot, which I love, because I know that's a passion for you, yeah.
Jennifer Fleming 02:38
And it, you know, it. It started young. I think my parents, my dad was a clinic administrator, and he would get to go to different medical conventions across the country. And so that was an opportunity, because we didn't have a ton of cash or a ton of money. I didn't ever think about it as a kid, but to go and, you know, visit different cities and communities and diversity, and just have those experiences, and that's something that was always important for my kids. So when I and I've traveled my entire career, I worked for GE Healthcare early on, became a clinical trader. I was training cardiologists all over the country in different hospitals. I'm not a cardiologist, I'm not clinically trained, I'm not a cath lab tech, but I figured it out. It was super fun. So I traveled quite a bit there. And then in one of my more recent gigs with Tallgrass public relations, I probably traveled 50 to 80% of the time, and I got to experience all of these amazing communities. I was just thinking about it before we talked. And there's probably maybe five states I haven't been in, wow, which is pretty, you know, pretty amazing. And I feel very grateful and blessed for that, but, yeah, and my favorite thing to do is, when I'm in a city, is you got to talk to the locals. You have to find out where's the best place to eat that's not an Applebee's or, you know, whatever. And people will give you different, you know, things, and some of the best restaurants I've been in have been a result of just, you know, just ask the question right now,
John Simon Sr. 04:05
have you gone through the stage yet where, you know, with the with the boys and Samantha, where, at one point you weren't known as Jennifer, but you were known as Jonah's mom, or Nolan's mom or Ethan's mom. Everywhere you go, Oh, that's your, your your nobleman's Mom.
Jennifer Fleming 04:22
Yeah. And being any one of those kids, Mom, you know, Samantha, Jonah, Nolan, Ethan, being any called that is like an honor, you know, it's, it's generally, and I'm okay with that. And a lot of the things that my kids have done in life, they take the lead on. They they have initiated, they have inspired, they have, you know, tried to make their own way, but yet they know that mom's still there. So I am like, just like, PR, I'm totally fine being in the background. I don't necessarily want to be the one that's being interviewed, although this is really fun, you know, as that's an okay title, I will take that honor any day of the week. Yeah. Yeah, great.
John Simon Sr. 05:00
Why don't you tell us a little bit about how Nolan, who I've seen his name around for many years, tied with, you know, Simon Says, gives and maybe a little bit about how he got involved in that. And, you know, the backs, the backstory on that. Oh,
Jennifer Fleming 05:15
yeah, it's such a fun story. So I met Dina through a mutual friend, Jeffrey Hazlet at a dinner in the cities, and we kind of got to know each other. And then she was sharing with me that her daughter, Mandy, who was like, I think eight at the time, was interested in starting this birthdays and and backpacks and, you know, and was sort of formulating this. And so Mandy kicked it off, the girl, you know, kicked it off. And they got going, and they came down to Sioux Falls to meet with Jeff hazelt and I to talk about maybe doing some PR and what, what can we do to, you know, really help make an impact, share with Simon says, Give. And I thought. And then we were headed to dinner, and I thought, Well, if there's, I think Mandy was 10 at the time, if there's a 10 year old kid there, you know, I can certainly ask take my kids to dinner. Like, I all about giving them experiences, you know? And so I offered it up. Well, my youngest was too small to go, but I offered it to my nine year old and my 10 year old at the time, and my 10 year old's like, nope, nope, not doing it. He's kind of a quiet kid, and I totally respect that. And my middle was like, Yeah, sure, that's Nolan. So we went to the dinner, and I remember sitting there and kind of watching the kids throughout the dinner, and they didn't say much. They were listening, and the adults were talking and, you know, whatnot. And so we got in the car to go home that night, and Nolan, little, teeny, tiny, nine year old, Nolan, is sitting in the seat next to me, and he said, Mom. And I said, Yeah. He goes, Can I do what Mandy's doing? And I was like, Sure. Why not? Didn't, you know, think twice about it, whatever. So I talked to Dina, and we kind of came up with a idea and a strategy. And the boys and their friends, all the little neighborhood kids and his friends, got together and did marketing materials and signs, and they planned this lemonade stand at our driveway, and it was completely a donation basis, like, it's not $1 for a glass of lemonade, it's whatever you can give. And in two and a half hours in our driveway, we the kids made $750.02
Dina Simon 07:17
and a half hours. Yes, yeah, crazy. And so that was the launch. I mean, that was some seed money to get them started, right?
Jennifer Fleming 07:25
Yeah. And, oh, what? 10 years later, yeah, the impact that we've been able to make is just so amazing. And I think the one not, there's so many blessings. I mean, that became like, instead of our kids doing sports or doing, you know what? And they did some of that stuff too, but this was really like a family activity that we could do together, and we also made all these great friendships. We had kid board of 10, up to 10 kids at a time. We had mentors, we had our adult board that was such an insightful I mean, the kids learned so much.
Dina Simon 07:56
Will you share the caps versus kids event that you guys did,
Jennifer Fleming 08:01
yeah. So part of the fun of this was letting the kids ideate and kind of figure out. And so Nolan came up with the concept of cops versus kids, and I had made friends with an amazing police officer in Sioux Falls who's now retired, but Jamie butine, and he was always very supportive of it. He was a mentor for all my boys, particularly Ethan, because Ethan wanted to be in law enforcement when he was small. And we talked about it, we figured out a plan. We actually had Highway Patrol guys. I mean, our our driveway, at one point, was full of cop cars and highway patrol cars, and I'm sure the neighbors thought we were crazy, but they all set up on our dining room table, and we formulated this fundraising event and put a plan together. And, gosh, I can't remember how many years we did it, and then the pandemic sort of skewed
Dina Simon 08:50
that I feel like maybe four, and yeah, like three to four,
Jennifer Fleming 08:53
I think you're right. And it was just, we'd have bouncy houses and people donate things and food, and a magician, Travis and I, who would come in, you know, every year, and then the law enforcement officers would interact with the kiddos games just and they could explore their vehicles and learn about, you know, fire trucks and police vehicles. So it was a really amazing experience. And that was all the brave child of that kid board. Yeah, amazing. Yeah, super fun.
John Simon Sr. 09:21
Well, I'm glad it was such a success. Yeah, I'm sure the kids worked very hard to make it that way.
Dina Simon 09:28
They did. They worked it. I mean, we went down that one year, but they all had jobs. I mean, there were certainly adults around to help, but those kids all knew what their roles were, and they were actively engaged in the facilitation of the entire event was amazing and a great fundraiser, and, yes, very fun share with us. So talk to us about what you're doing in work these days.
Jennifer Fleming 09:51
Sure, yeah, as I mentioned, I work from home. I have been off and on for several years, a consultant in Mark. In public relations. So I have a very good friend and mentor who I was sitting across the table, and it's not a company I'm going to mention, and it's not any of the ones I have mentioned, but I was working in a in an organization, and was having a lot of issues with, you know, management and just not being completely happy. And he looked at me, and he goes, You can do this on your own. This is completely in your wheelhouse. You know what you're doing. And that, for me, has been probably the best mix, I think, of work life balance and kind of figuring out my own path, and then truly working with people, clients, teams that I enjoy. And I think John, you can probably attest to this. Don't you just get to a point in your life where you're like, I don't have to work with people I don't like anymore, that it's not necessary, like, I can get along with pretty much anybody. But sometimes you just have to let it go.
John Simon Sr. 10:59
I know exactly where you're coming from.
Jennifer Fleming 11:01
Yeah, yeah. So I have clients again all over the country, and it's all been all about the relationships that I've made throughout my career and my lifetime. And I get to work with, I just worked with Freeman, the largest global event production company. They do shows like, if you're in the tech world, CES and South by Southwest, they were an amazing client. And then I've worked with small startups. I mean, I work with people who want to be public speakers and get them out there and help them elevate their brand and their presence. So I get to do a lot of interesting, varied things, and no two days are alike, which I love a
John Simon Sr. 11:39
lot of people outside of the area where I live, they they don't know much about South by Southwest, because it's so big in Austin, and it's really a game changer down there for every year. And he goes through that, and it's really inspired a lot of people to do a lot of things. Yeah,
Dina Simon 11:57
share some of the spirits. Can you share some of that fun work that you've done in the last year. Okay,
Jennifer Fleming 12:02
yeah. And again, it's about relationships, two friends of mine that I went to high school with. You're both amazing, but we had stayed connected, and I had worked with him on a tech startup in the, gosh, probably 10 years ago or so, and then had an opportunity to work on they, they import spirits from all over the world, but primarily Mexico and tequilas, mezcals, just different types of spirits brands. They do a couple bourbons, and so I and I never well, I'd done a rum once before, many years ago, but it's been so fun to work on those things. And how much people love tequila and love their spirits, and it's all craft and it's all family owned. And so they work with, you know, four generations of distillers in Mexico, and they have such respect for the land and the people and the process and the families that that has been just a lovely experience to have.
Dina Simon 13:01
Yeah, super fun. And tequila is such a big thing. Like, I'm not a big tequila drinker, but I need to learn how to be, because it is like a craft. It's similar to, like a whiskey or a bourbon.
John Simon Sr. 13:11
Those who drink it really enjoy it, yeah, yeah.
Jennifer Fleming 13:15
Well, everything in moderation, right? Yes, yes. But I have learned a lot about, you know, like, a lot of people's experience with tequila is like, Oh yeah, it's the worm at the bottom of the bottle, and it's Jose verbo, and, yeah, it's not that. If it's, it's good, if it's additive, free, if it's produced, well, you know, all of those things. It's, you actually sip it. You don't put it in. You can put it in a margarita. And I welcome you to do whatever you right? But, but, and I'm not a, you know, I've never been like a bourbon girl or anything like that, but this is, I truly enjoy it. And you know me, I'm more of a, you know, wine drinker, yeah, yeah. So it's, it's opened a whole new sort of world and hobby for me, fun.
John Simon Sr. 13:59
I did want to ask a question, and I don't know, as you I and I think this happened probably a couple of years ago. It was on the news, and it was the kind of the battle between North Dakota and South Dakota and the north, the North wanted to just make their name Dakota, and then the south just being South Dakota, because the negative connotation about being that far north, it must be really cold and bitter up there, and everything, did anything ever come out of that?
Jennifer Fleming 14:29
That is a great question. And I don't, I don't believe so from, I mean, because we haven't changed the flag, as far as I know. But it is interesting. And I don't know if this is just a Midwest thing. Maybe you guys could tell me, maybe Texas or Minnesota. Like, you know, we make fun of people in Iowa. We make jokes about, you know, if you fail your driver's test, what do you get? You get blue plates, you know, and, and there's all kinds of a rivalry, jokes between the states. I love my friends in North Dakota. Don't get me wrong, it is colder. Yeah. Hmm, but, you know, I think gal, it's, it's, you know, if you can have a little fun with it, that's great. But, you know, we're all the, we're all the same people, right?
John Simon Sr. 15:09
Well, yeah. And I thought the neat part of was they got a lot of free publicity, because it made the evening news quite a few times, you know, when they were, when they were talking about it. So, if nothing, you know, that's free, free media.
Jennifer Fleming 15:23
Yeah, still kidding, no kidding. It's the fun stuff that you can sort of, you know, be contrarian. I mean, that's what resonates in PR is, is you got to have a compelling story, absolutely, something that people are interested in, or that is just kind of fun and uplifting. So, yeah, definitely.
John Simon Sr. 15:40
Well, I noticed in reading some of the information on you, you've networked with quite a bit in the media, especially with MSNBC and Fox and the Wall Street Journal. So that's a really good background that you have there. Yeah,
Jennifer Fleming 15:56
I'm just, well, for those who are listening, I'm I'm a redhead, so I'm a little fiery and spicy, but it takes a lot for me to get there, but I'm also competitive and I think, and that's just my nature and my drive. So it was always about the win. Like, you know, when you're going in for a client, like, I feel like I'm part of their team and their family, and their success is my success. And those big wins are not. They don't just fall out of the sky, you know, they need a lot of hard work and a lot of relationship building and a lot of creativity to craft a compelling story that you you know, not everybody's ever going to get in the New York Times. It's just it doesn't happen. But if you can get those big wins for your client, there's nothing more satisfying to me than that. Yeah. And you
John Simon Sr. 16:42
really earned your way to through those too, you know, based on your knowledge and really what the client's looking to have done too.
Jennifer Fleming 16:49
Yeah. And I, you know, there were several journalists that I would work with, and it would just be a periodic pick up the phone and call them and just say, Hey, what are you working on this week. What can I help you with? Not here's my client, here's my client, here's my client. And that led to, I think, more successes and having that, hey, I've got this idea. What do you think of it? And making it more a collaboration than a pitch?
Dina Simon 17:15
Yeah, totally. Because you're all about relationship building, so you weren't just doing a one and done, you would stay connected and find ways to collaborate with people. And yeah, yeah. I mean, I know that we've known each other for it's probably been 1213, years almost now John was asking, and so our ability, certainly, we had the good fortune of working together with Simon says give for many years, but we've collaborated and in life and in business and and it's just yeah, it's about just keeping those relationships that are important and figuring out ways to work together.
Jennifer Fleming 17:49
So yeah, so blessed. And I think, you know, I just had a conversation with somebody the other day, and I was in Chicago and met with a fellow tequila connoisseur who's kind of an influencer in the industry, and he was the most gracious kind, like, you know, spending time with me, giving me his thoughts. Everything he does is about philanthropy, and it was just, it was really meaningful. And I said, and I connected him to somebody else I knew in Chicago that is kicking off something. And I said, You know what? Lou I said, there's nothing in it for me, but I think this would be really cool, and I think the impact that it can have would be so important for what you're doing for kids, and what this person is doing for kids. And so that was, that's the stuff I'd like to do, because you never know when it's going to come back, and it comes back tenfold. Most times.
John Simon Sr. 18:39
It has to be really rewarding for you working with a startup, so watch them get it off the ground, and then see two or three years later what they've done based on some of the help that you gave them through media. Yeah,
Jennifer Fleming 18:54
it definitely is. And you know, I've been an entrepreneur in my own life, so I think I have a unique understanding of what it's like to run your own business and to start something from scratch and to not sleep at night because you're not sure if you can make payroll and all of those pieces. And then, you know, structuring like your marketing, your PR, your operations, your financial team, like they need to get everybody around them who is stronger than they are in whatever skill set they don't have. They need those people. So that's it's fun. I
John Simon Sr. 19:28
mentioned last week we came to podcast, that there's a big difference when you're an entrepreneur, when you're signing the front of the paycheck and not the back of the paycheck, it's huge. Yeah, yeah. And, you know, all through my life, I signed back in paycheck, so I don't have the entrepreneur in spirit. But when you do it's, it's, really has to be rewarding. And you know to know that whatever you do, you're helping other people live their life and help pay their bills. Yeah,
Jennifer Fleming 19:57
definitely. And I think too, you know. There is no just yeah, you're right. There's never going to be a distinction between when you're writing the check and you're signing the back of the check. But I also think too There have been some pretty amazing people that I have worked with over the years who weren't just signing the back of a paycheck, who were in and committed and wanted to grow and wanted to learn, and I have loved and cherished working with those kinds of people.
John Simon Sr. 20:22
They're the kind you want to hire. That's right,
Dina Simon 20:25
yeah, yes, yes. So we've talked about family, we've talked about travel, some of your passions, a little bit about your business. Is there anything else about, like, current business, or, you know, you you have a heart for philanthropy yourself?
Jennifer Fleming 20:40
Yeah, Simon says, Give Nolan has. We've now retired Nolan's chapter, and Nolan's on to the next chapter of his life, which is going to college. He's studying accounting and business, and so that that's kind of our next step. But I that experience, and not only that, but I my background was in psychology and education. And I have always loved working with kids. I think if you can make an impact, and you can make it early, that is so critical to so many things in life, for those kiddos and for our society and culture. So one of the, I guess, passion projects that I've sort of picked up now in blue of Simon Says, but I'll still always be involved in Simon Says, given any capacity,
Dina Simon 21:22
we know, yes, yeah, yeah,
Jennifer Fleming 21:25
but no, it's a really fun project. It's called the porter project, and it's a book series for kiddos starts about the, you know, kindergarten up to fourth grade level, and it's all based around a little girl named Porter, who's hoarding candy in her bedroom, and the first book in the series, she's got to clean her ransacked room, and she's got to find five manic monkeys and six naughty handkerchiefs and all of this. And I was blessed again the power of those relationships to be introduced to a fellow South Dakotan who also produced a little movie called Napoleon Dynamite, if you've seen them. Oh yes. Oh yes. Well, Sean Covell is based in Deadwood, South Dakota, and the illustrator, whose daughter is the is what the books are based on, is in Bridgewater. And so I had the pleasure to connect with them and to be engaged and involved in helping them to find foundation partners, to get the books into the hands of every little kiddo in kindergarten, first through fourth grade across the country. So it's a new, fun challenge. I'm learning a ton. I'm so happy to be able to make an impact in the lives of kiddos and early literacy. And I just keep talking to people about it, and you wouldn't believe the context and the connections and the things that are coming in, it's just like, you know, it's overwhelming to me, and it makes me so grateful. But at the same time, we're doing something that's, you know, so impactful too. So yeah, that's my latest and greatest among other things, but it's been fun to do that. That's sort of my continued delve into philanthropy and giving back. It kind
John Simon Sr. 23:06
of reminds you a little bit the story about Amy groves and what she has done with giving the books to the young ones at school so that they can read all the stories about the groves.
Jennifer Fleming 23:16
Yes, and Amy is just a dear soul. We have a birthday that's our birthdays are one day apart, so Amy's always kind of been my special birthday sister, and she's just a beautiful kind so and she's so talented. I mean, those books are amazing, and it has been really fun to see her thrive in in the love that she has for that project. It's amazing,
John Simon Sr. 23:38
yeah, to get get the books in the hands of all those children? I mean, that's yes,
Dina Simon 23:43
and she's, I haven't talked to her, like today or anything, but on November 1 is typically the launch of the book. So her third book should be be ready for us in just a few weeks. Yeah,
Jennifer Fleming 23:55
I saw she posted today and said the next book's coming, and it's coming out in the winter. So, yeah, that's exciting. I can't wait to read it.
Dina Simon 24:02
I know. Yes. So anything on leadership? So when you think about you from a leadership perspective, leadership that you've had, how you hope people show up as a leader, anything that you'd want to talk about from a leadership perspective, oh
Jennifer Fleming 24:16
my gosh. How long do we have, right? You know. I think you know that I have had some amazing leaders in my life, and people who are still friends and mentors, and I think you could learn something from anyone. It doesn't just have to be a leader, you know, and I try to go through every day from that perspective, like, Why is this person in my life? What are they meant to teach me? What can I learn from them, good, bad and ugly, I mean, but yeah, I and I believe in the power of mentorship. I think that's so important. I was able to be part of a program in South Dakota through MB, which is a women's leadership kind of organization, and they pair A. We'll just call us seasoned professionals with younger women in their careers. And that was a really wonderful program, and I learned as much from her as she I hope she learned from me, and she was going through a major career transition and wasn't sure what she wanted to do. And we had tears together. We had celebrations together. We had drinks together, you know. And that was, it was, it was a learning experience for me. But I have been really lucky to work with amazing leaders and amazing clients, where I learned so much. And I think, you know, kind of the the people that I admire most are the ones that live to their core values. So, you know, being authentic, being trustworthy, being energetic, being positive, being momentful. Is that a word? I don't know. We just made up a word. We just made it up. Yeah, yeah, being being a doer, and then also being able to embrace and understand and navigate change with with positivity,
Dina Simon 26:04
I think, yeah, so Jen, you were just with me recently. We talked about, you're such an amazing Ideator. Like, you help people just ideate, right? You're such a great you're so good at that. Like, here's the situation, here's a problem. How do we ideate and solve? But one of the things that I just recognized and having this conversation with you is, you're such a, you're such a learner. So, right? So just like, learn, like what you just said, anybody that's with you in a day, you know, what can I learn from this? How can I take away something from this? So that goes back to, you know, I texted you yesterday asking you a silly question that I could have googled myself, but you do, you are. You're such a you know, you want to know things, you want to investigate things, and such a learner. So I just put that all together
Jennifer Fleming 26:47
well. Thank you for that. And I will say like, you know, what are the things I love in my career and in life? Is I love? I actually love ideating, like my little creative bubbles are, you know, popping all over my head. And I used to tell my teams we'd sit on, you know, a call, and I'd be like, Okay, start writing this down, because once it comes out of my mouth, it's gone. But there's all these ideas constantly circulating, and it's not just creative problem solving, it's just being creative in general. Like, I feel lucky to have that now, if we were talking about math, that would be a whole nother story. But I've also had to challenge myself to figure out financial spreadsheets and QuickBook, you know, like, those are the things I don't like to do, and I do have an amazing bookkeeper. Thank you, Jackie for taking care of me, but, yeah, you hire people that are stronger than you, you know, and don't have that, or that have the skill set you don't, but I think also in the you know, kind of creative ideation is there's something rewarding and being able to help people through and find a solution to a problem. I'll tell you a short, quick story, or it might not be short and quick, knowing me, but I had an employee, and I absolutely adored this woman. She was a little bit timid, didn't trust herself, didn't think she could do certain things, and I just watched her blossom literally over the course of us working together, and we would do team meetings and trainings and all of these things, and it was a very small business, and I would always say, don't bring me problems. Bring me solutions. And I got out of the car one day. I'm in the parking lot right outside the store. I'm walking in. I see her coming across the lot, and she turns around, she walks away. And I said, what's going on? Like, why did you, you know, go the other direction. And she said, I realized I was bringing you a problem, but I wasn't bringing you a solution. I'll be back to you. What I can I
Dina Simon 28:47
love it. I love it. Talk about self leadership, right?
Jennifer Fleming 28:51
Oh yeah, yeah. And this woman is gonna be, she is amazing. She just wasn't fully recognizing how amazing she was, right? And she did, and I just and I still know her, and I still love to watch her grow and what she's doing, and both personally and professionally. So that's super that that drives me
John Simon Sr. 29:13
well. And it sounds like for not only friends, but for your clients that are saying you're a great sounding board, you know, give you a situation, and like you say, they'll come to me with a problem, come to me with solution, and we'll talk about it, and we may tweak it a little bit. But the fact of it is, if I have to answer it for you, I really don't need to have you around very much. I, you know, I need people to come to me with with solutions.
Jennifer Fleming 29:38
I had a boss that actually said those exact words to me one day, if I used
John Simon Sr. 29:44
it many a times with the people that work for me,
Jennifer Fleming 29:47
if I have to answer it for you, why do I need you? Yeah,
John Simon Sr. 29:51
exactly my philosophy. Let's talk about it now. You know the fact of it is, you know, when you're the boss, you want to hear people's. You know, solutions to it, then you may tweak it a little bit, but really it's their responsibility to come up with the solutions to issues and problems that they may have.
Dina Simon 30:10
And normally they're so much closer to it. They, you know, they just do need that help to say, You know what to do, or let's, you know, talk it through, but you've got all this information that you're bringing to the table, and you know how to solve this? And
John Simon Sr. 30:24
some people were afraid to make a decision. Sometimes, yes, well,
Jennifer Fleming 30:28
and fear is the biggest obstacle to everything in our life. Fear stops us from doing the thing we know we need to do. Fear stops us from, you know, building that relationship or taking that job,
John Simon Sr. 30:40
and it's fear of failure.
Jennifer Fleming 30:42
Mm hmm. Actually reading a really great book right now, and it's called, oh gosh, it's not handy, but it's all about fear. And this woman, who was a graduate student and working full time, wrote down 100 fears, 100 and every morning while she's going to working full time and going to graduate school, every morning, she would carve out time to knock out one of those fears. Wow, yeah, it's amazing. And she said part of it in the book, and I believe she, she lives in New York, but I believe she was from Venezuela. I'll, we can put it in the show notes, but, sure, yeah, but there's a whole section in there that says, instead of saying, What's the worst thing that can happen. Reframe it and say, What's the best thing that can happen? Yeah. You
John Simon Sr. 31:27
know, they often, they often say that the two greatest fears people have are number one, public speaking and and number two, dying. And public speaking is the worst fear for a lot of people that dine someday, wow,
Dina Simon 31:42
yeah, crazy, Yeah, crazy, yeah, yeah. We'll share with me the book, and then we'll put it in the show notes. I
Jennifer Fleming 31:49
love it, yeah, definitely. And I think that's you talked about learning earlier, too, always being curious. And I think that's just such an innate part of human, you know, beings to to, you know, explore and discover, and you know, you know. And a lot of the best leaders that I have worked with are they never stop learning, right?
Dina Simon 32:12
Yeah, but you have to take the time for it, right? So some people, if you're just so heads down, and all you're doing is doing, and you don't take that time to reflect or to go learn something new. I mean, I think that that that is super hard. So that's one thing I think you've done over just a great job at is as far as being really mindful of,
Jennifer Fleming 32:31
well, thank you. And I think that didn't always come easy to me, right? You know, when you're a working mom with short people and you're trying to juggle travel and multiple businesses and, you know, play dates and birthday parties and all that kind of stuff. You don't have a lot of time for self care. And I think at one point, I just realized that I was depleted. I had lost 30 pounds. My hair was falling out. I was so stressed, and it's taken me that's been a few years, maybe three four. It's taken me that long to kind of come back into myself. And then when I realized, like, I can still be productive, I don't have to, I put so much pressure on myself. Yeah, that was so unfair, and that was so unkind to me. And so it's taken me a lot to figure out, like, you know what? I can get up every morning and I can go for a walk with my dog, and I don't have to feel bad about it or guilty about it. I'm going to get more done if I get that walk in with, you know, doggo than if I, you know, sit down and start slamming keys on the computer so or, you know, I want to read that book. I'm going to sit down and read that book because I'll be a better person, and I'll feel lighter and I it just it. It's a huge thing. So anybody listening self cared, do one thing today for you. Do one thing for your business. Do one thing for your family. And that's all you got to get done today.
John Simon Sr. 34:00
Care about yourself as much as you care about everybody else.
Dina Simon 34:04
Yep, yep, yes, yeah. Love that. No. Thank you for that. Okay, Jen, anything else that you wanted our podcast audience to know about you?
Jennifer Fleming 34:14
Oh, gosh, it's really hard to talk about yourself and yeah, you know, like I said earlier, especially when you're in PR and you're used to being the woman behind the camera, you know, adjusting people's ties and making sure they say the right thing and don't say the wrong thing. Yeah, I, you know, I just, I think the world right now is in a kind of a weird place. We all know it. We all recognize it. So you know what? Go do something for you today and go, like, be kind to someone else, because you don't know what somebody else is going through. You just don't. And if you can operate with that sort of, my glass isn't half full. My glass is overflowing. People get it and they see it, and that's what's going to make a change in the world. And I firmly believe that,
Dina Simon 35:01
yep, give back we love it. Well, thank you so much for joining us. You know I love you. You're a dear friend, and just appreciate that you were wanting to be on our podcast. Well,
Jennifer Fleming 35:15
I love you too. And John, I told you earlier, I love your family, especially Dina. I call her my my sister by choice, and it's been you just you never know who you're gonna run into, and it might be somebody at the grocery store tonight, and it just take it all in and just keep doing what you're doing. Sounds wonderful.
Dina Simon 35:37
I want to thank my good friend Jen Fleming for being on the podcast with us. Her and her son, Nolan, and their entire family were engaged for about seven years in Sioux Falls with Simon says give and made just a tremendous impact in that community. And so fun to work with them all those years. And I love her as a dear friend. She is a rock star PR marketing strategy person, and so we'll make sure in the show notes, you know how to get in touch with her if you have things that you would need to work on with her. And as always, I think my father in law, John Simon, for partnering with me on the podcast. And thank you all for tuning in. And until next time you
Music. Welcome to Simon Says, inspire a podcast about life, leadership and building legacies. I'm John Simon, SR
Dina Simon 00:14
and I'm Dina Simon.
John Simon Sr. 00:16
Our guest today is Jennifer Fleming. Jennifer is a goal oriented leader and seasoned communicator with a wealth of experience in communications, public relations, technology and healthcare. Jennifer, welcome to our podcast.
Jennifer Fleming 00:31
Thanks, John, it's great to be here. Yay.
John Simon Sr. 00:34
Why don't you take a minute and tell us a little bit about yourself, where you live and and your family, and maybe some interest that you have outside of work? Yeah, definitely.
Jennifer Fleming 00:43
Well, I'm a South Dakota girl, born and bred. Have spent most of my life residing in South Dakota, but I've had the opportunity to travel and work all over the country and even into Canada. Haven't made it to Europe yet, but that's on the list. And yeah, I've got an amazing, supportive family, all of most of whom are located here as well. But I have four kids. I have three boys who are 1918, and 14, and then I have what I call my bonus daughter, who's 34 and she lives in Colorado. Beautiful, beautiful children. They are amazing humans. And I'm, of course, every mother's proud of her children, but, you know, I am. I am really proud and amazed of the things that they've accomplished in their lifetimes. So and excited to see the rest of it, too. So, yes, yeah. And then you asked me what I do, like for fun or, you know, so I work from home. Thank you. Pandemic, but it's actually turned into kind of a neat experience for me in that I really control my time. I'm way more productive. I still miss people. I'm very much an extrovert or an ambivert, as I like to call myself. But yeah, for fun, I love to read, and that's something that I've kind of hadn't picked up when I didn't do much of you know, when you have little people running around, short people, I call them. So I love to read. I love to cook all the way, not doing as much of that these days as I used to. But I love I think food is love, and making food for people has just been my love language. So and then I just love to hang with friends. I love to be outdoors. I spend a lot of time walking or sitting in nature, in my backyard, or wherever I happen to be. So those are some of the things that I love.
Dina Simon 02:24
You've traveled so much and so coming from Sioux Falls, which isn't the easiest place to like get out of, right? Because you have to connect either in Minneapolis or Chicago, but you, you do travel a lot, which I love, because I know that's a passion for you, yeah.
Jennifer Fleming 02:38
And it, you know, it. It started young. I think my parents, my dad was a clinic administrator, and he would get to go to different medical conventions across the country. And so that was an opportunity, because we didn't have a ton of cash or a ton of money. I didn't ever think about it as a kid, but to go and, you know, visit different cities and communities and diversity, and just have those experiences, and that's something that was always important for my kids. So when I and I've traveled my entire career, I worked for GE Healthcare early on, became a clinical trader. I was training cardiologists all over the country in different hospitals. I'm not a cardiologist, I'm not clinically trained, I'm not a cath lab tech, but I figured it out. It was super fun. So I traveled quite a bit there. And then in one of my more recent gigs with Tallgrass public relations, I probably traveled 50 to 80% of the time, and I got to experience all of these amazing communities. I was just thinking about it before we talked. And there's probably maybe five states I haven't been in, wow, which is pretty, you know, pretty amazing. And I feel very grateful and blessed for that, but, yeah, and my favorite thing to do is, when I'm in a city, is you got to talk to the locals. You have to find out where's the best place to eat that's not an Applebee's or, you know, whatever. And people will give you different, you know, things, and some of the best restaurants I've been in have been a result of just, you know, just ask the question right now,
John Simon Sr. 04:05
have you gone through the stage yet where, you know, with the with the boys and Samantha, where, at one point you weren't known as Jennifer, but you were known as Jonah's mom, or Nolan's mom or Ethan's mom. Everywhere you go, Oh, that's your, your your nobleman's Mom.
Jennifer Fleming 04:22
Yeah. And being any one of those kids, Mom, you know, Samantha, Jonah, Nolan, Ethan, being any called that is like an honor, you know, it's, it's generally, and I'm okay with that. And a lot of the things that my kids have done in life, they take the lead on. They they have initiated, they have inspired, they have, you know, tried to make their own way, but yet they know that mom's still there. So I am like, just like, PR, I'm totally fine being in the background. I don't necessarily want to be the one that's being interviewed, although this is really fun, you know, as that's an okay title, I will take that honor any day of the week. Yeah. Yeah, great.
John Simon Sr. 05:00
Why don't you tell us a little bit about how Nolan, who I've seen his name around for many years, tied with, you know, Simon Says, gives and maybe a little bit about how he got involved in that. And, you know, the backs, the backstory on that. Oh,
Jennifer Fleming 05:15
yeah, it's such a fun story. So I met Dina through a mutual friend, Jeffrey Hazlet at a dinner in the cities, and we kind of got to know each other. And then she was sharing with me that her daughter, Mandy, who was like, I think eight at the time, was interested in starting this birthdays and and backpacks and, you know, and was sort of formulating this. And so Mandy kicked it off, the girl, you know, kicked it off. And they got going, and they came down to Sioux Falls to meet with Jeff hazelt and I to talk about maybe doing some PR and what, what can we do to, you know, really help make an impact, share with Simon says, Give. And I thought. And then we were headed to dinner, and I thought, Well, if there's, I think Mandy was 10 at the time, if there's a 10 year old kid there, you know, I can certainly ask take my kids to dinner. Like, I all about giving them experiences, you know? And so I offered it up. Well, my youngest was too small to go, but I offered it to my nine year old and my 10 year old at the time, and my 10 year old's like, nope, nope, not doing it. He's kind of a quiet kid, and I totally respect that. And my middle was like, Yeah, sure, that's Nolan. So we went to the dinner, and I remember sitting there and kind of watching the kids throughout the dinner, and they didn't say much. They were listening, and the adults were talking and, you know, whatnot. And so we got in the car to go home that night, and Nolan, little, teeny, tiny, nine year old, Nolan, is sitting in the seat next to me, and he said, Mom. And I said, Yeah. He goes, Can I do what Mandy's doing? And I was like, Sure. Why not? Didn't, you know, think twice about it, whatever. So I talked to Dina, and we kind of came up with a idea and a strategy. And the boys and their friends, all the little neighborhood kids and his friends, got together and did marketing materials and signs, and they planned this lemonade stand at our driveway, and it was completely a donation basis, like, it's not $1 for a glass of lemonade, it's whatever you can give. And in two and a half hours in our driveway, we the kids made $750.02
Dina Simon 07:17
and a half hours. Yes, yeah, crazy. And so that was the launch. I mean, that was some seed money to get them started, right?
Jennifer Fleming 07:25
Yeah. And, oh, what? 10 years later, yeah, the impact that we've been able to make is just so amazing. And I think the one not, there's so many blessings. I mean, that became like, instead of our kids doing sports or doing, you know what? And they did some of that stuff too, but this was really like a family activity that we could do together, and we also made all these great friendships. We had kid board of 10, up to 10 kids at a time. We had mentors, we had our adult board that was such an insightful I mean, the kids learned so much.
Dina Simon 07:56
Will you share the caps versus kids event that you guys did,
Jennifer Fleming 08:01
yeah. So part of the fun of this was letting the kids ideate and kind of figure out. And so Nolan came up with the concept of cops versus kids, and I had made friends with an amazing police officer in Sioux Falls who's now retired, but Jamie butine, and he was always very supportive of it. He was a mentor for all my boys, particularly Ethan, because Ethan wanted to be in law enforcement when he was small. And we talked about it, we figured out a plan. We actually had Highway Patrol guys. I mean, our our driveway, at one point, was full of cop cars and highway patrol cars, and I'm sure the neighbors thought we were crazy, but they all set up on our dining room table, and we formulated this fundraising event and put a plan together. And, gosh, I can't remember how many years we did it, and then the pandemic sort of skewed
Dina Simon 08:50
that I feel like maybe four, and yeah, like three to four,
Jennifer Fleming 08:53
I think you're right. And it was just, we'd have bouncy houses and people donate things and food, and a magician, Travis and I, who would come in, you know, every year, and then the law enforcement officers would interact with the kiddos games just and they could explore their vehicles and learn about, you know, fire trucks and police vehicles. So it was a really amazing experience. And that was all the brave child of that kid board. Yeah, amazing. Yeah, super fun.
John Simon Sr. 09:21
Well, I'm glad it was such a success. Yeah, I'm sure the kids worked very hard to make it that way.
Dina Simon 09:28
They did. They worked it. I mean, we went down that one year, but they all had jobs. I mean, there were certainly adults around to help, but those kids all knew what their roles were, and they were actively engaged in the facilitation of the entire event was amazing and a great fundraiser, and, yes, very fun share with us. So talk to us about what you're doing in work these days.
Jennifer Fleming 09:51
Sure, yeah, as I mentioned, I work from home. I have been off and on for several years, a consultant in Mark. In public relations. So I have a very good friend and mentor who I was sitting across the table, and it's not a company I'm going to mention, and it's not any of the ones I have mentioned, but I was working in a in an organization, and was having a lot of issues with, you know, management and just not being completely happy. And he looked at me, and he goes, You can do this on your own. This is completely in your wheelhouse. You know what you're doing. And that, for me, has been probably the best mix, I think, of work life balance and kind of figuring out my own path, and then truly working with people, clients, teams that I enjoy. And I think John, you can probably attest to this. Don't you just get to a point in your life where you're like, I don't have to work with people I don't like anymore, that it's not necessary, like, I can get along with pretty much anybody. But sometimes you just have to let it go.
John Simon Sr. 10:59
I know exactly where you're coming from.
Jennifer Fleming 11:01
Yeah, yeah. So I have clients again all over the country, and it's all been all about the relationships that I've made throughout my career and my lifetime. And I get to work with, I just worked with Freeman, the largest global event production company. They do shows like, if you're in the tech world, CES and South by Southwest, they were an amazing client. And then I've worked with small startups. I mean, I work with people who want to be public speakers and get them out there and help them elevate their brand and their presence. So I get to do a lot of interesting, varied things, and no two days are alike, which I love a
John Simon Sr. 11:39
lot of people outside of the area where I live, they they don't know much about South by Southwest, because it's so big in Austin, and it's really a game changer down there for every year. And he goes through that, and it's really inspired a lot of people to do a lot of things. Yeah,
Dina Simon 11:57
share some of the spirits. Can you share some of that fun work that you've done in the last year. Okay,
Jennifer Fleming 12:02
yeah. And again, it's about relationships, two friends of mine that I went to high school with. You're both amazing, but we had stayed connected, and I had worked with him on a tech startup in the, gosh, probably 10 years ago or so, and then had an opportunity to work on they, they import spirits from all over the world, but primarily Mexico and tequilas, mezcals, just different types of spirits brands. They do a couple bourbons, and so I and I never well, I'd done a rum once before, many years ago, but it's been so fun to work on those things. And how much people love tequila and love their spirits, and it's all craft and it's all family owned. And so they work with, you know, four generations of distillers in Mexico, and they have such respect for the land and the people and the process and the families that that has been just a lovely experience to have.
Dina Simon 13:01
Yeah, super fun. And tequila is such a big thing. Like, I'm not a big tequila drinker, but I need to learn how to be, because it is like a craft. It's similar to, like a whiskey or a bourbon.
John Simon Sr. 13:11
Those who drink it really enjoy it, yeah, yeah.
Jennifer Fleming 13:15
Well, everything in moderation, right? Yes, yes. But I have learned a lot about, you know, like, a lot of people's experience with tequila is like, Oh yeah, it's the worm at the bottom of the bottle, and it's Jose verbo, and, yeah, it's not that. If it's, it's good, if it's additive, free, if it's produced, well, you know, all of those things. It's, you actually sip it. You don't put it in. You can put it in a margarita. And I welcome you to do whatever you right? But, but, and I'm not a, you know, I've never been like a bourbon girl or anything like that, but this is, I truly enjoy it. And you know me, I'm more of a, you know, wine drinker, yeah, yeah. So it's, it's opened a whole new sort of world and hobby for me, fun.
John Simon Sr. 13:59
I did want to ask a question, and I don't know, as you I and I think this happened probably a couple of years ago. It was on the news, and it was the kind of the battle between North Dakota and South Dakota and the north, the North wanted to just make their name Dakota, and then the south just being South Dakota, because the negative connotation about being that far north, it must be really cold and bitter up there, and everything, did anything ever come out of that?
Jennifer Fleming 14:29
That is a great question. And I don't, I don't believe so from, I mean, because we haven't changed the flag, as far as I know. But it is interesting. And I don't know if this is just a Midwest thing. Maybe you guys could tell me, maybe Texas or Minnesota. Like, you know, we make fun of people in Iowa. We make jokes about, you know, if you fail your driver's test, what do you get? You get blue plates, you know, and, and there's all kinds of a rivalry, jokes between the states. I love my friends in North Dakota. Don't get me wrong, it is colder. Yeah. Hmm, but, you know, I think gal, it's, it's, you know, if you can have a little fun with it, that's great. But, you know, we're all the, we're all the same people, right?
John Simon Sr. 15:09
Well, yeah. And I thought the neat part of was they got a lot of free publicity, because it made the evening news quite a few times, you know, when they were, when they were talking about it. So, if nothing, you know, that's free, free media.
Jennifer Fleming 15:23
Yeah, still kidding, no kidding. It's the fun stuff that you can sort of, you know, be contrarian. I mean, that's what resonates in PR is, is you got to have a compelling story, absolutely, something that people are interested in, or that is just kind of fun and uplifting. So, yeah, definitely.
John Simon Sr. 15:40
Well, I noticed in reading some of the information on you, you've networked with quite a bit in the media, especially with MSNBC and Fox and the Wall Street Journal. So that's a really good background that you have there. Yeah,
Jennifer Fleming 15:56
I'm just, well, for those who are listening, I'm I'm a redhead, so I'm a little fiery and spicy, but it takes a lot for me to get there, but I'm also competitive and I think, and that's just my nature and my drive. So it was always about the win. Like, you know, when you're going in for a client, like, I feel like I'm part of their team and their family, and their success is my success. And those big wins are not. They don't just fall out of the sky, you know, they need a lot of hard work and a lot of relationship building and a lot of creativity to craft a compelling story that you you know, not everybody's ever going to get in the New York Times. It's just it doesn't happen. But if you can get those big wins for your client, there's nothing more satisfying to me than that. Yeah. And you
John Simon Sr. 16:42
really earned your way to through those too, you know, based on your knowledge and really what the client's looking to have done too.
Jennifer Fleming 16:49
Yeah. And I, you know, there were several journalists that I would work with, and it would just be a periodic pick up the phone and call them and just say, Hey, what are you working on this week. What can I help you with? Not here's my client, here's my client, here's my client. And that led to, I think, more successes and having that, hey, I've got this idea. What do you think of it? And making it more a collaboration than a pitch?
Dina Simon 17:15
Yeah, totally. Because you're all about relationship building, so you weren't just doing a one and done, you would stay connected and find ways to collaborate with people. And yeah, yeah. I mean, I know that we've known each other for it's probably been 1213, years almost now John was asking, and so our ability, certainly, we had the good fortune of working together with Simon says give for many years, but we've collaborated and in life and in business and and it's just yeah, it's about just keeping those relationships that are important and figuring out ways to work together.
Jennifer Fleming 17:49
So yeah, so blessed. And I think, you know, I just had a conversation with somebody the other day, and I was in Chicago and met with a fellow tequila connoisseur who's kind of an influencer in the industry, and he was the most gracious kind, like, you know, spending time with me, giving me his thoughts. Everything he does is about philanthropy, and it was just, it was really meaningful. And I said, and I connected him to somebody else I knew in Chicago that is kicking off something. And I said, You know what? Lou I said, there's nothing in it for me, but I think this would be really cool, and I think the impact that it can have would be so important for what you're doing for kids, and what this person is doing for kids. And so that was, that's the stuff I'd like to do, because you never know when it's going to come back, and it comes back tenfold. Most times.
John Simon Sr. 18:39
It has to be really rewarding for you working with a startup, so watch them get it off the ground, and then see two or three years later what they've done based on some of the help that you gave them through media. Yeah,
Jennifer Fleming 18:54
it definitely is. And you know, I've been an entrepreneur in my own life, so I think I have a unique understanding of what it's like to run your own business and to start something from scratch and to not sleep at night because you're not sure if you can make payroll and all of those pieces. And then, you know, structuring like your marketing, your PR, your operations, your financial team, like they need to get everybody around them who is stronger than they are in whatever skill set they don't have. They need those people. So that's it's fun. I
John Simon Sr. 19:28
mentioned last week we came to podcast, that there's a big difference when you're an entrepreneur, when you're signing the front of the paycheck and not the back of the paycheck, it's huge. Yeah, yeah. And, you know, all through my life, I signed back in paycheck, so I don't have the entrepreneur in spirit. But when you do it's, it's, really has to be rewarding. And you know to know that whatever you do, you're helping other people live their life and help pay their bills. Yeah,
Jennifer Fleming 19:57
definitely. And I think too, you know. There is no just yeah, you're right. There's never going to be a distinction between when you're writing the check and you're signing the back of the check. But I also think too There have been some pretty amazing people that I have worked with over the years who weren't just signing the back of a paycheck, who were in and committed and wanted to grow and wanted to learn, and I have loved and cherished working with those kinds of people.
John Simon Sr. 20:22
They're the kind you want to hire. That's right,
Dina Simon 20:25
yeah, yes, yes. So we've talked about family, we've talked about travel, some of your passions, a little bit about your business. Is there anything else about, like, current business, or, you know, you you have a heart for philanthropy yourself?
Jennifer Fleming 20:40
Yeah, Simon says, Give Nolan has. We've now retired Nolan's chapter, and Nolan's on to the next chapter of his life, which is going to college. He's studying accounting and business, and so that that's kind of our next step. But I that experience, and not only that, but I my background was in psychology and education. And I have always loved working with kids. I think if you can make an impact, and you can make it early, that is so critical to so many things in life, for those kiddos and for our society and culture. So one of the, I guess, passion projects that I've sort of picked up now in blue of Simon Says, but I'll still always be involved in Simon Says, given any capacity,
Dina Simon 21:22
we know, yes, yeah, yeah,
Jennifer Fleming 21:25
but no, it's a really fun project. It's called the porter project, and it's a book series for kiddos starts about the, you know, kindergarten up to fourth grade level, and it's all based around a little girl named Porter, who's hoarding candy in her bedroom, and the first book in the series, she's got to clean her ransacked room, and she's got to find five manic monkeys and six naughty handkerchiefs and all of this. And I was blessed again the power of those relationships to be introduced to a fellow South Dakotan who also produced a little movie called Napoleon Dynamite, if you've seen them. Oh yes. Oh yes. Well, Sean Covell is based in Deadwood, South Dakota, and the illustrator, whose daughter is the is what the books are based on, is in Bridgewater. And so I had the pleasure to connect with them and to be engaged and involved in helping them to find foundation partners, to get the books into the hands of every little kiddo in kindergarten, first through fourth grade across the country. So it's a new, fun challenge. I'm learning a ton. I'm so happy to be able to make an impact in the lives of kiddos and early literacy. And I just keep talking to people about it, and you wouldn't believe the context and the connections and the things that are coming in, it's just like, you know, it's overwhelming to me, and it makes me so grateful. But at the same time, we're doing something that's, you know, so impactful too. So yeah, that's my latest and greatest among other things, but it's been fun to do that. That's sort of my continued delve into philanthropy and giving back. It kind
John Simon Sr. 23:06
of reminds you a little bit the story about Amy groves and what she has done with giving the books to the young ones at school so that they can read all the stories about the groves.
Jennifer Fleming 23:16
Yes, and Amy is just a dear soul. We have a birthday that's our birthdays are one day apart, so Amy's always kind of been my special birthday sister, and she's just a beautiful kind so and she's so talented. I mean, those books are amazing, and it has been really fun to see her thrive in in the love that she has for that project. It's amazing,
John Simon Sr. 23:38
yeah, to get get the books in the hands of all those children? I mean, that's yes,
Dina Simon 23:43
and she's, I haven't talked to her, like today or anything, but on November 1 is typically the launch of the book. So her third book should be be ready for us in just a few weeks. Yeah,
Jennifer Fleming 23:55
I saw she posted today and said the next book's coming, and it's coming out in the winter. So, yeah, that's exciting. I can't wait to read it.
Dina Simon 24:02
I know. Yes. So anything on leadership? So when you think about you from a leadership perspective, leadership that you've had, how you hope people show up as a leader, anything that you'd want to talk about from a leadership perspective, oh
Jennifer Fleming 24:16
my gosh. How long do we have, right? You know. I think you know that I have had some amazing leaders in my life, and people who are still friends and mentors, and I think you could learn something from anyone. It doesn't just have to be a leader, you know, and I try to go through every day from that perspective, like, Why is this person in my life? What are they meant to teach me? What can I learn from them, good, bad and ugly, I mean, but yeah, I and I believe in the power of mentorship. I think that's so important. I was able to be part of a program in South Dakota through MB, which is a women's leadership kind of organization, and they pair A. We'll just call us seasoned professionals with younger women in their careers. And that was a really wonderful program, and I learned as much from her as she I hope she learned from me, and she was going through a major career transition and wasn't sure what she wanted to do. And we had tears together. We had celebrations together. We had drinks together, you know. And that was, it was, it was a learning experience for me. But I have been really lucky to work with amazing leaders and amazing clients, where I learned so much. And I think, you know, kind of the the people that I admire most are the ones that live to their core values. So, you know, being authentic, being trustworthy, being energetic, being positive, being momentful. Is that a word? I don't know. We just made up a word. We just made it up. Yeah, yeah, being being a doer, and then also being able to embrace and understand and navigate change with with positivity,
Dina Simon 26:04
I think, yeah, so Jen, you were just with me recently. We talked about, you're such an amazing Ideator. Like, you help people just ideate, right? You're such a great you're so good at that. Like, here's the situation, here's a problem. How do we ideate and solve? But one of the things that I just recognized and having this conversation with you is, you're such a, you're such a learner. So, right? So just like, learn, like what you just said, anybody that's with you in a day, you know, what can I learn from this? How can I take away something from this? So that goes back to, you know, I texted you yesterday asking you a silly question that I could have googled myself, but you do, you are. You're such a you know, you want to know things, you want to investigate things, and such a learner. So I just put that all together
Jennifer Fleming 26:47
well. Thank you for that. And I will say like, you know, what are the things I love in my career and in life? Is I love? I actually love ideating, like my little creative bubbles are, you know, popping all over my head. And I used to tell my teams we'd sit on, you know, a call, and I'd be like, Okay, start writing this down, because once it comes out of my mouth, it's gone. But there's all these ideas constantly circulating, and it's not just creative problem solving, it's just being creative in general. Like, I feel lucky to have that now, if we were talking about math, that would be a whole nother story. But I've also had to challenge myself to figure out financial spreadsheets and QuickBook, you know, like, those are the things I don't like to do, and I do have an amazing bookkeeper. Thank you, Jackie for taking care of me, but, yeah, you hire people that are stronger than you, you know, and don't have that, or that have the skill set you don't, but I think also in the you know, kind of creative ideation is there's something rewarding and being able to help people through and find a solution to a problem. I'll tell you a short, quick story, or it might not be short and quick, knowing me, but I had an employee, and I absolutely adored this woman. She was a little bit timid, didn't trust herself, didn't think she could do certain things, and I just watched her blossom literally over the course of us working together, and we would do team meetings and trainings and all of these things, and it was a very small business, and I would always say, don't bring me problems. Bring me solutions. And I got out of the car one day. I'm in the parking lot right outside the store. I'm walking in. I see her coming across the lot, and she turns around, she walks away. And I said, what's going on? Like, why did you, you know, go the other direction. And she said, I realized I was bringing you a problem, but I wasn't bringing you a solution. I'll be back to you. What I can I
Dina Simon 28:47
love it. I love it. Talk about self leadership, right?
Jennifer Fleming 28:51
Oh yeah, yeah. And this woman is gonna be, she is amazing. She just wasn't fully recognizing how amazing she was, right? And she did, and I just and I still know her, and I still love to watch her grow and what she's doing, and both personally and professionally. So that's super that that drives me
John Simon Sr. 29:13
well. And it sounds like for not only friends, but for your clients that are saying you're a great sounding board, you know, give you a situation, and like you say, they'll come to me with a problem, come to me with solution, and we'll talk about it, and we may tweak it a little bit. But the fact of it is, if I have to answer it for you, I really don't need to have you around very much. I, you know, I need people to come to me with with solutions.
Jennifer Fleming 29:38
I had a boss that actually said those exact words to me one day, if I used
John Simon Sr. 29:44
it many a times with the people that work for me,
Jennifer Fleming 29:47
if I have to answer it for you, why do I need you? Yeah,
John Simon Sr. 29:51
exactly my philosophy. Let's talk about it now. You know the fact of it is, you know, when you're the boss, you want to hear people's. You know, solutions to it, then you may tweak it a little bit, but really it's their responsibility to come up with the solutions to issues and problems that they may have.
Dina Simon 30:10
And normally they're so much closer to it. They, you know, they just do need that help to say, You know what to do, or let's, you know, talk it through, but you've got all this information that you're bringing to the table, and you know how to solve this? And
John Simon Sr. 30:24
some people were afraid to make a decision. Sometimes, yes, well,
Jennifer Fleming 30:28
and fear is the biggest obstacle to everything in our life. Fear stops us from doing the thing we know we need to do. Fear stops us from, you know, building that relationship or taking that job,
John Simon Sr. 30:40
and it's fear of failure.
Jennifer Fleming 30:42
Mm hmm. Actually reading a really great book right now, and it's called, oh gosh, it's not handy, but it's all about fear. And this woman, who was a graduate student and working full time, wrote down 100 fears, 100 and every morning while she's going to working full time and going to graduate school, every morning, she would carve out time to knock out one of those fears. Wow, yeah, it's amazing. And she said part of it in the book, and I believe she, she lives in New York, but I believe she was from Venezuela. I'll, we can put it in the show notes, but, sure, yeah, but there's a whole section in there that says, instead of saying, What's the worst thing that can happen. Reframe it and say, What's the best thing that can happen? Yeah. You
John Simon Sr. 31:27
know, they often, they often say that the two greatest fears people have are number one, public speaking and and number two, dying. And public speaking is the worst fear for a lot of people that dine someday, wow,
Dina Simon 31:42
yeah, crazy, Yeah, crazy, yeah, yeah. We'll share with me the book, and then we'll put it in the show notes. I
Jennifer Fleming 31:49
love it, yeah, definitely. And I think that's you talked about learning earlier, too, always being curious. And I think that's just such an innate part of human, you know, beings to to, you know, explore and discover, and you know, you know. And a lot of the best leaders that I have worked with are they never stop learning, right?
Dina Simon 32:12
Yeah, but you have to take the time for it, right? So some people, if you're just so heads down, and all you're doing is doing, and you don't take that time to reflect or to go learn something new. I mean, I think that that that is super hard. So that's one thing I think you've done over just a great job at is as far as being really mindful of,
Jennifer Fleming 32:31
well, thank you. And I think that didn't always come easy to me, right? You know, when you're a working mom with short people and you're trying to juggle travel and multiple businesses and, you know, play dates and birthday parties and all that kind of stuff. You don't have a lot of time for self care. And I think at one point, I just realized that I was depleted. I had lost 30 pounds. My hair was falling out. I was so stressed, and it's taken me that's been a few years, maybe three four. It's taken me that long to kind of come back into myself. And then when I realized, like, I can still be productive, I don't have to, I put so much pressure on myself. Yeah, that was so unfair, and that was so unkind to me. And so it's taken me a lot to figure out, like, you know what? I can get up every morning and I can go for a walk with my dog, and I don't have to feel bad about it or guilty about it. I'm going to get more done if I get that walk in with, you know, doggo than if I, you know, sit down and start slamming keys on the computer so or, you know, I want to read that book. I'm going to sit down and read that book because I'll be a better person, and I'll feel lighter and I it just it. It's a huge thing. So anybody listening self cared, do one thing today for you. Do one thing for your business. Do one thing for your family. And that's all you got to get done today.
John Simon Sr. 34:00
Care about yourself as much as you care about everybody else.
Dina Simon 34:04
Yep, yep, yes, yeah. Love that. No. Thank you for that. Okay, Jen, anything else that you wanted our podcast audience to know about you?
Jennifer Fleming 34:14
Oh, gosh, it's really hard to talk about yourself and yeah, you know, like I said earlier, especially when you're in PR and you're used to being the woman behind the camera, you know, adjusting people's ties and making sure they say the right thing and don't say the wrong thing. Yeah, I, you know, I just, I think the world right now is in a kind of a weird place. We all know it. We all recognize it. So you know what? Go do something for you today and go, like, be kind to someone else, because you don't know what somebody else is going through. You just don't. And if you can operate with that sort of, my glass isn't half full. My glass is overflowing. People get it and they see it, and that's what's going to make a change in the world. And I firmly believe that,
Dina Simon 35:01
yep, give back we love it. Well, thank you so much for joining us. You know I love you. You're a dear friend, and just appreciate that you were wanting to be on our podcast. Well,
Jennifer Fleming 35:15
I love you too. And John, I told you earlier, I love your family, especially Dina. I call her my my sister by choice, and it's been you just you never know who you're gonna run into, and it might be somebody at the grocery store tonight, and it just take it all in and just keep doing what you're doing. Sounds wonderful.
Dina Simon 35:37
I want to thank my good friend Jen Fleming for being on the podcast with us. Her and her son, Nolan, and their entire family were engaged for about seven years in Sioux Falls with Simon says give and made just a tremendous impact in that community. And so fun to work with them all those years. And I love her as a dear friend. She is a rock star PR marketing strategy person, and so we'll make sure in the show notes, you know how to get in touch with her if you have things that you would need to work on with her. And as always, I think my father in law, John Simon, for partnering with me on the podcast. And thank you all for tuning in. And until next time you