Christen N. James
Christen N. James (fondly known as CJ) is a Side Biz Coach and Host of The Shine to FIVE™ Method for Side Hustlers Podcast. She is a Certified Life Skills Coach, Certified Master Mindset Coach and Reiki Practitioner with BA in Psychology and Certification in Solution-Focused Therapy. She created The Shine to FIVE™ Method Coaching system to help women-identified professionals push past mediocrity and challenge the status quo so they can SHINE in their OWN Businesses. With her 3D Exit Strategy™ (Decide, Dedicate, Depart), CJ helps her unmotivated clients heal and feel successful (by defining success on their terms) in their OWN Businesses so they can break up with their Employee Mindset and confidently walk away from their unfulfilling 9to5.
What were your initial years of growing up like? Tell us about your life before starting your corporate journey/venture/initiative.
I was born in Tobago, the youngest of 3. Believe it or not, I was extremely shy, quiet, and self-reliant. I escaped through my imagination and creativity; I loved to draw and read several books a month if I wasn’t creating a game to play by myself. I immigrated to Canada with my mother when I started high school and was able to adapt easily enough (but not to the winter weather!)
Every industry that is now a large-scale, top-notch business once started as a small idea in the minds of entrepreneurs. What was that idea or motivation that made you start your business /initiative? What motivated you within to say YES, go for it!”
I felt like I could make more of an impact if my creativity was not being limited by being in a corporate setting. I always got a positive response from my employees about my leadership style, but I couldn’t explore to the full capacity unless it was on my own terms.
Tell us something about your initiative or current role. What is it about, and what impact are you trying to make?
I want to help women-identified to explore their creativity and come up with business ideas that fit their lifestyles. This will give them the opportunity to be in control of how they spend their time and make their money. I want to help them see that they are in control of how they define “Success”.
Your journey and your vision are very inspiring, but are there any achievements or accomplishments you would like to mention?
My Podcast – The Shine to FIVE™ Method for Side Hustlers has surpassed 100 episodes with no end in sight! And we now have sponsors who see the value in being able to leverage my message and audience.
Would you like to share with our young budding women entrepreneurs the change you would like to see in the world if given an opportunity?
I want to help women-identified professionals to challenge the status quo and push past mediocrity. We are not meant to settle and contribute to building someone else’s success, as many of us have been taught. I am on a mission to help my clients to “un-tell” old stories we were told to believe and retell them in a way that we feel better defines us. One of those avenues is through starting their own Businesses.
Women are a growing force in the workplaces worldwide, standing shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts. There are cracks in glass ceilings everywhere, with many women breaking through to carve out a space right at the top of the pyramid. What are your thoughts about women leadership today?
When women support and uplift each other, there is no stopping us. As long as we understand that there is room at the top for us all, and help each other in any way that we can, we will only continue to thrive as leaders. Collaboration is KEY!
What would you want to say to our young women leaders/audience reading this?
You are on the right path, but understand that nothing worth it comes easily. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. You started because you know that you have it in you, so remember when you start to feel doubt, it comes from somewhere that a seed has been planted. If you weren’t trying to do something new, there would be nothing to doubt. So, challenge the doubt and use it as motivation.