"Be very focused on your market" with Jen Lawrence

Jen Lawrence is a CDC Certified Divorce Coach®, Certified Divorce Specialist® and Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® professional, who helps her clients through the process of divorce. She specializes in coaching women who have supported their husbands' successful careers navigate divorce. She helps her clients move from feelings of overwhelm, to the business of divorce and provides clarity about finances and the divorce process. Jen is also a CDC Divorce Transition and Recovery Coach™ and can help clients design a post-divorce life that excites them.

Jen has an MBA in Finance and worked in consulting and investment banking for years prior to staying at home to raise her children. After her unexpected divorce, she pivoted to freelancing writing, speaking, and consulting, and has contributed to PopSugar.com, HuffPost, and ThriveGlobal.com. She is also a seasoned media personality appearing on YahooLifestyle.com, BestLifeOnline.com, Authority magazine, JustLuxe.com, The Mom Show, Report on Business TV, See Hear Love, and TVO Parents. 

In 2015, Jen also co-authored the well-known business book Engage the Fox, a guide about decision making and critical thinking, and helps her private coaching clients make sound, long-term decisions at an emotional time.

 Can you tell our readers about your background?

I’m a CDC Certified Divorce Coach and Transition and Recovery Coach. I help clients make smart divorce decisions to maximize their options and move them towards their goals.  

What inspired you to start your business?  

I’m twice divorced and was amazed how easy my second divorce was compared to my first one because I understood the process. I understood that while the end of a relationship itself is an emotional process, divorce itself is a business deal. I help my clients contain their feelings of sadness, anger, and overwhelm so they can strike the best business deal possible. My professional background in consulting and banking gave me critical thinking, decision making, and financial skills that are very useful in divorce and now that I am a Certified Divorce Coach, I share those skills with my clients.  

Where is your business based?

My business is based just outside Toronto, Canada, but I work with clients across the US and Canada.

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

I trained as a CDC Certified Divorce Coach, Divorce Transition and Recovery Coach, Certified Divorce Specialist, and a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst since there are a lot of people out there calling themselves coaches who lack any formal training. Credibility and authority in this business are key since clients rely on your to help them make life-altering decisions. I help women become wealthier through and after the process of divorce. In some cases, women are suffering financial abuse and even though they are very wealthy on paper, cannot access funds until their lawyer files the right motion. Sometimes, clients want to use their settlement as a springboard to launch a business as I did. We hear a lot about women losing their money in divorce and the statistics sadly support that, but it’s my mission is to change that, one client at a time. I also do advocacy work to help address the issue of financial abuse on a broader scale.

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?  

Writing articles and books are great awareness raisers. That’s given me the authority to then guest on podcasts and be interviewed in media outlets, creating further awareness.  

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?  

The pandemic created a huge need for divorce coaching services and my work/life balance was thrown off as I built my practice. I’m working on finding other ways to help clients through writing, speaking, and online courses.  That way, I can be sharing my knowledge and still get my beauty sleep!

How do you stay focused? 

I’ve always been very focused but I have to keep myself on track since I like to chase shiny objects at times. Each day, I have to relook at my mission and make sure that I’m working towards my goals. It’s way too easy to have hours disappear listening to Clubhouse or reading things online.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?  

Most coaches come from professions like social work or ministry so my business and finance background makes me a little unique. I can also read crystals and there aren’t a lot of finance MBAs who bring that element to their coaching!

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

Writing and speaking. People buy coaching services from people they like and trust, and writing and speaking give people a sense of my personality and style

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

Be very focused on your market. A lot of coaches say they can help anybody but that’s simply not true and clients know it. Be hyper-specific about who you can best serve with your gifts. Use your marketing to speak directly to that potential client group  

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why? 

Right now, I’m addicted to the Clubhouse app. It’s like radio where you can jump into the conversation. The book that has really informed my practice is Not to People Like Us by Susan Weitzman, which sheds light on abuse within affluent marriages. Mostly I read Paris fashion blogs because not being able to travel is making me miss that city a lot!  

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

I love Tailwind for Pinterest and Instagram. It keeps my social media organized.  

Who is your business role model? Why?  

I’m a fan of Bethenny Frankel. She is unapologetically herself.  

How do you balance work and life?

I’m terrible at balance so I have to schedule it in. Like, I will literally schedule in “Watch Bling Empire” in my calendar. This forces me to take a break and lighten up.

What’s your favorite way to decompress?  

Since we can’t do anything social right now, it’s reading novels in front of a fire. I just finished The Wife Upstairs and it makes me really glad to not be married.

What do you have planned for the next six months?

I’m doing publicity for the book, The Designed Divorce, and then will work on my online course helping women launch businesses after divorce. I’m also on a National Task Force to help end financial abuse, so I’ll be working on that too.

How can our readers connect with you?

My website is Designed Divorce.com. You also find me at Clubhouse.